Chocolate Visa Debit Card Review (2026)
The Chocolate Visa Debit Card is barely two years old, but it has already seen its fair share of buffs, nerfs, and nationwide furore.
Thankfully, things have been relatively quiet over the past year or so, making this a good time to revisit the card and assess where it now stands.
Bitter or sweet? Let’s find out.
1 Max Mile per dollar, S$5,000 balance required
Chocolate Card earns a base 1 Max Mile per dollar on the first S$2,000 spent within a calendar month, and 0.4 miles per dollar on amounts after the first S$2,000.
For bill payments (such as healthcare, insurance and other specified MCCs discussed later in this article), cardholders will earn miles only for the first S$300 of spend each month.
In order to earn miles with the Chocolate Card, you will need to maintain at least S$5,000 in your Chocolate Finance account in the preceding month to qualify. This requirement kicks in from 1st October 2026, which means that you will need to have a daily average balance of at least S$5,000 in your account in September 2026 to earn miles in October 2026. You will then need to maintain this minimum amount in October 2026 to continue earning miles in November 2026 and so forth.
USD balances are not counted as part of this minimum requirement.
The Miles Multiplier Programme has been scrapped as of 1st September 2026, so Chocolate Card users will earn a maximum of 1 Max Mile per dollar even with a high balance in their Chocolate Finance account.
Link the card with HeyMax first
Instead of partnering directly with airlines on its own, Chocolate Finance has tied up with HeyMax since early 2025 to provide Max Miles as a reward for Chocolate Card. This is a pretty good move – instead of having yet another account of miles to manage, users can get their rewards in their HeyMax account.
Moreover, Max Miles can be used for multiple airlines, hotels, or even used to offset one’s flight tickets with FlyAnywhere, making it one of the more versatile forms of points around.
KrisFlyer remains conspicuously absent from HeyMax’s list of airline partners, though it is possible to book certain Singapore Airlines flights for fewer miles using EVA Air miles. EVA Air, including Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways, is one of the many airlines that users can choose to convert their Max Miles with.
To earn rewards on the Chocolate Card, you will need to first have a HeyMax account and link your card.
HeyMax
Get bonus Max Miles on top of your usual card rewards. Max Miles can be used to redeem gift cards, airline miles and hotel loyalty points.
🎁 New Users
Verify your phone number and make your first confirmed purchase:
💳 Features
- Earn bonus Max Miles on top of usual card rewards
- Track card spending (Visa cards only)
- Look up Merchant Category Code and see what cards to use
For reference only; refer to exact details in terms and conditions
Once linked, HeyMax helpfully tracks the spend and miles earned by your Chocolate Card.
Max Miles are credited within the HeyMax app once each eligible transaction posts, which typically takes a few days depending on the merchant. The card’s monthly limits go by transaction date, so users can use up any limit they may have left on the final days of each month without worrying about posting dates.
Few exclusions, though a S$300 limit applies
Chocolate Card launched with an impressively short list of exclusions, with just 9 MCCs explicitly excluded. In fact, even AXS transactions weren’t excluded, making it one of the only few cards that earned any rewards for such transactions.
It was a strong selling point for the card, but Chocolate Finance soon found out why AXS was such a common exclusion. A nation-wide debacle later, the company moved to block AXS transactions and e-wallet top-ups completely, and soon added a whole bunch of MCCs that would be capped at earning miles on the first S$300 of spend each calendar month. This is up from the previous S$100 limit and took effect from 1st September 2026.
| MCC | Description | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 80XX | Medical & health | 80 covers Medical Services, Health Practitioners, Hospitals, Dentists (MCC 8011–8099) |
| 93XX | Government services | 93 covers Government Services (MCC 9311–9399) |
| 49XX | Utilities and services | 49 covers Utilities (MCC 4900–4999) |
| 65XX | Real estate and property management | 65 covers Real Estate Agents, Managers (MCC 6513, 6531) |
| 63XX | Insurance | 63 covers Insurance (MCC 6300–6399) |
| 73XX | Business Services | 73 covers “Business Services” (MCC 7311–7399) |
These MCCs are deemed “bill payments” by the company, and will only earn miles up to S$300 of spend.
The following 9 exclusions will not earn any miles at all:
- 6529 Quasi Cash – Remote Stored Value Load – Financial
- 6530 Quasi Cash – Remote Stored Value Load – Merchant
- 6540 Non-Financial Institutions – Stored Value Card
- 6050 Quasi Cash – Financial Institutions, Merchandise, Services
- 6051 Non-Financial Institutions – Foreign Currency, Money Orders (Not Wire Transfer), Stored Value Card/Load, Travellers Cheques, and Debt Repayment
- 4829 Money Transfer
- 6010 Financial Institutions – Manual Cash Disbursements
- 6011 Financial Institutions – Automated Cash Disbursements
- 6012 Financial Institutions – Merchandise, Services and Debt Repayment
With S$300 still usable for bill payments and a relatively small number of exclusions, the card passes my threshold for being a “no exclusion” card (and it is the only non-Amex entrant in this category which gives it some standing).
