The Best Credit Cards For Fresh Graduates In Singapore

Even with comparatively lower spending power, there are plenty of ways fresh graduates and first jobbers can enjoy credit card rewards. Here’s our rundown of the best credit cards for unlimited cashback, bonus reward points and more.

So you've landed your first job. You’ve made it past probation. Congratulations, you’re officially a working adult!

There’s no milestone that quite marks the entry into adulthood post-graduation like entering the workforce — except that moment when you receive your very first credit card. You own with your name on shiny plastic.

And yes, believe it or not, there are credit cards that are built for fresh grads and first-jobbers, designed to reward you for the things you are more likely to spend on. And then there are other credit cards that, while not specifically targeting young consumers, also make for great choices due to how easy they make it for you to earn rewards. 

Below are the best credit cards for fresh graduates in Singapore. If you have a minimum income of S$30,000 a year and are above 21 years of age, then all you need to do now is take your pick.

Table of contents

• How should fresh grads and first jobbers choose the best credit card?
• Best entry credit cards for fresh grads, first jobbers and those with lesser spending power
• Conclusion

How should fresh grads and first jobbers choose the best credit card?

Ease of earning rewards

How easy is it for you to earn credit card rewards? After all, there’s no point using a credit card that, say, gives generous cashback, but which sees you spending beyond your means just to meet the minimum spending requirement. That is clearly not sustainable and not the right card for you.

It’s far better to go with a credit card with a lower – or better yet, zero – barrier to earning your rewards. 

To wit: between a card that gives you 3% cashback on dining but requires a minimum spend each month that you can barely hit and a card that gives you 1.7% cashback without any minimum spending, which is more likely to give you cashback on a consistent basis?

That’s right, the latter card, which will prove more rewarding for you over time. 

Also read: Best Credit Cards For Your Fast Food Cravings & Late Night Supper Runs at McDonald’s

How well it matches your spending habits

This is related to the point above. You should pick a credit card that gives you rewards on the type of expenses you would normally spend on anyway. At no point should you feel you need to go out of your way just to earn your credit card rewards. 

One quick way to determine if a credit card is right for you is to take a look at your highest expenses (for e.g., food delivery), and calculate roughly how much rewards you can get from the card.
 

Fees and charges

Credit cards do not come for free. After all, all those perks and privileges and yes, rewards need to be funded somehow. 

Apart from interest charges – which you won’t need to worry about unless you’re using your card recklessly – the most significant expense of a credit card would be the annual fee. This typically ranges from a few hundred dollars to several hundreds per year, depending on the type of card. 

It’s not all bad though, as some card issuers give you rewards for paying the annual fee. There are also others that waive their annual fees completely, letting you enjoy your rewards without any extra costs.

As a fresh grad, it is crucial to reduce your expenses as much as possible, and choosing credit cards without annual fees is a good way to do so. 

But that doesn't mean you should automatically rule out credit cards with fees. As mentioned, if paying the fee gives you more rewards at an accelerated rate, it may well be worth your while.

Also read: How To Ask For Credit Card Annual Fee Waivers

Best entry credit cards for fresh grads, first jobbers and those with lesser spending power

UOB Absolute Cashback Card

The UOB Absolute Cashback Card makes our list for offering the simplest, no-fuss way to earn rewards on your credit card spending. 

All eligible transactions will earn 1.7% unlimited cashback, which is automatically offset from your bill at the end of each month. There are no restrictions on spending categories, so virtually any retail purchase you charge will earn you cashback. 

There is also no minimum spending required. Thus, this card is a great entry card for all scenarios, whether for seasonal spending or everyday expenses.

[Update!] Unfortunately, from 6 May 2024 onwards, the cashback earned on charity, education, government, healthcare, utilities, and other professional services will be clawed back from the bonus 1.7% to the mere 0.3% cashback.

This card has an annual fee of S$196.20, which is waived for the first year. Thereafter, you’ll need to spend at least S$1,000 per month to earn enough cashback to cover your annual fee – easy enough to do, considering you can earn cashback on expenses such as insurance premiums, rent and more!

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Standard Chartered Smart Card

The Standard Chartered Smart Card has two things going for it – perpetual waiver on your annual fee, and a decently high reward point earn rate, equivalent to 6% cashback.

You can earn cashback on common daily expenses, such as fast food, coffee and toast; digital subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify; and public transport charges such as bus or MRT fares. 

Furthermore, there is no minimum amount you need to spend each month, which means making an eligible transaction is the only requirement to earn cashback on your expenses.

HSBC Revolution Credit Card

If you prefer earning rewards points on your credit card purchases, the HSBC Revolution Credit Card is worth a look. It provides 10x rewards points on all transactions categorised as online shopping or contactless payments – including Visa payWave, Apple Pay or Google Pay. 

This is equivalent to an earn rate of 4 miles per dollar (mpd), and yes, this means you can use this card to earn nearly 4X more air miles than dedicated air miles credit cards (which give around 1.2 to 1.4 mpd on local spending). 

