Issue #29: What’s Happening This Week? SG60 Vouchers Drop, HSBC Revolution Buff, UOB One Nerf

This week in money moves: SG60 vouchers have dropped—and so are electricity and gas prices for some utility bill relief.  Over in banking, DBS is reviving its PayLah cashback programme—just in time for your next hawker meal—while UOB and HSBC are shaking things up on the credit card front, with new bonus caps, reward tweaks, and a few stings in the tail for heavy spenders. Plus, Singaporeans are tightening their belts as recession fears climb, with more of us channelling cash into savings over splurges.

Whether you want a quick digest or a deeper dive, here are the latest headlines and updates to keep your finances savvy this week. Let’s jump in!

TLDR; SG60 vouchers: Singaporeans aged 21 and above can start claiming their SG60 vouchers in July, with $800 for seniors and $600 for younger adults to be spent at hawkers, heartland merchants, and supermarkets. DBS PayLah cashback: Cashback returns from 12 Jul to 27 Sep, offering up to $3 cashback every Saturday at participating hawker stalls, wet markets, and heartland shops for early users. Electricity and gas prices: Prices will decrease from 2 Jul to Sep, giving households modest relief thanks to lower energy and fuel costs. HSBC Revo Up Promotion: From 1 Jul–31 Oct 2025, restores 4 mpd bonuses for contactless and travel-related spending on the Revolution Card, with a higher $1,500 monthly cap. UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card: From 1 Aug 2025, will lower its monthly and category bonus caps, making it harder to maximise rewards across multiple categories. UOB One Card: Increases its minimum spend and transaction requirements from Jul 2025, removes Dairy Farm retailers from bonus cashback, but introduces a new grocery category and raises the monthly cashback cap. UOB Visa Signature Card: Now earns 4 mpd on SimplyGo, but from Sep 2025, the bonus cap will be split between overseas and petrol/contactless categories, reducing flexibility for cardholders. Recession fears and cost of living: Nearly half of Singaporeans expect a global recession within six months, with most cutting back on discretionary spending and prioritising savings as cost-of-living pressures mount.

Psst, missed last week’s issue? View all past editions of What’s Happening This Week? to catch up.

 

Singaporeans can start claiming SG60 vouchers in July

Big news for Singaporeans: SG60 vouchers are here! Starting this July, every citizen aged 21 and above can claim vouchers as part of the SG60 package from Budget 2025.

• Ages 60 and above: Claim $800 in vouchers from 1 July.
• Ages 21 to 59: Claim $600 in vouchers from 22 July, 10am.

To make things smoother, the rollout prioritises older Singaporeans, giving them a head start and extra support with the digital process.

Vouchers are valid until 31 Dec 2026 and can be used at businesses that accept CDC vouchers, with half of the amount set aside for heartland merchants and hawkers, and the other half for supermarkets.

How to claim:

• Go to go.gov.sg/sg60v and log in with Singpass.
• Look out for an SMS from “gov.sg” and a specially designed postcard in your mail, which comes with a QR code for easy claiming.

Seniors can get help at community centres. Remember—stay alert for scams! No banking info is needed.

 For a full guide, check out SG60 Vouchers: What They Are, How to Claim, Where to Use Them.

 

DBS PayLah cashback returns for hawker and heartland shoppers from 12 Jul

More good news: DBS is bringing back its popular cashback programme. From 12 Jul to 27 Sep 2025, PayLah users can get up to $3 cashback every Saturday when they spend at more than 22,000 participating hawker stalls, wet markets and heartland shops.

• The first 160,000 people each Saturday to scan and pay with PayLah from 8am will receive the cashback.
• Look out for POSB Support Our Heartland Shops tags or PayLah Scan to Pay stickers at participating stalls.

That’s not all—over the next 3 months, DBS is giving out around 2 million cashback rewards to support local spending. Plus, there are special deals:

• 60-cent treats for POSB cardholders at selected food outlets until 30 Sep.
• KFC $6 set meals (while stocks last).
• From 1 Aug, redeem DBS Points and POSB Daily$ for Flexi eVouchers and enjoy bonus cashback with eligible redemptions.

