Money Saving Tips via Credit Cards & Others

Review of my Credit Card Savings

2017-05-15T08:30:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone, here is an update on how I use my credit cards to save money. Here it is.

From Citibank CashBack Card (Dividend Card)

Groceries - $6000 yearly purchase => $300 rebate ($25 x 12 months)
Esso Petrol - $2400 purchase => $192 rebate (8% Cash rebate)
Singtel - $2400 purchase => $6 rebate (0.25% Cash rebate, more to topup the $888 minimum)
Weekend Dining - $1200 purchase => $96 rebate (8% Cash rebate)

From Singpost Standard Chartered Card

Insurances - $1400 yearly purchase => $88 rebate (7% Cash rebate)
Online Purchase - $2000 purchase => $140 rebate (7% Cash rebate)
Travel (Online) Purchase - $3000 purchase => $210 rebate (7% Cash rebate)

From DBS Visa Debit Card (Paywave or Samsung Pay)
Provided that you don't make 3 withdrawal from ATM every month

Department Store - $1200 yearly purchase => $60 rebate (5% Cash rebate)
Other Purchase - $2400 purchase => $120 rebate (5% Cash rebate)

From POSB Everyday Card

SP Services - $1400 yearly purchase => $14 rebate (1% Cash rebate)

Total Savings = $1646 per year

Free Grab Rides when you use UOB YOLO card during Weekends. :-)

2017-05-10T07:14:00.001+08:00

Eat. Drink. Play. Repeat. Because You Only Live Once.:

'via Blog this'

Free Grab Rides when you use UOB YOLO card during Weekends. :-)

Get $10 Off + Extra cash rebates when you buy online on Qoo10, Taobao, Lazada through Shopback.

2016-07-21T08:30:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

Just to share if you are still unaware. If you want to buy stuffs at Qoo10, Lazada and other online shops, you can buy through Shopback.sg which gives extra cash back for your purchases. You can sign up through this link here. https://www.shopback.sg/?raf=cZefDy

A dollar saved is a dollar earned. Every dollar counts towards our overall investment return so enjoy your savings and returns.

Reviewing my Credit Card Cash Rebates - Part Two (Singpost Standard Chartered Bank Card)

2016-01-11T08:30:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

After looking at Citibank Dividend Card, let's take a look at others which helps to generate cash rebates and thus saves some money. Here is another one, Singpost Standard Chartered Bank Card which gives 7% Cash rebate on Online purchases with a minimum of $600 purchase.

HDB Parking (Online Purchase)
=> $1,140 per year (Must buy on a per 9 months basis to maximize the cash rebates.)
=> $79.85 cash rebates
=> $6.65 cash rebate per month

Car Insurance (Online Purchase)
=> $1,000 per year
=> $60 cash rebate
=> Average of $5 cash rebate per month

Personal Insurance (Online Purchase)
=> $200 per year (Need to choose the right month to buy)
=> $14 cash rebate
=> Average $1.20 cash rebate per month.

Overall
=> $2,340 per year
=> $155 cash rebate per year
=> $13 per month

Reviewing my Credit Card Savings - Part One (Citibank Dividend Card)

2016-01-04T08:30:00.001+08:00

Hi everyone,

It has been a while since I made my last post on Citibank Dividend Card which is now my main card, taking most of my purchases to chalk up the $888 minimum every month. I am glad that I am able to do it at this point.

How do I do it? Well, here is my expenses and savings.

Supermarket Groceries
=> $250 per month in NTUC, $250 per month in Giant
=> $40 cash rebates

Petrol
=> $150 per month
=> $12 cash rebates

Dining
=> $200 per month
=> $16 cash rebates

Others (Singtel & S&CC)
=> About $220 per month
=> $0.55 cash rebate (miserly)

Total
=> $1,070 per month
=> $68 cash rebate

What do you think? :-)

Other Saving Methods... iHerbs for health supplements...

2015-12-30T08:30:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

Apart from savings from credit cards, I will also share about more savings which I have accumulated through online shopping here. Therefore, whatever I felt that it is cheap and value for money and I actually bought it, I will post it here.

