Best CIMB Credit Cards in Singapore – Credit Card Reviews 2020

Let’s all be honest and admit that CIMB isn’t exactly the most glamorous bank out there, especially when it comes to credit cards meant to impress people.

But we don’t care, because we believe credit cards should be used for their perks, and not to make up for a lack of stunning good looks. And CIMB happens to have some pretty attractive offerings — especially as their credit cards have no annual fees, ever.

 

Best CIMB credit cards in Singapore 2020

Well, actually CIMB only has 5 credit cards, of which 1 is a super high level cards for ultra high earners, and 1 is for students.

Of the remaining 3 “regular” credit cards, there’s the CIMB Visa Signature, CIMB Platinum Mastercard and CIMB World Mastercard. CIMB recently revised the terms & conditions for the first two, so all the cashback categories and T&Cs in this article are updated to reflect the new changes (which will be effective 5 Jun 2019).

Let’s check out what the 5 CIMB credit cards are like:

CIMB credit card	Min. annual income	Key benefits
CIMB Visa Signature Card	$30,000	10% cashback on beauty & wellness, groceries, online spending, pet shops & veterinary services, cruises
CIMB Platinum Mastercard	$30,000	10% cashback on dining & entertainment, travel in foreign currency, health & medical bills, petrol, taxis/Grab, electronics & furniture
CIMB World Mastercard	$50,000	1.5% to 2% unlimited cashback with no min. spend
CIMB Visa Infinite	$120,000	2% unlimited cashback on travel & overseas spend, 1% unlimited cashback on all other spending
CIMB AWSM Card	$18,000 (none for students/NSFs)	1% cashback on dining, entertainment, online shopping, telco

 

CIMB Visa Signature – 10% cashback for groceries, online, beauty & wellness

The CIMB Visa Signature Card used to be one of the most solid cashback credit cards out there, but effective 5 Jun 2019, it’s just meh.

You get a whopping 10% cash back on 5 bonus categories, but other than groceries, online spending and beauty & wellness, the rest are quite niche (pet-related expenses and cruises).

Beauty & wellness: All local and overseas transactions made at all personal care stores and pharmacies (think Guardian, Watsons and Unity), cosmetic stores (excluding department stores) and hair salons. It also includes massage parlours and spas.

Groceries: All local and overseas transactions made in supermarkets. Online groceries transactions e.g. RedMart are classified as Groceries spending, not Online.

Online spending: All online retail transactions. Excludes insurance, utilities, bills to government bodies, EZ-Link and the other standard exclusions.

Pet shops & veterinary services: Includes all local and overseas transactions made at all pet shops and at veterinary clinics.

Cruise: Includes all local and overseas transactions made for cruise bookings.

There’s a minimum spending requirement of $800, which may be hard for some to hit because they no longer offer bonus cash back for dining and entertainment.

Total cashback is capped at $100 per month, but $20 per category. That means you can spend up to $200 per category; beyond that, you earn the 0.2% base cashback rate.

See the full review of the CIMB Visa Signature Card here.

Key features:

• 10% cash rebate on beauty & wellness
• 10% cash rebate on online spending
• 10% cash rebate on groceries
• 10% cash rebate at pet shops and on veterinary services
• 10% cash rebate on cruise bookings
• To qualify for 10% cash rebate, spend at least $800 in a month
• Cashback capped at $20 per category
• Total cashback cap $100 per month

Essential info:

• Income requirement: $30,000
• Annual fee: None

 

CIMB Platinum Mastercard – 10% cashback on dining, entertainment, petrol

The CIMB Platinum Mastercard plugs the gaps the CIMB Visa Mastercard has missed. It, too, offers a crazy 10% cash rebate, but in different areas — dining, entertainment, travel, health, petrol and transport.

Wine & dine: Includes all local and overseas transactions made at restaurants, bars, clubs and all eating places (including catering), except those located within hotels.

Travel in foreign currency: Applies to all on- and offline travel-related bookings for flights, hotels, tours (travel agencies) and railways transacted in foreign currency (non-Singapore Dollar currency). Excludes cruises.

Transport & petrol: Local and overseas transactions made on buses, trains, private hires, taxicabs and limousines, ferries, and at petrol kiosks. Excludes EZ-Link top ups.

Health & medical bills: The health category includes hospitals, doctors, dentists, optometrists, opticians, chiropractors, pharmacies, nursing and personal care facilities. Excludes government hospitals and clinics though (polyclinic as well).

Electronics & furniture: All local transactions made at Harvey Norman, Best Denki, Challenger, Ikea, Courts and Parisilk only.

