Are you always late for appointments because you “couldn’t help” but step into every shop along the way? Are your friends and family thoroughly sick of waiting outside changing rooms? Do you know the Uniqlo catalogue so well that you can immediately tell the minute a new item appears in stores?
If you answered yes to any of the above, the Singapore government thanks you for boosting our economy. Here, have a GST voucher.
And before you hit up your favourite mall once again, make sure you arm yourself with the best credit cards for shopping in Singapore. After all, if you’re going to spend money, you might as well earn some rewards points or cash rebates while you’re at it.
5 best credit cards for shopping in Singapore
|
Best credit card for shopping |
Why it’s good |
|
Standard Chartered Unlimited |
Hassle-free cashback with no cap |
|
Citi Rewards Card |
Earn points on online & offline shopping |
|
UOB Lady’s Card |
Earn points on fashion & beauty purchases |
|
American Express CapitaCard |
Free parking at CapitaLand malls |
|
OCBC Titanium Rewards Card |
Earn points for home, electronics & baby stuff |
1. Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Card
- Cash Back on eligible spend
- Up to 1.5%
- Min. Spend per month
- S$0
- Cash Back Cap
- Unlimited
Apply and spend S$250 to get an Apple AirPods Gen 3 (worth S$269) or Nintendo Switch Lite (worth S$279) or S$250 Cash via PayNow. T&Cs apply.
There are scores of cashback cards in Singapore with any number of complicated rules and difficult-to-hit minimum spending requirements. But for a shopping trip with minimum mental strain, a card like Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Card is the simplest to use.
The card gives you a flat rate of 1.5% cashback on everything you spend on, with no minimum spending requirement and no cashback cap. Whether you use it to buy a diamond-encrusted Rolex or shop at Miniso, the cashback rate stays the same.
Of course, 1.5% isn’t that stupendous compared to some other cards’ cashback rates, but at least you know you’ll earn it on everything no matter what.
You also get a welcome bonus of 5% cashback on up to $5,000 worth of spending during your first 3 months with the card. So, sign up before you buy that engagement ring.
By the way, the new Citi Cash Back+ Card deserves an honorable mention here, since it is very similar to the Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Card.
- Cash Back on Eligible Spend
- 1.6%
- Min. Spend per month
- S$0
- Cash Back Cap
- Unlimited
A key difference is that the Citi Cash Back+’s welcome gift is less attractive — they’ll give you 4.5% cashback on up to $5,000 in the first 3 months. But it does offer a slightly more attractive 1.6% flat cashback rate on everything with no minimum spend or cashback cap.
So, which one should you get? Depends on how much you think you can spend during that 3 month period to maximise your cashback.
2. Citi Rewards Card
- Shopping and Online Spend, including Food Delivery and Groceries
- S$1= 10X Points
- Grab and Gojek
- S$1= 10X Points
- All Other Spend
- S$1 = 1 Point
Rewards credit cards let you rack up points when you spend, and then exchange them for goodies in the bank’s rewards catalogue.
Citi Rewards Card is one of the nicer-to-use rewards cards out there. First of all, it’s got a decent earn rate. You can get 10X rewards points (equivalent to 4 air miles per $1) at fashion boutiques and department stores.
The same earn rate applies to online shopping, online food delivery, and ride hailing services like Grab and Gojek. It’s capped at up to $1,000 worth of spending per month.
Rewards points are useless if you don’t have anything to spend them on. Luckily, Citibank’s rewards catalogue is pretty solid — you can redeem Apple products, Amazon points and a decent selection of goodies including wireless speakers, headphones and that hipster gold Casio watch.
3. UOB Lady’s Card
- Base Earn Rate
- S$5 = 1 Point
- Category of Choice
- S$5 = 10 Points
- Min. Spend
- S$0
Apply and spend S$500 monthly for the first 2 consecutive months to get S$200 Cash via PayNow OR Apple Airpods Gen 3 (worth S$269) (First 200 applicants) or S$50 Cash via PayNow (201 applicant onwards). T&Cs Apply.
