Singapore’s go-to bank DBS must really want to change up their mundane, workaday image — just look at the snazzy DBS Live Fresh Card. The cashback credit card has a graphic, illustrated card design and fuss-free mechanics to appeal to the millennial crowd.
Let’s see if the DBS Live Fresh Card has the substance to match its style.
Contents
- DBS Live Fresh Card: Summary
- DBS Live Fresh Card: Annual Fee, Minimum Income
- DBS Live Fresh Card Cashback Benefits
- DBS Live Fresh Card Minimum Spend
- DBS Live Fresh Card Exclusions
- How do I maximise my DBS Live Fresh Card?
- Should I get the DBS Live Fresh Card?
- DBS Live Fresh Card Privileges, Promotion
- DBS Live Fresh Card Sign-Up Promotion
- Alternatives to the DBS Live Fresh Card
1. DBS Live Fresh Card: Summary
The DBS Live Fresh Card is a basic cashback credit card, but it’s not one your parents will appreciate. There are absolutely no perks for necessities like grocery shopping, petrol or utilities.
100% targeted at millennials and Gen Z, the DBS Live Fresh Card offers up to 5% cash rebate on online and Visa contactless spend. Everything else earns a measly 0.3%.
Total monthly cashback is capped at $60; adding to that, the cap is further split into 3 categories: $20 for Online Spend, $20 for Visa Contactless Spend and $20 for all other spend.
There’s an additional 5% cashback (capped at $15 a month) for sustainable spending, if you can be bothered to game that. This category includes public transport, bike/car sharing and selected F&B and retail outlets.
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- on Shopping & Transport Spend
- Up to 6% Cashback
- Min. Spend
- S$800
- Cashback Cap
- Up to S$70
2. DBS Live Fresh Card: Annual Fee, Minimum Income
| DBS Live Fresh Card | |
| Annual fee & waiver | $192.60 (waived for 1 year) |
| Supplementary annual fee | $96.30 |
| Interest free period | 25 days |
| Annual interest rate | 26.80% |
| Late payment fee | $100 |
| Minimum monthly repayment | 3% or $50, whichever is higher |
| Foreign currency transaction fee | 3.25% |
| Cash advance transaction fee | 8% or $15, whichever is higher |
| Overlimit fee | $40 |
| Minimum income | $30,000 (Singaporean/PR) / $45,000 (non-Singaporean) |
| Card association | Visa |
| Wireless payment | Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay |
3. DBS Live Fresh Card Cashback Benefits
The DBS Live Fresh Card’s cashback benefits are pretty straightforward:
| Categories | Cashback Rate | Cashback Cap |
| Online spend (dining, entertainment, shopping, fashion, Grab, hotels, etc.) | 5% | $20 |
| Visa contactless payments | 5% | $20 |
| All other spend (phone bills, gym membership, etc.) | 0.3% | $20 |
| Sustainable spend (public transport, eco-eateries, eco-retailers) | +5% (on online spend) | $15 |
The online spend and Visa contactless payments categories are nothing new to most of us. The sustainable spend category, on the other hand, is one that many of us might be unfamiliar with. So let’s dive into a few merchants that qualify under the DBS Live Fresh Card’s sustainable spend category. This includes:
| Sustainable Spend | Merchants |
| Eco-eateries | Just Daobao, Open Farm Community, The Summerhouse, Scaled by Ah Hua Kelong, Restaurant Labyrinth |
| Eco-retailers | Bamboo Straw Girl, Bettr Barista, Bettr Coffee Co., Boxgreen, Confetti Fine Foods, Crunch Cutlery, Everyday Vegan Grocer, Little Farms, Oh My Goodness!, Ryan’s Grocery, Sasha’s Fine Foods, Scoop Wholefoods, Souley Green, SuperNature, The Green Collective, The Nail Social, The Social Space, The Source Bulk Foods, The Sustainability Project, Treatsure, TreeDots, Tribe Collections, UglyFood, WhatIF Foods, Your Sustainable Store |
| Eco-transport services | Anywheel, BlueSG, Bus/train rides via SimplyGO, Electric Vehicle Charging, Greenlots, SG Bike |
If you like to go grocery shopping at atas supermarkets and dine at expensive cafes, you can get an additional 5% cashback on the online spend category with the DBS Live Fresh Card. For the rest of us who stick to NTUC and the kopitiam, you can still benefit from the bonus cashback when you take public transport or use car sharing services.
Besides the sustainable spend category, the other bonus cashback categories – online spend and Visa contactless payments – give you 5% cashback. It’s not exactly anything to shout and scream about. The UOB Evol Card gives you 8% cashback in the same bonus categories.
On top of that, the 0.3% cashback on all other spend is basically negligible and not even really worth thinking about. Overall, the most appealing thing about the DBS Live Fresh Card is its additional 5% cashback on public transport and car sharing services.
4. DBS Live Fresh Card: Minimum Spend
To qualify for DBS Live Fresh Card’s bonus cashback, you have to hit a minimum spend of $600 for each calendar month. To hit the cashback cap on Visa contactless payments and online spend, you’ll have to shell out $400 in each category for $40 cashback.
If you do your due to max out the cashback cap, you’ll automatically meet the monthly minimum spend. Otherwise, you’ll only earn 0.3% on all your spend. Trust me, you really don’t want to see all your efforts go to nought.
In order to avoid that, the following are DBS Live Fresh Card exclusions to keep in mind when you’re using your DBS Live Fresh Card.
