“No Exclusions” Cards Compared: Amex True Cashback vs UOB Absolute vs Chocolate Card
When it comes to credit card rewards, exclusions are the bane of the game. Some transactions simply attract no miles or cashback at all across many cards, and keeping track of exclusions can be an annoying task. These include things like insurance, education, government services and more.
Credit card companies and financial institutions know this, and a few have even created solutions to solve problems they are part of. Actively marketed as cards with few or even “no exclusions”, there are currently 3 cards we can count on for many excluded areas of spend: American Express True Cashback, UOB Absolute, and Chocolate Visa Debit Card.
There are, however, a few key differences to take note of. Also, scroll down to use a calculator to decide which card to use.
Summary of Differences
Note that Chocolate Card info is based on changes from 1st September 2026 onwards:
| Amex True Cashback | UOB Absolute | Chocolate Card | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | ⭐️ Credit Card | ⭐️ Credit Card | Debit Card |
| Spend Limit | ⭐️ Up to credit limit | ⭐️ Up to credit limit | S$1,000 per transaction S$20,000 per day |
| Earn Rate | 1.5% cashback | ⭐️ 1.7% cashback (0.3% cashback for certain categories) | 1 Max Mile Per Dollar |
| Bonus Earn Rate | 3% cashback for new cardholders | 2% cashback for contactless payments | None |
| Spend Cap | Unlimited | Unlimited | S$1,000 per month (S$300 for bill payments) |
| Exclusions | 0% cashback on Grab top-ups and SimplyGo ⭐️ 1.5% cashback for everything else | ⭐️ 0.3% cashback on Grab top-ups 0.3% cashback on charity, education, healthcare, professional services, utilities and Grab wallet top-ups | 9 MCCs excluded + bill-related transactions limited to S$300 spend per month |
| Mobile Wallet Support | ⭐️ Yes | No | ⭐️ Yes |
| Additional Perks | ⭐️ Amex Offers | Certain Amex Offers Some perks like car and yacht rental discounts. Free travel insurance. | None |
| Sign-up Reward | Seasonal; see below Ever-green: 3% cashback for first S$5,000 spend within first 6 months | Seasonal; see below | HeyMax sign-up reward; see below |
| Review | Soon | Tap Here | Tap Here |
Calculator
Steps:
- Input Spend Amount
- Select Spend Category
- Where applicable:
- Check whether you are new to Amex True Cashback
- Input Chocolate Finance Balance
- Select what you will use Max Miles for
Type
While both Amex True Cashback and UOB Absolute are credit cards, Chocolate Card is a debit card.
To be financially prudent, we should be treating our credit cards like debit cards, only spending what we have. In practice, there are a couple of advantages credit cards can give over debit cards.
Credit cards offer interest-free cashflow of up to 55 days, meaning your money can sit in your bank longer earning interest.
Winner: Amex True Cashback and UOB Absolute
Spend Limit
Amex True Cashback and UOB Absolute allow you to spend up to your credit limit. Chocolate Card currently has a S$1,000 per transaction limit and cardholders can only spend up to S$20,000 a day (provided they have sufficient funds in their Chocolate Finance account as money is deducted at the time of transaction).
Winner: Amex True Cashback and UOB Absolute
Earn Rate
The earn rates of Amex True Cashback and UOB Absolute are easy to compare at 1.5% and 1.7% cashback (or 0.3% cashback for certain categories) respectively. That’s S$15 versus S$17 (or S$3) for every S$1,000 spent.
Max Miles are worth 1 cent each when you redeem them for gift cards. You can also use Heymax’s FlyAnywhere programme, redeeming each Max Mile at 1.8 cents each. The earn rate of the Chocolate Card is hence around 1% to 1.8% in rebates.
| Use Case | Value Per Max Mile | Rebate % of Chocolate Card |
|---|---|---|
| Gift Cards | 1¢ | 1% |
| Fly AnyWhere | 1.8¢ | 1.8% |
| Airline Miles | Depends | Depends |
Winner: Chocolate Card
Get S$450 or 26,000 Max Miles upsized S$500 or 28,000 Max Miles with HSBC Cards! Limited time only, tap here to see eligible cards
Rewards Cap
Both Amex True Cashback and UOB Absolute have no caps to their earn rates.
