Trust Cashback Credit Card—MoneySmart Review (2024)

At first glance, the Trust Cashback Credit Card seems to bring you the best of both cashback worlds:

• Unlimited cashback credit cards let you earn limitless cashback on pretty much all spend categories, but come with a lower cashback rate of 1.5 – 1.7%.
• Bonus cashback category credit cards offer higher cashback rates of 5% to as high as 20%, but only on selected categories.

Then there’s the Trust Cashback Credit Card, which Frankensteins the 2 types of cashback. It offers up to 15% bonus cashback on a category of your choice and 1.5% cashback (for a limited time, 1% from 1 Jan 2025) on everything else.

It sounds awesome. And for certain groups of people, it is. But, as with any credit card (or anything in life!) there is a catch. In this article, I’m going to explain what that catch is and help you figure out if the Trust Cashback Credit Card is a right fit for you.

Trust Cashback Credit Card—Is it MoneySmart?
Overall: ★★★☆☆ (3.3/5) Best for: Frequent travellers who chase cashback instead of miles—they would benefit from the $0 foreign transaction fees and the fact that your bonus category spending applies to both local and overseas spend. Also, frequent shoppers at Caltex, CDG Zig, Agoda, KFC, and Deliveroo would be able to make the most of the partner deals The catch: Due to the cap on bonus cashback you can earn, you won’t be able to earn the 15% bonus the card advertises. To find the real cashback rate you get, you have to consider the minimum spending you have to hit and the total cashback you can earn.
Pros—What we like			Cons—What we don’t like
– Zero foreign transaction fees – Bonus category spending applies both online and offline, in Singapore or abroad. – If you spend all the right amounts in all the right places, you can get over 8% cashback overall. – Instant unlimited cashback, and bonus cashback is credited promptly on the first day of your new quarter.			– You don’t really get 15% bonus cashback—if you spend $2,000 a month, you can only earn bonus cashback on $555 per month. – If you want to earn over 8% cashback, there’s a very specific spend formula to get there. – If you don’t spend on the partner deals, the maximum effective cashback rate you get is only 4.9%.
Trust Cashback Credit Card at a glance
Category		Our rating		The deets
Earn rates: Cashback		★★☆☆☆		– Earn 5%, 10% or 15% cashback on a bonus category of your choice if you spend $500, $1,000 or $2,000 every month for a quarter. – You can change your preferred bonus category every quarter: Dining, Shopping, Travel, Wellness, Transport, Entertainment – Earn 1% unlimited cashback on everything else (1.5% only until 31 Dec 2024)
Earn categories		★★★★☆
Annual fees and charges		★★★★★		None
Accessibility		★★★★☆		Minimum income requirement: $30,000 (Singaporeans and PRs) / $60,000 (foreigners) Minimum age: 21 years and above
Extras/periphery rewards		★★★☆☆		– 20% off Caltex, and get a $12 return voucher after you make 4 transactions of at least $65 – 20% off CDG Zig, no minimum spend, capped at $3 (redeem up to 2 times a week) – 10% off Agoda, capped at $50 per booking with no minimum spend – $2 off per transaction at KFC with $20 minimum spend – 6% cashback on Deliveroo, capped at S$20 per month with no minimum spend
Sign-up bonus		★★☆☆☆		Get up to $3,000 cashback in virtual scratch cards when you apply for the Trust Cashback Credit Card and spend on it. Stand to win $1 million from Trust from now to 31 Dec 2024. Refer friends for 10 additional chances each. View the promotion section below for more information.

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

 

Trust Cashback Credit Card–MoneySmart Review (2024)

1. Quick facts
2. How the unlimited 1% cashback works
3. How the 15% cashback on your preferred category works
4. Why the real cashback you earn is lower
5. Partner deals
6. Should I get the Trust Cashback Credit Card?
7. Trust Cashback Credit Card promotion
8. Alternatives to the Trust Cashback Credit Card

 

1. Trust Cashback Credit Card: Quick facts

The Trust Cashback Credit Card (not to be confused with the Trust Link Credit Card, which is your bestie at FairPrice), is a cashback card that offers 2 types of cashback: 

• Up to 15% bonus cashback on your category of choice 
• 1.5% unlimited cashback (until 31 Dec 2024) on everything else

Unlike most other credit cards, it also promises 0zero foreign transaction fees, no exchange rate markups on overseas spend, and no annual or cash advance fees (though there is interest for the latter).

