The Best Cashback Credit Cards in Singapore 2018

Cash back credit cards must be the most popular kind of card in Singapore. Sure, earning points or miles is nice and all, but lots of us would rather get cold hard cash rebates, thanks.

After all, wedding banquets aren’t going to pay for themselves, truffle fries don’t grow on trees, and that new Honda HR-V isn’t going to run on your hopes and dreams. Got free money leh, who don’t want?

A word of caution though: Before you get too excited about that hefty bonus cash rebate, remember that banks aren’t charities. They have to impose minimum spend requirements and cashback caps, or else they’ll just bleed money.

So don’t get led astray by big fat cashback promises – the important details are usually in the T&Cs.

Contents

1. Highest cashback credit cards
2. Unlimited cashback credit cards
3. All-purpose cashback credit cards
4. Best cashback credit cards for groceries
5. Best cashback credit cards for dining
6. Best cashback credit cards for online spending

 

Highest cashback credit cards 

Most people who are new to cash back cards ask, “eh, which card has the highest cash rebate ah?” What they don’t realise is that such cards are set up so you will get absolute peanuts if you fail to hit their high minimum spend requirements – regardless of whether you miss the mark by 50 cents or $500. Therefore, proceed with caution.

Here are the highest cashback credit cards for general spend (not category-specific):

Credit card	Cashback	Restrictions
UOB One Card	Quarterly flat payout of $50 / $100 / $300 (3.33% to 5%)	Must spend $500 / $1,000 / $2,000 x 3 months consecutively
HSBC Advance Credit Card	For HSBC Advance customers: 3.5% with min. spend $2,000 2.5% otherwise	Capped at $125 Non-HSBC Advance customers get lower cashback & cap

 

UOB One Card

The divisive UOB One Card works differently from most cashback cards. The rebates are completely flat – either $50, $100 or $300 – and are paid out quarterly. 

To get the highest rebate of $300, you need to spend EXACTLY $2,000 each month for 3 months consecutively. Same formula applies for the $50 ($500 x 3 months) and $100 ($1,000 x 3 months) rebates. Unlike other cashback cards that reward you for spending more, there’s no point doing so with the UOB One. 

How to maximise your rebate: Spend exactly $2,000 x 3 months for $300 (5%) quarterly rebate.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $40,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $192.60 per year
• Supplementary Annual Fee: 1st Supplementary Card Free; $96.30 for subsequent cards
• Fee Waiver: 1 year fee waiver, perpetual fee waiver for first supplementary card
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.9%

 

HSBC Advance Credit Card

If you want a respectably high cash rebate on all purchases without having to track your expenses to a T, consider the HSBC Advance card. 

To get that lovely 3.5% rebate, you have to first become a HSBC Advance customer (easy – just credit a monthly salary of at least $3,500 to a HSBC account). You also need to spend $2,000 a month. If your spending falls below that, you still get a respectable 2.5% cashback. Rebates are capped at $125.

You can still get the HSBC Advance Credit Card if you are not a HSBC Advance customer. However, your cashback is much lower (1.5% to 2.5%) and so is your cap ($70).

How to maximise your rebate: Be a HSBC Advance customer and spend $2,000 to $3,500 for max. rebate of 3.5%

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $40,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: Perpetual annual fee waiver
• Fee Waiver: 1 year card annual fee waiver / Perpetual card annual fee waiver for HSBC Advance banking customers
• Annual Interest Rate: 25%

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Unlimited cashback credit cards

While they won’t give you a sweet double-digit rebate, unlimited cashback cards are good for momentous (read: expensive) life events, like weddings and home renovations, which would easily burst the cap on most other cashback cards. With no minimum spend or cashback caps, these are complete no-brainers to use too.

