EZ-Link vs EZ-Reload vs SimplyGo: Best App + Card To Pay For Public Transport in Singapore

Tapping your EZ-Link card to pay for your bus and MRT rides is a quintessential Singaporean experience.

But did you know there are other ways to get on and off the bus without whipping out your faded, scratched EZ-Link card? (Which is also probably close to expiry anyway.)

That’s right, for some time now, you can tap and pay at MRT stations, on buses and at Koi using your bank debit (or credit card), your mobile phone and even your smart wearables. Even more exciting, some of these new methods may even help you earn your next free air ticket!

Before we dive in, here’s a handy table to help you understand the differences between EZ-Link, EZ-Reload, and SimplyGo.

Table of contents

• Overview: EZ-Link vs EZ-Reload vs SimplyGo
• Should I use EZ-Link, EZ-Reload or SimplyGo?
• What rewards can I earn on SimplyGo?
• Best credit cards for public transport in Singapore 
  • Cashback credit cards 
  • Miles credit cards

Differences between EZ-Link, EZ-Reload and SimplyGo

Ok, all caught up? The one nagging thing that should stand out to you as you go through the table above is that one of those things seems kind of outdated and troublesome, while the other seems like a more advanced and convenient way to do things. 

But lest we be accused of jumping the gun, let’s have an in-depth look at… 

EZ-Link, EZ-Reload or SimplyGo: Which should I use?

There are two main considerations when deciding whether to use EZ-Link, EZ-Reload or SimplyGo. 

Firstly, is it worth the trouble of paying (at least $5) for a separate card (or more for a fancy charm) just to pay for public transport, especially when you can use your credit and/or debit card instead? Apart from having to keep yet another card in your wallet or purse, you’ll also have to:

• Check the expiry date of your EZ-Link card
• Pay $3 to replace your expiring EZ-Link card 
• Guard your EZ-Link against theft or loss (your EZ-Link card can store up to $500)
• Top-up your balance or suffer the indignity of being called “Low Value”

To be fair, you can sign up for online services that help you avoid and/or manage most of the above scenarios. We’ll zoom in on one such function — EZ-Reload.

EZ-Reload automatically tops up your EZ-Link card with a specified amount whenever insufficient funds are encountered during payment. In other words, if you do not have enough stored value for your MRT ride, your EZ-Link card will be topped up, so that the cost of the MRT ride can be deducted, allowing you to continue with your journey. All this happens automatically once you sign up for EZ-Reload.

When you sign up for the service, the amount topped up is deducted from the bank account or credit/debit card chosen by you. You can view and manage all your settings via the EZ-Link app.

Ok, so all you have to do is to link your favourite cashback or air miles credit card to your EZ-Reload, and reap the rewards right? Not quite - most banks exclude EZ-Reload transactions by default, so what gives? Enter SimplyGo.

SimplyGo charges your public transport expenses directly to the debit or credit card of your choice, eliminating the need to maintain sufficient funds in your EZ-Link card. Perhaps more importantly, SimplyGo transactions are - as of now - counted as Account Based Ticketing, a spending category that most banks recognise when it comes to calculating your rewards. 

That changes things, and also leads us to our second consideration: Would you prefer to earn more of your favourite credit card rewards using SimplyGo, or 1 EZ-Link Point for every $0.10 spent?

What rewards can I earn with SimplyGo? 

Now, depending on your actual spending and usage, SimplyGo can help you maximise your credit card rewards. 

For example, including your MRT rides for the month may help your overall spending hit the minimum amount required to be eligible for cashback.  Meanwhile, just relying on your bus fares alone to earn enough air miles for a free flight might require a good bit of patience!

To help you decide which credit card you should use with SimplyGo, we’ve put together a table summarising the available rewards. 

Credit Card	Reward	Remarks
DBS Live Fresh Card Apply Now	5% cashback	Min. monthly spend of $600
DBS Altitude Card Apply Now	1.2 miles per $1 spend	—
Maybank Family & Friends Card Apply Now	8% cashback	Min. monthly spend of $800
Maybank Platinum Visa Card Apply Now	3.33% cashback	Min monthly spend of $300 or $1,000 for three consecutive months Capped at S$30/quarter or S$100/quarter
Maybank Barcelona FC Card Apply Now	Unlimited 1.6% cashback	No min. spend No cashback cap
HSBC Advance Card Apply Now	3.5% cashback: - 1.5% base cashback (No min. spend) - 2.5% bonus cashback (Min. S$2,000 spend)	Monthly spend $2,000 or below Monthly spend over $2,000 Base cashback capped at S$70 per calendar month
Standard Chartered Smart Card	Up to 7.7 miles per S$1 spend: - Convert points to miles with either the SCB X or SCB Visa Signature Card	No min. spend Capped at S$818 spend per statement month
Standard Chartered Simply Cash Card Apply Now	1.5% cashback	—
UOB One Card Apply Now	Up to 15% cashback per quarter Min. S$500 / S$1,000 spend: - 3.33% base cashback  - 5% additional cashback - 6.67% enhanced cashback Min. S$2,000 spend: - 3.33% base cashback - 6.67% additional cashback - 5% enhanced cashback	Quarterly cashback - Min. S$500 / S$1,000 / S$2,000 monthly spend for 3 consecutive months - Min. 5 transactions per statement month More details on cashback breakdown
UOB Lady’s Card	Earn 15X UNI$ per S$5 spend (6 mpd)	Must choose Transport as 10X category S$1,000 spend cap (per calendar month) Equivalent to 2X UNI$ per S$1 spend UNI$ are rounded down to the nearest whole number
UOB PRVI Miles Card	1.4 miles per $1 spend via mobile contactless spend (SimplyGO)	No min. spend Equivalent to 0.7X UNI$ per S$1 spend UNI$ are rounded down to the nearest whole number
UOB KrisFlyer Card Apply Now	Up to 3 miles per $1 spend	Min. S$800 annual spend on SIA, Scoot, and KrisShop-related transactions No miles cap on 3 mpd but complicated bonus components: - 1.2 base mpd - 1.8 bonus mpd only credited 14 months after card approval Read our KrisFlyer UOB Card review here