Plus, sign up for free sunset sail rides at Marina Bay with DBS, or enjoy local music and films at the Esplanade every weekend.

 

Electricity and gas prices to fall from Jul to Sep as energy costs ease

Good news for households—electricity and gas prices in Singapore will decrease from Jul to Sep, thanks to lower energy and fuel costs.

• Electricity bills: Down by 0.65 cent per kWh (before GST), a 2.3% drop from the previous quarter. For a typical four-room HDB flat, this means saving about $2.36 a month.
• Gas prices: Down by 0.44 cent per kWh, with the tariff falling from 22.72 cents to 22.28 cents per kWh (before GST).

These adjustments were announced by SP Group and City Energy, who review tariffs every quarter following guidelines from the Energy Market Authority. Prices are set based on average fuel costs in the previous quarter, and may continue to fluctuate due to global market changes and geopolitical events.

While the savings may be modest, it’s a welcome relief for many, especially with ongoing uncertainty in global energy markets.

 

HSBC Revolution Card gets a 4-month buff

After nerfs that peppered its 2024 and first half of 2025, the HSBC Revolution Card is making a comeback (for a limited time). HSBC is rolling out the HSBC Revo Up Promotion from 1 Jul to 31 Oct 2025. For these 4 months, cardholders will enjoy the return of 4 miles per dollar (mpd) on contactless spending, meaning you can now earn 4 mpd both online and when you tap your card. In addition, 4 mpd applies to travel-related expenses too, plus comes with a higher bonus cap.

Here’s how the changes stack up:

Feature	Usual (Before 1 Jul)	HSBC Revo Up Promotion (1 Jul–31 Oct 2025)
Bonus earn rate	4 mpd (online spend only)	4 mpd (contactless and online spend)
Monthly bonus cap	$1,000 spend (9,000 bonus points)	$1,500 spend (13,500 bonus points)
Bonus categories	Online spending: – Shopping – Dining – Ride hailing / taxis – Memberships	Online and contactless (new) spending: – Shopping – Dining – Ride hailing / taxis – Memberships – Travel (new)

• Transactions must post by 31 Oct 2025 to qualify for the promo.
• Any spending above the bonus cap earns just the base rate (0.4 mpd).

If you’ve been holding off on travel bookings or everyday tap-to-pay purchases, this is a great window to boost your rewards.

 

UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card nerf: Monthly bonus cap reduced from 1 Aug

Starting 1 Aug 2025, UOB will lower the monthly cap for Bonus UNI$ on the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card (excluding the by-invite-only Metal Card). If you’re a cardholder, here’s what you need to know about the new limits:

Feature	Previously	From 1 Aug 2025
Monthly Bonus UNI$ cap	3,600 UNI$ ($2,000 spend)	2,700 UNI$ ($1,500 spend)
Rewards category cap (per category)	–	1,350 UNI$ ($750 spend)
Bonus UNI$ on Lady’s Savings Account	$2,000 spend cap	$1,500 spend cap
Rewards category cap (with savings)	–	$750 spend cap

If you’re used to maximising bonus rewards across multiple categories, take note of these new limits from August.

Have the UOB Lady’s Card (not Solitaire)? Its rewards remain unchanged, still earning 10X UNI$ per $5 (4 mpd) on one bonus category, with a cap of 1,800 UNI$ per month ($1,000 spend).

 

UOB One Card: Minimum spend raised, Dairy Farm removed, new grocery cashback from Jul 2025

Those with the UOB One Card in their wallets will see several key changes to their UOB One cashback structure starting from Jul 2025. Here’s how the new and old requirements stack up:

	Current	New (Effective from next qualifying quarter)
Tier 1 Min. Spend	$500	$600
Tier 2 Min. Spend	$1,000	$1,000
Tier 3 Min. Spend	$2,000	$2,000
Min. Transaction Count (all tiers)	5	10
Base Cashback (Tier 1/2/3)	$50 / $100 / $200	$60 / $100 / $200
Monthly Bonus Cashback Cap	$100	$120 (from 1 Jul 2025)

Here’s a summary of the changes:

The good

• Higher cashback cap: The monthly bonus cashback cap has risen from $100 to $120 (from 1 Jul 2025).
• New grocery cashback: A new grocery category is introduced for additional cashback—2.67% for Tier 2 and 4.67% for Tier 3 (from 1 Jul 2025).
• Base cashback increased: Tier 1 base cashback goes up from $50 to $60 per quarter, matching the higher spend requirement.

