UOB One Card – MoneySmart Review 2022

Other credit cards have come, gone or been rebranded, but the UOB One Card is still going strong. This entry level credit card used to have a reputation for being one of the best cashback cards in town, with a supposed maximum cashback rate of 5% (that’s since fallen to 3.33%).

But the card is also notorious for its devilishly complicated mechanism and onerous minimum spending. requirements.

Let’s see what the UOB One Card looks like in 2022 and if it’s still worth the effort.

Contents

1. UOB One Card: Summary
2. UOB One Card: Annual Fee, Minimum Income
3. UOB One Card Minimum Spend
4. UOB One Card Cashback Benefits
5. UOB One Card Exclusions
6. How do I maximise my UOB One Card?
7. Does UOB One Card earn UNI$ reward points?
8. Should I get the UOB One Card?
9. UOB One Card Sign-Up Promotion
10. Alternatives to the UOB One Card

1. UOB One Card: Summary

The UOB One Credit Card is a cashback credit card that offers cashback on all almost all types of daily spending.

In theory, this sounds great. No need to worry about spending categories because the card just gives you a cashback on all your spending. However, watch out for the minimum spending requirements, which you must meet for all three months in a quarter in order to qualify for the cashback.

It is not to be confused with the UOB One Account (a savings account) and the UOB One Debit Card (which offers much less generous interest). You don’t need to have either of those to use the UOB One Credit Card.

2. UOB One Card: Annual Fee, Minimum Income

UOB One is an entry level credit card, so you can sign up for it with a salary of $30,000 per year. Here are the card’s main terms and conditions.

	UOB One Credit Card
Annual Fee	$192.60
Annual Fee Waiver	First year
Supplementary Card Annual Fee	$96.30 (free for first card)
Interest Free Period	21 days
Annual Interest Rate	26.9%
Late Payment Fee	$100
Minimum Monthly Repayment	3% or $50, whichever is higher
Foreign Currency Transaction Fee	3.25%
Cash Advance Transaction Fee	8% with minimum fee of $15
Overlimit Fee	$40
Minimum income	$30,000
Card Association	Visa
Contactless Payment	Visa payWave, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Android Pay, Mighty Pay, GrabPay, Google Pay

3. UOB One Card Rebate & Minimum Spend

The UOB One Card used to offer up to 5% cashback on all spending, but its glory days are over. These days, the maximum cashback rate you can earn on uncategorised spending is 3.33%.

Here’s how it works. In order to qualify for cashback, you need to meet a minimum spending requirement every month in a quarter. The first quarter of the year runs from January to March. So, you would need to meet the minimum spending requirement in January, February and March to qualify in that quarter.

If you manage to do that, you will get a lump sum of cashback for that entire quarter.

There are three tiers of cashback, depending on how much you spend, as follows:

Tier	Minimum spend for the quarter	Minimum card transactions for the quarter	Cashback for the quarter	Maximum cashback %
1	$500	5	$50	3.33%
2	$1,000	5	$100	3.33%
3	$2,000	5	$200	3.33%

Let’s say you spend exactly $2,000 in January, February and March. You will receive $200 cashback for that quarter, which translates to a cashback rate of 3.33%.

If you meet the minimum spending requirement of $2,000 only in January and February and then spend only $500 in March, your cashback for that quarter will fall to $50.

4. UOB One Card Benefits

The UOB One Card is probably feeling a bit self-conscious about the fact that its maximum cashback has fallen from 5% to 3.33%. To continue making itself look attractive, it now offers additional cashback in several categories.

Basically, when you spend in one of these categories, your cashback gives bumped up. The actual amount of additional cashback depends on the spending tier you hit that quarter.

You get additional cashback when you spend at these merchants:

Selected merchants for additional cashback	Additional cashback
	Qualified for Tier 1 & 2	Qualified for Tier 3
Dairy Farm International merchants such as 7-Eleven, Cold Storage, CS Fresh, Giant, Guardian, Jasons, Jasons Deli, Marketplace and CART	5%	6.67%
Grab transactions except Grab mobile wallet top-up transactions	5%	6.67%
Shopee transactions except Shopee Pay transactions	5%	6.67%
UOB Travel transactions except online, flight only bookings and taxes	5%	6.67%
SimplyGo transactions	5%	6.67%
Shell transactions	NIL	1.67%
Singapore Power transactions	1%	1%

You add these bonus cashback rates to the base cashback rate you’re getting according to the minimum spending tier you qualify for.

