OCBC 365 Credit Card Review

OCBC 365 is one of the more established cashback credit cards in Singapore, and probably one of the more recognisable ones given OCBC’s marketing over the years.

However, I’ve never been particularly impressed by the card. Despite requiring a minimum monthly spend of S$800, it previously offered just 3% cashback on most of its categories, making it difficult to recommend over competing cashback cards. This has changed quite significantly from 1st November 2026.

OCBC has improved the card quite a fair bit, doubling the cashback rates on groceries and transport, increasing dining cashback, and even simplifying the minimum spending tier. Its dining category is also now more comprehensive and directly addresses one of my biggest gripes about the card.

Unfortunately, not everything has improved. Some categories have been nerfed significantly, including one that was previously a compelling reason to use OCBC 365.

So, is the revamped OCBC 365 finally worth getting?

OCBC 365 now offers 6% cashback on four categories

From 1st November 2026, OCBC 365 offers 6% cashback on dining, groceries, land transport and petrol, provided you spend at least S$800 in a calendar month.

Here’re the current, revised rates:

Category	Cashback Rate
🍽️ Dining	6%
🛒 Groceries	6%
🚕 Land transport	6%
⛽ Petrol	6%
💊 Watsons	3% until 31 March 2027*
💡 Telco and utilities	0.25%
📺 Streaming	0.25%
⚡ EV charging	0.25%
🌐 Selected advertising platforms	0.5% or 1%
Other eligible spending	0.25%

The improvement to groceries and transport is particularly significant, as these are categories that most people would regularly spend on. Previously, getting just 3% cashback on groceries was rather unattractive when cards like Maybank Family & Friends and Citi Cash Back offered better rates.

At 6%, OCBC 365 is finally competitive enough to warrant consideration.

S$800 minimum spend with S$160 cashback cap

Another improvement is the removal of the two-tier cashback structure. Previously, cardholders who spent S$800 a month had their cashback capped at S$80. To enjoy a higher S$160 cap, they would need to spend at least S$1,600.

The new structure is much simpler:

	Before 1st November 2026	Current
Minimum monthly spend	S$800	S$800
Higher spending tier	S$1,600	Removed
Cashback cap at S$800 spend	S$80	S$160
Maximum monthly cashback	S$160	S$160
Individual category caps	None	None

With the new structure, you can earn as much as S$160 cashback once you meet the S$800 minimum spend, without needing to hit a separate S$1,600 spending tier.

More importantly, the card continues to have no individual category caps. This is one of OCBC 365’s strongest selling points over many competing cashback cards, which typically impose separate caps on different categories.

You could spend entirely on groceries, dining, transport, petrol or any combination of these categories without worrying about allocating spending among them.

How much cashback can you actually earn?

Assuming all your spending qualifies for 6% cashback:

Monthly Eligible Spend	Cashback	Effective Rate
S$500	S$1.25	0.25%
S$800	S$48	6%
S$1,000	S$60	6%
S$1,500	S$90	6%
S$2,000	S$120	6%
S$2,500	S$150	6%
S$2,666.67	S$160	6%
S$3,000	S$160	5.33%

You can therefore spend approximately S$2,667 a month before hitting the maximum S$160 cashback cap. This is a fairly generous amount, especially for a card without individual category caps.

6% on dining finally includes fast food restaurants

One of my biggest criticisms of the old OCBC 365 was that its dining category excluded MCC 5814.

This is a common merchant category code used not only by fast food restaurants, but also by other eateries and even restaurants. The exclusion of 5814 meant that cardholders could miss out on bonus cashback despite spending at what one would expect to be a restaurant.

Thankfully, OCBC has finally included MCC 5814 in its dining category, along 5811 and 5812:

MCC	Description
5811	Caterers
5812	Eating Places and Restaurants
5814	Fast Food Restaurants

This makes the card considerably more reliable for dining than it was previously. Dining transactions at restaurants, more casual establishements, cafés, and eligible food delivery platforms can qualify for the higher rate as long as they fall under one of the above MCCs.

MCC 5813, which generally covers bars, cocktail lounges, nightclubs and similar establishments, remains outside the eligible dining MCCs. This is unfortunate, but a lot less of an issue that the previous omission of 5814.

6% on groceries and transport is a major improvement

Previously, OCBC 365 offered just 3% cashback on groceries and land transport. This was hardly compelling given the alternatives available. Doubling these categories to 6% makes a meaningful difference.

The groceries category covers eligible supermarket spending under MCC 5411, including qualifying online grocery purchases.

For land transport, eligible transactions include public transport via SimplyGo, ride-hailing services such as Grab, Gojek and TADA, and taxi rides, provided the transactions are processed under the relevant qualifying MCCs. Of course, EZ-Link and TransitLink top-ups are excluded from the transport bonus category.