Trust Cashback Credit Card fees and charges
Annual card fee	None
Late fee	S$100
Minimum monthly repayment	1% of statement balance or S$50 (whichever is greater)
Interest for purchases	Annual: 27.9% p.a. / Daily: 0.077% (on outstanding balance)
Interest for cash advance	Annual: 27.9% p.a. / Daily: 0.077% ( on the amount withdrawn until it’s fully repaid)
Cash advance fee	None
Foreign currency transaction fee	None
Card replacement fee	Waived until further notice (normally S$50 plus GST)

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2. Trust Cashback Credit Card: How the unlimited 1% cashback works

The first part of the Trust Cashback Credit Card works like pretty much any other no minimum spend, unlimited cashback credit card—think the Standard Chartered Simply Cash Credit Card, Citi Cash Back+ Card, UOB Absolute Cashback Card, OCBC INFINITY Card, and so on. It’s the most no-frills type of cashback mechanism out there—earn a fixed percentage of cashback with no minimum spends and no cashback caps.

The catch is that these cashback rates are low. For the Trust Cashback Credit Card, it’s 1.5% until 31 Dec 2024 and 1% from 1 Jan 2025.

How does the Trust Cashback Credit Card compare to the others? Let’s take a look. In the table below, I’m disregarding limited-time promotional rates:

Unlimited cashback card	Cashback rate
UOB Absolute Cashback Card	1.7%
Citi Cash Back+ Card	1.6%
OCBC INFINITY Cashback Card	1.6%
Standard Chartered Simply Cash Credit Card	1.5%
American Express True Cashback Card	1.5%
Trust Cashback Credit Card	1.0%

If the Trust Cashback Credit Card kept its 1.5% as a permanent feature, it would be around the industry average. However, after 2024 comes to a close, the 1% unlimited cashback you’ll earn is relatively low. Since there’s no minimum spend required to earn this rate, you’ll be better off charging your purchases to any of the other cards—especially big purchases that would bust cashback caps on other cashback cards.

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3. Trust Cashback Credit Card: How the 15% cashback on your preferred category works

The most attractive part of the Trust Cashback Credit Card for many might be the juicy 15% bonus cashback it promises. Here’s how it works.

First,  when you sign up for the Trust Cashback Credit Card, you have to choose your preferred category in which you’ll earn bonus cashback both online and offline, both in Singapore and abroad. Select from:

Bonus category	Description	Examples
Dining	Cafes, restaurants, fast foods, bakeries, caterers, food deliveries, and convenience stores	Kopitiam, McDonald’s, Koufu, Foodpanda, Starbucks, Deliveroo, Subway, KFC, Din Tai Fung, Tiong Bahru Bakery
Shopping	Retail outlets, department stores, marketplace, fashion apparels, jewellery stores, watches and accessories	Shopee, Lazada, Taobao, Uniqlo, AliExpress, Takashimaya, Decathlon, Nike, Cotton On
Travel	Airlines, cruises, hotels, and travel agencies	Agoda , Singapore Airlines, Trip.com, AirAsia, Changi Recommends, Jetstar, Resort World Cruises, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts
Wellness	Beauty shops, spa, pharmacies, fitness centres	Watsons, Guardian, Unity, Fitness first, Venus, The Body Shop, Estee Lauder, Innisfree,Nu Skin
Transport	Taxis, ride-hailing vehicles, public transport, car-sharing, car rental, tolls, EV charging, parking and petrol	Caltex, CDG Zig, Parking.sg, SimplyGo, Tada, Grab transport, GetGo, TribeCar
Entertainment	Bars, movies, musical theatres, music stores, and streaming services	Netflix, Ticketmaster, Disney Plus, Cathay Cineplexes, Golden Village, Toys”R”Us, Zouk, Marquee

Once you’ve chosen your bonus category, you’re stuck with it for the next 3 months.

Next, you have to meet a minimum monthly spend in order to earn a certain percentage of bonus cashback:

Minimum monthly spend*	Bonus cashback on preferred category	Quarterly bonus cashback cap
$500	5%	$30 (average of $10 per month)
$1,000	10%	$100 (average of $33 per month)
$2,000	15%	$250 (average of $83 per month)

* You must meet the minimum monthly spend for all months in a quarter to enjoy the bonus cashback.

As you can see, you only unlock the 15% bonus cashback tier if you spend $2,000 a month for all months in a quarter. Not very attainable for most people. More realistically, you’re looking at 5% or 10% if you spend $500 or $1,000 respectively each month.

On the bright side, the minimum monthly spend need not all be in your bonus category. Spending in other categories also counts.