The minimum spending requirements are the same as CIMB Visa Signature’s ($800), but it should be easier to hit since you can now swipe for things like dining, entertainment and transport.

The cash rebate structure is the same as the CIMB Visa Signature – $100 total cash back cap ($20 for each category).

Key features:

• 10% cash rebate on dining and entertainment
• 10% cash rebate on travel spending in foreign currency
• 10% cash rebate on transport & petrol 
• 10% cash rebate on health & medical bills 
• 10% cash rebate on electronics & furniture (selected stores)
• To qualify for 10% cash rebate, spend at least $800 in a month
• Cashback capped at $20 per category
• Total cashback cap $100 per month

Essential info:

• Income requirement: $30,000
• Annual fee: None

 

CIMB World Mastercard – 1.5% to 2% unlimited cashback

The main benefit offered by the CIMB World Mastercard is the unlimited 1.5% rebate on retail spending with no minimum spending requirement. For certain categories like wining and dining, entertainment, cars and duty free stores, this goes up to 2%.

This credit card used to have a minimum income requirement of $120,000 a year, but it’s been revised to $50,000 a year recently. That puts it well within reach of many working adults in Singapore.

If you qualify for this card, it’s quite an attractive backup credit card to have on hand for major purchases. Alternatively, you can sign up for this before a huge splurge, such as a big holiday or wedding banquet, which would easily burst the cap on most other cashback cards.

There are also a few other perks, like 50% off green fees at golf courses around Southeast Asia and a few dining deals.

Key features:

• Unlimited 1.5% cash rebate on all spending locally and overseas
• Unlimited 2% cash rebate on wining & dining, entertainment, recreation, automobile and duty free stores
• 50% off green fees at golf courses in Singapore Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea
• Discounts at selected restaurants
• Complimentary travel insurance coverage of up to $1,000,000 when you charge your full travel fare

Essential info:

• Income requirement: $50,000
• Annual fee: None

 

CIMB Visa Infinite – privilege card for priority bankers

The CIMB Visa Infinite isn’t an option unless you have an annual income of at least $120,000.

If you haven’t stopped reading yet, this card is mainly there as a privileges card for rich people. It offers airport lounge passes, a concierge service and discounts at a few dining and retail establishments.

You also get unlimited 2% cashback on your travel, overseas and foreign currency spending, which is nice but comes with a $2,000 minimum spending requirement and can be topped by many other cards out there.

All other spending gets 1% cashback with no cap.

Key features:

• 2% rebate on travel spending, overseas spending and online spending in foreign currency
• Minimum spending requirement of $2,000 a month to qualify for bonus travel cashback
• 1% rebate on other retail spending
• 3 complimentary airport lounge visits at DragonPass lounges worldwide
• Discounts at dining, retail and lifestyle partners worldwide

Essential info:

• Income requirement: $120,000
• Annual fee: None

 

CIMB AWSM Card – student credit card with 1% cashback

If you can overlook the cringe-inducing, hyperbolic name (“Awesome”, geddit?), CIMB’s student credit card isn’t too bad.

For students and NSFs aged 18 to 29, there’s no income requirement. If you’re a working adult under 35, you can also get this card with an $18,000 annual salary, which is significantly less than the usual $30,000 too.

It gives you 1% cashback on dining, entertainment, online shopping and telco bills, with no minimum spend and no cap.

Key features:

• 1% cash rebate on dining & entertainment 
• 1% cash rebate on online shopping
• 1% cash rebate on telco payments
• No minimum spend
• No cashback cap

Essential info:

• Income requirement: None for students or NSFs / $18,000 for working adults under 35 / $30,000 for all others
• Annual fee: None

 

CIMB credit card promotions in Singapore

Other than the sign-up incentives (which change very often; check the CIMB MoneySmart credit card listing for the latest deals), CIMB is currently having quite an attractive promotion for their cashback cards.

CIMB credit card referral promotion (valid till 31 Mar 2020)

Each time you refer a new cardmember for the CIMB Platinum Mastercard, Visa Signature, World Mastercard or Visa Infinite cards, you will receive $50 cash back. For each CIMB AWSM Card referral, you will get to earn a $10 Grab voucher code.

To qualify, your friend will need to fill in your full name and NRIC during application. Read more terms and conditions on CIMB’s official promotion page.

CIMB credit cardholder perks

In addition to the above-mentioned “welcome” discounts, there are perks at selected merchants for existing cardholders to make the most of their cards.

The catalogue changes from time to time. You can check out the latest deals at the CIMB Deals page.

 

What’s your favourite CIMB credit card? Share your recommendations in the comments!