First is iHerbs (http://www.iherb.com?rcode=RVZ522). Usually I buy Sambucol for Kids and I buy in bulk to accumulate extra savings and save delivery cost. Sambucol for kids are already difficult to find in retail stores and here, it is cheaper than retail stores. Another is probiotics for children which I am currently trying it out. Here is the shopping cart which I have compiled.

http://sg.iherb.com/tr/cb?pcodes=SBL-00118qty4_IHB-00231_NWY-14242qty4&rcode=RVZ522

If you use my link to buy your stuffs, you can save $5 on your orders. Buy above $60 and you get 10% off and use Singpost Standard Chartered Bank card and you get extra 7% cash rebate. Just sharing the good news with all of you. Enjoy.

CIMB Visa Signature Card and Platinum MasterCard - Changing their Rebate Programme

2015-12-28T08:30:00.001+08:00

Hi everyone,

CIMB Visa Signature and Platinum MasterCard are changing the way they give rebates to encourage more usage of their cards. Here are the changes.

CIMB Platinum MasterCard
- No more rebates for Home Furnishing and Insurance
- 10% Cash rebate for Travel and Health & Wellness provided...
--> $60 rebate cap
--> Swipe at least 8 transactions of $30 minimum each
--> Overall $500 minimum spend.

CIMB Visa Signature Card
- No more rebates for Visa PayWave in foreign currencies
- 10% Cash rebate for Wine & Dine and Online Transaction in Foreign Currencies provided...
--> $60 rebate cap
--> Swipe at least 8 transactions of $30 minimum each
--> Overall $500 minimum spend.

To me, there is no more usage on CIMB Platinum MasterCard. For Visa Signature Card, the restriction of swiping at least 8 transactions of $30 minimum each is too much for me.

Thus, I won't be using CIMB Cards anymore.

Consolidating all purchases to Citibank Dividend Card

2015-10-22T08:30:00.000+08:00

Since they re-launch the Citibank Dividend Card with 8% cashback on groceries, dining, petrol with a minimum spend, I have been consolidating my spending on this card. And I believe that they have made the right note this time to give a game-changing cashback on three of the most common purchases, with a forced minimum of $888 which forces us to transfer some of the purchases from other cards to this.

I believe every bank wants their customers to just use their cards as a primary card and they would have to up the game to at least match Citibank's offer.

I am consolidating mine, transferring S&CC charges and Singtel bills over. Next will be Singapore Power Bill.

Calling all HomeTeamNS Members - Alive Museum Singapore Pass $25-$30 for 6 person

2015-10-10T08:30:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

I am just amazed by the discounts that I am seeing here as a HomeTeamNS Member. This is excellent privileges which definitely I am going to enjoy.

$25 (Weekday) and $30 (Weekend) for six person when original price is $25 to $30 per person. This is 80% off. (Savings of $100)

I am using this privilege soon to bring my family for lots of fun. :-)

http://www.hometeamns.sg/Pages/alivemuseum.aspx?Ne1e0xMfxizobuKHMVTEDQ==

Posting major discounts through membership cards

2015-10-08T08:30:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

I am making a decision to expand this blog to include major discounts relating to memberships like NTUC member, PassionCard member, Credit Card perks. Now I believe that Credit Card rebates forms only one part of savings and these memberships form another (and even more major part) of savings.

Just a note, here are the memberships that I have which I will use.

1) RWS Invites Card
2) Sentosa Islander Card
3) HomeTeamNS Member
4) NTUC Member

Again I will be biased and I will post only those which is beneficial to me and my family. (So sorry SAFRA members, I know most of you are, but I am not)

So sit back, relax and wait for exciting saving tips from me. Enjoy.

Current Credit Card Usage Situation for me (A Family of Four)

2015-10-06T08:30:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

Looks like I need to update the credit card uasge and the amount of cashback that I am earning (or going to earn). Here is the profile which I have given earlier.