Credit card	Cashback	Restrictions
American Express True Cashback Card	3% for first 3 months up to $6,000 1.5% thereafter	None
Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Card	3% on overseas spend in first 3 months 1.5% otherwise	None
Maybank FC Barcelona Visa Signature Credit Card	1.6% on local spend	No cashback on overseas spend
ICBC Global Travel Mastercard	3% on overseas spend 1.5% on local spend	None

American Express True Cashback Card

This one is so simple that it could be a PSLE maths question. Or maybe not, given how hard PSLE questions are these days. Anyway, it’s 3% cash rebate for the first 3 months up to $6,000. Subsequently, you get 1.5% on everything thereafter. 

How to maximise your rebate: Sign up just before a one-time $6,000 expense.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $60,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $171.20 per year
• Supplementary Annual Fee: $85.60 per year
• Fee Waiver: 1 year fee waiver for Principal card, perpetual fee waiver for first 2 supplementary cards
• Annual Interest Rate: 24.99%

 

Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Credit Card

Same same, but different. As a direct competitor of the Amex True Cashback card, Standard Chartered’s Unlimited Cashback gives you a sweet 3% cashback on overseas spending in the first 3 months. Apart from that, it’s a simple 1.5% cash rebate.

How to maximise your rebate: Sign up just before a big blowout holiday, e.g. a honeymoon.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $60,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $192.60 per year
• Fee Waiver: 2 years fee waiver
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.9%

 

Maybank FC Barcelona Visa Signature Card

Once you take away the introductory promos, this football-themed credit card has the highest unlimited cashback rate (1.6%) in Singapore for local spending. Random, huh? But the drawback is that there’s no cash rebate on overseas spending, only 2X rewards points per dollar spent.

How to maximise your rebate: Sign up if you’re expecting massive expenses in the coming year, and only after you’ve wiped out the 3% introductory rebate with the previous 2 cards.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Malaysian Minimum Income: $45,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $60,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $120 per year
• Supplementary Annual Fee: Free
• Fee Waiver: Automatically waived with a total minimum spend of S$10,000 per annum
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.9%

 

ICBC Global Travel Mastercard

Suppose you need to spend massive amounts of money overseas beyond StanChart’s 3-month limit, like if you’re running a business overseas (or have, cough, recently acquired an overseas spouse). Consider Chinese bank ICBC’s Global Travel Mastercard as it gives you 3% rebate on foreign spending… FOREVER!

How to maximise your rebate: Spend loads of money overseas for >3 months.

• Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $150
• Supplementary Annual Fee: $75
• Fee Waiver: Automatically waived for 3 years
• Annual Interest Rate: 24%

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All-purpose cashback credit cards

All-purpose cards boast good bonus cash rebates in general categories like dining, petrol and groceries – in other words, the things that most Singaporeans bo pian must spend money on. 

However, be aware of cashback caps on each bonus category. Before signing up, observe your typical expenditure in each category and make sure that you’re not setting yourself up for a poor deal.

Credit card	Cashback	Restrictions
Citi Cash Back Card	8% on dining, groceries, petrol, Grab	Min. spend $888 Capped at $25 per category
BOC Family Card	10% on dining, cinemas 5% online, groceries, hospitals, NETS FlashPay	Min. spend $700 Capped at $30 for dining & cinemas / $30 for online / $40 for all else
HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card	5% on telco bills 3% on groceries, petrol	Min. spend $400 x 3 months Capped at $60 per quarter Get 5% on groceries, petrol if you spend $800 x 3 months (capped at $120)
Citi SMRT Card	4.7% on groceries (min. $50 transaction), movies, fast food, coffee chains 2.7% online 1.7% on EZ-Link +0.3% if you hit min. spend $300	No min. spend Capped at $600 yearly

 

Citi Cash Back Card

8% cash rebate on dining, groceries, petrol and Grab rides with minimum spend of $888 each month? Huat ah! No wonder the Citi Cash Back Card is one of the most popular cashback cards around. But note the $25 cap in each bonus cashback category, limiting your spending to $312.50 in each category.

