Review: Dash PET – Earn 1.5% p.a.^ on Your Savings, Capital Guaranteed, Plus Get $10 Cashback and Free Coverage!

This article is written in collaboration with Singtel Dash. All views expressed in the article are the independent opinions of Sethisfy.com. Read Sethisfy.com’s editorial policy.

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Searching for a place to put funds in a safe and liquid manner? Dash PET by Etiqa Insurance can give you up to 1.5%* p.a. on up to $10,000 of your savings! This is the highest rate** compared to similar digital insurance savings plans available for subscription without having to make spending or purchase of additional financial product.

Get $10 when you sign up within the Dash app! Not a Singtel Dash user yet? Use referral code DASH-OZ9G2 and get more goodies. More promo details below.

Getting 1.5%* p.a. returns… capital guaranteed and no lock-in period

A collaboration between Singtel and Etiqa Insurance, Dash PET offers 1.3%* p.a. returns on the first $10,000, and you can unlock the additional 0.2%* p.a. by activating your free insurance protection.

PET stands for Protect, Earn, and Transact, and we will start with the star of the show: Earn.

Crediting rate

At 1.5%* p.a, Dash PET offers the highest rate** among its digital insurance savings plan peers when you consider not buying any product nor making any form of spending. The 1.5%* p.a. rate is on the first $10,000 and anything above that gets 0.3%* p.a. pretty much on par with similar products in this space.

While the 1.5%* p.a. crediting rate is non-guaranteed – which means Etiqa can change this rate anytime – you will enjoy the 1.5%* p.a. until a change in rate is announced. This is common practice for products of this class with no lock-in period, and unlike a “projected return”, there are no surprises when it comes to how much returns you get each month. 

Capital guaranteed and liquidity

Your capital is also guaranteed and your savings will not dip below your initial premium. Technically an insurance product, money placed in Dash PET is protected by Policy Owners’ Protection Scheme.

You can top up whenever you want up to a maximum of $30,000, and there is no lock-in period to worry about. You can top up from as low as $1, making it possible to easily put loose change into your Dash PET. It costs nothing to transfer it to your Dash wallet for spending through there which we would see under Transact later on.  For withdrawals made via PayNow, there is an admin fee of $0.70.

Free insurance coverage and more returns

The Protect part of P.E.T. is interesting: eligible Dash PET users get Death & Total and Permanent Disability (TPD)* absolutely free during the first Dash PET policy year. The sum assured is up to 5 times of your Dash PET Account Value, and the maximum benefit you can get is S$50,000 sum assured. You have to activate this for the additional 0.2%* p.a with no obligation to continue the coverage beyond its free first year.

There is minimal underwriting done during the activation, and those not eligible for the free Death & TPD coverage will still get an Accidental Death plan given for free (the coverage will depend on age and occupation).

This is on top of the Death Benefit of 105% of your Dash PET Account Value, as well as free COVID-19 coverage provided by Etiqa for COVID-19 related hospitalisation, death, and even vaccination side-effects. 

This is Dash PET’s way to segue into other forms of coverage such as Major Cancer and Accidental Death coverage, and you could consider them as micro-policies that supplement your existing coverage. You could also opt to increase the Death & TPD coverage amount. Adding on extra coverage also ups your crediting rate by as much as 0.75% p.a.^ for your first S$10,000 savings.

Transact via Dash for points and cashback

Finally, Transact refers to the ability to use the amount saved in Dash PET for your everyday spend. Dash started life as a wallet app, and you can withdraw money from Dash PET to your Dash wallet seamlessly without fees. The amount can then be spent via the following methods:

• QR merchants: Dash, FavePay, PayNow (e.g. hawkers and heartland shops)
• Contactless or online shopping with Dash Visa Virtual Card 

Dash works with FavePay QR codes and PayNow/SGQR, and you can also get Fave cashback on transactions. Alternatively, you can also use the Dash Visa Virtual Card found in the app to make payments with the card number, or through a smartphone wallet like Apple Pay.

You get Dash reward points of between 2 to 6 points per dollar spent depending on your membership tier, and should you have any leftover funds from your transactions, you can easily transfer it back to your Dash PET from as low as $1 to earn returns on it rather than sit idle in your Dash wallet.

Sign-up promo: Use DASH-OZ9G2 to unlock more rewards

Activity	Reward for New Dash Users	Reward for Existing Dash Users
Sign up for Singtel Dash with code DASH-OZ9G2	–	–
Make first eligible transaction of at least $3	$3 cashback	–
Sign up for Dash PET Save a least $1,000 or $3,000 or $5,000 Opt in for free protection	$1 or $5 or $10 cashback	$1 or $5 or $10 cashback

The cashback will be credited as Dash credits within 30 days from the end of the calendar month of which the Dash PET policy was successfully funded, and is for the first 15,000 completed applications.  Promotion is until 31^st March 2022. Terms and conditions

Conclusion

Dash PET checks off main things a person would want from a more risk averse approach to their savings: Dash PET guarantees one’s capital, offers liquidity, and a decent earn rate for a product of this class.

It also has some whimsy to it and the concept of a pet that you grow is an adorable idea. The pet even grows when you reach certain savings milestones, and it is really a cute visual motivator to keep you saving more.

The good:

• Decent earn rate for virtually no conditions
• Full liquidity of funds
• Free insurance coverage

The bad:

• Admin fee of $0.70 for PayNow withdrawal

The ugly:

• This article comes with a slew of disclaimers below

Disclaimer:

• ** Based on comparison with similar digital insurance savings plans available for subscription. Information accurate as at 9 September 2021. This comparison does not include information on all similar products. Etiqa Insurance does not guarantee that all aspects of the products have been illustrated. You may wish to conduct your own comparison for products that are listed in www.comparefirst.sg.
  
  
• *For the first policy year, 1.30% p.a. up to S$10,000 and 0.30% p.a. for subsequent amount in Account Value. Crediting rates are non-guaranteed. Additional 0.2% p.a. to the existing 1.3% p.a. returns for your first S$10,000 Dash PET savings during the first policy year while the complimentary protection is active. Complimentary Accidental Death coverage will be offered for the same sum duration if you are not eligible for this add-on protection. Sum assured will be based on your age and occupation.
  
  
• ^Additional interests of up to 0.25% p.a. from each activated payable add-on protection applies to the first S$10,000 account value of the active Dash PET policy.
  
  
• Dash PET is not a bank account or a fixed deposit. It is an insurance savings plan that earns a crediting interest rate. Terms apply. This policy is underwritten by Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd. (Company Reg. No. 201331905K). This content is for reference only and is not a contract of insurance. Full details of the policy terms and conditions can be found in the policy contract. Protected up to specified limits by SDIC. As buying a life insurance policy is a long-term commitment, an early termination of the policy usually involves high costs and the surrender value, if any, that is payable to you may be zero or less than the total premiums paid. You should seek advice from a financial adviser before deciding to purchase the policy. If you choose not to seek advice, you should consider if the policy is suitable for you. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Information is accurate as at 5th December 2021.

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