The Best Wallet App, Bank Account, Trading App, and Credit Cards!
Here are the best personal finance products that have given us users the best value over the past year, and would hopefully still hold strong in the new year ahead!
Best Wallet App of the Year
Okay I have talked a lot about Kris+ but I can’t help it because it really is such a strong wallet app and deserves the Best Wallet App of the Year for 2022. From relatively frequent spend and win promos to milesback campagins, Kris+ delivers earn rates that no other wallet app can match. Even its base earn rates of 3 to 9 miles per dollar or 2 to 6% cashback is generous, and you get these rewards on top of your card’s earn rates.
Kris+ does have relatively scarce merchant acceptance, but the list of merchants is growing each month with new retailers and restaurants added. This problem was so bad at first, even shops that accepted Kris+ had cashiers who had no idea how to work the app. Such an issue is long solved now that more users are coming on board, and if you have been missing out, sign up here, and check out my guide for more details.
Kris+
Remember to enter code W159000
New users
Get S$5 when you sign up with referral code W159000
First 10,000: spend at least S$50 within a single transaction with a Mastercard credit/debit card and get bonus 2,250 Krispay miles (S$15 rebate). Make sure to start the challenge first.
Until 31st December 2023
Gives miles on top of your usual card rewards! Not a miles person? The miles can also be used as cashback. Get as much as additional 9 miles or 6% cashback! See the review here and check out the guide
The honourable mention for Best Wallet App of the Year goes to ShopBack Pay which can rival Kris+ in terms of earn rates. It also does have its promos from time to time, and just like Kris+ offers its additional cashback rates on top of our usual credit card rewards.
ShopBack has also been getting their wallet app accepted in places like hawker centres and food courts, and it’s a strong wallet app to use where it’s accepted.
Shopback
Use code CsgtbD
New users
Get S$5 when you sign up with referral code CsgtbD, make a transaction of at least S$20, and add your withdrawal information.
Gives extra cashback on top of your usual card rewards!
Best Trading App of the Year
The trading app scene has been quite competitive over the past couple of years with all manners of animals trying to win you over. This prize has to be given to the one that has been giving the best value to users, and my pick would be Webull.
Do note that Webull has been a regular sponsor of my site and YouTube channel, but I think we can all agree that Webull has been one of the most generous. It has been giving great sign-up offers and its trading fees currently stand at a big fat 0 for commission and platform fees.
Webull has also been introducing new features such as buying of mutual funds, and it also supports fractional trading I really like. These two features mean that you can invest even with a low capital outlay, and you can have a well diversified portfolio without incurring high fees that other brokers tend to charge.
Webull
Until 3.59PM 7th December 2023
| Activity | Reward | |
| Register and open account with this link | 0 commission trades for US Stocks and ETFs for 31 days 0 subscription fees for mutual funds | |
| Fund any amount | 🔥 | TSLA US$3 each AAPL US$50 each AMZN US$100 each GOOG US$500 each |
| Maintain funds for at least 30 days | 🔥 | |
| Accumulate deposit with Moneybull before 29th December 2023 (3.59PM) and hold until 31st March 2024 (11.59PM) | US$2,000: US$80 cash vouchers US$100,000: US$3,000 cash vouchers | |
Get 0 platform fee, and trade fractional shares from as low as US$5 per trade. Great for dollar-cost averaging small amounts!
Last updated 5th December 2023.
The honourable mention for Best Trading App of the Year goes to Syfe Trade. I haven’t talked about that app in a while, but it is perhaps the easiest to use owing to its simple and clean user interface. Syfe Trade recently introduced SGX trading, and you can now buy local stocks which was a missing feature during its launch.
Syfe Trade Promo Details (tap here for review)
Last updated: 18th June 2023
| Activity | Reward |
Sign up for Syfe Trade (use phone) with promo code SETHISFY | – |
| Fund minimum S$2,000 and place your first trade within 30 days of account creation | S$20 for new to Syfe customers |
Best Bank Account of the Year
High-interest bank accounts are becoming a thing again, after becoming irrelevant for a good part of the pandemic thanks to suppressed interest rates. They’ve made a big comeback since, and UOB has offered not only attractive interest rates, but great promos too.
You have probably missed the flash sale (see the importance of subscribing to the Telegram?) but UOB still has a Lunar New Year promo that lets you earmark funds for added cash gifts (will write a post on this soon).
UOB One Account
Up to S$110 cash credit comprising EITHER 1a) S$60 cash credit, OR 1b) S$30 cash credit and 2) S$50 cash credit:
Get as much as 5% p.a. effective interest on $100,000 balance!
The honourable mention for Best Bank Account of the Year goes to OCBC 360, and you can see a in-depth comparison here. Also, see more savings products here.
Best Miles Card of the Year
My pick for Best Miles Card of the Year is Citi Prestige, and you would probably choose any card that gets you some 300,000 worth of miles in a few months to be your personal favourite too. This was achieved almost entirely with Citi PayAll promos, where I essentially bought miles for cheap by putting all manners of bills and payments through Citibank’s payment service.
