These days, there are only two ways to get cheap groceries. The first is with an optimized credit card. The second involves screaming “I thought it was a free sample“, and then sucking in sharp breaths of air till the overweight security guard gets off you. And if you’re like me, you prefer to keep life unexciting in some regards. So here’s the 3 best credit cards for grocery shopping in Singapore:
1. Citi Cash Back Card
Card Benefits
- Chinese New Year Giveaway - Win up to S$300 NTUC FairPrice Vouchers!
- 8% cash back on supermarkets and grocery stores worldwide
- 8% cash back also applicable for groceries delivery (including honestbee and RedMart)
- Total min. retail spend of S$888/month, 8% cash back capped at S$25 per category
- For retail spend less than S$888 and/or other retail spend categories, 0.25% cash back is awarded, no cap on cash back earned
Formerly known as the Citibank DIVIDEND Card, one of the most historically popular credit cards, the Citibank Cash Back Card underwent a little bit of a slump in the face of extremely stiff competition in the cashback category. However, it has come back stronger than ever, with a whopping 8% cashback across petrol, dining and grocery categories.
Here are some of the key features of the card:
- Petrol: Savings of up to 20.88% at Esso, up to 20.8% at Shell and 8% cash back at all other petrol stations
- Grocery: 8% cash back at all supermarkets and grocery stores worldwide
- Dining: 8% cash back at all restaurants, cafes, food and beverage outlets globally
- All other retail spend: 0.25% cash back
The card requires a minimum spend of $888 in total each month for you to earn the 8% cashback. As opposed to some other credit cards that require a minimum spend within a specific cashback category, this card just takes your total spend, and then applies the 8% cashback across all 3 categories. So if you’re looking for more than just the best credit card for groceries, this is a great credit card to use as your primary card, or for the family. Do take note that there’s a $25 cash back cap on each category spend though.
If you are interested in the Citibank Cash Back Card, you can apply here.
2. UOB Delight Card
Card Benefits
- 8% or 3% cash rebate at Cold Storage, Market Place, Jasons, Giant and Guardian stores. Minimum spend: S$800/S$400 per month respectively.
- 10% discount on house brands at Cold Storage, Giant, and Guardian
- Up to 3% rebate on ALL contactless payments and selected recurring bills
- Free home delivery at Giant IMM, Parkway, Tampines, VivoCity with S$150 min. spend in a single receipt
- 0.3% cashback on spends less than S$400 and on all other spends
The supermarket scene in Singapore is very competitive, with large chains vying for top spot. Fortunately, credit cards like the UOB Delight Card gives you the same cashback rebates of up to 8% at both Cold Storage and Giant. Not only that, but you also get discounts at Cold Storage’s more atas cousins, Jasons, Marketplace and Guardian.
What’s more, on Thursday 30 November 2017, you can get an additional 4% rebates at Guardian stores and Guardian online. That’s up to 12% rebates!
Other benefits include:
- 10% discounts for over 4,000 housebrand products at Cold Storage, Giant and Guardian
- Up to 3% cashback rebates for transactions made using Visa payWave, NETS FlashPay Auto Top-Up and selected recurring transactions.
Although you’d have to charge a minimum amount of $800 a month on the card to qualify for the 8% SMART$ rebate, it’s a rather easy target to hit considering it’s not limited to any categories of spend. The lack of existence of caps on rebates from SMART$ Merchants like Cold Storage, Giant, Jasons, and Marketplace also means you can buy an unlimited amount of groceries.
If you are interested in the UOB Delight Card, you can apply here.
3. BOC Sheng Siong Card
Card Benefits
- 7% cash rebate at Sheng Siong with no minimum spend, capped at $70 per month
- Additional 5% cash rebate at Sheng Siong with out-store spend of $400 monthly, capped at $20 per month
- Additional 5% cash rebate consist of 3% + 2% cash rebate where the 2% cash rebate at Sheng Siong is valid till 31 Dec 2017
A new contender on our list, the BOC Sheng Siong Card will give you up to 12% cash back for all your grocery shopping at Sheng Siong. This is made up of: the basic 7% straight rebate, and an additional 5% if you’ve spent a minimum $400 on retail items.
Do take note that the additional 5% ONLY applies to the amount you spend on your grocery shopping at Sheng Siong and not anything else. So you’ll need to spend $400 on this card outside of Sheng Siong just to achieve that additional 5% rebate. You may consider using those retail dollars on another dedicated shopping card instead.
Effectively, this card only offers you a 7% rebate. However, with no minimum spend, and a higher cash back cap of $70, it’s definitely worth considering.
That means you’ll have a higher amount of $1,000 to spend on groceries every month before you exceed their cash back cap. And because you’ll get additional 5% rebates off Uber/Grab/Taxi rides if you charged $400 or more to your card… This makes a good dedicated groceries card if you’re spending between $400-$1000 every month on groceries.
One other feature is the 1% cashback you can earn on all overseas transactions with no minimum spend and no cap.
Pay It in Full
Note that the advantages here only matter if you pay the bill in full, before the billing cycle ends. Like most credit cards, these have an interest rate of 24% per annum. The discounts and freebies will never make up for that.
For tips on credit card spending, follow us on Facebook.
What cards do you use for groceries? Comment and let us know!
Image Credits:
Shiny Things
Tags: Credit Cards, Shopping
