Do you turn to The Tiger when you need to fill up your tank with black gold? Loyal customers of Esso can get rewarded for fuel purchases with the DBS Esso Card.
When you first buy a vehicle, you should immediately sign up for a credit card that offers fuel discounts at the petrol station you’re most likely to patronise. For those who find it most convenient to top up petrol at Esso, the DBS Esso card offers the best upfront petrol discount in Singapore.
The fact that the card is from DBS also comes with a tiny advantage for the millions of Singaporeans with POSB or DBS savings accounts — you can check your balance using the same online platform you use for your Internet banking transactions.
DBS Esso Card terms & conditions
|
DBS Esso Card |
|
|
Annual fee & waiver |
$192.60, waived for first year |
|
Supplementary annual fee |
$96.30 |
|
Interest free period |
25 days from date of statement of account |
|
Annual interest rate |
26.8% |
|
Late payment fee |
$100 |
|
Minimum monthly payment |
3% or $50, whichever is greater, plus overdue amounts or amounts exceeding credit limit |
|
Foreign currency transaction fee |
3.25% |
|
Cash advance transaction fee |
8% or $15, whichever is greater |
|
Overlimit fee |
$40 |
|
Minimum income |
$30,000 (Singaporean or PR)/$45,000 (foreigner) |
|
Card association |
MasterCard |
|
Wireless payment |
18% instant fuel discount NOT applicable for mobile wallet payments like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay |
How the DBS Esso Card works
DBS Esso is a petrol discount card that entitles you to instant fuel discounts, as well as additional savings which will be credited to your credit card account at the end of the month and used to offset your next bill.
Before you start using the DBS Esso Card, sign up at Esso for a Smiles loyalty card. Each time you pay for petrol, hand over your DBS Esso Card together with your Smile card to receive the highest possible discount.
The breakdown of your discounts is as follows:
|
Type |
Discount |
|
Instant fuel discount |
18% |
|
Additional savings |
$7 when you spend $180 on Esso petrol in a billing month |
|
1 Smiles bonus points per litre |
Exchange 750/300 Smiles points for $30/$10 instant fuel redemption |
Technically, the highest possible fuel discount you can receive is 23% in a month. In reality, your actual discount is likely to be lower. However, getting an on-the-spot 18% discount just for flashing your card is still a sweet deal.
Because of the $180 minimum spending requirement to earn that extra $7 discount every month, motorcycle riders or infrequent drivers may not be able to benefit. That being said, the DBS Esso card is still the most attractive option at the time of writing based solely on the 18% instant discount.
Who should use the DBS Esso Card?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that the DBS Esso Card is for people who pump petrol regularly at Esso.
If the only reason you visit Esso is to buy snacks at Cheers, then now is not the time to sign up for the DBS Esso Card. Come back when you turn 18.
DBS Esso Card promotions
New card members who apply for the DBS Esso Card by 30 September 2020 receive $120 fuel savings if they spend at least $180 nett on fuel at Esso every month for 4 months from their card approval date.
If you only manage to meet the $180 spending target for 2 or 3 out of 4 months from the card approval date, you still qualify for $60 or $90 fuel savings.
Your fuel rebates will be automatically credited to your account.
You can also earn Smiles Points to redeem free fuel when you charge all your spending on shopping, dining and more to your DBS Esso card till 31 December 2020.
Alternatives to the DBS Esso Card
As mentioned earlier, the DBS Esso Card is the best credit card to use for pumping petrol at Esso based on petrol discounts.
But for comparison’s sake, here are a few other cards that you can use to get cheaper Esso petrol prices.
Citi Cash Back Credit Card – This card promises up to 20.88% when you fill ‘er up at Esso, including the card’s 8% cash rebate, a 5% on-site discount, 4% Citi Card discount and your Smiles points redemption. All in all, you get a 9% instant discount and an additional 8% rebate if you satisfy the minimum spending requirement of $888 in a month. In terms of petrol discounts, this is slightly less attractive than the DBS Esso Card, but is worth considering if you’d like to use this card for the 8% rebate in other areas (groceries and dining) and need to use it for petrol in order to satisfy the minimum spending requirement.
- Cash Back on Groceries, Petrol & Private Commute
- Up to 8%
- Total Cash Back Cap, per month
- S$80
- at Caltex, Shell & Esso
- Up to 23.64% savings
[MoneySmart x Ascott Travel Like A Millionaire Lucky Draw]
Get S$350 Cash or 5,040 SmartPoints in as fast as 5 weeks when you meet the spend criteria. T&Cs apply. PLUS stand a chance to win up to $6,500 worth of Staycay, Flights and Rewards! T&Cs apply.
Additionally, enrol in our Rollin’ Rewards campaign today and stand a chance to score an additional 7,460 SmartPoints. That’s a grand total of 12,500 SmartPoints if you apply today.
OCBC 365 Credit Card – Get a maximum of 20.2% fuel savings at Esso when you use this card. The catch is that you need to spend at least $800 in a calendar month to qualify for the full discount. But with so many other opportunities to earn cashback, including 6% on dining and 3% on groceries, transport, utilities and online travel, you might be tempted to settle for a slightly lower petrol discount than DBS Esso’s in order to satisfy OCBC 365’s minimum spending requirements.
- Cashback on Fuel Spends
- 6%
- Cashback on Everyday Dining
- 5%
- with min. spend of $1,600 per month
- Unlock up to $160 Cashback
Citi PremierMiles Card – This is a frequent flyer card that’s now offering new sign-ups a generous welcome gift of 37,300 miles. The card itself is so-so in terms of earn rate — you get 2 miles for every $1 of foreign currency spending and 1.2 miles for every $1 spent locally. It also gets you a maximum of 14% off at Esso, including a 5% instant discount, a 4% Citi Card discount and your Smiles discount. Again, not as attractive as DBS Esso in terms of petrol discounts, unless you’re in it for the miles.
- Local Spend
- S$1 = 1.2 miles
- All Foreign Currency Spend including Retail and Online
- S$1 = Up to 2.2 miles
- Selected Online Hotel Bookings
- S$1 = Up to 10 miles
[MoneySmart x Ascott Travel Like A Millionaire Lucky Draw]
Get S$350 Cash or 5,040 SmartPoints in as fast as 5 weeks when you meet the spend criteria. T&Cs apply. PLUS stand a chance to win up to $6,500 worth of Staycay, Flights and Rewards! T&Cs apply.
Additionally, enrol in our Rollin’ Rewards campaign today and stand a chance to score an additional 7,460 SmartPoints. That’s a grand total of 12,500 SmartPoints if you apply today.
What do you think of the DBS Esso Card? Let us know in the comments!
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