While Citi PayAll is also available on other Citi cards, the Citi Prestige is a particularly compelling one to use since PayAll spend counts towards its sign-up promo as well as complimentary airport transfers.
Citi Prestige
If code is required C04233289T
🔥 👍🏼
New or existing Citi Cardholders
Apply here (if you get an error message signing up as an existing cardholder, try again as a new Citi cardholder)
Get 177,500 ThankYou points worth 71,000 miles (even existing cardholders of other Citi cards are eligible!):
| Welcome Gift (payment of annual fee) | 62,500 points (25,000 miles) |
| S$1,000 spend in local currency¹ within qualifying period² | 57,500 points (23,000 miles) |
| S$1,000 spend in foreign currency within qualifying period² | 57,500 points (23,000 miles) |
| Total | 177,500 points (71,000 miles) |
For quick reference only. See terms and conditions for full details.
- Fee-paying Citi PayAll transactions also count towards the local spend requirement.
- Qualifying period is 2 months after end of card approval month (e.g. card approved on 15th August 2023 → qualifying period until 30th October 2023).
- Existing cardholders of other Citi cards can also enjoy this promo.
Until 31st January 2024
⚠️ For new to Citi customers: I encourage you to apply for one of the other Citi Cards first before getting Citi Prestige. This way you enjoy both promos.
Complimentary hotel nights, unlimited lounge access, and limousine service. Annual requirement of S$120,000 (fairly flexible and up to the bank’s discretion). Read the review here and an analysis if the promo is worth it
Honorable mentions go to HSBC Revolution, UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, and Citi Rewards + Amaze. All three cards give 4 miles per dollar on most areas of spend, and they are good choices to get lots of miles for your daily expenditure. A comparison article is coming up, so stay subscribed to the Telegram for that.
Best Cashback Card of the Year
Whether a cashback card is good or not is perhaps one of the most subjective things on this list – we can’t even agree on what earn rate a cashback card gives sometimes – but few people would dispute that UOB EVOL is a strong cashback card deserving to be called the best for 2022. Its contemporary, OCBC FRANK, was nerfed a few months ago, leaving UOB EVOL an easy pick for Best Cashback Card of the Year.
While its “8% cashback” marketing is misleading, the UOB EVOL can easily give an effective 6.67% cashback for S$600 of spend per month. The requirements are simple and straightforward since you just need to split your spend between online and contactless payments. To top it off, UOB EVOL even works as an eligible card for UOB One Account’s requirements.
UOB EVOL
🔥 👍🏼
Get Apple Watch SE 2nd Gen worth S$382* when you sign up now!
Be the first 50 new-to-UOB Credit Cardmembers in the month to sign up and meet a min. monthly spend of S$800 within the first 2 months.
All you need to do is to register for this promotion via an SMS to 77862 before 30 Jun 2023: SMS EVOLGIFT‹space› last 4 alpha-numeric characters of NRIC/passport (eg. EVOLGIFT 123A)
What’s more, enjoy up to S$140 cash credit# when you apply for a UOB One Account.
T&Cs apply.
Terms and conditions
Get 6.67% effective cashback on $600 of spend each month!
Despite UOB EVOL’s strengths, Maybank Family and Friends can be the superior card for many. 8% cashback is nothing to sneeze at, and the requirements for Maybank Family and Friends are not that difficult to meet since you can choose 5 categories out of 10. Once you get a regular, monthly thing going, it is a difficult card to top given how generous 8% cashback is.
Speaking of 8% cashback, the honourable mention for Best Cashback Card has to be Citi Cash Back given how easy any person or family can get essentially an 8% discount on groceries. Longtime readers should already know this “trick”, but it’s worth repeating for those who are unfamiliar: you simply buy $800 to $1,000 of supermarket vouchers with the card to meet the minimum spend of 8% cashback, then spend the vouchers over however many months you need to.
Citi Cash Back
Please note there are two different promos and select carefully:
🔥 👍🏼
Citi Promo:
- Citi PremierMiles: 30,000 miles
- Citi Prestige: 177,500 points and more
- Citi Rewards: 40,000 points + S$50 FRx gift card
- Citi Cash Back: S$300 cashback
- Citi SMRT: S$300 cashback
- Tap here to see Citi promos
Until 31st January 2024
SingSaver Promo
- Dyson Supersonic™ hair dryer (worth S$699)
- Dyson V8 Slim Fluffy (worth S$509) or
- Apple iPad 9th Gen 10.2 Wifi 64GB (worth S$503.65)
- S$300 cash via PayNow
Last date to apply: 14th December 2023.
⚠️ Fill up SingSaver rewards form in email to choose your gift. No form completed = no reward given
Terms and Conditions. Click here
Get 8% cashback on groceries and petrol, as well as 6% on dining! Read the review here
What does 2023 hold?
Will we see even better products come 2023, or will we see nerfs? It’s anyone’s guess what’s going to happen this year, but I look forward to compiling this list again when this year comes to a close.
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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).