Who can confirm for me if the card-issuing bank can help me to stop payment and cancel the remaining IPP transactions on my Citibank SMRT Card with the merchant that I have signed up?

This is one of those rare online shopping cashback cards with no minimum spend. However, you shouldn’t use this card for online travel bookings as it’s excluded from the online category. Also, when buying movie tickets or fast food online, your spending could come under online shopping rather than their original spend categories, for which you will earn 2.7% for a total spend below $300 or 3% for a total spend above $300. If monthly spending is at least $300, you enjoy up to 3% savings on online shopping 2.7% + 0.3% that is if monthly card spend is at least $300.

That’s where the Citibank SMRT Card stands out from the pack as this is a card for average Singaporeans who are not interested in cultivating a lifestyle to impress their peers, and also for young and budget-conscious families it also works as an all-purpose cashback credit card. The main drawback is that it doesn’t really reward you for some of the more extravagant expenses in life. For instance, air tickets and hotel stays are quietly excluded from their cashback offer for online shopping, as are all restaurant dining and entertainment.

When you get the card, it will automatically have EZ-Reload enabled on it. There’s no convenience fee for EZ-Reload auto top-up transactions, and you can get up to 1.7% or 2% (if you hit the min. spend of $300) in rebates. It used to be that one can exchange the SMRT$ (rebate) for vouchers to top up the EZ-Link card, but they stopped that. Now can only can use it to exchange other kind of vouchers like Giant and Popular.

Lately I noticed that the card allows for the exchanging of the rebate for cash rebate. This to me is the actual crowd pleaser as compared to exchanging for vouchers at shops that I don’t want to shop at in the first place. The cash rebate has to be done via SMS anyway and you can glance their product page for the exact details.

Unfortunately, the HSBC advance card is not an unlimited cashback card as they have a cap on the cashback per month, even for advance banking clients. Furthermore, if you are not an advance banking client, you would not get subsequent card fee waiver if you do not get to spend at least $12,000 in a year.

If you are like me an HSBC Premier client and also a frequent traveller that can maximize the number of priority pass visits, limo and meet-and-assist services as well as your supplementary cardholders too, then this is the card for you. The reduced general mile earn rate is worth the trade-off for the unlimited priority pass memberships, as well as the high number of limo and meet-and-assist services that you can use.

I fancy the OCBC 365 credit because it has cash rebate of $80, but only after you full fill their criteria. They require a minimum spending of $800 per month which in turn earns interest from different spending. This card suits me just fine being that I have broad spending habit and in the process it gives me $80 cash rebates every month. My only dislike is the rebate on the general spending which is 0.3%.

For me nothing beats the 5% year-round cash rebates on dining, groceries, petrol and transport (that is taxis, ride hailing, trains and buses inclusive), locally and overseas when you spend minimum S$600 per month. And the cash rebate is capped at S$150 per month. So if you don’t drive, not to worry as you can enjoy 5% cash rebate for your transportation needs, be it a taxi ride, a booking made via ride hailing apps, or trains/buses.

So it is really convenient that I can get and use my card instantly when I apply via MyInfo. And the cards instant digital card that can be used for mobile wallets, online and mobile app purchases. Now aside from the same day physical credit card issuance for online applications you also get S$50 cash rebate upon approval with no minimum spend required. However that is only for new OCBC Credit Card applications.

I like the idea that I can receive 40,000 Membership Rewards points when I get to successfully refer any of my friends to the card. Even more so as my friends can also receive 40,000 Membership Rewards points upon spend of S$5,000 in the first 3 months of their Card Membership. I think that is pretty much a win-win situation.