Ranked: Best Cards to Maximise Cashback/Miles (August 2020)
The most significant update over the past month was Visa reclassifying Grab top-ups, rendering GrabPay MasterCard all but dead as we move into August.
Tiers
| Tier | Cashback | Miles | Winner |
| 1 | UOB One (8.33% to 10%) Maybank FnF (8%) | – | Cashback |
| 2a | OCBC FRANK (6%) | – | Cashback |
| 2b | UOB One (5%) DBS LiveFresh (5%) | All 4 mpd: DBS Woman’s World CitiRewards UOB Preferred Platinum OCBC Titanium Rewards HSBC Revolution CitiRewards | Draw |
| 3 | UOB One (3.33%) Amex True Cashback (3%+0.8%)¹ | UOB KrisFlyer (3mpd) | Draw |
| 4 | SC Spree (2%) | – | Cashback |
| 5 | Citi Cash Back+ SC Unlimited Cashback | 1.2 to 1.4 mpd | Miles |
Apply for cards at sethisfy.com/cards for attractive sign-up rewards!
The logic of the tiers are simple: if you are a cashback person, you’d obviously put all your spending on Tier 1 cards, followed by Tier 2 when your Tier 1 cards are fully maximised. A miles person would focus on the Miles column, and someone who is Team Value like me would see whether miles or cashback wins in the specific tier.
Tier 1 & Tier 2A
People who chase miles might vehemently disagree, but there simply isn’t any compelling miles cards now to rival the top tier cashback cards. You could quite easily get between 6 to 10% in this category, while mile cards offer 4 mpd at best.
Also, miles are considerably lousier during a pandemic where travel is out of the question. Further hurting mile cards is that CitiRewards Visa no longer gives 4 mpd on Grab top-ups, making a 4+0.4 mpd earn rate no longer possible.
If you can satisfy UOB One’s condition of $2,000 per month for three consecutive months, and shop often at Dairy Farm outlets, it may be your best pick, but the best cards at this tier for most people are Maybank Family and Friends as well as OCBC FRANK.
Tier 2B
Tier 2B is largely unchanged, with DBS LiveFresh at 5% – overtaken by OCBC FRANK but still makes a good supplement card if your FRANK is maxed. UOB One works well for bigger spenders who can hit $2,000 monthly.
As usual, there are a plethora of 4 mpd cards you can use for miles. CitiRewards sadly falls back to this tier after being the sole card to award 4 mpd on Grab top-ups for months.
Tiers 3 to 5
These are cards you go to if your Tier 1 and 2 cards have been maxed or don’t qualify. StanChart Spree takes a hit, unfortunately, due to the Visa-Grab situation. This makes Amex True Cashback a stand out for being the sole card that still give rewards on Grab top-ups.
Promos affect tiers
Noteworthy is that banks run promos from time to time that can drastically change the position of a card. For instance, for July and August, DBS is giving an additional 8% in cashback or vouchers for hitting a certain spend goal. This would make DBS LiveFresh potentially give more rewards than OCBC FRANK.
Join the conversation at our Telegram group to exchange pointers and tips on maximising your card rewards.
Keep up to date on the best cashback/mile cards, financial products, attractive deals, and more tips to maximise your financial wellbeing by subscribing to my Telegram channel.
Subscribe to the channel, then join the group chat. You would often benefit from the tips shared exclusively in the group chat!
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 opnion, and none of the information here constitutes personal financial advice nor represents the views of my employer(s).