Best rewards credit cards in Singapore (2022): Citibank, OCBC and DBS

If you love collecting points and redeeming them, then a rewards credit card will give you some added life satisfaction.

These days, there's a lot more in banks' rewards catalogues than boring old NTUC vouchers – you can redeem anything from dining vouchers at fancy-schmancy restaurants, to Amazon credit to cash rebates.

And of course, they're a good way to earn air miles with your day-to-day local spending, now that we're all finally free from the Covid-19 travel restrictions.

Best rewards credit cards in Singapore 2022

With the sheer amount of credit cards out there, looking into each one and comparing one against the other can be dizzying.

If you're looking for a rewards that will help you accumulate reward points on the various spending categories like online spend, day-to-day expenses, and overseas spend, we've saved you the headache by compiling the best rewards credit cards:

We derived at this list by comparing the bonus spend category, the bonus earn rate for spend in those categories, the cap on how much you can spend on the bonus categories, and the expiry of the points you accumulate.

All the credit cards mentioned on the list are also ones that are accessible to most of us with regular paying jobs. Let's dive into the details:

Citibank Rewards Card

Key features:

• 10x rewards on all online purchases (excludes travel-related transactions). Bank's T&Cs apply
• 10x rewards on ride-hailing, shopping and online spends. T&Cs apply
• 10x Citi Rewards programme gives you an additional bonus of 9x reward points per $1 spend on eligible categories on top of the base rate
• 10x rewards capped at 10,000 points per statement month and expires every five years
• With Citi PayAll, you can earn and accumulate Citi Miles, Citi ThankYou PointsSM or Cash Back quickly when you pay your big-ticket bills such as rent, insurance premiums, education expenses, taxes, utilities and more

When you get a rewards card, you definitely want to have a browse of the bank's rewards catalogue to know exactly what you're signing up for. 

The Citi Rewards catalogue is filled with things you would actually want to spend your hard-earned points on, from Apple products to Amazon Points.

So don't worry about having to begrudgingly exchange your points for Popular Bookshop vouchers.

At the moment, the Citi Rewards Card offers 10x rewards (or four miles per $1) on online and in-store shopping, Grab/Gojek rides, food delivery and online groceries, making it a decent card for everyday expenses and also perfect fort those who buy everything online.

However, there's also a monthly expenditure cap of $1,000 on the 10x points, so don't go too crazy.

OCBC Titanium Card

Key features:

• 10x OCBC$ (10 points or four miles) for every $1 spent on clothes, shoes, bags, department stores, kids wear, electronic gadgets, online, offline, locally and overseas
• Cathay Cineplexes offers: $8.50/$11 on movie tickets
• Up to 16 per cent discount at Caltex and Esso stations
• Complimentary JetQuay Quayside single trip service and discounted trip service
• Enjoy exclusive access at US$27 (S$37.72) per visit per person to more than 800 lounges regardless of the airline
• First two years fee waiver for principle & supplementary card members

OCBC Titanium offers 50 rewards points (or four miles) for every $5 spent on eligible online and retail purchases, and five points on all other spending.

While 50 rewards points for every $5 spent might have gotten you wide-eyed, there's an annual cap of 120,000 points  that you can earn in the bonus categories. This is equivalent to a spend cap of about $120,000 annually.

An addition perk of the card is that you also get two per cent cash rebate when you shop at Best Denki.

You only enjoy the maximum earn rate if you spend at a store on their list of merchants, so it pays to check beforehand.

You can earn 50 points per $5 at department stores like Takashimaya, Tangs and Isetan, clothing brands like Zara, H&M, Uniqlo, Cotton On and Charles & Keith, and electronics stores like Apple, Best Denki and Harvey Norman, as well as online marketplaces like Amazon and Alibaba.

OCBC rewards are extremely bare bones. You're basically forced to choose between air miles and cash.

