Collecting air miles for your jet setting lifestyle sounds sexier than trying to scrounge for cash rebates, but now that Covid-19 has killed travel, most of us would rather get our card benefits in cold, hard cash.
You literally get free money when you use a cashback card, and given that’s there’s no free lunch in Singapore, there’s no way we’re saying no to that.
So let’s see which are some of the best cash back credit cards in Singapore.
Best cashback credit cards in Singapore 2021
Here are our top picks for cashback cards with the highest cashback rates.
|
Best for |
Best cashback credit cards |
|
Unlimited cashback |
Citi Cash Back+, StanChart Unlimited, Amex True, UOB Absolute Cashback |
|
Regular expenses |
UOB One, Maybank Family & Friends, Citi Cash Back |
|
Online Shopping |
DBS Live Fresh, OCBC FRANK |
|
Low or no minimum spend |
Citi SMRT, POSB Everyday |
1. UOB Absolute Cashback
Move over, Citibank, because the new best cashback card on the market is UOB’s Absolute Cashback card. This card takes all the good things about Citi’s Cash Back+ card and adds another percentage point to its rebates — at 1.7%. The only downside? It’s an Amex card, which means that it might be a challenge to find smaller merchants that accept it.
If you do stick to large merchants and put all your spending there, as well as bills, insurance premiums, and the like, you’ll be able to get more mileage than the cards listed below.
2. Citi Cash Back+ Card
- Cash Back on Eligible Spend
- 1.6%
- Min. Spend per month
- S$0
- Cash Back Cap
- Unlimited
Apply and spend $500 to get $350 Cash via PayNow OR an Apple AirPods Pro (worth $379) OR a New 10.2 Inch Apple iPad Wi-Fi 64GB (worth $499)! Only with Citi Credit Cards. T&Cs apply.
Unlike some cards whose benefits require a PhD to figure out, anyone with half a brain can successfully earn cashback on the Citi Cash Back+ Card.
Unlimited cashback cards like Citi Cash Back+ give you a flat cashback rate on everything with no cap. This makes them ideal for big-ticket spending like wedding dinners or home renovations, which would bust the cashback cap on most cards.
The Citi Cash Back+ Card currently plays second fiddle to UOB’s Absolute Cashback card offering 1.6% cashback on all spending. With no minimum spending or cashback cap, there’s virtually nothing that would disqualify you from the 1.6% cashback.
To sweeten the deal, you get 4.5% cashback on up to $5,000 in your first 3 months with the card.
3. Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Card
- Cash Back on eligible spend
- Up to 1.5%
- Min. Spend per month
- S$0
- Cash Back Cap
- Unlimited
Apply and spend $350 to get a FREE newly released Apple AirPods (3rd Generation) (worth $269) or $250 Cash via PayNow. T&Cs apply.
The Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Card is a nice-but-not-the-best-in-the-world cashback card. The card gives you 1.5% cashback on all spending with no cashback cap and no minimum spending.
Despite a slightly lower cashback rate than the Citi Cash Back+ Card, the Stanchart Unlimited Cashback Card has some advantages: for instance, its annual fee is waived for 2 years and you get up to 5 free supplementary cards.
They’re also offering 5% cashback during your first 3 months with the card. Bonus cashback is capped at $250, ie. it is given on up to $5,000 worth of spending.
4. American Express True Cashback Card
- Welcome Offer (min spend of S$5,000 in 6months)
- 3.0% Cashback
- Cash Back Cap
- Unlimited
- Min. Spend per month
- S$0
The Amex True Cashback Card is one of the longest-standing unlimited cashback cards around. It doles out 1.5% cashback on all spending with no minimum spending requirement and no cashback cap.
You can also earn an extra 1% cashback on foreign currency spending if you register the card online.
The card also offers 3% cashback on up to $5,000 worth of spending in your first 6 months of use. Not as generous as Citi Cash Back+ and Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback’s sign up bonuses, but lasts longer.
5. UOB One Card
- Rebate on Shopee, Dairy Farm Group, Grab, SP and more
- Up to 10%
- Rebate Cap per quarter
- S$300
- Min. Spend per month
- S$2,000
The UOB One card offers some of the most generous cashback rates out there, but is reviled for its complex as hell mechanism. Suitable only for those who like a challenge.
The card gives you up to 5% on all retail spending. But in order to earn that amount, you need to spend $2,000 each month for 3 months consecutively. The cashback will then be paid out in a lump sum of $300 at the end of the quarter. That also means that spending more than $2,000 in any given month will lower your cashback percentage.
Can’t spend that much? If you spend $1,000/$500 per month for 3 consecutive months you get $100/$50 cashback, which works out in both cases to up to 3.33% cashback.
If you qualify for any of the cashback tiers, you can also earn an additional 5% bonus cashback at Shopee, Cold Storage, Giant, Guardian, 7-Eleven, Marketplace, Jasons and Jasons Daily, as well as Grab and UOB Travel. In the same vein, you can also get a bonus 1% cashback on your Singapore Power utilities bills.