How to maximise your rebate: Spend about $300/month each in dining, groceries, petrol and Grab.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $42,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $192.60 per year
• Supplementary Annual Fee: $96.30 per year
• Fee Waiver: First year fee waived for Principal and two (2) Supplementary cards
• Annual Interest Rate: 26%

 

BOC Family Card

Bank of China recently revamped the BOC Family Card and it’s now a bit more similar to the Citi Cash Back Card. The minimum spend requirement is lower though, making it a more accessible card. But like its competitor, the biggest flaw is that you need to micromanage your spending categories due to split caps.

How to maximise your rebate: Spend up to $300 a month on dining/movies, up to $600 online, and up to $800 on the other bonus categories.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $60,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $150 per year
• Supplementary Annual Fee: $75 per year
• Fee Waiver: First year free for Principal and Supplementary cards
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.88%

 

HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card

Want to shave 5% off your telco bills? The HSBC Visa Platinum does that with a minimum spend of $400 a month. For those who spend $800 per month consistently, this card also works as an all-purpose card as it gives the maximum 5% rebate for groceries and petrol on top of telco bills.

Like the UOB One card, this card requires you to consistently spend either $400 or $800 per month for 3 months before you can get a quarterly cashback, capped at $60 or $120.

How to maximise your rebate: Either spend $400 on telco bills, or $800 on telco bills + groceries + petrol per month.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $40,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $180 per year
• Supplementary Annual Fee: Free
• Fee Waiver: 2 years fee waiver, subsequent years waived with min. spend of $12,500 p.a.
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.9%

 

Citi SMRT Card

The Citibank SMRT Card is a great basic cashback card for… just about anyone who takes public transport, goes to Starbucks and McDonalds, and buys stuff online every now and then. I know, I’ve just described your basic everyday Singaporean.

What’s great is that there’s no minimum spend requirement (but if you exceed $300, you get a bonus +0.3% on rebates! Score). You can pair this with a dedicated credit card for your major expenses (e.g. dining) so you needn’t worry about tracking too many cards.

How to maximise your rebate: Use as an EZ-Link card (change the auto reload amount to $40 or $50 to maximise your rebate).

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $42,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $193
• Supplementary Annual Fee: $96.30
• Fee Waiver: 2 years fee waiver
• Annual Interest Rate: 26.9%

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Best cashback credit cards for groceries

It is extremely easy to burst a low cash rebate cap like $25 if you do a lot of grocery shopping. So if you’re in charge of keeping your household fed and happy, opt for one of these cashback cards for groceries. I’ve shortlisted the highest rebates for each major chain: NTUC, Sheng Siong, Giant and Cold Storage.

Credit card	Cashback	Restrictions
Maybank Family & Friends Card	5% / 8% at NTUC, Cold Storage, Malaysia hypermarkets, petrol, taxis, public transport, pharmacies	Min. spend $500 (for 5%) or $1,000 (for 8%) Capped at $600 yearly
OCBC Plus! Visa Credit Card	7% at NTUC FairPrice 3% on FairPrice Online	Min. spend $500 outside of NTUC Capped at $35
BOC Sheng Siong Card	7% at Sheng Siong	No min. spend Capped at $70 Get 12% at Sheng Siong if you spend $400 elsewhere
UOB Delight Credit Card	3% / 8% at Cold Storage, Giant 3% on NETS FlashPay, bills	Min. spend $400 (for 3%) or $800 (for 8%) Capped at $50

 

Maybank Family & Friends Card

If you’d rather get your groceries from Tesco in JB than in Singapore, then you must get this card as it’s the best for discounts in Malaysian hypermarkets (as if the favourable exchange rate wasn’t saving you enough money!). It also covers NTUC and Cold Storage, plus an absurd number of bonus cash back categories, making it an excellent card for families.

Sadly, there’s an annual cashback cap of $600. If you’re hitting the $1,000 minimum monthly spend for the higher tier 8% rebate, that means you can only enjoy the rebates for 8 months before you hit the cap! This isn’t a problem if you’re spending under $1,000 though.

