UOB One Credit Card Review (2026)
UOB One Credit Card was one of the first few cards I reviewed when this site started some 6 years ago. Back then, the value proposition was simple – use UOB One, top up your Grab wallet, and get 10% cashback on practically anything.
I didn’t know why anyone even bothered with miles back then, but times have changed (very drastically) since then. 2020 was forever and a global pandemic ago, so how does UOB One hold up in 2026?
Let’s take a closer look at the card, and there is also a calculator later in this article for you to see the cashback rate you can get from this card.
| Quick Info | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Earn Rate | Tier 1: S$60 cashback Tier 2: S$100 cashback Tier 3: S$200 cashback (3.33% quarterly cashback) | Bonus Earn Rate | Tier 1 and 2: up to 5% bonus cashback for selected merchants Tier 3: up to 6.67% bonus cashback for selected merchants |
| Min. Spend | Tier 1: S$600 per month Tier 2: S$1,000 per month Tier 3: S$2,000 per month ≥10 transactions per month | Spend Cap | Tier 1: S$600 per month Tier 2: S$1,000 per month Tier 3: S$2,000 per month |
| Cashback Expiry | 2 years | Tracking | Posting date Statement month |
| Apply | Tap Here | Annual Fee | S$196.20 (waived for first year) |
Cashback is awarded on a quarterly basis
UOB One is one of the first cards (if not the first) to implement a quarterly mechanic in awarding rewards. Instead of crediting cashback on a monthly basis based on the user’s spend for the month like most other cashback cards, UOB One awards cashback every 3 months based on the user fulfilling the monthly minimum spend for 3 consecutive months.
I have never liked such quarterly mechanics because the requirements are more onerous on the cardholder. Miss a month, and you lose the entire quarter’s cashback. There are instances of cardholders appealing in such cases, and to UOB’s credit I have heard of a few reporting success.
Note that the card does not correspond to the calendar quarter. Instead, the month of your card approval would determine your statement quarter. For example, a card issued in February will have these following quarters:
- Q1: Feb, Mar, Apr
- Q2: May, Jun, Jul
- Q3: Aug, Sep, Oct
- Q4: Nov, Dec, Jan
Spend S$600, S$1,000, or S$2,000 per month for 3 consecutive months
The card works best if one’s spend is more regular and predictable, and even then you will need to fit your amount according to the 3 tiers of spend for optimal cashback:
| Tier | Spend Amount | Quarterly Cashback | Cashback Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S$600 per month | S$60 | 3.33% |
| 2 | S$1,000 per month | S$100 | 3.33% |
| 3 | S$2,000 per month | S$200 | 3.33% |
The most optimal use case would be putting a consistent spending of either S$600, S$1,000, or S$2,000 per month. Any amount above the required spend is essentially wasted (with the exception of Selected Merchants that earn additional cashback as we would see later).
For instance, you can spend S$600, S$900, and S$1,000 for 3 months. Your spend in this hypothetical quarter would qualify for Tier 1 and get S$60 of cashback for the 3 months. This is an effective cashback rate of just 2.4% on the S$2,500 of spend, because the amounts above S$600 of spend for Month 2 and Month 3 are in excess of the S$600 per month required.
Excess spending also does not help months with lower amounts of spend. You could spend S$1,200 in Month 1, S$999 in Month 2, and S$1,200 in Month 3 and still only count for Tier 1 because your Month 2 fell short of the S$1,000 required to hit Tier 2.
10 transactions per month required
Cardholders need to clock at least 10 transactions per month to qualify for the base 3.33% cashback.
There isn’t any minimum spend to these transactions, so even very small amounts work. The challenge is probably remembering to do it because it can be pretty easy to overlook (which I did until someone reminded me after I posted this review 😅).
Typical exclusions apply, everything else is counted
The good thing about UOB One is that it’s a card you can use for most areas of spending you might have. Instead of listing down types of transactions eligible for the minimum spend, you just need to avoid specifically excluded ones. This makes the card a lot easier to use than many cards, and it’s unlike you would need to check MCCs when you use UOB One.
UOB One’s excluded transactions are pretty typical, including things like Grab wallet and ShopeePay wallet top-up transactions, as well as a bunch of MCCs like insurance and government services. These are transactions best left to cards that have no exclusions.
Pretty solid list of Selected Merchants with up to 6.67% bonus cashback
What the card does list down are specific merchants that get additional cashback. UOB calls them Selected Merchants, and such transactions will get between 1% to 6.67% bonus cashback on top of the 3.33% quarterly cashback depending on the merchant as well as one’s spend tier.
| Selected Merchants | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🚕 Grab 🍔 McDonald’s 🛍️ Shopee SG 🚇 SimplyGo | 5% | 5% | 6.67% |
| 🛒 Grocery Spend | – | 2.67% | 4.67% |
| 💡 SP Utilities | 1% | 1% | 1% |
It’s a pretty solid list of merchants, with pretty common areas of spend like Grab (including both its ride-hailing and food delivery services), SimplyGo, and Shopee.
Grocery spend also goes by MCC 5411 instead of specifying specific supermarket chains.
For good measure, SP Utilities is also included for bonus 1% cashback. It is worth noting that UOB One Credit Card is one of the few cards that do not exclude MCC 4900, so even other utilities providers will count towards the spend for the card’s quarterly cashback, just not the bonus 1% cashback.
