Hi! As mentioned, CIMB credit cards have no annual fees (so basically, they're free for life). They may not be the best options for earning cashback, however–here's a breakdown of why:
CIMB Platinum Mastercard & CIMB Visa Signature Card both offer 10% rebates spread across 5 categories, that differ based on the card. CIMB Platinum MC is a bit more "practical"–it rewards dining, medical, transport, travel bookings in foreign currency, and spend with select local electronics & furnishings vendors. CIMB Visa Signature rewards discretionary spending–online fashion, beauty & wellness, pet care, cruise bookings and groceries. In both cases, each category is capped at just S$20 however, which is maxed out with just S$200 spend. This means that, unless you have a consistent and very evenly spread budget across all 5 correponding categories, you're unlikely to earn a competitive amount in rewards.
Here's a practical example–let's say you can reliably max out dining, transport, and even medical (non-hospital) rewards every month with CIMB Platinum MC. For S$600 category spend, you'd earn S$60 rebate, which isn't too bad. However, you'll actually need to hit the S$800 minimum spend requirement to earn the 10% rate. Unless that extra S$200 is spend on furnishings or hotel bookings (_not _made in SGD), you're basically losing out on rewards potential for a massive chunk of your spend.
In this case, Maybank Family & Friends Mastercard may be a better bet. Sure, it's not "free forever," but it has a 3 year fee waiver, followed by a spend-based waiver that's pretty achievable. If you spend your S$800 with Maybank Family & Friends Card instead, you'll earn 8% cashback in even more categories (fast food & food delivery, groceries, transport, petrol, data communications & online TV-streaming), netting a slightly higher S$64/month. You won't need to worry about spending distribution because categories aren't individually capped. And, if you bump your spend to S$1k/month, you'll max out the S$80 rewards cap and simultaneously earn the fee waiver. That adds up to S$960 per year–not too bad at all.
CIMB's unlimited cashback cards are better fit for high spenders (S$6k+/mo budget) who would typically feel limited by capped rebate cards. However, since they're also no-fee, you might want to consider them just for their perks. For example, CIMB Visa Infinite Card is great if you're a frequent golfer or traveller–you'll get 2 free green fees every month at 108 fairways across 16 countries in Asia, up to 3 free lounge visits per year, free travel insurance and discounted limo transfers.
Overall, getting a no-fee card is a give-and-take, and you may be better off looking into credit cards that offer spend-based fee-waivers. In most cases, you can earn a waiver by spending S$1k–S$2k/month (depending on the card), and you'll also earn at higher cashback rates or in more accessible categories. I hope this information helps, and if you're interested in learning more, I've included a few links below with more detailed information.
Hi! As mentioned, CIMB credit cards have no annual fees (so basically, they're free for life). They may not be the best options for earning cashback, however–here's a breakdown of why:
CIMB Platinum Mastercard & CIMB Visa Signature Card both offer 10% rebates spread across 5 categories, that differ based on the card. CIMB Platinum MC is a bit more "practical"–it rewards dining, medical, transport, travel bookings in foreign currency, and spend with select local electronics & furnishings vendors. CIMB Visa Signature rewards discretionary spending–online fashion, beauty & wellness, pet care, cruise bookings and groceries. In both cases, each category is capped at just S$20 however, which is maxed out with just S$200 spend. This means that, unless you have a consistent and very evenly spread budget across all 5 correponding categories, you're unlikely to earn a competitive amount in rewards.
Here's a practical example–let's say you can reliably max out dining, transport, and even medical (non-hospital) rewards every month with CIMB Platinum MC. For S$600 category spend, you'd earn S$60 rebate, which isn't too bad. However, you'll actually need to hit the S$800 minimum spend requirement to earn the 10% rate. Unless that extra S$200 is spend on furnishings or hotel bookings (_not _made in SGD), you're basically losing out on rewards potential for a massive chunk of your spend.
In this case, Maybank Family & Friends Mastercard may be a better bet. Sure, it's not "free forever," but it has a 3 year fee waiver, followed by a spend-based waiver that's pretty achievable. If you spend your S$800 with Maybank Family & Friends Card instead, you'll earn 8% cashback in even more categories (fast food & food delivery, groceries, transport, petrol, data communications & online TV-streaming), netting a slightly higher S$64/month. You won't need to worry about spending distribution because categories aren't individually capped. And, if you bump your spend to S$1k/month, you'll max out the S$80 rewards cap and simultaneously earn the fee waiver. That adds up to S$960 per year–not too bad at all.
CIMB's unlimited cashback cards are better fit for high spenders (S$6k+/mo budget) who would typically feel limited by capped rebate cards. However, since they're also no-fee, you might want to consider them just for their perks. For example, CIMB Visa Infinite Card is great if you're a frequent golfer or traveller–you'll get 2 free green fees every month at 108 fairways across 16 countries in Asia, up to 3 free lounge visits per year, free travel insurance and discounted limo transfers.
Overall, getting a no-fee card is a give-and-take, and you may be better off looking into credit cards that offer spend-based fee-waivers. In most cases, you can earn a waiver by spending S$1k–S$2k/month (depending on the card), and you'll also earn at higher cashback rates or in more accessible categories. I hope this information helps, and if you're interested in learning more, I've included a few links below with more detailed information.
Guide to CIMB Cards: https://www.valuechampion.sg/best-cimb-credit-c...
Review of Maybank Family & Friends Card: https://www.valuechampion.sg/maybank-family-fri...