How to maximise your rebate: Consistently spend between $500 to $1,000 for 5% rebate every month. You won’t get the highest rebate but you won’t burst the cap either.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $60,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $180
• Supplementary Annual Fee: Free
• Fee Waiver: 3 years fee waiver
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.9%

 

OCBC Plus! Visa Card

Those loyal to NTUC FairPrice will know that everyone’s favourite supermarket works closely with OCBC. The OCBC Plus! Visa Card for a very respectable 7% rebate on your groceries, but the annoying bit is that it requires you to spend $500 outside NTUC. Ugh.

If you are paying for NTUC membership already, you can opt for the NTUC version of this card (OCBC NTUC Plus! Visa Credit Card) which gives you 12% instead.

How to maximise your rebate: Spend up to $500 a month at NTUC + $500 elsewhere.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $45,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $107
• Supplementary Annual Fee: Free
• Fee Waiver: 1 year fee waiver
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.92%

 

BOC Sheng Siong Card

If you’re on #teamShengSiong, you’re much better off as the BOC Sheng Siong Card is an absolute gem. You get a sweet 7% cash rebate with no minimum spend – need I say more!? – and there’s a fairly high cap of $70 too.

How to maximise your rebate: Spend up to $1,000 a month at Sheng Siong.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: S$30,000
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: S$60,000
• Principal Annual Fee: $30 per year
• Supplementary Annual Fee: $15 per year
• Fee Waiver: 1 year fee waiver
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.88%

 

UOB Delight Card

It’s possible to get that huat 8% cashback on groceries with the UOB Delight Card, as long as you spend $800 a month. Unfortunately, total rebate is capped at $50 per month.

Still, if you like shopping at Giant and Cold Storage, this is a worthwhile card to have. It’s one of the rare cards that let you earn cashback on stuff like NETS FlashPay top ups (public transport, carparks) and bills (including telco, insurance, town council and SPH newspapers).

How to maximise your rebate: Consolidate your groceries, bills and transport spending on this card, and spend at least $800 a month.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: S$30,000
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: S$40,000
• Principal Annual Fee: $85.60 per year
• Supplementary Annual Fee: $53.50 per year
• Fee Waiver: 1 year fee waiver, perpetual fee waiver for first supplementary card
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.9%

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Best cashback credit cards for dining

We Singaporeans live to eat. So it’s no surprise that banks are aggressive about promoting their dining rebates cards.  So aggressive, in fact, that one of them has an insane cash back rate of 12%. Still, high rebates mean it’s easy to burst the cap, especially if you’re paying for a group. So watch out for that.

Credit card	Cashback	Restrictions
UOB YOLO Card	12% on dining, entertainment, Grab for first 3 months Thereafter 8% on weekends and 3% on weekday 3% on online fashion, travel spend	Min. spend $600 Capped at $60 (regular cashback) + $40 (first 3 months bonus)
CIMB Visa Signature Card	10% on dining, foreign currency online spend	Min. spend $500 Min. 8 transactions x $30 each Capped at $60

UOB YOLO Card

UOB seriously takes the cake when it comes to dining cashback cards. New sign-ups by 30 Jun can get 12%(!!) cashback on dining, entertainment and Grab rides for the first 3 months. Thereafter the cashback drops to 8% (weekend) and 3% (weekday) which is STILL pretty damn good.

How to maximise your rebate: Spend between $600 and $750 a month on this card.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: S$30,000
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: S$40,000
• Principal Annual Fee: S$192.60
• Supplementary Annual Fee: Free
• Fee Waiver: 1 year fee waiver for Principal card
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.9%

 

CIMB Visa Signature Card

The UOB YOLO Card may get all the hype now, but what about when its promotional 12% cash rebate comes to an end? You’ll want to have the CIMB Visa Signature handy for then – it offers a 10% rebate on ALL dining, including weekdays.

However, look out for its minimum spend requirement, which is pretty low at $500, but requires 8 transactions of at least $30 a month.

