UOB Savings Promo Q1 2024: S$88 to S$1,288 Bonus Cash Rewards – Analysis and Comparison
So it’s the first day of the new year and as anticipated, UOB has indeed released a new “earmark promo”. Dubbed the “Rising Dragon Savings Promo”, you can get up to S$1,288 of bonus cash rewards on top of your usual bank interest.
If you are unfamiliar with this recurring savings promo from the bank, read this article first to get a sense of what it is all about. Otherwise, let’s explore 2024’s first savings promo from UOB in greater detail and see whether it compares favourably with other ongoing promos.
Promo details
As usual, this promo is open to new and existing UOB deposit customers. For existing accounts, you need to deposit incremental funds compared to your 31st December 2023 day-end balance. Those who have followed my previous article to empty their UOB accounts would thus be in a position to take advantage of this promo.
Compared to last quarter’s promo, the S$50,000 and S$100,000 tiers are ever so slightly better with an auspicious increase of S$8 at each tier.
The S$200,000 tier has a lower reward amount of S$1,288 (compared to S$1,500 last quarter) while there is a new S$20,000 tier.
| Incremental Fresh Funds Amount | Cash Credit Amount | Approximate Bonus Yield |
| S$20,000 | S$88 | 1.33% p.a. |
| S$50,000 | S$258 | 1.56% p.a. |
| S$100,000 | S$558 | 1.68% p.a. |
| S$200,000 | S$1,288 | 1.94% p.a. |
As usual, I have calculated an approximate bonus yield based on depositing the amount for 4 months. Remember that these are bonus rewards that stack with your usual account interest. The above is my own calculation so read the terms and conditions and do your own Math to be certain.
Steps and Timeline
To participate, you need to register and deposit fresh funds accordingly.
From the terms and conditions, these are the dates that you should be aware of:
| Participating Deposit date or Participation Form submission date, whichever is later (“Qualifying Period”) | Participating Deposit will be Earmarked and Cash Credit will be credited by | Earmark End Date (including this date) |
| 1st January 2024 to 31st January 2024 | 29th February 2024 | 17th May 2024 |
| 1st February 2024 to 29th February 2024 | 29th March 2024 | 17th June 2024 |
| 1st March 2024 to 30th March 2024 | 30th April 2024 | 17th July 2024 |
For example, if you registered within January, you can expect your funds to be earmarked (i.e. made unavailable to withdraw) by late February. Simultaneously, the cash credits will be credited. You can then expect to regain access to your funds by mid of May 2024.
Just to clarify, 31st December 2023 day-end balance is used regardless of which month you try to participate in this promo. Emptying after this date does not work for this promo.
Stacks with your UOB account interest
The UOB One account, with its high interest rates, is possibly the best account to use for this. As long as you meet the requirements of salary (which currently has a workaround) and S$500 of spend on eligible UOB credit cards, you get very good returns on your funds:
If you do have S$200,000 to place, it might be best to put S$100,000 here and put the remaining S$100,000 in another place for an overall higher yield.
Risks?
This of course assumes that the UOB One account remains unchanged. A few potential situations I can think of would be the risk of UOB plugging the salary workaround especially for those who are entirely reliant on it.
Also, while the promo cash credits are guaranteed, interest rates are also not fixed and can be changed by the bank. Having funds earmarked for 4 months means that you might not be able to withdraw your funds in such situations.
Comparison with Bonus$aver promo (potentially do both)
Bonus$aver promo might actually make more sense to those who qualify.
| Account Monthly Average Balance (MAB) | Interest (salary + spend S$500 + bill payment) | S$100 Cashback | S$450 Suitcase (taken at S$200 value) | Level Up Promo | Max Possible Yield |
| S$50,000 | 4.13% p.a. | 1.21% p.a. | 2.42% p.a. | 2.42% p.a. (S$200 reward) | 7.76% p.a. (without Level Up) 10.18% p.a. (with Level Up) |
| S$100,000 | 4.13% p.a. | 0.60% p.a. | 1.21% p.a. | 3.04% p.a. (S$500 reward) | 5.94% p.a. (without Level Up) 8.98% p.a. (with Level Up) |
The Bonus$aver promo can give pretty high rewards, particularly if you qualify for the Level Up promo. The Level Up promo is only open to the first 1,500 successful registration SMSes received by the bank per month, so not everyone will get it. It is early in the month, so I would say the chances are high. Given that the welcome deal is still attractive enough on its own without the Level Up promo, I would personally sign up (which I did last month) and try being one the first 1,500 which I would gladly take as extra rewards if it does happen.
Also, the suitcase being S$200 of value may be something subjective, so adjust your expectations accordingly. Another thing I left out is S$50 cashback for those who are new to StanChart accounts, so that is another deal sweetener.
Lastly, StanChart’s promo is for around 2 months which may be a good thing for some while a bad things for others.
Personally, I think I would actually go for Bonus$aver promo first, then proceed with UOB’s promo in March. The timeline matches up pretty nicely since you can have your funds in StanChart’s promo for January and February, then in UOB for March.
Conclusion
Regardless of whichever promo you go for, these are excellent chances to enhance the earnings you get from your cash savings. Joing the Telegram for more savings and other promos and to discuss this with other likeminded, discerning individuals.
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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If I have $ in a UOB FD (not in the One account) that’s due to mature in January, does that count as fresh funds in the One account if my payout is there as well?