7 Top Credit Cards to Benefit from Pregnancy Costs in Singapore

So you got two red lines on your pregnancy kit! Assuming that’s what you want, that’s an occasion for celebration.

But after the excitement dies down, you’re faced with the rather painful fact that this pregnancy is going to cost you quite a bit of cash—and we’re not even talking about the actual costs of bringing up this new addition to your family.

Your spending during pregnancy & delivery stages will fall into two broad categories as follows: medical costs and baby stuff.

To minimise the damage, figure out what the expenses you’ll have to incur are ahead of time, and then sign up for credit cards that can maximise the cash back, air miles and rewards you get from your spending.

7 credit cards you should apply for when you’re expecting a baby in Singapore

Since you’re going to spend a ton of money, you can also earn a ton of air miles/cashback/rewards points by strategically using your credit cards to pay for the above expenses.

We can roughly divide the above expenses into two categories: medical and retail.

For medical expenses, the best you can do is to find a credit card that offers a good rate on cashback or air miles for general spending. Even better, look for a card that offers great promotional cashback/miles/rewards points conversion rates for a limited time when you sign up, and then apply for it just before you incur the expenses.

1. Amex True Cashback Card

When you sign up for the AMEX True Cashback card, you get 3% cashback on up to $5,000 spent during the first 6 months. After the first 6 months, you get cashback of 1.5% on all spending.

Type: Cashback card (3% on up to $5,000 in first 6 months. after that, 1.5% on all spend)

2. POSB Everyday Card

POSB Everyday is a great no-minimum spend card to own for earning bonus interest on a DBS Multiplier savings account.

You can also get 1% cashback on electricity retailer bills and Starhub telco bill.

For baby purchases, finding the right card depends on whether you’re buying online or offline. You might want to get a separate card for both types of purchases.

When buying stuff offline (as you will probably do for bulky items like prams, strollers and cribs), the Amex True Cashback Card will be useful so long as you make your purchases during the promotional time frame.

Type: Cashback card (up to 3% on medical services)

3. Citi Rewards 

Settle for nothing less than 10x rewards or 4 air miles when you are looking for a suitable shopping card. In this regard, the Citi Rewards card is unbeatable.

You’re going to be buying baby items online, at departmental stores and at retail shops, and Citi Rewards is going to reward you 10X rewards for it.

And if you don’t have a car, you will certainly end up spending more on private ride-hailing when pregnant. This card also offers 10X rewards on ride-hailing expenditure.

Apply for Citi Rewards now on MoneySmart to receive $200 cash via PayNow! Only available for new to bank customers.

Type: Rewards card (10X rewards)

4. OCBC Frank

You have a kid on the way but actually you still feel like a kid yourself. You do almost all your shopping online, and your household expenditure is still quite small. In that case, it isn’t wise to go for something with a high minimum spend requirement.

The OCBC Frank, which is marketed as a young adults card, is still very suitable for you.

You receive 6% cashback on online shopping when you spend at least $400 in a month on offline payments, not including NETS flashpay and auto top-up.

There’s also 5% on weekend entertainment (cinemas, KTVs, cafes, bars, etc.), which reduces to 3% on weekdays. Hey, parents need to enjoy too!

Type: Cashback card (6% cashback on online spend, 3% on weekday entertainment, 5% on weekend entertainment)

5. Maybank Friends & Family

Well, whether you’re having your firstborn or growing your brood, you’ll benefit from a breadwinner card like the Maybank Friends & Family Card, which rewards you 8% cashback for Transport, Groceries and Dining.

The card also gives you 8% on telcos and paid television, which makes it a great card to consolidate all your household expenses on.

Also, like it or not, you’ll be shopping more at shops like Popular, Toys ‘R’ Us and Yamaha and the FF card offers 8% cashback for such expenses!

The minimum spend is a reasonable $800 and the cap is $80 across all qualifying categories. No split caps to worry about.

Type: Cashback card (up to 8%)

Major costs during pregnancy and delivery

Your spending during pregnancy & delivery stages will fall into two broad categories as follows: medical costs and baby stuff.

Medical costs

• Prenatal checkups – Months before you give birth, you will start incurring medical costs. Beginning from around the 16^th week of pregnancy, you will have to go for checkups at least once a month. The frequency will increase as the date of delivery draws nearer. Most mothers-to-be purchase a prenatal package at one hospital, which costs much less than booking individual appointments.
• Delivery – When it comes time to give birth, you’ll have to pay for the delivery costs and hospitalisation, which will likely amount to a four figure sum. A C-section is more expensive than a natural birth, but some people have no choice but to opt for the former.
• Postnatal costs – Once your baby is born, that doesn’t mean the paying stops. Gynaecologist and paediatricians’ bills await as doctors check that you and your newborn are doing fine.

Read also: The Cost Of Having A Newborn Baby In Singapore – Delivery Charges, Doctor’s Fees and Everything Else

Baby stuff

• There’s a whole lot of equipment that has to be bought in preparation for your newborn, from milk-related stuff, including bottles, breast pumps and/or milk powder, to cots, prams, baby food and the list goes on. Most of these items can either be bought at local brick and mortar retailers or online.

What are your biggest financial concerns about pregnancy and having children? Tell us in the comments!