Shopping in Singapore – 7 Best Credit Cards for Miles & Cashback (2019)

Does the thought of going to Muji or Uniqlo for the upteenth time spark intense joy? Do you “stop by” your neighbourhood shopping mall on the way home every day, without fail? And do you have crazy strong biceps from all the huge shopping bags you carry?

If you answered “yes” to answer of these, you’re a confirmed shopaholic. High five!

But before you head to Orchard Road, make sure you also arm yourself with the best credit cards for shopping in Singapore. These let you earn air miles, rewards points, vouchers or cash rebates every time you swipe your plastic.

 

7 best credit cards for shopping in Singapore

Credit card	Benefits for shopping
Citi Rewards Card	$1 = 4 miles at dept stores & fashion
OCBC Titanium Rewards Card	$1 = 4 miles at dept stores, fashion, electronics, kidswear
UOB Lady’s Card	$1 = 4 miles fashion / beauty & wellness
UOB Preferred Platinum Card	$1 = 4 miles on contactless payment
Amex True Cashback Card	3% cashback on first 6 months up to $5,000
Amex CapitaCard	3% to 8% rebates at CapitaMalls, free parking
OCBC Robinsons Credit Card	5% rebate at Robinsons, Zara, Marks & Spencer, Royal Sporting House

 

Citibank Rewards Card

The Citi Rewards Card is one of the best rewards cards out there for shopaholics – you get 4 miles for every $1 spent on fashion (clothes, bags and shoes) and department stores, both locally and overseas. (I say miles, but you can also choose to convert your rewards points to vouchers or gifts if you don’t fancy flying.)

There’s pretty high monthly cap of 10,000 points per month, which equates to $1,000 spent. That’s probably a reasonable limit for most people unless you have a serious penchant for designer clothing.

See the full review of the Citibank Rewards Card here.

 

OCBC Titanium Rewards Card

The OCBC Titanium Rewards Card is perfect for young couples and new parents, because it gives you 4 miles per $1 spent at IKEA, Courts, baby/kidswear stores, electronics stores and even Mustafa Centre(!) on top of the usual department stores and fashion.

As a bonus, you get the same rewards earn rate online on all the major e-commerce sites: Lazada, Amazon, Shopee, Taobao and EZbuy.

Go ahead and charge all your baby and new home expenses to this because there’s no monthly cap – there’s just an annual cap of 120,000 points. That’s good for up to $12,000 of spending.

 

UOB Lady’s Card

The UOB Lady’s Card definitely one of the more cringe-worthy cards out there… but as of 2019, it’s become one of my top recommendations for women (yes, it’s only for women) in Singapore.

Instead of being prescriptive (and borderline sexist), UOB has cleverly decided to let users chose their own favourite category in which to get 20 miles per $5 (i.e. 4 miles per $1) spent. Wise move! Shoppers can choose either beauty & wellness, or fashion, depending on your weakness.

Note that you only get points for every $5 spent, so if you buy a $39.90 shirt at Uniqlo, you only earn points for $35.

Read the full review of the UOB Lady’s Card here.

 

UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card

If you’re not a big spender, but your retail therapy takes the form of “little bits of random stuff” (impulse purchases from Miniso, for example), a better option would be the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card.

This card lets you earn 20 miles per $5 when you pay by contactless payment, as well as online shopping. Since Visa PayWave is widely accepted at tons of retailers, this card covers just about everything. Bonus points are capped at 2,000 per month (= $1,000 spent).

See the full review of the UOB Preferred Platinum Card here.

 

American Express True Cashback Card

If you’re looking for cash rebates instead of miles or rewards points, yet are dismayed by how restrictive most cashback cards are, try the Amex True Cashback Card instead.

It’ll give you 3% cashback on up to $5,000 for the first 6 months, after which the rate goes down to 1.5%. Best of all, there’s no need to fuss over any sort of special spending categories – it’s 3% on EVERYTHING. There’s also no minimum spend, which is just as well – no one needs additional incentive to spend money.

See the full review of the Amex True Cashback Card here.

 

American Express CapitaCard

I’m not a fan of retailer-specific credit cards (like the DBS Takashimaya Card and Metro-UOB Card) but the Amex CapitaCard is an exception, because I think most Singaporeans spend a lot of time and money at CapitaMalls.

How does it work? Spend money at CapitaMalls on this card to earn CapitaMall vouchers, so that you can spend EVEN MORE at CapitaMalls! Obviously.

You’ll get the equivalent of a 3% rebate at most CapitaMalls merchants, except preferred “Star-Xtra” merchants which get you 8% rebate.

Also, spend at least $1,200 on this card a month and you get free parking for 3 hours at CapitaMalls all day, every day. Meaning you can keep on shopping and dining at CapitaMalls to your heart’s content.

 

OCBC Robinsons Credit Card

The OCBC Robinsons Card sounds really auntie, and, well, it is lah. But I think it’s a pretty good standby card to have around if you shop at Robinsons, Marks & Spencer, Zara or Royal Sporting House.

It gives you an instant 5% rebate at retailers under the Robinsons Group. The rebate is unlimited and there’s no minimum spend or any other conditions you have to meet.

 

Do you have any money-saving shopping habits or strategies? Share it with us in the comments below.

 

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Tags: Credit Cards, Shopping