The UOB One card is indeed generous but once you hit the minimum spending requirements, it is a waste to spend more. So, you’ll need to monitor your spending on the card.
6. Maybank Family & Friends Card
- Cashback on Groceries, Dining & Food Delivery and Transport globally
- Up to 8%
- Cashback on Data Communications, Online TV Streaming, Pets and Retail globally
- Up to 8%
- Cash Rebate Cap per month
- S$125
This is the ideal card to use if you spend your time feeding hungry kids or comparison shopping at NTUC FairPrice.
You get 8% cashback on all groceries (including online grocery delivery), dining and food delivery, transport including bus, train, ride hailing and petrol, and data communication/online TV streaming bills including the local telcos, Netflix and Disney+.
The 8% cashback also applies to a random retail category which includes pet and vet services, POPULAR, Toys R Us and Yamaha Music.
Actually, now that Covid-19 has killed nightlife and travel, Family & Friends is extremely relevant to just about any working adult with or without a family.
To qualify for the 8% cashback, which is capped at $125 per month and $25 per category, you have to spend at least $800 in a calendar month.
7. Citi Cash Back Card
- Cash Back on Dining, Groceries & Petrol
- Up to 8%
- Cash Back Cap per category, per month
- S$80
- From Shell & Esso
- Up to 20.88% savings
Apply and spend $500 to get $350 Cash via PayNow OR an Apple AirPods Pro (worth $379) OR a New 10.2 Inch Apple iPad Wi-Fi 64GB (worth $499)! Only with Citi Credit Cards. T&Cs apply.
Not to be confused with the Citi Cash Back+ Card, the Cash Back Card without-a-plus gives you 8% cashback on groceries and petrol and 6% cashback on dining, provided you meet the minimum spending requirement of $800 in a month.
The total amount of cashback you can earn is capped at $80 each month, which means you can earn cashback on a maximum of $1,000 to $1,333 worth of spending.
8. DBS Live Fresh Card
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- Cash Back on Online Spend & Visa Contactless
- Up to 5%
- Min. Spend
- S$600
- Cash Back Cap
- Up to S$75
DBS Live Fresh has rebranded itself as Singapore’s first eco-friendly card and now offers 5% cashback at certain eco-businesses. Participating merchants include eateries like Open Farm Community and The Summerhouse, grocery stores like Supernature and Everyday Vegan Grocer, and transport services like SG Bike, BlueSG and electric vehicle charging.
Ignoring that greenwashing, the card’s true benefit is actually 5% cashback on online and Visa contactless spending, capped at $20 per month respectively.
This card is most useful for online shopping or to pay for electric car charging or rental, so long as you can meet the minimum spending of $600.
9. OCBC FRANK Credit Card
- Cash Back on Online Spend
- 6%
- Cash Back Cap per month
- S$75
- Min. Spend per month on Total Purchases
- S$600
Don’t be fooled by this card’s rather fluffy branding. It is actually one of the more solid online shopping credit cards out there, offering 6% cashback on all types of online spending, whether for clothes shopping, grocery purchases or your Netflix subscription.
You also get 6% cashback whenever you pay with your smartphone via Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Fitbit Pay or Garmin Pay.
The minimum spending requirement is $600 in a month. You’re entitled to up to $25 cashback on online spending and $25 on in-store spending—that means you can earn cashback on up to $417 worth of online shopping and $417 worth of in-store spending.
10. Citi SMRT Card
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- Cash Back on Eligible Spend
- 5%
- Cash Back Cap per year
- S$600
- Min. Spend per month
- S$500
The Citi SMRT Card has all the glamour of an Ezlink card, but who cares when it’s giving you a generous 5% cash back on groceries, public transportation and online shopping if you meet the minimum spend of $500 a month. Otherwise, it’s a paltry 0.3%.
Total cashback is capped at $600 every 12 months, which works out to $12,000 worth of spending per year.
11. POSB Everyday Card
- Cash rebates on food delivery
- Up to 10%
- Cash Rebates on Utilities and Telecommunications bill payments
- Up to 3%
- Fuel Savings at SPC
- Up to 21.8%
The POSB Everyday Card doesn’t look very alluring, but it’s good enough for life’s basic needs. There is no minimum spending requirement for you to earn 5% cashback at Sheng Siong, 3% at Watsons and Pet Lovers Centre and 1% on utility bills.
If you drive, it also gets you 20.1% savings at SPC — everyone’s favourite cheap petrol kiosk.
Meanwhile, if you do spend at least $800 a month, you can unlock rebates of 10% on food delivery, 5% on selected online shopping merchants, and 3% on dining.
How do cashback credit cards work?
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.
Here’s how they work:
Want to find out more about the best cash back credit cards in Singapore? Compare and apply at MoneySmart!
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