The UOB Lady’s Card has an interesting mechanism. Every quarter, you get to choose one category in which to enjoy an accelerated earn rate of 10X rewards points (equivalent to 20 air miles per $5 spent), up to a maximum of $1,000 worth of spending.
The six categories to choose from are: fashion, dining, beauty & wellness/family, transport, entertainment and travel.
If you are constantly updating your wardrobe, the fashion category would be a good one to choose, as you’ll earn points at the accelerated rate whenever you buy clothes online and offline.
The beauty & wellness/family category is another one to consider if you’re a makeup and skincare junkie or go for frequent massages, facials, manicures and the like.
Alas, this credit card is open to women only, much to the disappointment of male clotheshorses all over Singapore.
4. American Express CapitaCard
- for every S$1 spent on eCapitaVoucher purchases, capped at S$1,200 monthly
- Earn up to 15 STAR$®
- at participating Merchants at Heartlands CapitaLand Malls, capped at S$1,200 monthly
- Earn up to 20 STAR$®
- at participating Merchants in CapitaLand Malls in Town
- Earn up to 30 STAR$®
CapitaLand malls are unavoidable in Singapore, and run the gamut from central (ION Orchard, Bugis Junction) to heartland (Bedok Mall, Lot One). There’s a good chance you spend a fraction of your own life in a CapitaLand mall without even knowing it.
The Amex CapitaCard lets you rack up rewards points when you shop at CapitaLand malls, which you can then exchange for CapitaLand vouchers which will encourage you to spend even MORE money at CapitaLand malls… and so the cycle continues.
You earn 3X points when you spend at CapitaLand malls, and 4X or 6X points at participating shops in certain malls, valid for up to $1,200 worth of spending per month in each band. Oh yeah, you get a measly 1X point when you shop anywhere else, you traitor.
That’s not all. New customers also receive a bonus of 120,000 points (worth $192 CapitaLand vouchers) if you manage to spend $2,400 at participating merchants in the first two months of using the card.
To encourage you to spend even more time at CapitaLand malls, you get 3-hour free parking each time you manage to spend $1,200 on the card in a calendar month.
5. OCBC Titanium Rewards card
- on Online, Offline, Local and Overseas spend
- S$1 = 10 OCBC$
- with 18,000 OCBC$
- S$50 Titanium cash
- Rewards to Miles Conversion
- 10 OCBC$ = 4 Miles
Torn between online shopping and visiting your favourite malls in real life? This card rewards you for both — you earn 50 rewards points (equivalent to 20 air miles) for every $5 spent on eligible online and retail purchases, as well as an additional 2% cashback at Best Denki.
You are entitled to up to 120,000 points per year, which is equivalent to earning the accelerated rewards rate on about $12,000 worth of spending.
So, what types of purchases are “eligible”, you might ask? Department stores, clothing, accessory and shoe stores, computer and electronics stores and children’s clothing stores are classified as eligible. A bunch of online stores such as Amazon, Lazada and Qoo100 are also on the list.
This card is particularly suited to families who have or are expecting young children and need to spend money at baby or kids’ specialty stores like Kiddy Palace, Motherswork or Mothercare. Swipe the card for your baby-related barang barang and children’s toys, and think of the rewards points as an additional Baby Bonus.
Money tips to maximise your shopping
The easiest way to save money on shopping is to live like a monk, but if living in a cave isn’t your thing, here are some quick tips to help you get more bang for your buck:
- Decide on a monthly shopping budget – Shopping for fun doesn’t have to get out of hand if you allocate yourself a monthly budget for your wants.
- Decide ahead of time which cards to use – Maximise your every dollar by intentionally using a credit card that will reward you for shopping. You might have to switch to another card after you have hit the cashback or rewards cap on one, or opt for an unlimited cashback card for big purchases.
- Sign up for store memberships – Members often enjoy promos and exclusive discounts, so it can be worthwhile signing up at stores that you frequent.
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