DBSWoman's Card

Key features:

• 5x DBS points per $5 online spend
• Online shopping promotions with Fayth, Her Velvet Vase, The Closet Lover, Senreve etc.
• Beauty deals with Laneige, Skin Inc, Strip, Browhaus, High Brow etc.
• Staycation hotel deals with Agoda and Klook
• Activate SimplyGo to use your card as an EZ-Link. Bus and MRT fares are charged directly to your card, so you don't have to set up auto top-up arrangements
• DBS points earned can be redeemed for Apple products via the DBS Apple Rewards Store, NTUC, and Takashimaya vouchers, Golden Village movie tickets, and more

If all your transactions now take place online, the DBS Woman's Card is a good rewards card to have as it offers 5x points (or 10 miles) for every $5 you spend on online.

Do note that the DBS points are awarded in blocks of $5 spent and the 5x bonus points only apply to the first $1,000 you spend online in a calendar month.

If you have an income of at least $80,000 per annum, skip the DBS Woman's Card and sign up for the DBS Woman's World Card instead.

The card gives you 10x points (or 20 miles) on online purchases, 3x points (or six miles) on overseas purchases and 1x points (or two miles) on other purchases. It also has twice the spend cap of the DBS Woman's Card.

You'll earn bonus DBS points on the first $2,000 you spend online in a calendar month.

The card's definition of online spending is extremely broad, and includes everything from online grocery delivery to GrabPay credits.

So, in essence, the card could potentially reward you for the bulk of your spending. Even if you're making a modest annual income, the DBS Woman's Card is still a great way to earn points from carting out online.

On the downside, the DBS rewards points are the fastest to expire in a year compared to the other rewards' credit cards.

However, if you grocery shop for your household, you can redeem those points every now and then for NTUC vouchers which will come in very handy.

Standard Chartered Rewards+ Card

Key features:

• 10x Rewards Points per $1 spent in foreign currency, including online spends
• 5x Rewards Points per $1 spent in Singapore dollars for local dining transactions
• 1x Rewards Points per $1 on all other spends
• Two years annual fee waiver, no minimum spend required

The Standard Chartered Rewards+ Card is marketed as an overseas spending rewards card, which is fantastic now that you can finally travel after 2 long years of being holed up in the little red dot.

You get up to 10x rewards points (or 2.9 miles per $1) on overseas retail, dining and travel. If you're in the midst of planning your holidays, you'll want to bring your Standard Chartered Rewards+ Card with you.

If you haven't been touched by the travel bug, the card might not be of much use to you but it does have a side perk: 5x rewards points (or 1.45 miles per $1) on local dining.

Great if you're the kind who likes to spend your travel budget on glorious food, because what else is there to do here? Look out for the low annual cap of 20,000 points, though.

However, if you do have a big-ticket expense coming up, rewards cards that accumulate bonus points with an annual (rather than monthly) cap will allow you to earn bonus points on the full amount that you spend.

For instance, if you buy a new sofa online worth $3,000, the DBS Woman's Card will only earn you rewards points on the first $1,000 spent.

The Standard Chartered Rewards+ Card, on the other hand, will give you rewards points on the full $3,000 spent.

Here's Standard Chartered's rewards catalogue. Not as exciting as Citibank's, but there are some restaurants, shopping mall and staycation vouchers that could be fun.

HSBC Revolution Card

Key features:

• Receive up to $200 cashback and a chance to play the Sure-Win Hong Bao game to win prizes like the OSIM massage chair, Dyson fan, shopping vouchers and more! T&Cs apply
• No annual credit card fees
• Get 10x Rewards Points, equivalent to four air miles per dollar spent
• Redeem your rewards points for home, dining, retail, travel, or charity cash vouchers online or offset cash rebates on transactions online via rewards catalogue or the HSBC mobile app
• Travel Insurance: Enjoy up to $300,000 coverage when you charge travel expenses to card

The HSBC Revolution Card is pretty legit. You can earn 10x rewards points (or four miles per $1) on online spending (includes food delivery and travel bookings) and contactless payments.

The bonus points are capped at 9,000 points. However, there's no limit on how many rewards points you can earn on all other spend.

Another nice touch is that there is no annual fee, so even if you don't use the card much you won't have to worry about accidentally getting charged for it at the end of the year.