How to maximise your rebate: Dine out at least twice a week.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: S$30,000 (below 55) OR S$15,000 (aged 55 and above) OR Fixed Deposit Collateral of S$10,000
• Principal Annual Fee: None
• Supplementary Annual Fee: S$75 per annum (N/A for Classic Mastercard)
• Fee Waiver: 1st year annual fee waiver for up to 2 supplementary cards
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.5%

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Best cashback credit cards for online spending

Pretty much everything from makeup to toilet paper to burritos to part-time cleaners to hotel bookings can be paid for online these days. Getting a good cashback card for online spending is now more important than ever. 

Credit card	Cashback	Restrictions
DBS Live Fresh	5% on online spend, contactless payment	Min. spend $600 Capped at $20 for online / $20 for contactless
CIMB Visa Signature Card	10% on dining, foreign currency online spend	Min. spend $500 Min. 8 transactions x $30 each Capped at $60
Citi SMRT Card	2.7% online Also 4.7% on groceries, movies, fast food, coffee chains and 1.7% on EZ-Link +0.3% if you hit min. spend $300	No min. spend Capped at $600 yearly

DBS Live Fresh Card

DBS Live Fresh used to offer an unbeatable 10% cashback on online spend, but it must have way too successful. The rebate is now back to 5% and it’s capped at $20 a month. So sad.

On the other hand, you can also get 5% on contactless payment (same cap). With Visa payWave being offered everywhere, it shouldn’t be too tough to meet the $600 minimum spend. But for some people, it might mean having to take some of your purchases offline, like getting your groceries at NTUC instead of Redmart.

How to maximise your rebate: Spend up to $400 online + up to $400 offline (via payWave).

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $45,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $128.40 per year
• Supplementary Annual Fee: $64.20 per year
• Fee Waiver: 1 year fee waiver
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.90%

 

CIMB Visa Signature Card

If your online transactions are primarily in foreign currency – e.g. travel bookings, international shopping sites – then consider the CIMB Visa Signature card (also featured in the dining section above).

There’s an onerous minimum spend requirement which may require you to split your purchases, but the payoff is an amazing 10% rebate on all foreign currency online spend. What’s more, there are super low foreign transaction fees with this card – just 1% compared to the usual 2.5 to 3% – so you still get 9% back on your spending.

How to maximise your rebate: Spend $500 to $600 online a month, splitting them into smaller, frequent purchases.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: S$30,000 (below 55) OR S$15,000 (aged 55 and above) OR Fixed Deposit Collateral of S$10,000
• Principal Annual Fee: None
• Supplementary Annual Fee: S$75 per annum (N/A for Classic Mastercard)
• Fee Waiver: 1st year annual fee waiver for up to 2 supplementary cards
• Annual Interest Rate: 25.5%

 

Citi SMRT Card

If you cannot be bothered with calculating minimum spends and tracking your expenses to make sure you don’t hit any caps, the Citibank SMRT Card is actually a decent option for lazy people. You get 2.7% on online spending, or 3% if you spend $300 and up.

Another reason to get this card is that Citibank does a lot of online merchant tie-ups, from online shopping to groceries and food delivery. Stack one of their promo codes with your cashback and you’ll start to see some non-pathetic savings.

How to maximise your rebate: Combine with Citi promo codes for maximum effect.

• Singaporean Minimum Income: $30,000 per year
• Non-Singaporean Minimum Income: $42,000 per year
• Principal Annual Fee: $193
• Supplementary Annual Fee: $96.30
• Fee Waiver: 2 years fee waiver
• Annual Interest Rate: 26.9%

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Want to find out more about the best cash back credit cards in Singapore? Here are some related articles:

Cashback vs Air Miles vs Rewards – Which credit card is best for you?

What to Look Out For When Choosing a Cashback Credit Card

The Best Credit Cards for Petrol in Singapore 2018

 

Tags: Credit Cards, NLW1807P04