DBS Esso Card – MoneySmart Review (2020)

DBS Esso Card gives you fuel rebates when you pump petrol

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.

Citibank logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
LUCKY DRAW | GET UP TO S$18,000 WORTH OF PRIZES
Cash Back on Dining, Groceries & Petrol
Up to 8%
Total Cash Back Cap, per month
S$80
at Shell & Esso
Up to 20.88% savings
MoneySmart Exclusive:

[MoneySmart Giveaway]
Stand a chance to get a Rolex Submariner 124060 (worth S$15,521) or an Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 128GB (worth S$1,664.25) or a Sony PlayStation®5 (SLIM) Digital Edition (worth S$669) when you apply through MoneySmart!
 
Unlock Exclusive Rewards
You can also earn 5,040 SmartPoints or S$300 cash when you apply and meet the minimum spend within 30 days from card approval date. T&Cs apply.
 
Why Choose SmartPoints?
Enjoy the ultimate flexibility to redeem ANY gift at our Rewards Store.
Short on points? Simply pay the difference with cash, and grab your desired gift today!

Valid until 31 Mar 2024

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.

OCBC logo
High Spend on Dining
Cashback on Everyday Dining
5%
with min. spend of $1,600 per month
Unlock up to $160 Cashback
with min. spend of $800 per month
$80 Cashback per month

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.

Citibank logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
LUCKY DRAW | GET UP TO S$18,000 WORTH OF PRIZES
Local Spend
S$1 = 1.2 Miles
All Foreign Currency Spend including Retail and Online
S$1 = Up to 2 Miles
Selected Online Hotel Bookings
S$1 = Up to 10 Miles
MoneySmart Exclusive:

[MoneySmart Giveaway]
Stand a chance to get a Rolex Submariner 124060 (worth S$15,521) or an Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 128GB (worth S$1,664.25) or a Sony PlayStation®5 (SLIM) Digital Edition (worth S$669) when you apply through MoneySmart!
 
Unlock Exclusive Rewards
You can also earn 5,100 SmartPoints or S$300 cash when you apply and meet the minimum spend within 30 days from card approval date. T&Cs apply.
 
Why Choose SmartPoints?
Enjoy the ultimate flexibility to redeem ANY gift at our Rewards Store.
Short on points? Simply pay the difference with cash, and grab your desired gift today!

Valid until 31 Mar 2024

What do you think of the DBS Esso Card? Let us know in the comments!