The HSBC rewards catalogue isn't the world's biggest or most varied, but it does contain a nice selection of well-curated treats.

Apart form the usual air miles and vouchers, you'll find some interesting additions like Breville The Multi Chef multi-cooker, KitchenAid mixer, and even Fitbit Versa 3 smartwatch.

UOB Preferred Platinum Card

Key features:

• Up to UNI$10 per $5 spend on online shopping and entertainment
• Up to UNI$10 per $5 spend via mobile contactless payment
• Earn SMART$ rebates at over 400 participating outlets and use it to offset your next purchase

The UOB Preferred Platinum Card offers up to 10 rewards points (20 miles) for every $5 spent on selected online shopping, online entertainment (including food delivery and ticketing) and mobile contactless payments.

GrabPay credits are, however, not eligible.

Once upon a time, this was one of the better rewards cards for online spending, but lots of cards have since started doing the same and better.

Still, if you like what you see in the UOB rewards catalogue, this can still be a good card for day-to-day spending.

UOB's is one of the most sought-after rewards programmes out there, and lets you exchange your points for spa vouchers, Dyson vouchers and dining vouchers at atas restaurants like Les Amis.

There is a bonus cap of 2,000 points per calendar month, which means you can only enjoy their preferential earn rate on a maximum of $1,000 worth of spending each month.

UOB Lady's Card

Key features:

• 10x UNI$ (or 20 miles) per $5 spent on your preferred category with no min. spend required. Choose from beauty & wellness, dining, entertainment, family, fashion, transport and travel
• UOB Lady's LuxePay Plan six or 12-month instalment plan with no interest or processing fees
• Free e-Commerce protection for online purchases up to US$200
• High female cancer coverage of up to $200,000 sum assured with UOB Lady's Savings Account
• Up to 3.68 per cent p.a. bonus interest with UOB One Account

The UOB Lady's Card offers 10x rewards points per $5 (or 20 miles per $5) when you spend in one of seven categories: fashion, dining, beauty and wellness, family, transport, entertainment and travel.

Every quarter, you can change your selected rewards category online.

It's is particularly useful when you're anticipating high one-off expenses in a particular category. For example, if you're having a baby, choose the family category just before you do your pre-baby shopping, and then see the rewards points roll in when you buy your baby clothes, stroller and so on.

Sadly, it's for women only – unlike the rest of the cards here which are unisex, even the DBS Woman's Card.

You can only earn bonus points on a maximum of $1,000 per month, so you'll have to reign in your inner shopaholic.

Who should use a rewards card?

Are you sick and tired of tracking your expenses to the very cent in order to maximise your returns from a cashback card? Or would like to earn more miles on top of what your air miles card already gives you?

You might want to consider switching to a rewards card, which is probably the lowest effort type of credit card on the market.

Most rewards cards have no minimum spending requirements, so you don't have to agonise over your expenses and track them in a spreadsheet.

That makes them good for fun spending (e.g. shopping, entertainment, dining, travel) which can vary from month to month.

The rewards points you earn are also versatile. You can use them to redeem whatever is in your bank's catalogue of goodies.

Usually there's a variety of shopping and dining vouchers, and some have gifts like fancy whiskeys and gadgets. Some even offer cash rebates.

Lots of people redeem air miles with their rewards points. In fact, they are actually great for travel junkies as some rewards cards outperform miles cards in earning air miles!

Just be aware of the expenditure cap, if any, as you won't get bonus points beyond that. Check the expiry date of your points too, so you don't get a nasty shock when you try to redeem stuff.

How do rewards cards work?

Because of banking jargon, rewards cards might seem complicated, but they're actually really easy to use. Even the most tech-illiterate of Singaporean aunties can find their way around them. Here's a four-step guide:

Step one: Know which spending categories give you the most points.

Step two: Go ahead and spend in those categories! (But know your expenditure cap so you don't go overboard.)

Step three: Rewards points are magically credited to your account.

Step four: When you have enough points, redeem stuff you want from the rewards catalogue.

ALSO READ: 5 reasons why your credit card application was denied

This article was first published in MoneySmart.