The DBS yuu Card Now Earns You Up to 10 Krisflyer Miles Per Dollar—MoneySmart Review (2024)

The “I want nobody, nobody but yuu” jingle was the bane of my existence last year while I was doing my grocery shopping. There was no escaping the ear-grating ditty constantly blaring in Cold Storage and Giant supermarkets around Singapore, and it made me resolved never to get the DBS yuu Card.

A year later, I am eating my words. While I didn’t have the best first impression of the DBS yuu Card, I’ve since gotten to know what it offers and have to admit it might just be one of the best everyday spending credit cards in the market.

If you can look past the PCK jingles, you’ll find that the DBS yuu Card is a heavyweight. You can earn a whopping 18% cash rebate at merchants like BreadTalk, 7-Eleven, foodpanda, Gojek, and—of course—supermarkets Cold Storage and Giant, where I first met yuu. 

And as of 3 Oct 2024, the DBS yuu Card has gotten even more attractive. You now have the option to convert your yuu Points into KrisFlyer miles to earn 10 miles per $1 spent at the same range of local merchants. That means that whether you’re Team Cashback or Team Miles, the DBS yuu Card has universal appeal.

Looks (and corny jingles) can be deceiving. Is the DBS yuu Card the best cashback and miles card in town, rolled into one? Let’s take a closer look at how its mechanics work and if there’s any catch.

 

DBS yuu Card—Is it MoneySmart?
Overall: ★★★☆☆ (3.2/5) Best for: Honestly, almost anyone. With your choice of up to 18% cash rebate or 10 miles per dollar on everyday local spending, the DBS yuu Card ticks most people’s boxes so long as you frequent the stores on their list. Not hard, since they are everyday merchants. The catch: You do need to spend at least $600 a month to qualify for the bonus yuu Points that bring the cash rebate and miles earn rate up to 18% and 10 miles per dollar respectively.
Pros—What we like			Cons—What we don’t like
– Earn 18% cash rebate OR 10 miles per dollar. Both of these are high rates, and we love that you get to choose. – $600 minimum monthly spend is doable for most people – $600 is also the spend cap for the 26x Points Bonus Award. No trickery here where the spend tiers/categories have different caps that invalidate the rebate carrots they’re dangling. Read more about that in my tips for comparing credit cards (point 7!).			– The corny jingles – The 26x bonus yuu Points might take a while to reach you—up to 60 days after the end of each calendar month. – Upcoming nerf: Fom 27 Oct 2024, you won’t earn yuu Points at all Food Republic and Food Junction outlets. – The eligible bonus spends are merchant-specific, not category-specific. Meaning, you don’t earn 18% cash rebate at just any supermarket—only Cold Storage or Giant.
DBS yuu Card at a glance
Category		Our rating		The deets
Earn rates: yuu Points		★★★★★		– Redeem yuu Points as cash rebate or KrisFlyer miles – Earn 5% cash rebate/2.8 miles per dollar at selected merchants with no minimum spend and no spend cap. – If you spend $600 a month, you earn 18% cash rebate or 10 miles per dollar at those selected merchants instead. – No conversion fees – Merchants include: 7-Eleven, Cold Storage, CS Fresh, Giant, Guardian, BreadTalk, Toast Box, Mandai Wildlife Group, Singtel, Gojek, and foodpanda
Earn categories		★★★★☆
Annual fees and charges		★★★★☆		Principal card: $196.20 (1 year fee waiver) Supplementary card: $98.10 per card
Accessibility		★★★★☆		Minimum income requirement: $30,000 (Singaporeans and PRs) / $45,000 (foreigners) Minimum age: 21 years and above
Extras/periphery rewards		☆☆☆☆☆		Don’t expect lounge access just because you can now convert yuu Points to KrisFlyer miles. This card just earns you cash rebate or miles—but at least it does a darn good job of it.
Sign-up bonus		★★☆☆☆		Get $150 cashback with a minimum spend of S$800 within 60 days of card approval for new cardmembers. For existing cardmembers holding a DBS yuu American Express Card, you can get $60 cashback with a minimum spend of $300 within 30 days. View the DBS yuu Visa Card and DBS yuu American Express® Card pages for the latest promotions.

