What are Cashback Credit Cards?
Cashback Credit cards return a portion of your Credit Card spends. This portion is denoted in percentage terms; for example, 5% Cashback. This cashback may be returned to you in the form of cash, cheque or credited to your credit card account.
How do you Determine the Best Cashback Credit Card for your needs?
By following this nifty guide, is how! Check out the below points:
▪ Know thy spends – Track / list all your spends, big and small, for a continuous period of time, maybe, for a month or two. Categorize these spends into groceries, utilities, fuel, dining, entertainment etc. Finally, identify your highest spend categories.
▪ Know thy cashback credit card – There are a variety of cashback credit cards issued by a number of banks in Singapore. The following steps will help you narrow down your choice of the best cashback credit card from the ones available in the market:
▫ Check out those cashback credit cards that reward your highest-spend categories.
▫ Check the cashback percentage that can be earned.
▫ Review all the caps and restrictions that limit the amount of cashback that can be earned.
▫ Credit cards don’t just tend to provide a single form of rewards although there may be one dominant form of rewards, like cashback. But even cashback cards provide other rewards like reward points. Try and understand what other rewards / benefits are available with the cashback card under scrutiny.
▫ Keenly look into the other features / characteristics like fees, charges, APR (interest rates applicable) etc.
▪ Compare – Use card comparative tools or card comparison website to choose between two or more cards of the same type.
How do I maximize cashback rewards?
You understand your spends. You’ve already got a cashback credit card that syncs well with your high-spend categories. You manage this card well. You are earning cashback. However, there is still a fair amount of potential cashback-earning spend left over. How do you make use of this? Simply, by getting another cashback credit card that rewards your high-spend categories.
What cashback credit cards are available in the market and what are their main features?
The following is a nutshell look at a few cashback credit cards available currently in the market:
▪ Citibank Cash Back Credit Card –Score: 4.5/5 Offers up to 20.88% at Esso, up to 20.8% at Shell and 8% cashback at all other petrol stations, 8% cashback at all supermarkets and grocery stores worldwide, 8% cashback at all restaurants, cafes, food and beverage outlets globally and 0.25% cashback on all other retail spend. Check out the more cashback offers and eligibility of Citibank Cashback Credit Card here!
▪ HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card – Score: 4/5 Offers up to 5% rebates on recurring mobile/cable/TV/Internet bill payments, up to 5% rebate on grocery spends, up to 2% rebate on dining and up to 5% rebate plus 14% discount at all Caltex and Shell stations. You can also earn 1 Rewards Point for every S$1 spend.
▪ American Express True Cashback Card – Score: 3.8/5 Offers 1.5% cashback on all purchases with no minimum spend and no earnings cap. There is also an introductory offer currently running that lets you get 3% cashback on up to a total of S$5,000 spend for the first 6 months plus a fee waiver for the first year.