Do also note that the minimum monthly spend must apply to all months in a quarter. Trust defines a quarter as the consecutive 3-month period from when you get your Trust Cashback Credit Card, and not the calendar quarter. For example, if you get the card in February, your quarter is February, March, and April.

You do get a “discount”—you don’t need to hit the minimum monthly spend for the first month you have your Trust Cashback Credit Card. But only the first—months 2 and 3 are still subject to this requirement.

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4. Trust Cashback Credit Card: Why the real cashback you earn is lower

There’s a problem with the reported up to 15% bonus cashback you’ll earn—you may not actually earn it if you concentrate all your spending on your bonus category. Let me explain with an example.

Let’s say your bonus category is dining. You spend $2,000 a month on dining and have unlocked the highest cashback tier of 15%. In total, that’s $6,000 of spending evenly spread across 3 months. This should grant you 15% cashback on the $6,000—a generous $900, right?

Wrong. Because there is something thwarting you: the quarterly cashback caps. Trust imposes a quarterly cap of $250 on the highest bonus cashback tier, meaning the maximum amount of bonus cashback you can earn in a quarter on the Trust Cashback Credit Card is $250. So while in an ideal world where there are no caps, you’d earn $900, in reality you’re only getting less than a third of that bonus cashback.

Total minimum spend in a quarter	Bonus cashback on preferred category	[Ideal] Amount of cashback you earn if (1) you spend exactly the minimum spend requirement (2) there was no cashback cap	Quarterly bonus cashback cap	Effective bonus cashback rate after caps are applied
$500 x 3 = $1,500	5%	$75	$30	2.00%
$1,000 x 3 = $3,000	10%	$300	$100	3.33%
$2,000 x 3 = $6,000	15%	$900	$250	4.17%

Another way to think about it: You spend $6,000 on dining in a quarter to unlock the 15% bonus cashback rate, but you only earn 15% cashback on the first $1,667 of it. This earns you a total bonus cashback amount of $250—the cap imposed.

The remaining $4,333 of your dining spending doesn’t earns you 1% cashback (or 1.5% cashback until 31 Dec 2024). This is the unlimited cashback rate you’ll get on everything else outside of the bonus category, or outside of the quarterly cap.

Assuming we use the non-promotional unlimited cashback rate of 1% (from 1 Jan 2025), the effective cashback rate you can get if you spend $2,000/month on your preferred category is 4.89%. Here’s the math:

From 1 Jan 2025 onwards, based on 1% unlimited cashback rate
Total minimum spend in a quarter	$1,500	$3,000	$6,000
You earn BONUS cashback on	First $600 of spending	First $1,000	First $1,667 of spending
[A] BONUS cashback earned (basically the quarterly caps)	$30	$100	$250
You earn UNLIMITED cashback on	Remaining $900 of spending	Remaining $2,000 of spending	Remaining $4,333 of spending
[B] UNLIMITED cashback earned	$9	$20	$43.33
[A + B] TOTAL cashback earned	$39	$120	$293.33
Effective cashback rate (bonus + unlimited)	2.6%	4.00%	4.89%

By the way, the Trust Cashback Credit Card isn’t the only credit card with cashback caps that disfavour you. Read more about tricky caps, earn rates, spend exclusions and more in my article: 8 Essential Tips for Comparing Credit Cards I Wish I Knew Earlier.

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You only earn 15% cashback if you cap your bonus category spending

The Trust Cashback Credit Card is not lying to you in its marketing. You can get 15% cashback on your bonus category—if you don’t spend too much in it. How much is too much? The cashback cap will inform your spend cap.

In the example above, I went with the most extreme scenario where you spend $6,000 in a quarter on dining. This yields only $250 cashback, which works out to be just 4.9% cashback for $6,000 worth of spending on dining when we were expecting 15%.

It’s a different story if you split the $6,000. Here’s the magic formula: spend $1,667 on dining and $4,333 on other spending. In this case, you earn the exact same amount of $250 cashback. What’s the difference? This time, you’re expecting to earn 15% cashback only on the $1,667 you spent on dining, instead of on the full $6,000. And you do.

The numbers work out to be exactly the same. The only difference is that this time, because you limited your dining spending to $1,667, you didn’t bust the cashback cap and downgrade your remaining $4,333 bonus category spend to the 1% cashback rate. The $4,333 was always only ever going to earn 1%, so you might feel better about this scenario even though your earnings are the same.

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If I limit my bonus category spending, do I still lose out?