See our credit card ranking rubric to find out how we rank credit cards.

 

DBS yuu Card—MoneySmart review (2024)

1. DBS yuu Card: Quick facts
2. DBS yuu Card: Earning yuu Points
3. DBS yuu Card: Redeeming yuu points
4. DBS yuu Card: How to redeem or convert yuu Points
5. DBS yuu Card: Which are the participating merchants?
6. Should I get the DBS yuu Card?
7. DBS yuu Card promotion
8. Is the DBS yuu Card really that good?
9. Alternatives to the DBS yuu Card

 

1. DBS yuu Card: Quick facts

Fun fact: the DBS yuu card is actually what the DBS Black Card got rebranded as. One is dark, shiny, and sleek, and the other is…well, marketed with a Phua Chu Kang jingle. Enough said.

Despite the more fun, lighthearted look (and sound), the DBS yuu Card is now packing more of a punch. It’s a rewards card that offers up to 18% cash rebate or 10 miles per dollar in the form of yuu Points. You earn the highest rates at selected stores, such as Cold Storage, foodpanda, Gojek, and more.

It comes in 2 versions: the DBS yuu Visa Card and the DBS yuu American Express® Card. If you’re trying to decide between the Visa or Amex versions, Visa generally has a higher acceptance rate.

Both have the same benefits (that we’ll get into later) and the same fees:

DBS yuu Card fees and charges
Annual Card Fee	Principal card: $196.20 (1 year fee waiver) Supplementary card: $98.10 per card
Late Fee	S$100 (For outstanding balance above S$200)
Minimum Monthly Repayment	3% of statement balance or S$50 (whichever is greater)
Foreign Currency Transaction Fee	3.25%, on top of the prevailing foreign exchange rate determined by Visa
Cash Advance Transaction Fee	8% of the amount withdrawn per transaction or S$15 (whichever is greater)
Overlimit Fee	S$40

The only other difference I’ve spotted between them is that current cardholders of the DBS yuu American Express® Card get to enjoy a $60 cashback bonus with a minimum spend of $300, while current cardholders of the Visa edition don’t enjoy any promotion. As we’ll talk about later, both cards have a welcome promotion for new cardmembers.

 

2. DBS yuu Card: Earning yuu Points

Now let’s get to the juicy bit: how do you earn the promised 18% cash rebate or 10 miles per dollar on your DBS yuu Card? The mechanics aren’t difficult to understand (unlike that for the UOB One Card I recently reviewed, cough cough).

With the DBS yuu Card, you earn yuu Points for every $1 spend. The number of yuu Points you earnper dollar depends on if you’re earning base points or bonus points.

 

Base yuu Points

• 1 yuu Point for every S$1 spent on general spending OR
• 10 yuu Points for every S$1 spent at participating stores
• No minimum spend required
• No cap on yuu Points you can earn

These base points will be credited to your linked yuu account within 14 days from the date of your transaction.

 

Bonus yuu Points

• Additional 26 yuu Points for every S$1 spent at participating stores
• Minimum spend of $600 on your DBS yuu Card in the same calendar month
• Cap of 15,600 yuu Points per month (equivalent to $600 spend)

These bonus points will be credited to your linked yuu account within 60 days from the end of each calendar month.

The $600 minimum monthly spend to unlock the Bonus yuu Points need not be at participating stores. It does, however, exclude the usual stuff like taxes, insurance premiums and charitable donations. 

If you spend $600 on your DBS yuu Card a month, you earn the highest rate of 10 + 26 yuu Points per $1 spend at participating merchants. 

Ok, but so what? How much is 1 yuu Point worth anyway?

 

3. DBS yuu Card: Redeeming yuu points

If you’re interested in using your yuu Points to reduce your next bill at participating stores, you can offset $1 for every 200 yuu Points. In other words, 1 yuu Point is equivalent to a 0.5% cash rebate.