Additional cashback is capped at S$120 per month
The additional cashback given on Selected Merchants is capped at S$120 per month. Depending on the merchant you are spending on, the spend cap would also be different owing to the different cashback rates given to different merchants.
For instance, Grab transactions can get additional 5% (or 6.67% cashback for Tier 3) cashback which maxes out at a spend of S$2,400. SP Utilities bills get a cashback of 1% which would require a whopping S$12,000 of spend to max out.
These numbers are beyond the spend amount of each tier, and you will indeed still continue to get additional cashback for these transactions.
Assuming someone spends entirely in Grab (or one of the Selected Merchants in the this category) and reaches S$600, S$900, and S$1,000 of spend across 3 months, they would receive 3.33% of the first S$600 of spend per month. The excess spend of S$300 and S$400, being Selected Merchant transactions, would still earn the Additional Cashback of 5% up to the S$120 cashback cap.
True 10% cashback? Not really
One exception would be for merchants that get 6.67% bonus cashback under Tier 3. At this cashback rate, the cashback cap of S$120 is maxed out S$1,799.10 of spend, which is slightly under the S$2,000 per month required for that tier.
To clarify, someone who spends all S$2,000 in Grab (or one of the other Selected Merchants in this category) transactions per month will get 10% cashback on the first S$1,799.10 spend, followed by 3.33% for the remaining S$200.90. This is a maximum effective rate of 9.33% cashback. One wouldn’t be able to get true, effective 10% cashback on this card, but it’s pretty close.
Works with UOB One Savings Account
UOB One Credit Card, as its name suggests, works with the UOB One Savings Account. I’m not sure whether this can be counted as a feather in the card’s hat, but if you’re still using UOB’s flagship savings account you will need to spend at least S$500 per month on one of the eligible UOB cards, and accomplishing UOB One Card’s lowest tier of S$600 per month also meets this requirement.
Its competition is also pretty stiff. UOB EVOL may be a better card for some cashback folks, while UOB Lady’s is a pretty strong card (and the only choice) for miles people.
Calculator
Monthly spend
Split your spend by normal spend and Selected Merchant categories. All fields are optional.
Assumption: all spend entered is eligible spend. The calculator does not validate excluded MCCs or posting dates.
Your result
Cashback rate breakdown
| Spend | Cashback | Effective rate |
|---|
Sign-up Promo
The Good
- Spend tiers cater to different levels of spend
- Most spend are eligible for min. spend
- Gives generous bonus cashback for Selected Merchants with relatively high cashback cap
- Selected Merchants include common areas of spend like Grab and Shopee
- Rare: utilities transactions are not excluded plus bonus 1% cashback on SP Utilities
- Works with UOB One Savings Account (though less relevant these days)
The Bad
- Quarterly cashback of 3.33% is on the lower side
- Quarterly mechanic means that one missed month = losing entire quarter’s cashback
- You need to remember to clock at least 10 transactions per month
- Not that suitable for those who do not have fairly consistent spending each month
The Verdict
UOB One Credit Card has been a longtime favourite for many cashback users, possibly because the monthly spend requirement is fairly low and one does not need to worry too much about things like MCCs when using the card.
A quarterly spend mechanic is annoying, but those with consistent spending habits each month would find it tolerable.
Where UOB One Credit Card shines is its generous cashback on Selected Merchants with up to 6.67% bonus cashback on top of the base 3.33% rate. It is also one of the rare few cards that do not exclude utilities, and even adds bonus 1% cashback for utilities.
With other good cashback cards like Maybank Family & Friends weakened of late, UOB One is now a more compelling choice for those who prefer cashback.
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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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Sry rules change insurance bill is not included anymore
Yeah I mentioned that. That’s why you have to use ipaymy
I heard from UOB it’s not counted probably. Can you double confirm it?
ipaymy changed their MCC so it should still work.
Does insurance payment contribute to the spending amount?
It does not contribute to the card’s spending amount.
Because I tried using ipaymy 2 months ago but was told its not counted when I called in.
CSOs aren’t usually accurate. It depends on the MCC and ipaymy recently changed it to still be eligible for UOB cards.
Recently got written confirmation via UOB’s chat that ipaymy is counted. Also have some comments from other forums and chat channels that it is counted.
one sly method i recently discovered by hacking grabpay (so that it still counts as your eligible spend) –
This hacks works with any card and it might be better with DBS Live fresh too!
If you have a singtel line, top up $200 using your singtel bill (max amount allowed per month), then use some of this money to top up your grabpay wallet. Keep some in the dash account so you can benefit from 5% cashback rewards for the first weekly transaction for watsons / groceries at fair price etc…
Do note that this $200 will be charged to you in the following month when your singtel bill is due. (this would matter if you are a UOB One card user, since you always have to aim to just hit the $500, $1000 or $2k spending cap nicely, otherwise you won’t get cashback for the extra spending…
I think I will probably cancel my UOB one card after my quarter ends, cos I usually spend between $500 and $1k, card like DBS live fresh works better to me, and I rather consolidate my accounts cos I already have too many bank accounts. It sucks when you have to maintain a minimum balance in each account when these dead funds can be used for investments.
I do this and pay off the bill with Maybank FnF for 8%.
You can still maintain UOB One card without the account. Don’t have to have a bank’s savings account to use their credit cards.