Utilities cashback nerfed from 3% to 0.25%

Unfortunately, one of OCBC 365’s more attractive benefits has been almost completely eliminated.

Previously, OCBC 365 was one of the relatively few cashback cards that rewarded recurring electricity bills, offering 3% cashback on eligible payments. This was especially useful because utilities are commonly excluded from credit card rewards programmes.

From 1st November 2026, however, the following categories have been reduced to the base cashback rate of 0.25%:

• Telco bills
• Electricity and other utility bills
• Streaming subscriptions
• EV charging

One silver lining is that eligible utility transactions under MCC 4900 remain eligible for base cashback and can count towards the S$800 minimum spend requirement, as opposed to many cards that simply exclude such transactions from minimum spend requirements and cashback entirely.

While the drop in cashback for utilities is unfortunate, the increase in cashback for dining, groceries, transportation may well offset this nerf – unless your spend on this card was predominantly utilities, in which case you may have to find alternatives.

No shopping category

One of the bigger flaws of OCBC 365 is the lack of a shopping category. As a card advertised to be for one’s everyday expenses, not having a category for things like Shopee purchases and other online shopping is rather disappointing.

Then again, even if OCBC 365 does include a shopping category, a weak 3% cashback rate just isn’t going to cut it. To put things into perspective, the card’s own sibling, OCBC Rewards – a card primarily used for miles – can offer 4.17% cashback on certain online shopping portals.

6% cashback overseas, though foreign currency fees apply

OCBC 365’s 6% cashback categories also apply to eligible overseas transactions. This could be particularly useful for people who frequently travel to places like Malaysia, where spending on petrol, groceries and dining can be substantial.

This is subject to a 3.25% foreign currency transaction fee, which is pretty common across banks and different cards except those that specifically do away with such fees. The effective savings on qualifying foreign currency transactions are therefore approximately 2.75% after factoring in these fees, before any exchange-rate differences.

0.5% or 1% cashback on selected advertising platforms

A new addition to the card, selected advertising platforms now get up to 1% on OCBC 365 with no minimum spend nor cashback cap. These include:

• 99.co
• EdgeProp
• PropertyGuru
• StreetSine
• Facebook and Meta (transactions made under MCC 7311 – Advertising Services)

1% cashback is given for full payment transactions and again, the same criticism applies – this is not a particularly enticing rate given that many general spend cards would offer higher rewards (as long as MCC 7311 isn’t excluded).

What could be more interesting is that the card also offers 0.5% cashback for such payments made on an instalment basis. This could prove useful for those who make payment on such platforms and opt for instalment plans to improve their cashflow.

Works with OCBC 360 Account

OCBC 365 is one of 5 cards that unlocks bonus interest for the OCBC 360 Account. Depending on your balance amount with the account, this can be seen as additional “cashback” on your spend.

Unfortunately, the bonus interest from the Spend category now stands at just 0.25% p.a. since 1st May 2026. That is S$2.08 for every S$10,000, capped at the first S$100,000 balance. This may well change since rates are going up, and you can stay subscribed for any updates.

At least S$500 of spend is required, which is met anyway when one meets the monthly minimum spend amount for OCBC 365.

Annual fee and waiver requirements

OCBC 365 has an annual fee of S$196.20, including GST, which is waived for the first two years. Subsequently, cardholders need to spend at least S$10,000 in a card membership year to enjoy an automatic annual fee waiver.

Even if you fall outside the spend requirements, annual fee waiver requests have been fairly easy with OCBC in my experience.

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The Verdict

Previously, OCBC 365 was a rather unremarkable cashback card, with mediocre earn rates and a relatively high minimum spending requirement. Its main saving grace was the 3% cashback on utilities, a category that few other cards rewarded.

The revamped OCBC 365 is considerably more attractive. With 6% cashback on dining (now with 5814), groceries, transport and petrol, a generous S$160 monthly cashback cap, and no individual category caps, it is now a competitive cashback card.

Of course, the changes aren’t entirely positive. The nerf to utilities cashback is unfortunate, while the lack of a shopping category continues to be a weakness. That said, unless you were predominantly using OCBC 365 for utilities, the improvements to its other categories should more than make up for the loss.

Where OCBC 365 really shines is for bigger spenders who don’t want to worry about juggling different category caps. Being able to earn 6% cashback on up to approximately S$2,667 of monthly spending within just one or two categories is a compelling proposition, particularly when combined with the additional interest from OCBC 360.

While there are still cards offering higher cashback rates on individual categories, OCBC 365 has finally carved out a compelling reason to choose it over the competition. I would now readily recommend it to anyone who consistently spends at least S$800 monthly across its bonus categories.

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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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