Are you a miles chaser? You can convert 3.6 yuu Points to 1 KrisFlyer mile. Assuming you earned Bonus yuu Points with the 36x multilpier, this works out to be 10 KrisFlyer miles per $1 spent.

So if we crunch the numbers:

$100 spend at participating stores = 3,600 yuu Points = $18 cash rebate OR 1,000 miles

Here’s an infographic from DBS to illustrate the above:

 

Scenario 1: How to earn 10 miles per $1 or 18% cash rebates with $600 monthly spend

Let me put this into a simple example for you to help you understand it better. Let’s say I spend $200 each on foodpanda deliveries and groceries at Cold Storage in a month. I also spend an additional $200 at non-participating merchants. All together, I have spent $600. Here’s how much I can redeem:

What I spent	yuu Points I earn	Equivalent in cash rebate (200 yuu Points = $1 rebate)	Equivalent in miles (3.6 yuu Points to 1 KrisFlyer mile)
$200 at foodpanda	7,200 yuu Points (36 yuu Points per $1)	$36	2,000 miles
$200 at Cold Storage	7,200 yuu Points (36 yuu Points per $1)	$36	2,000 miles
$200 on other purchases	200 yuu Points (1 yuu Point per $1)	$1	56 miles
TOTAL: $600	14,600 yuu Points	$73	4,056 miles

Based on the example above in which you spend $600 a month, you are getting $72 or 4,000 miles out of $400 worth of spending at the participating yuu merchants. That’s 18% cashback or 10 miles per dollar—both of which are at the top of the cashback and miles games. If hitting $600 a month is no problem for you, the DBS yuu Card should be a no-brainer.

 

Scenario 2: How to earn 2.8 miles per $1 or 5% cash rebates with no minimum spend

Now let’s say I spent $200 on foodpanda deliveries, $100 on groceries at Cold Storage, and $200 on other purchases. If you add that up, you’ll find I didn’t hit the $600 monthly spend to qualify for the 36x Bonus yuu points. However, my spending at Cold Storage and foodpanda still lets me earn the 10x base yuu Points that have no minimum spend required.

In this scenario, here’s how much I’ll be able to redeem in cash rebates or miles.

What I spent	yuu Points I earn	Equivalent in cash rebate (200 yuu Points = $1 rebate)	Equivalent in miles (3.6 yuu Points to 1 KrisFlyer mile)
$200 at foodpanda	2,000 yuu Points (10 yuu Points per $1)	$10	556 miles
$100 at Cold Storage	1,000 yuu Points (10 yuu Points per $1)	$5	278 miles
$200 on other purchases	200 yuu Points (1 yuu Point per $1)	$1	56 miles
TOTAL: $500	3,200 yuu Points	$16	890 miles

As you can see when you compare the 2 scenarios, hitting that $600 monthly spend makes a big difference. Thankfully, it isn’t too high a minimum spend to hit.

 

4. DBS yuu Card: How to redeem or convert yuu Points

All your yuu Point conversions and redemptions take place on the yuu app, so go get it if you haven’t already. You can also use the app even without the DBS yuu Card, and the app is free, so there’s no reason not to get it and chalk up some points (in this case, $1 spend = 1 yuu Point earned).

To redeem yuu Points as cash rebate: Just tell the cashier you want to use your yuu Points, and let them scan your yuu ID. The redemption rate: offset $1 for every 200 yuu Points.

To convert yuu Points to KrisFlyer miles: On the yuu app, go to the Me tab on the bottom right > select Transfer to KrisFlyer. 3.6 yuu Points converts to 1 KrisFlyer mile, but you need a minimum of 200 yuu Points for one conversion. There’s no conversion fee.

To redeem yuu Points for rewards: Basically, go exploring on the Discover tab of the yuu app. In particular, the Redeem a Super Duper section highlights merchant rewards that double the value of your yuu Points.