Short answer: Yes.

While you can truthfully say you scored 15% cashback on your dining spend, I wouldn’t give myself a pat on the back for that. The reality is that you still needed to spend an extra $4,333 to earn that 15% rate. So, when you consider your total spend and total cashback earnings, these are the highest cashback rates you can get with the Trust Cashback Credit Card:

• 2.6% cashback for $500/month spending 
• 4% cashback for $1,000/month spending 
• 4.89% cashback for $2,000/month spending

Sadly, these are all not great deals.

Yes, you do get a base rate of 1% unlimited cashback while others cashback cards’  base rate is a measly 0.3%. But 1% is not high either.

Yes, you get to choose your preferred bonus category to earn up to 15% and get to change it every quarter. But there are plenty of other cashback cards out there with fixed categories and much lower minimum monthly spend requirements to earn 5% or higher cashback. I’ll talk about them more in the section below on alternatives to the Trust Cashback Credit Card, but for a quick overview:

• Citi Cash Back Card: 8% cashback on petrol and private commute, 6% cashback on dining and groceries, minimum spend of $800 each month. 
• Maybank Family & Friends Card: 8% cashback on 5 bonus categories of your choice with $800 monthly spend.
• Standard Chartered Smart Credit Card: 6% cashback with no minimum spend at fast food dining merchants, coffee and toast merchants, digital subscriptions and on your daily commute (Bus/MRT).

Looking at these 6 – 8% cashback rates with $0 – $800 minimum spend, clearly it wouldn’t make sense to spend $2,000 a month on one card just to earn 4.9% cashback.

Even though you did unlock the coveted 15% cashback rate, this cashback rate only applies to a small portion of your total spending. So don’t be swayed by the juicy 15% cashback promised—4.9% is the real number you’re looking at.

If you want to enjoy a high cashback rate on a bonus category and 1 – 1.5% unlimited cashback on everything else, I suggest you pair a bonus category cashback card with a no minimum spend, unlimited cashback card. For example, if you combine the Maybank Family & Friends Card with the Citi Cash Back+ Card, you get:

• 8% cashback on 5 bonus categories with the former (up to $125/month, which beats the $250 you get over a whole quarter on 1 category with the Trust Cashback Credit Card)
• 1.5% cashback on everything else with the latter

Am I writing the Trust Cashback Credit Card off? Not yet. For it does come with a useful benefit: its partner deals.

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5. Trust Cashback Credit Card: Partner deals

The Trust Cashback Credit Card is your ticket to getting 20% off petrol and taxi spending, 10% off Agoda, 10% off KFC, and 6% cashback on Deliveroo.

There are some caveats—discount/cashback caps at CDG Zig, Agoda and Deliveroo, and the last 3% of the 20% off at Caltex coming to you in the form of a return voucher instead of upfront savings. But all in all, these are great benefits if you frequent these merchants.

Can we make a case for the Trust Cashback Credit Card’s savings if we factor in these partner deals? Trust has done so—let me take you through what they’ve done:

In the example above, Trust is assuming that in 1 quarter:

• [First column] You spent $6,000 in total, of which you spent around $555/month ($1,665 in a quarter) in your selected bonus category to earn $250 cashback.
• [Second column] You spent $965/month ($2,895 in a quarter) on non-bonus, non-partner spending. This earns you 1.5% unlimited cashback, which comes up to $43.
• [Third column] You spent $480/month ($1,440 in a quarter) at Trust’s partners, which also earns you 1.5% unlimited cashback, working out to be $22 cashback. Additionally, you got to enjoy some savings based on your spending at the partners:
  • Caltex: Spent $125, got $21.25 off (17% off)
  • CDG Zig: Spent $45, got $9 off (20% off; assumes the $45 was split into 3 or more rides otherwise the $3 cap would have been hit)
  • Agoda: Spent $180, got $18 off (10% off)
  • KFC: Spent $40, got $4 off ($2 off with $20 minimum spend, assumes the $40 was split into 2 transactions)
  • Deliveroo: Spent $90, got $5.40 cashback (6% cashback)
  • TOTAL: $57.65 (in 1 month) / $172.95 (in 1 quarter)

This is an ideal case scenario with the Trust Cashback Credit Card, in which you don’t spend beyond the cap for your bonus category and also make good use of the partner deals. In total, you have

• Spent: $6,000
• Saved (in upfront discounts or cashback): $250 + $43 +22 + $173 = $488
• Earned cashback at a rate of: 8.1% 

Finally, we have arrived at a cashback rate that’s comparable to other bonus category cashback credit cards. The caveat is that, as mentioned, this is an ideal case scenario where you spend your money in all the right places for 3 consecutive months. 