5. DBS Live Fresh Card Exclusions
The DBS Live Fresh Card’s exclusions are pretty standard. Here are some of the key transactions which will not qualify for any cashback rewards:
- Insurance payments
- Hospital bills
- Utility payments
- Cryptocurrencies purchases
- School fees
- Parking
- Payments to financial institutions
- Payments to non-profit organisations
- Betting
- Government services
If you were thinking of raking up cashback rewards by charging your bills, parking, and insurance payments to the card…tough luck! We must say, the DBS Live Fresh Card is pretty lenient otherwise.
6. How do I maximise my DBS Live Fresh Card?
With every cashback card, the goal is to earn as much cashback as you possibly can. The highest cashback you can earn with the DBS Live Fresh card is $75. However, in order to do so, you’ll have to spend the following amounts in each category:
| Categories | Cashback Rate | Cashback Cap | Total Spend |
| Online spend (dining, entertainment, shopping, fashion, Grab, hotels, etc.) | 5% | $20 | $400 |
| Visa contactless payments | 5% | $20 | $400 |
| All other spend (phone bills, gym membership, etc.) | 0.3% | $20 | $1,667 |
| Sustainable spend (public transport, eco-eateries, eco-retailers) | +5% | $15 | $300 |
That’s a total spend of $2,767 to hit the maximum cashback of $75. However, the 0.3% cashback on all spend is honestly not even worth it. So, ignore the all other spend category and focus on the online spend and Visa contactless payments categories instead. That way, you’ll also hit your monthly minimum spend of $600.
Altogether, you’ll earn $40 in cashback and up to $15 more if you take the public transport or go to a fancy supermarket.
7. Should I get the DBS Live Fresh Card?
If you haven’t already guessed, the DBS Live Fresh Card belongs in the pockets of Gen Z and millennials who rely on the internet to get stuff done. Even better if you’re a Gen Z and millennial who takes it upon yourself to save the planet.
There aren’t any specific bonus rebates for key categories (like groceries, dining and the likes), but in this day and age, you can pay for everything with just a click or wave right?
If it can’t be ordered online, cardholders can make use of the 5% cashback on contactless payment methods to still earn some rebates when spending on those necessities. But bear in mind — cashback is capped at $20.
Plus, if you take the bus and train with your DBS Live Fresh Card, shop at sustainable grocery stores, and dine at eco-friendly restaurants you get an additional 5% cashback!
8. DBS Live Fresh Card Privileges, Promotions
If you love saving the environment, you’ll love the DBS Live Fresh Card. Not only does it give you additional cashback for sustainable spend, you can also enjoy the following promotions with sustainable merchants:
| Merchants | Promotions | Expiry |
| BlueSG | Free 1-month subscription and 30 minutes rental usage when you sign up for BlueSG Basic Plan (promo code BSGDBS20) | 3o Jun 2023 |
| SG Bike | Free 7 Days Ride Pass inclusive of free first 30-minute trips (promo code DBS7DAYS) | 31 Dec 2023 |
| Ugly Food | 10% off on surprise bundles with a min. spend of $40 (promo code UGLYFOODVISA2122) | 30 Sep 2023 |
| Brush with Bamboo | 10% off on all orders (promo code VISA) | 31 Dec 2023 |
| Bee’s Wrap | 15% off on all orders (promo code VISA15) | 31 Dec 2023 |
And if you’re a lover of mother earth, granted you’d want to travel the world to see the sights and scenes. Here are some of the exclusive hotel and flight deals you can get with the DBS Live Fresh Card:
| Merchants | Promotions | Expiry |
| Agoda | 7% off hotel bookings | 31 Dec 2025 |
| Booking.com | 10% cashback on accommodation bookings | 31 Dec 2024 |
| Expedia | 9% off hotel bookings (promo code DBSSG9)
5% off “Things to Do” bookings (promo code DBSSG5) $15 off on flight + hotel package bookings with min. spend of $500 (promo code DBSSG15) |
31 Dec 2022 |
| Hotels.com | 8% off bookings (promo code VISA8) | 31 Dec 2022 |
9. DBS Live Fresh Card Sign-Up Promotion
If you’re convinced that the DBS Live Fresh Card is one that’ll work for you, sign-up by 31 Jan 2023 to earn $150 in cashback. Wondering how? Here’s what you have to do:
- You must be new to DBS credit cards (or have cancelled yours more than a year ago)
- Apply online through digibank or Myinfo with Singpass, using promo code 150CASH
- Spend at least $800 in eligible transactions within 60 days of card approval
- Promotion ends 31 December 2023
Don’t say no to free cashback!
10. Alternatives to the DBS Live Fresh Card
Almost all the banks in Singapore are fighting over millennial dollars — after all, young Singaporeans have zero brand loyalty (how many credit cards do you have?) and can be easily persuaded to part with what little money we have.
So as expected, the DBS Live Fresh Card has some serious competition. Let’s see how it stacks up against the others:
UOB EVOL Card – Another credit card obviously targeting the same demographic as the DBS Live Fresh Card, the UOB EVOL Card offers a more attractive 8% cashback for online shopping and PayWave transactions, but with the same cashback cap of $60.
OCBC FRANK Card – Similar to DBS offerings, the OCBC FRANK Card lets you earn 6% on online shopping and mobile contactless (Apple Pay etc.) payments. The same minimum spend of $600 applies, but the cap is higher at $75.
- Cash Back
- Up to 10%
- Cash Back Cap per month
- S$100
- Min. Spend per month on Total Purchases
- S$800
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