The bad

• Higher minimum spend: Tier 1’s minimum spend requirement increases from $500 to $600 per quarter.
• More transactions needed: All tiers now require 10 transactions per quarter (previously just 5) to qualify for cashback.
• Dairy Farm & UOB Travel removed: No more bonus cashback at Dairy Farm Group retailers (e.g. Cold Storage, Giant, 7-Eleven, Guardian) and UOB Travel from 1 Aug 2025—though they still count towards base cashback.

 

UOB Visa Signature… buff? Nerf? SimplyGo bonus, higher caps, but stricter limits 

The UOB Visa Signature Card is getting a refresh—some perks are getting better, while a few new limits might catch regular users off guard. Here’s what’s changing, when it takes effect, and how it could affect your rewards strategy:

The good

• 4 mpd on SimplyGo: Earn 10X UNI$ per $5 spend on SimplyGo transactions starting 1 Jul 2025.
• Higher bonus cap: Monthly cap raised from UNI$2,000 to UNI$2,400 per category (total up to UNI$4,800), with $1,000 spend required per category.

The bad

• Caps split by category: From your Sep 2025 statement onwards, the combined cap is split—$1,200 spend per category, capped at UNI$2,160 each. You can no longer max out the cap in a single category.
• Less flexibility: Previously, you could allocate the bonus cap between overseas, petrol, and contactless spend as you wished; now, each is strictly limited.

	Benefits (before 1 Sep 2025)	Benefits (on/after 1 Sep 2025)
SimplyGo as eligible spending	10X UNI$ per $5 spend (from 1 Jul 2025)	10X UNI$ per $5 spend (from 1 Jul 2025)
Bonus UNI$ cap per statement	Combined cap of UNI$3,600 (both categories)	Category 1 cap: UNI$2,160 Category 2 cap: UNI$2,160

Category 1: Overseas (including online)
Category 2: Petrol and/or contactless (including SimplyGo)

If you regularly max out your bonus spend in one category, you’ll need to split your spending more carefully from September.

 

Singaporeans brace for recession, tighten spending as cost of living climbs: YouGov survey

With global economic uncertainty and the cost of living on the rise, Singaporeans are starting to re-think their money habits. According to a recent YouGov survey, nearly half of all respondents expect a global recession in the next 6 months—and that’s having a real impact on how people spend and save.

• 45% expect a global recession in the next six months.
• 25% see a local recession ahead; only 18% expect growth at home.
• 83% cite cost of living as their top concern.

While Gen Z and millennials are more optimistic about Singapore’s outlook, older generations are more cautious. Housing affordability is a big worry for younger Singaporeans, while healthcare and elderly care top the list for Baby Boomers.

In response to the uncertainty:

• 46% report a drop in disposable income.
• 26% say they’ll cut back on dining out, 23% on indulgent foods/drinks, and 20% on food delivery.
• Entertainment and luxury spend are also on the chopping block.
• On the flip side, 31% plan to boost savings and 20% are investing more, especially Gen Z.

Despite the caution, not everyone is feeling the pinch—23% (and 28% of Baby Boomers) say they won’t cut back at all. For now, the focus is on saving more, spending wisely, and bracing for what could be a bumpy economic ride.

 

That’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s What’s Happening This Week to keep up with the latest in finance, business, and beyond. 

This article was first drafted with the help of AI and later reviewed and refined by the author.

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About the author

Vanessa Nah likes her finance articles the way she likes her sitcoms—light-hearted, entertaining, and leaving people knowing a little more about life. She believes money—like life—should be made simple. Outside of work, you’ll find Vanessa attending dance classes, fingerpicking a guitar, and fulfilling her life mission to make her one-eyed cat the most spoiled kitty in the world.