Another good thing the Chocolate Card is its support for charity-related transactions which are neither excluded nor limited to just S$100 per month. Users can earn the card’s full earn rate of up to S$1,000 of charitable giving per month, and this has been what I’ve found the card most useful for in the past couple of years.
No forex fee sounds good, but…
Chocolate Card does not charge any foreign currency fee, and continues to offer its usual earn rate for overseas spend. While getting miles with no forex fee sounds great on paper, the overall value proposition of using Chocolate Card overseas is a lot less appealing if you consider other alternatives.
If we consider each mile to be 1.5 cents each, a 4 miles per dollar card easily gives rewards in excess of its foreign currency fee:
| Chocolate Card | Citi Rewards + Amaze | 4 Miles Per Dollar Card | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earn Rate | 1 Max Mile per dollar | 4 miles per dollar | 4 miles per dollar |
| Forex Fee | 0 | ~2% | 3.25% |
| Effective Yield | 1.5% (1.8% considering FlyAnywhere) | ~4% | ~2.75% |
Another way to look at it is to treat the forex fee charged by a 4 miles per dollar card as the cost of earning more miles beyond the Chocolate Card’s base earn rate. A 4 miles per dollar card earns 3 miles more per dollar than the Chocolate Card’s base earn rate, so paying around 2% mark-up in forex rates through Amaze, or 3.25% forex fee with another card, is therefore the price we pay to earn additional 3 miles per dollar. This is a pretty great deal that any miles chaser should jump at.
Based on my testing, the Chocolate Card also does not do well against Mari Credit Card for the 7 currencies in which the latter promises best-in-class exchange rates.
This makes Chocolate Card a rather middling option when it comes to overseas spend. It neither collects miles as efficiently as other cards can, nor does it offer the most attractive currency conversion rates.
Debit is (usually) not as good as credit
Lastly, it is worth pointing out that the Chocolate Card is a debit card. It can be a pro for the financially less prudent, but it is worse than credit cards which provide an interest-free period for payments to be made.
Funds are deducted directly out of your Chocolate account for transactions, while credit cards allow you to continue earning interest on your funds until repayment is due.
With a S$5,000 minimum balance requirement to earn miles on your Chocolate Card, you should also be mindful that your spending can decrease your balance below the requirement. Make sure to top up your Chocolate Finance account when you spend, or maintain a buffer to ensure that your average balance does not dip below S$5,000 in order to continue earning miles in the following month.
Pretty good sign-up promo for now
With no annual fees, there isn’t much of a downside to keeping the Chocolate Card around. Possibly for the first-time yet, the card (and account) comes with a pretty attractive sign-up promo, at least in the months of August and September 2026.
The Good
- One of a few rare cards that can earn Max Miles
- Few exclusions compared to other cards and great for charitable giving, new S$300 limit is roomier than before
- No annual fee, minimum spend, or foreign currency transaction fee
- Max Miles can be converted to multiple airline and hotel programmes
- Monthly limits are determined by transaction date rather than posting date
The Bad
- Low base earn rate of just 1 Max Mile per dollar
- Minimum balance of S$5,000 required to earn miles in the following month
- Rewards for certain transactions are capped at S$300 of spend per month
- It’s a debit card (you have to pay for every transaction upfront)
The Verdict
With a low earn rate of just 1 Max Mile per dollar, the Chocolate Card is far from an ideal choice of being one’s primary card. Its best use is for commonly excluded transactions and the card offers a S$300 limit on such expenses.
Having no foreign transaction fee is also nice, but there are few compelling reasons to use the card overseas when better alternatives exist.
Nonetheless, with no annual fee, there is little downside keeping the card around for the occasional bill, though this requires you to maintain at least S$5,000 in your Chocolate Finance account if you want to earn any miles.
Subscribe for more deals and updates!
If you’re someone who wants to earn more from credit cards, savings accounts and other financial deals, stay subscribed to the Telegram or WhatsApp so you can be notified of news and deals. Remember to unmute and turn on notifications or the updates may not reach you.
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.
Subscribe to the channel for free updates!
Disclaimer: I may receive an affiliate/referral fee when you sign up for services/products on this site, and such fees keep the site running. I would only recommend services/products I would personally use or recommend to my own friends and family, but I do not provide any warranty or guarantee for the quality of these services/products. Thank you for supporting my site!
Please exercise due diligence when signing up for any service/product as I will not be liable for any personal loss, financial or otherwise. Content published here are my sole views and personal opinion, and none of the information here constitutes personal financial advice nor represents the views of my employer(s).