I am a working adult with a normal job, married with two kids, age 4 and 2 with help from my parents-in-law to take care of my kids. Thus, my groceries budget is catered to six people (sometimes eight). Because of this, dining during weekdays are rare as my mother-in-law cooks for us.

I live in a 4-room HDB flat. Thus, I have Singapore Power bills and S&CC charges.

I bought a car two years ago because of my second kid so I have car related budget.

I send one of my kids for Shichida course in Toa Payoh which explains why I needed education budget.

I subscribe to Mio Home plan with 3 handphone lines linked to it. Thus, I have a Singtel budget.

With this profile, here are the savings I have from most of the expenses I incur. I will update it as time goes by. (It is based on yearly expenses and cashback)

Using Citibank Dividend Card

For Groceries (Alternating with NTUC Fairprice and Giant) = $6,000 per year => $480
From NTUC U Member (Groceries) = $240 - 117 = $132
For Petrol = $1,800 per year => $144
For Dining = $2,400 per year => $192

Using Standard Chartered Singpost Card

For HDB Carpark (Online purchase) = $1,140 per year => $79.80
For Car, Home and Travel Insurance (Online purchase) = $1,250 per year => $75

Using Citibank Rewards Card

For Departmental Store = $1,200 per year => $39.60

Using Citibank SMRT Card

For S&CC = $684 per year => $34.20

Using POSB Everyday Card

For SP Services = $1,920 per year => $19.20

Using OCBC 365 Card (Under Review)

For Singtel = $1,800 per year => $54

Total = $1247 (About $100 per month)

I am still looking for Credit Card which give rebates for Education as it is one of the major expenses, and for Singtel bills because I am reducing my usage on OCBC 365 card. Likely to consolidate other the last four credit cards to the first three since they are willing to give more rebates if we hit the minimum amount.

Card for HDB Carpark Purchase & Car Insurance - SCB Singpost Credit Card

2015-09-11T08:30:00.000+08:00

After their revision of their terms and conditions, I found that SCB Singpost Credit Card still offers 7% rebate on online purchases. Thus, I use it to purchase my HDB carpark (annual) and got my 7% cash rebate. Here is the details at a glance. (Minimum $600 purchase)

HDB Carpark - $1,140 per year => $79.80 cash rebate (Pay 7 months everytime to hit minimum $600)

Car Insurance (purchased online) - $1,000 per year => $60 cash rebate (Maximum per month)

SCB Singpost Credit card will continue to be my online purchase card but HDB and Car Insurance purchase are the main reasons why I use it. With that, I drop OCBC Frank, and CIMB Platinum card

Game Changing Credit Card - Citibank Dividend Card

2015-09-04T08:30:00.000+08:00

Citibank just SMS me a notice on the changes to the rebates that they are giving. Wow! It is amazing. Here are the details. (http://www.citibank.com.sg/global_docs/pdf/Citi_DIVIDEND_Card_Notification_Letter_Non-Perso.pdf)

Grocery purchases - 8% Rebate
Dining - 8% Rebate
Petrol - 8% Rebate

Clause - Minimum $888 in that month.

It gives me a big reason to consolidate my purchases into Citibank Dividend Card from October 2015 onwards since these are the three purchases which I uses most. Better than OCBC 365 card and Maybank Family and Friends Card which has been doing so well and getting all my usages up till now.

I am applying supplementary card for my wife and mother-in-law so that all the purchases are consolidated. Here are the consolidation

Grocery Purchases - $500 per month => $40 per month or more (Currently, we rotate between Giant and NTUC)

Petrol - $150 per month => $12 per month

Dining - $200 per month => $16 per month

Total Rebates = $68 per month (More than $800 per year)

What are you waiting for? (By the way, I get no commission for promoting their card. :-)

Looking for the Credit Card with highest % Cashback for Online Purchases

2015-06-17T14:21:00.001+08:00

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a credit card with highest percentage cashback for online purchases. This is for my HDB Season Parking. A few things to note.

1) Singpost Standard Chartered Bank Visa is reducing their online purchase cashback from 7% to 2% as of next month so I am unable to enjoy it as I can only renew it next month.

