Credit card recommendation for a fresh grad please, thanks!

Context: I am out at work with an approximate salary of 2.4k net. I'd like to get a credit card for myself, but am uncertain which one I should get for myself. In the short term future, most of my expenses will be going to insurance (~$300+) and paying off my uni loans. Based on my budget, there could be some months when my eligible spendings do not hit $500 (grocery and food combined), which are some cards' minimum spending.

I am torn between

1) cashback cards with no minimum spending, many eligible spendings, but low cashback, or

2) krisflyer mile cards, where most spendings are eligible.

Just here for insights. Thanks.

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thesingaporeapprentice

Edited 18 Aug 2021

Hi, if you can hit a monthly minimum spending of $500, I will strongly recommend you to get the Citi Bank SMRT card which has a 5% cashback on online spending, groceries and EZlink top-ups. These categories are essentially what most young adults spend their money on and thus the cashback of 5% is very high compared to most other cards which offers only 1 to 3%. More importantly, there is NO cap on monthly cashback and the annual cashback is $600. There are many other credit cards out there that offer 8% or 10% cashback on various categories but they have monthly caps of $20 on each category but still have minimum spending on $600 (like UOB YOLO). Therefore, you will might not be getting the full 8% as you will only be enjoying it for the first (20/0.08=$250) expenditure. Be very careful of those cards and ALWAYS read the Terms & Conditions.

If you are more of a saver (and don't think you will hit the minimum monthly spending of $500), I will recommend that you get an unlimited cashback card. The issue with credit cards with a minimum spending is that you will often encourage yourself to make more purchase as you want to hit the minimum spending. This leads to a lot of impulse purchases. Most unlimited cashback cards have no minimum spending but the downside is that the cashback is very low about 1 to 2%.

There are a few other cards that are also worth mentioning like POSB Everyday Savings which gives you a 5% rebate on Sheng Siong purchases with no minimum spending and Standard Chartered Credit Card which gives you a 2% cashback on local online spending. There are many more that I can share but I think it will be more helpful if you can find what you mostly spend on and find the card that fits your needs and spending habits.

As for me, as I am a strong online shopper and grocery spender (I seldom eat out as I enjoy cooking), the Citi Bank SMRT card is my choice of card. I will also often help my family members make their purchases to hit the minimum spending and also get a high cashback of 5%.

Hope this helps! If you need any more suggestions, you can drop me a reply or message, and I will be glad to help!

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Jing Hao

12 Aug 2021

In my opinion, cashback cards are easier for a start. For krisflyer cards you probably need to deal with alot of other stuffs such as krisflyer membership fee, credit miles expiry, krisflyer miles expiry, krisflyer conversion fee, etc. I think what HSBC revolution offer is quite attractive, but you will probably need to deal with the above. Else, DBS Altitude Card or Citi PremierMiles Card will be good as you don't have to worry about miles expiry and can keep on clocking until you have sufficient points to redeem a good deal.

For the part on cashback card, yes its true that you probably only get low cashback if you can't hit the minimum spending. In the other comment from thefrugalstudent mentioned about AMEX/grabpay combo, which is quite a good way for you to earn more rewards.

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