Buffed: CIMB World Mastercard – Extra 1% Cashback and Lowered Minimum Spend (Until 31st October)

Until 31st October 2023, CIMB World Mastercard is boosted to a relatively fuss-free 2% to 3% cashback card. The minimum spend to reach the higher cashback rates will also be lowered.

How CIMB World Mastercard works

CIMB World Mastercard is a relatively simple card that gives 1% unlimited cashback on most transactions if you can meet a minimum spend amount of S$500 within the same statement month.

If a cardholder hits S$1,000 spend within a statement month and spends within eligible categories, the card offers 2% unlimited cashback instead.

The 4 categories are:

1. Wine & Dine and Online Food Delivery
2. Movies and Digital Entertainment
3. Taxi and Automobile
4. Luxury Goods 

Lowered minimum spend until 31st October

Until 31st October 2023, the minimum spend for eligible categories is reduced to S$500 within the statement month. This makes it easier for one to hit the 2% cashback rate for one of the 4 categories.

Personally, I don’t think this is much of an improvement. 2% cashback is an unexciting rate and not that much more than 1.5% of say StanChart Simply Cash to necessitate a minimum spend.

Bonus 1% cashback with S$2,500 spend

Where the card gets interesting is the additional 1% cashback bonus if a minimum spend of S$2,500 is reached. Like the lowered minimum spend, this is effective until 31st October 2023, although I imagine they are just doing a trial on whether to make this a permanent feature to make their card more attractive.

Nevertheless, while the additional bonus is in effect, I think CIMB World Mastercard becomes a compelling card for certain use cases. With the bonus 1% cashback, the card will offer unlimited 2% cashback on nearly any transaction, and unlimited 3% cashback on its eligible categories.

Bonus cashback makes this an interesting card for luxury goods

While most people probably wouldn’t spend much on things like movies and food deliveries, luxury goods is the one category CIMB World Mastercard could realistically shine in. 3% cashback isn’t that attractive a rate until you’re buying something a few thousand dollars and realise that most of your high-earn cards max out at just S$1,000 to S$2,000 of spending per month.

Luxury goods are denoted as transactions coded with the following MCCs:

• MCC 5094 (Precious Stones and Metals, Watches and Jewelry)
• MCC 5944 (Clock, Jewelry, Watch, and Silverware Store)
• MCC 5948 (Leather Goods and Luggage Stores)

Of course, if you’re a really heavy spender in one or more of the other 3 categories, CIMB World Mastercard just became a contender to put your spend on.

Make sure you check whether your transaction meets the MCC requirement before paying.

Sign-up promo

For the month of August 2023, CIMB credit cards are having an upsized sign-up promo that is really attractive, so check them out in the post below:

Seth Wee was a licensed financial adviser representative from 2009 to 2025, with over 16 years of experience in Singapore’s financial advisory industry.

He started Sethisfy.com in 2019 to share practical insights on credit cards, banking products, and miles strategies, helping readers identify financial products that deliver the best value. Seth has been featured in CNA, Channel 8, Today, and a host of other publications. In 2025, he was also part of a panel at CPF’s Ready For Life festival.

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