2) OCBC specifically mention that online payments to Government organizations are excluded from their online purchase cashback. Thus, OCBC Frank Card and OCBC 365 Card are not able to be used.

Any others? Many Thanks!

CIMB Platinum Card for Education - STOPPED

2015-05-07T17:00:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

From 1st June onwards, CIMB is going to stop paying an additional 3.3% for Education while Insurance, Home and furnishing and appliance will continue for their CIMB Platinum Mastercard

It is quite a big hit for me as I do pay quite an amount per year for my child's education. Will need to look for another card now.

OCBC 360 - from 3.05% to 2.25% Account... Still the best for me

2015-05-05T17:00:00.000+08:00

This post came from my other blog at Singapore Corporate Bonds and Preference Shares... Include Credit Cards so http://singaporecorporatebonds.blogspot.com/2015/05/ocbc-360-from-305-to-225-account-still.html

With a change in policy from OCBC this year, they tried to tie in more criteria to sell more products and generate more sales and at the same time, cushion the impact of unhappiness. Well, it looks like an increase but it is actually a decrease.

Salary Credit increases to 1.2% per annum
3 GIRO dropped to 0.5% per annum
$500 Credit Spend dropped to 0.5% per annum
1% more if you buy structured products, unit trusts or selected insurance (Selling more products here)

To me, the last criteria is not really important as they are trying to sell more products here. That leaves me with 2.25% which is still not too bad.

Thus, for every $10,000 savings in the account, we will earn $225 per year with $50 coming from minimum $500 spend per month ($6,000 per year) credit card spend.

Still the best in town, better than fixed deposits. Just glad that I have enjoyed the earlier 3.05%.

OCBC 360

2015-04-18T07:44:00.001+08:00

I think by now we already know that OCBC is changing the rules for OCBC 360 Account. Thus, the amount that we spend in OCBC cards will generate only 0.5% rebates on the monies in our OCBC 360 Account.

I am still looking at how is the impact and more details will be on only after 1st May when they have released their new criteria. Better to give an overall picture.

ANZ Optimum World Mastercard - New Card on the Market

2015-03-11T16:00:00.000+08:00

ANZ Optimum

ANZ Optimum World Mastercard is a new card which gives you a choice of the categories of cash rebate that you want. Here are the four categories and my analysis

1) Groceries - I already have Maybank Family and Friends Card which gives me 5%

2) Travel - I don't travel often so I don't need it

3) Dining & Leisure - OCBC 365 Card gives me 6% cash rebate during weekends which is good for me although it only gives 3% during weekdays

4) Shopping - Citibank Rewards Card is currently giving about 3.3% rebates in points.

One good thing about this is that there is no minimum spend which I love it. Another is that there is no limit on the amount of cash rebates I can get.

I am applying for this card and I will choose "Shopping" since other categories have existing cards to serve its purposes.

Money Saving Tips via Credit Cards: Savings for a Family of Four - Updates on 3rd Jan

2015-01-13T08:30:00.000+08:00

Money Saving Tips via Credit Cards: Savings for a Family of Four - Updates on 3rd Jan

Hi everyone,

With the updates on Citibank SMRT card (which is really a bobo I made), I have also made changes to this original post. Just to alert you all since it is so recent.

My learning. Read the fineprint and get it right before posting.

Money Saving Tips via Credit Cards: NTUC Fairprice & Citibank SMRT Visa 9% Cash Rebate - Change of Card - Updates on 3rd Jan

2015-01-09T08:30:00.000+08:00

Money Saving Tips via Credit Cards: NTUC Fairprice & Citibank SMRT Visa 9% Cash Rebate - Change of Card - Updates on 3rd Jan

Just to alert you on an important update that I have made... I have made changes to the original post instead since it is so recent.

Money Saving Tips via Credit Cards: Money saved - For a Single (and available) person - Updates

2015-01-07T08:30:00.000+08:00

Money Saving Tips via Credit Cards: Money saved - For a Single (and available) person

Recently, I have made a post about money saving tips for a single. Here I will do some updates on it so that he/she can reap more savings.