 

5. DBS yuu Card: Which are the participating merchants?

You can find the full list of participating merchants in the DBS yuu Card terms and conditions, clause 8. Here’s a preview:

1. DFI Retail Group (DFI): 7-Eleven, Cold Storage, CS Fresh, Giant, Guardian
2. BreadTalk Group (BTG): BreadTalk, Toast Box, Thye Moh Chan
3. Mandai Wildlife Group: Singapore Zoo, River Wonders, Night Safari and Bird Paradise (only online ticketing)
4. Singtel: SingtelShop! and Singtel Exclusive Retailers
5. Gojek Singapore 
6. foodpanda Singapore: food delivery, pick up, shops and pandamart

At the time of writing, selected Food Republic and Food Junction outlets are also participating stores. However, this is going to be nerfed from 27 Oct 2024.

6. Should I get the DBS yuu Card?

If you live in Singapore and are reading this, probably yes. Thanks to its high cash rebate and miles rates, the DBS yuu Card will appeal to cashback crunchers and miles chasers alike.

Get the DBS yuu Card if you:

• Spend at merchants like Cold Storage, foodpanda, Gojek, and BreadTalk regularly
• Can easily spend $600 a month on your DBS yuu Card
• Want the flexibility to convert your points to cash rebates, miles, or even merchant rewards

Don’t get the DBS yuu Card if you:

• Want to use you yuu Points for miles but don’t fly with SQ or Scoot often. Why? Currently, yuu Points only convert to KrisFlyer miles.
• Want to spend a lot more than $600 a month on this card. The bonus yuu Points max out at a monthly spend of $600, so anything more means your cash rebate/miles earn rates are lower. $600 is the sweet spot.
• Just want cashback to offset your credit card bill and are lazy to convert your points into cash rebate. In this case, get a cashback credit card instead of a rewards one like the DBS yuu Card.

 

7. DBS yuu Card promotion

Convinced the DBS yuu Card deserves a spot in your wallet? These welcome gifts will make the deal even sweeter.

New cardmembers will get $150 cashback with a minimum spend of $800 within 60 days of card approval.

If you’re an existing cardmember and have a DBS yuu American Express Card, you can get $60 cashback with a minimum spend of $300 within 30 days.

View the DBS yuu Visa Card and DBS yuu American Express® Card pages for the latest promotions.

 

8. Is the DBS yuu Card really that good?

Needless to say, 18% cash rebate and 10 miles per dollar are extremely good rates. You do need to spend $600 a month to unlock these rates, but practically any adult in Singapore would hit this anyway. 

Even if you don’t, you’d still be earning fair rates at the participating stores—5% cash rebate or 2.8 miles per dollar. These are very decent rates especially when you consider that you’re earning them with no minimum spend required.

Let’s talk cash rebate first. Most of the time, $0 minimum spend cashback cards fall into the category of unlimited cashback cards and earn you between 1.5% to 1.7% cashback (Standard Chartered Simply Cash Credit Card, Citi Cash Back+ Card, UOB Absolute Cashback Card). One exception is the Standard Chartered Smart Credit Card, which earns you 6% cashback at Netflix, Spotify, fast food joints and more with no minimum spend required.

To get >5% cashback, a cashback card will often require you to hit a monthly or quarterly minimum spend. For example the OCBC 365 Credit Card rewards you with 5% cashback on dining, but only if you spend $800 or more per month. So compared to cashback cards, the DBS yuu Card is exceptional.

Now let’s look at miles cards. These typically don’t have minimum spends, but local earn rates are usually around 1.1 or 1.2 miles per dollar for general spending. Because they are miles cards, the bonus miles are often for travel-related categories.

For example, the Citi Premier Miles Card earns you 10 miles per dollar on online travel bookings via Kaligo and Agoda. The KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card gets you 3 KrisFlyer miles per S$1 spend on dining, food delivery, online shopping, online travel and transport spend…but with a minimum spend requirement of $800 annually on Singapore Airlines, Scoot and KrisShop.

Finally, how does the DBS yuu Card compare to its fellow rewards cards? This is a category of card that could give the DBS yuu Card some real competition. I would consider the following cards in the next section as alternatives to the DBS yuu Card.