So, if you qualify for minimum spending tier 3 (ie. you spent $2,000 every month in a quarter), you would get a maximum of 10% cashback for Grab rides, Shopee transactions, SimplyGo transactions and Dairy Farm International merchants (3.33% + 6.67%)

Just remember how the cashback mechanism works. Your actual cashback percentage depends on how little you exceed the minimum spending requirement.

5. UOB One Card Terms and Conditions

You can earn UOB One cashback on almost all spending, but there are a few exceptions. Here’s a selection of what you cannot earn cashback on:

• Wire transfer/remittance
• Insurance
• Banking services and payments
• Rent
• Stored value card purchase or loading
• Property management
• Parking
• Gambling
• Hospitals
• School fees and services
• Religious organisations
• Political organisations
• Court costs
• Fine
• Bail and bond payments
• Tax payments
• Government postal services
• Government purchases and services

These exclusions are pretty typical of credit card cashback programmes. Basically, don’t expect to earn cashback when you pay hospital bills, insurance bills, your kids’ school fees, NETS transactions, fines or your latest Singapore Pools bets.

6. How do I maximise my UOB One Card?

The UOB One’s mechanism is different from that of most cashback cards which just give you back a percentage of your spending in cashback.

Instead, you get your cashback in a lump sum. Once you’ve hit the minimum spending requirement in your desired tier, you don’t get any extra cashback by spending more that much – doing so will just lower your cashback percentage. 

So, if you’re aiming to spend $2,000 every month in the quarter to qualify for Tier 3 cashback, don’t go overboard and charge a $30,000 Rolex watch to your card. 

You should also take pains to track your spending and be aware of how much you’ve spent in the quarter. Be careful when it comes to spending that takes place close to the end of the month, as it might be carried over to the next month. When in doubt, call the bank to enquire about your recorded spending for the present or past month.

Also, don’t forget that you need to make at least five transactions on the card each month in a quarter in order to qualify for the cashback!

7. Does UOB One Card earn UNI$ reward points?

The UOB One Card gives cashback, so apparently wanting to earn rewards points as well is too much to ask–your spending on the UOB One Card will not contribute to your store of UNI$.

If you want to earn UNI$, you can turn to these UOB rewards cards instead:

• UOB Lady’s Card
• UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card
• UOB Visa Signature Card

8. Should I get the UOB One Card?

The UOB One Card’s biggest drawback is its mechanism. Having to hit the minimum spending requirement for 3 months in a quarter is quite a burden, and in order to maximise your card you need to monitor your spending to ensure you don’t exceed the minimum spending requirement in your tier by too much.

If you’re the meticulous type and don’t cringe at the thought of having to monitor how much you’ve spent on the card each month, the maximum cashback rate of 3.33% is actually decent considering it’s doled out regardless of spending category. The first tier only requires you to spend $500 per month (every month in a quarter) and still entitles you to up to 3.33% cashback.

The card is probably still the most generous cashback card for miscellaneous spending, and the bonus interest on things like Grab rides makes it even more attractive.

However, if you find that you tend to spend overwhelmingly on just a few types of things like dining or petrol, you might be better off with a card that gives you a higher cashback rate in these spending categories.

9. UOB One Card Sign-Up Promotion

If you’re thinking of signing up for the UOB One Card and happen to be one of the first 100 customers to sign-up in the month of August, you can earn $150 in cash credit. To qualify, you’ll have to spend $1,500 within 30 days of your card approval date. Promotion lasts till 31 August 2022.

10. Alternatives to the UOB One Card

If the UOB One’s cashback mechanism makes your head spin, we don’t blame you. Check out these cards instead:

Citi Cashback+ Mastercard – Get 6% cashback on dining worldwide, 8% at supermarkets and grocery stores worldwide and up to 20.88% fuel savings at Esso and Shell. Minimum spending requirement is $800 per month.

Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Card – 1.5% cashback on all spending with no minimum spending and no cashback cap.

American Express True Cashback Card – 1.5% on all spending with no minimum spending and no cashback cap.

What is your go-to cashback credit card? Share your recommendations in the comments!