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6. Should I get the Trust Cashback Credit Card? 

Despite the fact that the best cashback rates for the Trust Cashback Credit Card are difficult to get, there are some people I would still recommend getting the card.

Get the Trust Cashback Credit Card if you:

• Spend at Caltex, CDG Zig, Agoda, KFC and Deliveroo regularly. As explained in the previous section, the savings you enjoy at these merchants are key to making the Trust Cashback Credit Card worth your while with a 8.1% overall cashback rate.
• Plan on using this card overseas. The 0% foreign transaction fees is a big plus and makes the Trust Cashback Credit Card super convenient.
• Spend at least $2,000 a month, of which $555 is on your preferred bonus category and at least $480 is on the partner deals. As mentioned in the previous section, this is the magic formula to get overall cashback rates of 8% and up. Otherwise, other cashback cards will be more worth your while.
• Already have the Trust Link Credit Card and want a consolidated bill—Trust will bill you for your outstanding balance for both cards at once. This is a small plus because this has no impact on your savings. But also, if you’re too lazy to pay 2 bills, you might be too lazy to check the Trust app and monitor your bonus category or partner spending.
• Want cashback fast.
  • You’ll get your 1% unlimited cashback instantly once the transaction is completed and posted.
  • You’ll get your bonus cashback on the first day of your new quarter. For example, if your current quarter is 1 Sep – 30 Nov 2024, your bonus cashback will arrive on 1 Dec 2024.

 

Don’t get the Trust Cashback Credit Card if:

• You don’t often spend at the Trust partners. If you don’t spend at any of them, your best overall cashback rate is only 4.9% for $2,000/month spend.
• You will spend less than $2,000 a month on this card. Your best overall cashback rate is only going to be 2.6% cashback for $500/month spending or 4% cashback for $1,000/month spending if so. Even if you were to add in the partner deals, you’re not going to hit the 8.1% cashback rate that I consider worthwhile.
• Conversely, if you spend more than $2,000 a month on this card. The cashback rate you’ll enjoy will only go down.
• Are too lazy to care about the bonus category spending and spending on partner deals. While the Trust app makes this easy for you, I know some of us only look at our credit card statements once a month—when it’s time to pay the bill.

TLDR: There is an ideal spending breakdown across spend categories for which the Trust Cashback Credit Card becomes worth getting (hello 8.1% cashback!). If you ask me, it’s probably too specific for most people to hit. Cashback aside, a huge plus is its zero foreign transaction fees that make the Trust Cashback Credit Card very convenient for travellers who for some reason are cashback crunchers instead of miles chasers.

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7. Trust Cashback Credit Card promotion

Trust is stacking on the promotions for their latest cashback credit card. The first promotion is for sure-win cashback of up to $3,000.

Sure-win cashback of up to $3,000

When you apply for the Trust Cashback Credit Card and spend on it within 30 days, you’ll receive virtual scratch cards in your Trust app.

1. You first cashback card spend will get you your first scratch card.
2. Spend $500 and receive your second scratch card.
3. Spend $2,000 and receive your third scratch card.

Each scratch card will have cashback of at least $5 and up to $1,000. If your lucky stars all line up, you could earn a total of $3,000 across all 3 scratch cards.

Trust’s “Be a Millionaire” promotion

From now to 31 Dec 2024, Trust is giving away $1 million to one lucky user who applies for their cashback card. To boost your odds, refer a friend for 10 additional chances. In fact, refer many many friends because there’s no limit to the additional chances you can earn.

T&Cs apply.

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ALSO READ: Best Credit Card Promotions in Singapore

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8. Alternatives to the Trust Cashback Credit Card

The Citi Cash Back Card earns you 8% cashback on petrol and private commute and 6% cashback on dining and groceries as long as you spend $800 each month. 

The Maybank Family & Friends Card knocks other “your choice of category” type of cashback cards out of the park, letting you choose not just 1, but 5 bonus categories. You get to earn 8% cashback with $800 spend on all 5 categories, and the caps actually make sense relative to the minimum spend—read about it in our Maybank Family & Friends Card review.

The Standard Chartered Smart Credit Card earns you cashback at a smaller number of fast food dining merchants, coffee and toast merchants, digital subscriptions and on your daily commute (Bus/MRT), but its 6% cashback applies with no minimum spend requirement at all.

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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.

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