Which cashback credit card for 1k online spend?

Here's some options that you can consider for great online cashback benefits. I've compared cards from all 3 major payment processors:

Card 1: Citi SMRT Card (Visa)

• 5% cashback for online spend (0.3% basic cashback + 4.7% bonus cashback. You must spend at least $500/month to qualify for the bonus cashback; the $500/month can be for any spend, not just online).

• Also has 5% cashback for EZ-Link Auto top ups, 5% for Grab/Gojek/Taxi rides, and 5% cashback at all supermarkets/grocery stores

• Capped at $600 cashback per year

• Min. annual income of $30K (Citizens & PRs) to apply

Card 2: Standard Chartered (Mastercard)

• 1.5% cashback (including online spend)

• No min. spend

• No cashback cap

• Min. annual income of $30K (Citizens & PRs) to apply

Card 3: UOB Absolute Cashback (Amex)

• 1.7% cashback on all spend, no restrictions. You can use this for commonly excluded cashback categories like insurance & education payments.

• No min. spend

• No cashback cap

• Min. annual income of $30K (Citizens & PRs) to apply

If you're not a heavy spender, then the Citi SMRT card is a fairly attractive choice. With the generous cashback amounts for online purchases, transport and grocery shopping, it's great for young adults and those with families. Do note that for Citi's card, travel-related online purchases (e.g. flight tickets, cruises, and hotels) are excluded from the cashback scheme. But in our current environment, that exclusion is probably not an issue for most.

If you're a heavy online spender, then the UOB Absolute Cashback would be a better choice. This is probably more ideal for people who will use the credit card for business expenses (e.g. if you're an entrepreneur), on top of personal expenses. This is b/c you would have to spend a lot more using the UOB Absolute card vs the Citi SMRT card, to even begin to match the cashback amount offered by Citi. For instance, to get the maximum $600 cashback per year on the Citi card, you'd need to spend $12,000 per year. For the UOB card, you'd need to spend $35,294.

The UOB Absolute Cashback card was only just launched in May 2021. It's quite common for a new card to be launched with market-beating benefits to attract new sign-ups. Of course, sometimes, these benefits may be changed or reduced slightly after a while to ease cost pressures. If you're looking to get great cashback for online spending, then either the Citi SMRT or UOB Absolute Cashback would be useful choices.

Also, if you're looking for a list of the best SME credit cards in Singapore, you can read this helpful guide: https://www.providecover.com/12-best-sme-credit...

Happy online spending!

Hi Will,

For cashback cards, there are only 2 kinds - unlimited cap but low %, or monthly cap but high %. So if you only want cashback, you have to see for yourself which will be better.

If I'm not wrong, DBS LF cap is $20 per category, or 2% of your $1k spend. If you use a unlimited cashback card, UOB Absolute is the best at 1.7%. You can combine this card with Grabpay card (top up using UOB Absolute, pay with GrabPay) to get up to 2.9% cashback total, which is better than DBS LF.

Otherwise, if you don't mind getting points to redeem cash vouchers (groceries, dining), you can opt for HSBC Revolution or Citi Rewards. They give 10x points / $1 spending on online spending, capped at $1k/month which is just nice for you.

Hope this helps!

Regards,
thefrugalstudent