Chocolate Card, however, can only earn a maximum of 1,000 Max Miles each month which is reached with the first S$1,000 of spend. After that, it will only earn 0.4 Max Miles per dollar.
Also, bill payments can only earn a maximum of 100 Max Miles per month with the Chocolate Card, which means it is good for only S$300 of spend each month.
Exclusions
Despite being “no exclusion” cards, all 3 cards do have a few categories of spend that wouldn’t get their advertised earn rates.
Winner: Amex True Cashback
Mobile Wallet Support
Amex True Cashback and Chocolate Card support major mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. UOB Absolute, however, does not.
Winner: Amex True Cashback and Chocolate Card
Additional Perks
With Amex Offers, American Express frequently gives spending promos to Amex cardholders. This can range from hotels to retail shops, and sometimes more general kinds of spending. Amex periodically offers pretty compelling promos such as a recent one that gave S$3 cashback for every transaction of at least S$10 at Shop Small merchants. You can find these offers in the Amex app.
As a card co-branded with Amex, UOB Absolute does also get certain Amex Offers, such as the S$3 cashback promo mentioned above. This is the exception rather than the norm though, and most Amex Offers are not available for this card. Instead, UOB Absolute offers its own perks such as yacht and car rental discounts as well as complimentary travel insurance.
Chocolate Card does not currently offer any additional perks. Heymax, the rewards platform that Chocolate partners with, does have occasional promos.
Winner: Subscribe if you want updates on seasonal promos.
Amex True Cashback: Sign-up Promo
American Express True Cashback
New Cardholders, choose 1:
- S$120 Shopee Vouchers
- 4 × Apple AirTags (retailing S$149)
Plus: upsized 3% cashback capped at first S$5,000 spend within 6 months from card approval
Spend at least S$500 within first 30 days of card approval. Make sure to fill up SingSaver Rewards Redemption Form.
Latest date to apply: 30th June 2025
1.5% cashback on transactions except Grab top-ups
UOB Absolute: Sign-up Promo
Chocolate Card: Sign-up Promo
Chocolate Card requires a Heymax account and you can get bonus miles when you sign up below:
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
Chocolate Finance
Get up to 2% p.a. returns with Chocolate Finance and 1 Max Mile per dollar with Chocolate Card.
💰 Welcome Reward
Sign up by 1st November 2026
| Funding | Reward |
|---|---|
| Fund S$1,000 | S$30 Cash or S$40 Grab Vouchers |
| Fund S$10,000 | S$50 Cash or S$60 Grab Vouchers |
| Fund S$20,000 | S$120 Cash or S$130 Grab Vouchers |
Holding period: 60 days
💳 Chocolate Card
Get 1 Max Mile per dollar spent and no forex fees.
See airlines that Max Miles can go to. You need a HeyMax account first.
💰 Top-up Programme
| Balance | Rates |
|---|---|
| Up to S$20,000 | 2% p.a. (with top-up) |
| S$20,000 to S$50,000 | 1.8% p.a. (with top-up) |
| Above S$50,000 | Target 1.8% |
For reference only; refer to exact details in terms and conditions
Verdict
While Amex True Cashback wins many categories it is in, earn rate probably trumps most other considerations. Chocolate Card currently takes the lead here and should be considered first for “contentious” transactions like government services.
UOB Absolute’s soft exclusions for many such transactions severely limit its usefulness, and its only saving grace right now is its 0.3% cashback rate for Grab top-ups, something which is completely excluded by Amex True Cashback and Chocolate Card.
The good thing when it comes these cards is that you don’t need to choose – I use Chocolate Card and Amex True Cashback for the commonly excluded categories, and keep UOB Absolute around for the occasional Grab top-up. Neither card has a minimum spend, so switching between them isn’t an issue at all.
But if you’re someone who wouldn’t use Grab at all or find the 0.3% too paltry, it might be worthwhile cancelling your UOB Absolute especially if it’s your last UOB card so that you can qualify as a new cardholder again next year.
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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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