Besides air miles, your rewards points can be traded in for a range of other perks, such as bill offsets and vouchers. 

And to seal the deal, HSBC will waive your annual fee for this credit card and there's no monthly minimum spending requirement too.

Read also: Best Credit Cards For Mobile Wallet Payments

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Citi Rewards Card

The Citi Rewards Card is an online shopping-oriented credit card made for those who do a lot of online transactions.

This makes this the ideal card to shop at your favourite e-commerce stores or online orders, whether it's shopping, Grab/Gojek rides, online food delivery, or online grocery orders.

What’s excluded, however, are travel-related and in-store mobile wallet transactions. The good news is for the latter, you can circumvent this by pairing it with the Instarem amaze card (which is free), which converts all eligible offline transactions to online, ensuring that you can still reap the rewards points. 

On eligible transactions, this credit card gives you 10x rewards points, equivalent to 4 mpd, without any minimum monthly spending. 

You’ll also enjoy an annual fee waiver for the first year of card membership. 

DBS Live Fresh Card

The DBS Live Fresh Card offers a maximum cashback of up to 6%.

How it works is you’ll get 6% cashback for eligible online and in-store shopping spend and transport spend, including SimplyGo. However, note that you'll need to spend at least S$800 each calendar month to earn the 6% cashback. Your total monthly cashback is capped at S$70 per calendar month; S$50 on shopping spend and S$20 on transport spend.

Fortunately, you can still earn 0.3% unlimited cashback on all other eligible spend, even if you do not meet the minimum spend requirements. No cashback cap is also set for all spend.

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UOB EVOL Card

Made for digital natives, the UOB EVOL Card offers 10% cashback for online and contactless transactions, so you can be rewarded for everything from your public transport fares, to e-commerce purchases, to in-store shopping paid via mobile wallets. 

To enjoy the 10% cashback, you’ll need to spend at least S$800 per statement month on your card. Additionally, cashback is capped at S$30, S$20, and S$30 per statement month for Online and Mobile Contactless spend, overseas in-store foreign currency spend, and all Other Spend (0.3% cashback) respectively. This brings your maximum cashback to S$80 for each statement, which is quite generous. 

That said, this limits the total amount of cashback you can earn each month, so this card may not be the best choice for excessively large purchases.  

One few points in its favour though: If you make at least three qualifying transactions each month for 12 consecutive months, you can have your annual fee waived for the year. 

Also, you can earn bonus interest of up to 6.00% p.a. on your UOB One Account balance when you spend at least S$500 on your UOB EVOL Card each month. 

OCBC FRANK Credit Card

Next on our recommendations list is the OCBC FRANK Credit Card, which offers 8% cashback on local online transactions, contactless payments, and foreign currency transactions per calendar month. Meanwhile, all other spending earns you 0.3% cashback. 

You can also earn an additional 2% cashback on selected merchants and services with a green or ecological benefit – such as SimplyGo public transportation fares or zero-waste retailer Scoop Wholefoods. This means you can clock up to 10% cashback per calendar month. 

The catch is that the cashback is capped at S$25 per category (online, foreign currency transactions, mobile contactless, green merchants, and all other spends), and up to S$100 per calendar month.

Additionally, this card has a slightly higher quota of S$800 minimum spend per calendar month. Therefore, there’s a bit of juggling to do here (as there is with UOB EVOL Card and DBS Live Fresh), and you may want to maintain another credit card for large-ticket items. 

But in any case, you can use this card for free for the first two years, after which the annual fee will kick in.

Also read: How To Ask For Credit Card Annual Fee Waivers

Citi PremierMiles Card

Lastly, if you love to travel, look no further than the Citi PremierMiles Card. Not only do you get 1.2 mpd for local transactions, you'll also get 2 mpd for foreign currency spending. Your miles also never expire; so you can take time to accumulate your miles without rushing into redeeming them. 

That's not all; you can also earn up to 10 mpd on Kaligo bookings and 7 mpd on Agoda bookings! And you'll also get two free airport lounge access per calendar year via Priority Pass so this card will get you anywhere you want in style.

There's no monthly minimum spending requirement, and you get an annual fee waiver for the first year. 

Also read: Credit Card Combo: Why You Should Pair Citi PremierMiles Card & Citi Rewards Card

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Conclusion: The best credit card is one that fits your lifestyle

We’ll close the article by reminding you of one important principle when choosing the best credit card. Don’t just look at the rewards; rather, consider how well the credit card fits your spending habits. 

Earning credit card rewards should be (relatively) effortless, and if things going as smoothly as they should, don’t be afraid to try out another credit card with a different reward scheme – you just might be pleasantly surprised.

Read these next:

7 Smart Ways To Meet Your Credit Card Minimum Spend To Earn The Welcome Reward
10 Best Budgeting Apps To Save Your Way To Success
Credit Card Minimum Payments: Are They A Trap?