 

9. Alternatives to the DBS yuu Card

The UOB Lady’s Card comes with a 2 miles per dollar base earn rate and 10 miles per dollar earn rate on a category of your choice. It also has no minimum spend. However, do note that you earn UNI$ (UOB’s rewards points currency) per every $5 spend, not per $1, which means you’re bound to have orphaned spending that you don’t earn points on.

The Standard Chartered Rewards+ Credit Card is another contender to the DBS yuu Card, and is probably a better choice if you want to use the card for overseas spending too. It doles out 10X Rewards Points per S$1 spent in foreign currency, including online spends, and 5X Rewards Points per S$1 spent in Singapore Dollars for local dining transactions. For this card, 1 Point = 0.29 miles—comparable to the 1 yuu Point = 0.28 miles of the DBS yuu Card.

UOB One Card: For bigger spenders, the DBS yuu Card is not such a good idea due to the bonus yuu Points cap that’s equivalent to a $600 monthly spend. If you spend $2,000 a month, get the UOB One Card for 20% cashback on Shopee, McDonald’s (including McDelivery®), DFI Retail Group (Cold Storage, CS Fresh, Giant, Guardian, 7-Eleven and more), Grab (including GrabFood) and SimplyGo (bus and train rides). Note that 20% cashback is for a limited time—usually this cashback card offers just 10%.

 

P.S. Here’s our MoneySmart credit card ranking rubric

In case you’re wondering, here’s how we decide on our credit card rankings.

Is that credit card MoneySmart? Our MoneySmart credit card ranking rubric
Category	Our rating
Overall	The average rating for the credit card on the whole, calculated from the ratings for the individual categories below. Plus, we’ll give you a one-liner on who we think the credit card is best suited for.
Earn rates: Air miles / Cashback / Rewards points	Air miles ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ / Cashback / Rewards points . This category looks at the depth rather than breadth of earn rates. 5 stars means this card’s got the highest earn rates within that credit card type. 3-4 stars mean it’s average 1-2 stars reflect earn rates that are below average.
Earn categories	This category looks at the breadth rather than depth of your earnings. 5 stars: Earn with ANY spend. 3-4 stars: Earn on a large number of categories (e.g. all dining, transport and retail, but not telco bills) OR earn on 1 very broad category (e.g. all contactless/mobile payments). 1-2 stars: Earn a decent rate only on selected categories, such as fast food only.
Annual fees and charges	5 stars: $0  4 stars: $1-200 3 stars: $201-500 2 stars: $501-$999 1 star: $1,000 and up We dock a star if fee waiver is NOT allowed.
Accessibility	Minimum income requirements: 5 stars: Less than $30,000 a year 4 stars: Around $30,000 a year for Singaporeans and $40,000-$45,000 for non-Singaporeans 3 stars: $30,000-$60,000 a year for Singaporeans, $40,000-$70,000 for non-Singaporeans 2 stars: $60,000-$120,000 a year for Singaporeans, $70,000-$120,000 for non-Singaporeans 1 star: $120,000 and up for either, or both Exclusivity: We dock 1-2 stars if there is/are another category/categories that make the card exclusive and very specific to a certain clientele.
Extras/periphery rewards	These include: Travel benefits, such as airport lounge access Lifestyle benefits, such as spa privileges Dining benefits, such as complimentary AMEX Love Dining or Entertainer with HSBC subscriptions We count the number of benefits and award between 0.5 to 2 stars for each, depending on how good the perk is.
Sign-up bonus	5 stars: The gift(s), cash, or miles are the highest we see out there compared to other credit cards of the same type (miles, cashback, etc). Also easy to attain these welcome bonuses. 3-4 stars: Average but not disappointing sign-up bonus compared to other credit cards. You aren’t losing out. 1-2 stars: You are probably losing out in terms of the welcome bonus you’re getting; there are other similar credit cards with sign-up bonuses that are better or easier to attain.

Check out our ultimate list of credit card reviews for the low-down on credit cards in Singapore.