Can You Actually Save Money with a Grab Subscription? Review of GrabClub & Score

We’re well into 2019, and Grab still isn’t giving away promo codes like before. Even now that its rival Gojek is 100% live and already downloaded on our phones.

But…

*dramatic whisper* … what if I told you that there’s a way to get up to 30 Grab promo codes every month, for the low, low price of $19.99 a month?

That’s the new subscription model that Grab has recently rolled out with GrabClub membership, which comes in several forms. To complicate things further, Grab already has an existing subscription loyalty programme in place, called Score. 

So what’s the deal? Can a GrabClub or Score subscription actually help Grab addicts save money? And which is better? All your burning Grab subscription questions, answered.

Grab subscriptions (GrabClub & Score) at a glance

Subscription type	Price	What you get
GrabClub Commute (Lite)	$19/month	$4 off Grab rides (x 10)
GrabClub Commute (Basic)	$59/month	$10 off Grab rides (x 10)
GrabClub Commute (Extra)	$109/month	$10 off Grab rides (x 20)
GrabClub All Access (Basic)	$11.99/month	10% off Grab (x 10) + 20% off GrabShare (x 20) + GrabFood free delivery (x 30)
GrabClub All Access (Premium)	$19.99/month	15% off Grab (x 10) + 35% off GrabShare (x 20) + GrabFood free delivery (x 30)
Score by Grab & NTUC	$29.99/year ($2.50/month)	20% off Grab (x 15) + GrabFood free delivery (x 10)

Read on for the full explanation and analysis of each Grab subscription type.

Note: I’m focusing mainly on Grab ride discounts, i.e. how much you can save on Grab rides with a subscription. So, while most of these subscriptions come with peripheral benefits, I won’t be doing those full justice.

Because of this, I’m also not comparing GrabClub Food Pass in this article, since it’s purely for GrabFood but not Grab rides.

GrabClub Commute Pass (Lite / Basic / Extra)

I’ll start with the most straightforward of the numerous Grab subscription models: GrabClub Commute Pass.

It’s like primary school maths. You simply pay an amount each month in exchange for packs of 10 or 20 Grab vouchers (either $4 or $10 off). This is how much Lite, Basic and Extra cost and how much you can save if you use all the vouchers in each pack.

GrabClub Commute Plan	Lite	Basic	Extra
Subscription fee	$19/month	$59/month	$109/month
Grab vouchers	$4 off x 10 = $40	$10 off x 10 = $100	$10 off x 20 = $200
Actual savings	$21/month	$41/month	$91/month

More importantly, there doesn’t appear to be any further restrictions (such as a minimum spend) on using the vouchers. They apply to most Grab rides (just not GrabShuttle, GrabHitch, GrabCoach or GrabWheels).

As we all know, having a Grab habit is financially on par with being a heavy smoker. If you take Grab to work every day, and it costs $15 a pop, that’s at least $300 on Grab rides a month. Opt for the GrabClub Commute (Extra) plan and you can shave it down to $209, almost ⅔ of that.

Savings for Lite and Basic are less dramatic, but still much better than that of GrabClub All Access (see next section).

Is there a catch? Well, apart from the usual silent auto-renewal, which is the norm with online subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify, I don’t see any red flags.

There’s no lock-in period so you can cancel anytime before the next billing cycle starts, and you can still use the valid vouchers even after you’ve cancelled your plan. However, Grab says that the subscription plans are limited and can be taken down once they’re fully subscribed.

Verdict: Yes, you can save money if you really were going to take those 10 or 20 Grab rides anyway.

GrabClub All Access Pass (Basic / Premium)

Meanwhile, there’s another version of GrabClub called All Access. It’s completely different – and a lot more complicated. Here’s a summary table of the price and benefits for the 2 tiers:

	GrabClub All Access (Basic)	GrabClub All Access (Premium)
Membership fee	$11.99/month	$19.99/month
Grab vouchers	10 x 10% off (capped at $3)	10 x 15% off (capped at $4)
GrabShare vouchers	20 x 20% off (capped at $4)	20 x 35% off (capped at $4)
GrabFood vouchers	30 x free delivery + $15 worth of food vouchers

Source: This A-level Maths exam-worthy infographic from Grab’s press release.

