Slight Buff: DBS LiveFresh Increases Cashback Cap, Removes FavePay Exclusion From 1st April

DBS is tweaking the cashback programme of the DBS LiveFresh card from 1st April 2023 onwards. Before you freak out – relax, they’re not calling this an enhancement, which means the card isn’t nerfed. Instead, the features are buffed ever so slightly, and in an environment where nerfs are the norm, it is something pretty fortunate.

Thanks to Ben for highlighting.

Cashback cap will be increased slightly

The cashback mechanic will be changed, and the current one until 31st March looks like this:

Cashback (effective till 31st March 2023)	Monthly Cap
0.3% Cashback on All Other Spend	S$20
Up to 5% Cashback on Contactless Spend	S$20
Up to 5% Cashback on Online Spend	S$20
Additional 5% Green Cashback on Sustainable Spend	S$15

The new mechanic from 1st April will be:

Cashback (effective from 1st April 2023)	Monthly Cap
0.3% Cashback on All Spend	S$20
Additional 4.7% Cashback on Contactless Spend	S$20
Additional 4.7% Cashback on Online Spend	S$20
Additional 5% Green Cashback on Sustainable Spend	S$15

If it feels like you’re seeing double, you’re not alone as the two mechanics do look very similar. There is, however, a subtle difference in the maximum amount of cashback you can get now.

Until the change, the maximum amount of cashback you can get at a 5% earn rate is S$20 when you spend S$400 on contactless transactions, and another S$20 with S$400 spent online. This makes a cashback cap of S$40 for S$800 of spend at the 5% earn rate.

Under the new mechanic, the S$20 cap is on the 4.7% bonus earn rate which means it maxes out with a spend of S$425.53. This means you can earn S$21.27 of cashback for either category after the change, or S$42.54 on S$851.06 of spend.

FavePay removed from exclusions

Another improvement is that FavePay will no longer be excluded for DBS LiveFresh after the change. The exclusion of FavePay transactions was always quite curious since cards from other banks had no issue giving their high cashback rate for FavePay along with other wallet apps. DBS itself also does not exclude any other wallet apps from rewards, so it was always perplexing why FavePay was singled out as an exclusion.

There is currently no indication whether other cards like DBS Woman’s World Mastercard would also support FavePay transactions soon, but it seems like a promising sign of things to come.

Conclusion

I haven’t talked about the DBS LiveFresh in a while, and it’s not that 5% isn’t an okay rate, but perhaps okay doesn’t quite cut it when we have great rates between 6 to 8% cashback other cards like UOB EVOL, Maybank Family and Friends, or Citi Cash Back offer.

It’s certainly nice not to see a nerf, but I do wish DBS had gone further to make its flagship cashback card more competitive with its competitors.

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