Apart from using OCBC 360 account which will give him about 2.05% of return in his savings, here are some credit card saving tips. Moreover, he can use OCBC 360 account to pay his credit card bills and that helps to accumulate to his "at least 3 internet banking transactions per month"

1) Transport => He spends about $80 on transport using his EZ Link card. Thus, I would recommend POSB Everyday Card which gives 2% rebate. It has "No Minimum Spend" which is excellent for him. Thus he saves about $19.20 per year (There is no top up charges for DBS and POSB credit card holders for Ezlink)

2) Telco (Singtel) => He happens to be using Singtel as his Telco and he spends about $34 on mobile bills. Thus, I would recommend UOB-Singtel Card which gives 1% rebate. It has "No Minimum Spend" which is excellent for him again. Thus he saves about $4.08 per year. What is more important is that he gets the privileges that UOB offers.

3) Others => Lastly, I would recommend that he gets a OCBC 365 card just for everything else. No particular reason except that he may get some rebates and possibly earn extra 1% in his/her OCBC 360 account.

Savings are not a lot. But the fact is that this friend of mine spends little as well so just trying my best to help. :-)

HDB Parking with OCBC Frank Card - STOPPED

2015-01-03T07:28:00.000+08:00

Haiz... OCBC has decided that they are not giving 6% rebates to HDB parking with effect of 1st Dec 2014. Looks like I need to find another card to use to pay for my HDB parking.

For HDB parking. The best now is use GIRO which is at 2% discount. Better than even POSB Everyday Card.

Savings for a Family of Four - Updates on 3rd Jan

2014-12-31T08:30:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

As I was reading my own blog especially on this article, I realize how bad the post was which does not really provide enough info for all of you. Therefore, I am showing you an excel sheet which helps to consolidate all the expenses and savings that I got for the year. It is for your reference and I urge you to do the same. I will update this as time goes.

Happy saving (through credit cards) :-) and Happy New Year.

NTUC Fairprice & Citibank SMRT Visa 9% Cash Rebate - Change of Card - Updates on 3rd Jan

2014-12-29T08:30:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

Recently, I researched and found out that there is one card which is better than Maybank Family & Friends Card in the rebates. It is Citibank SMRT Visa. It gives 0.3% less than Maybank Family & Friends card. However, it does not have a minimum which I like it a lot. But you got to purchase at least $50. If you add the NTUC U Member rebate of 4%, you get a total of 8.7% cash rebate.

This is a result of not reading the fineprint properly. Now I am reconsidering whether to change my card to Citibank SMRT (3rd Jan). Here is the statistics anyway

Annual Groceries expenses = $9600
Annual Cash Rebate (4.7%) = $451.20 (about $37.60 per month)
Annual Cash Rebates from NTUC Member = $240 - $113 = $127

Money saved - For a Single (and available) person

2014-12-05T08:30:00.000+08:00

I got a friend who gave me some of his expenses as a young single, available adult who has stepped into the working world for about 4 years with some savings. Here are his expenses and recommended cards.

Dining - $10 per day - $300 per month (Not very sure whether he uses cards so I am going to discount this)
Public Transport - $80
Telco - $34
Two Insurance Policies - $200
Unit Trust Investments - $600
Other expenses - $200

For him, the focus is "Be focused". His spending is not high so all those minimum spend cards are not useful. So my recommendation is to focus on OCBC 360 Account because he needs high savings returns to help him save as much as possible. Here is the savings

OCBC 360 Account
1) 1% Savings when he switches to bank in his salary into this account.

2) Another 1% for doing the following. Transfer his GIRO transactions to his OCBC 360 account i.e. Unit Trust Investments, and two Insurances policies. That will give him another 1%.

3) As for the third 1%, sign up for a OCBC 365 card and try to spend $400 especially with his "other expenses". Link his Ezlink Card or Nets Flashpay card (Transport expenses) and Telco to this credit card to try to accumulate more expenses. If you can't, don't force it. Just treat it as a bonus when it comes.

If he has $20,000 savings (Assuming $5,000 savings per year), he will earn $400 per year just on its interest.