Just by looking at this table, you can tell it’s a complete dud. First of all, it’s not very cool of Grab to bundle in the unpopular GrabShare rides. I also don’t like this “10% off” mechanic. You just end up saving a few bucks on Grab rides each month. Like that where got shiok?!

But that’s missing the point. The best thing about GrabClub All Access passes are actually the GrabFood benefits:

• 30 x free delivery vouchers
• 1 x $10 off voucher (min. order $20)
• 1 x $5 off voucher (min. order $10)

This bundle of GrabFood vouchers is also available as a standalone GrabClub Food Pass, which is Grab’s equivalent to Deliveroo Plus.

But the difference between GrabClub Food Pass ($7.99) and GrabClub All Access ($11.99) is only $4. So if you confirm always order GrabFood but only take Grab once in a while, you might as well get the All Access pass right?

Assuming each delivery costs $3, it takes only 4 GrabFood orders to break even – and that’s not even accounting for the $15 worth of vouchers.

Verdict: Worth it only if you’re interested in the GrabFood benefits. Otherwise, go for the Grab Commute pass instead.

Score by Grab & NTUC

In third place is Score, the subscription programme offered jointly by Grab and NTUC FairPrice. Does that ring a bell? Yup, it’s a wannabe clone of Lazada and RedMart’s LiveUp.

On paper, Score looks like a pretty good deal. It actually gives you more generous-sounding Grab coupons for just $2.50/month, way cheaper than all the GrabClub subscriptions. Plus, got NTUC rebate leh. Which Singaporean doesn’t shop at FairPrice?

Plot twist: It’s actually damn rabak.

You only need to read the Score website to realise that almost every benefit comes with copious strings attached:

• You can only unlock the 15 x 20% off Grab rides coupons after you take 5 full-price Grab rides. EACH MONTH.
• 5% rebate at NTUC FairPrice is only for incremental amounts over $100 in a single transaction. This means: Spend $100, no rebate. Spend $101, you get 5% of $1 ($0.05) back. Real generous.
• Same rules apply for the additional rebates you get with OCBC cards. And the only OCBC cards you can use are NTUC/OCBC Plus! Visa Cards or FRANK Debit Card. I repeat, no bonus rebates for OCBC’s more popular miles or cashback cards like the OCBC Titanium or OCBC 365 Card.
• You get a $5 Qoo10 coupon every month, but only after making one Qoo10 purchase of at least $30 first. The $5 coupon has a minimum spend of $30 as well.
• 20 x GrabFood free delivery is only for orders $20 and above.
• Score membership costs $29.99/year for the first year only. Should you choose to renew your membership (you dumb or what sia?), the fee goes up to $49.99/year.

Yup. It’s like they’re actively trying to make customers unhappy.

I originally wanted to do an illustration of how you can maximise the benefits of this programme, but there’s so many red flags I don’t even know where to begin. (Score members, if you think I’m misinterpreting some of the benefits or there are some good ones that I’ve overlooked, please feel free to let me know!)

Verdict: What do you think? Pay money liao, still must jump through so many hoops. Avoid like the plague lah.

Conclusion: Which Grab subscription should you sign up for?

To recap, here’s a summary of my findings:

• GrabClub Commute plans are the best for straightforward savings on Grab rides. You just pay for a bundle of vouchers, simple as that.
• GrabClub All Access plans are better for their GrabFood benefits than their Grab ones.
• Score by Grab & NTUC is, hopefully, simply a terrible mistake that will be removed from our collective consciousness.

So, who should sign up for which plan? My recommendations below: *cue Star Awards music*

Type of Grab user	Best Grab subscription
Regular Grab riders	GrabClub Commute (Lite / Basic)
Serious Grab addicts	GrabClub Commute (Extra)
GrabFood lover	GrabClub All Access (Basic)
People who make bad life decisions	Score by Grab & NTUC

Would you sign up for a Grab subscription plan? Or just stick to Gojek? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!