Does the Citibank SMRT card offer good rebates for travel related online spending?

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.

I have held this card for quite a long time and one thing I like about the card is the fact that it is used for CapitaLand malls and they are almost everywhere. So I enjoy dining taking advantage of the 10x rewards merchants to accumulate the points faster. Imagine getting close to 6.5% rebates on dining. Not to forget their sign up bonus of $60 rebates in vouchers when you spend $1,500. That's a 4% rebate excluding the points you will earn which will convert into vouchers too.

If you target to spend on major event tickets and high price items with the plan to split by instalment then this card is for you. However I notice that if you have an existing OCBC saving account, it makes bill payments much more seamless. And aside from being able to split payment into monthly instalments interest free, you can earn up to 1% rebate on your purchase. Only few cards in the market that allow auto convert spending into interest free instalment and still be entitled to 0.5% or 1% cash rebate.

OCBC Frank Card stands out for its low minimum spend requirement and annual fee waiver however, it’s not a great match for consumers seeking everyday cashback. Online spend on utilities, recurring bills, and school and hospital payments are all not eligible for rebate. Dining, groceries, and other categories are also not rewarded. Ultimately, OCBC Frank Card offers young adults a great, no-fee way to earn cashback from social and online spend. OCBC Frank Card is definitely worth consideration.

The welcome bonus with this card is quite mouth-watering. Simply spend S$1,500 in the first 3 months to receive 24,000 Membership Rewards points. That you will find to be enough points to redeem for S$110 cash credit. Plus you can see the points add up with 100% bonus points on all spend in your first 3 months of Card Membership. I have been using this card now for 6 months and am yet to find reasons to complain.

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.