DBS Takashimaya American Express Card – MoneySmart Review 2020

The iconic Ngee Ann City at Orchard Road is one of those shopping malls that’s truly stood the test of time even as others have floundered. Its anchor tenant of course is Japanese department store Takashimaya, and both are often used interchangeably. 

There’s lots to like about Takashimaya, from its excellent food hall that houses many delicious specialty food retailers and restaurants, to the department store, which sells everything from cute stationery to designer cookware.

Diehard fans of Takashimaya Singapore might want to consider getting the DBS Takashimaya American Express Card.

Whenever you spend at Takashimaya Department Store, the card rewards you with voucher rebates that you can use to fuel future shopping sprees.

What’s more, Takashimaya Singapore’s annual mooncake fair is taking place online this year because of the pandemic. There may be a chance of a physical fair, albeit on a much smaller scale than before, with a smaller number of vendors and visitors expected to grace the premises. Getting this card in time for your mooncake binge can earn you a decent amount of vouchers and points. Read on to find out more! 

 

DBS Takashimaya American Express Card terms & conditions

DBS Takashimaya American Express Card
Annual fee & waiver	$192.60 (waived for one year)
Supplementary annual fee	$96.30 (waived for one year)
Interest free period	20 days from date of statement of account
Annual interest rate	26.8%
Late payment fee	$100
Minimum monthly payment	3% or $50, whichever is greater, + overdue amounts or amounts exceeding credit limit
Foreign currency transaction fee	3%
Cash advance transaction fee	8% or $15, whichever is greater
Overlimit fee	$40
Minimum income	$30,000 (Singaporean/PR) / $45,000 (non-Singaporean)
Card association	American Express
Wireless payment	Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay

How the DBS Takashimaya American Express Card works

The DBS Takashimaya Amex Card rewards you with voucher rebates each time you spend at Takashimaya Department Store and Takashimaya Square at Basement Level 2.

There are actually two iterations of this card, a Visa and an American Express card. In this review, we’ll be focusing on the American Express card since it offers a more attractive voucher earn rate.

Here are the main benefits:

• Earn 2 Takashimaya bonus points for every $10 spent at Takashimaya Department Store and Takashimaya Square, B2 
• Additional 10% discount at selected Takashimaya sales
• $6 carpark top-up when you charge at least $250 in a day (maximum of 3 combined receipts)
• Free delivery when you spend at least $200 during Takashimaya 10% Promotion Day or $100 on all other days
• Up to 5% discount at Takashimaya Japan, Shanghai, Siam (Thailand) and Ho Chi Minh.

To summarise, each time you shop at Takashimaya Department Store, you earn voucher rebates in the form of Takashimaya Bonus Points. Accumulate 100 Bonus Points and they can be exchanged for a $30 Takashimaya voucher. That works out to a rebate rate of 6%.

You can redeem your Takashimaya gift vouchers or claim your parking privileges at the Customer Services Centre on Level 3.

 

Who should use the DBS Takashimaya American Express Card?

As you are no doubt already able to tell if you’ve read up till here, this is a card meant for people who spend regularly at Takashimaya, whether out of genuine love for the department store or for more mundane reasons, such as working nearby.

To really benefit from the card you’ll want to get familiar with all the offerings at Takashimaya Department Store, from food and household items to travel goods and sports apparel.

Since the 6% voucher earn rate is quite generous and can likely beat out rebates offered by your other credit cards, you might want to shift your consumption patterns to more heavily favour Takashimaya. So, when you’re in town, opt to eat at the Takashimaya food hall and so on.

 

DBS Takashimaya American Express Card promotions

New DBS Takashimaya Amex card members who apply for their card by 30 September 2020 receive $90 worth of Takashimaya gift vouchers (credited in the form of 300 Takashimaya bonus points).

To qualify, charge a minimum of 10 contactless and/or online transactions worth at least $10 within the first month from the card approval date.

Until 30 September 2020, you can also redeem $10 worth of Takashimaya Department Store rebates with every $2,000 you spend outside of Takashimaya Department Store every quarter. Rebates can be used until they expire in the next quarter.

However, DBS’ terms and conditions state that payments to hospitals, insurance companies, banks and government institutions are not counted in the $2,000. 

So unless you’re an extreme shopaholic or regularly spend on air tickets and hotels — which we now can’t thanks to Covid — you’d be better off using other cashback cards for other purchases.

 

Alternatives to the DBS Takashimaya American Express Card

While the DBS Takashimaya Amex Card is probably the best card for spending at Takashimaya, there are some other cards you might want to consider if you don’t want to be limited to one single shopping mall.

UOB Lady’s Card – Earn 10x UNI$ (equivalent to 20 miles) for every $50 spent in one category of your choice: dining, travel, beauty & wellness, family, fashion, transport and entertainment. On all other spending, you get 1x UNI$ (equivalent to 2 miles). Your category can be changed every quarter. 

There is no shopping category, so those looking to use this as a shopping card will probably have to opt for the fashion category. If most of your shopping expenditure is on clothes, this card can be a good alternative to the Takashimaya card as its 10x point earn rate is excellent. Read our review here.

Citibank Rewards Card – This card offers 10x rewards (equivalent to 4 miles) on online and shopping purchases, Grab and Gojek rides and online food delivery, as well as 1x reward on all other retail spending. The rewards aren’t as attractive as the DBS Takashimaya Amex’s 6% earn rate, but there are more ways to earn them. Read our review here.

Standard Chartered Spree Card – This card gets you 3% cashback on all online spending in foreign currency, 2% cashback on online spending in local currency and 1% on retail spending. Its cashback rate certainly pales in comparison to that of the DBS Takashimaya Amex Card’s 6% earn rate, but it’s a lot more flexible and also a lot more straightforward since your cashback is just used to offset your bill in the following month.

 

Do you have an opinion on the DBS Takashimaya American Express Card? Let us know in the comments!