Which are the best credit cards to use with SimplyGo?

Turns out there are at least a whopping 12 credit cards for public transport in Singapore that earn you rewards with SimplyGo.

But, bear in mind that we are only talking about bus and MRT rides here, a spending category that is highly unlikely to go beyond $200 for the average Singaporean. So don’t expect a massive deluge of rewards just by using SimplyGo. 

Having said that, we’ve spotted a few winners.

💰🤑 For Cashback: UOB One Card, OCBC Frank Card, or DBS Live Fresh Card

If you're a cashback lover, we recommend opting for either the UOB One Card, OCBC Frank Card, or DBS Live Fresh Card.

UOB One Card

The UOB One Card is the highest-earning cashback card for public transport currently, rewarding cardholders with up to 15% cashback via SimplyGo.

But of course, it's also one of the most 'troublesome' cashback cards with multiple hoops to jump through:

• It only rewards quarterly cashback.
• Cashback is split across 3 categories: base, additional, and *enhanced cashback.
• It separates its cashback tier according to your minimum monthly spend (S$500/S$1,000 spend versus S$2,000 spend).
• Must satisfy minimum monthly spend for 3 consecutive months per quarter with minimum 5 eligible transactions to qualify for cashback.
• *Enhanced cashback is only applicable to new-to-UOB cardholders applying for a UOB One Card between 1 October 2022 to 30 June 2023.

Now, wasn't that a mouthful? 😅

Regardless of whether you're a low-spender or high-baller, it's possible for everyone to earn up to 15% cashback – that is, if you're a new-to-UOB customer applying for the UOB One Card anytime from now till 30 June 2023.

Otherwise, your maximum possible cashback earned is only up to 10%.

But if the UOB One Card is too confusing for you, no worries. The DBS Live Fresh and OCBC Frank Card are equally good too!

Both cards offer up to 10% cashback on public transport because buses and MRT are considered green merchants. 🌱🚌🚋

Read more:
DBS Live Fresh vs UOB EVOL vs OCBC Frank: Comparison Review
OCBC Frank Credit Card Revamp: 5 Reasons to Get It

🌎✈️ For Miles: UOB Lady's Card or Standard Chartered Smart Card

If you’re an air miles chaser, either the UOB Lady's Card or Standard Chartered Smart Card would be good.  

UOB Lady's Card

The UOB Lady's Card is a solid choice given its generous 6 miles per S$1 spend, so long as you've chosen 'Transport' as your 15X UNI$ preferred category.

However, the caveat here is that with a S$1,000 monthly spend cap, can you really max out on points earned on transport alone?

Unless you truly spend S$1,000 on transport each month, you're better off dedicating your UOB Lady's Card to another 10X category where you can earn 4 miles per S$1 elsewhere.

Otherwise, allow us to turn your attention to the miles card underdog for public transport — the Standard Chartered Smart Card.

SCB Smart Card

SCB Visa Infinite Card

The reason why the SCB Smart Card is underrated in this category is that not many people are aware of its miles-maximising potential for buses and MRT... when used with either the SCB Visa Infinite Card.

Let us explain.

On its own, the SCB Smart Card typically functions as a rewards-cashback card; its 360° Reward Points are redeemable as cash.

Moreover, until 31 December 2023, it earns up to 19.2 360° Reward Points on public transport via SimplyGO. Hence, the enhanced earn rate and cashback conversion are as follows:

But wait, didn't we say SCB Smart Card acts as a noteworthy miles card? Why, yes we did.

Essentially, the SCB Smart Card can 'play pretend' as a miles card through the help of the SCB Visa Infinite Card. This is due to Standard Chartered's reward system being biased towards these cards.

Cardholders enjoy a boosted bonus miles conversion rate of 2,500 points = 1,000 miles. This amounts to 0.4 miles per S$1 spend.

Standard Chartered also allows cardholders to pool their SCB cards' points together. So in essence, you can tabulate your points across all cards before "cashing them out" for miles in one go!

And with some quick mental sums, you'll soon realise that your bonus points are equivalent to 7.4 miles per S$1 spend. The leftover base points are worth around 0.3 miles per S$1.

Therefore, your total possible miles earned by the SCB Smart Card via the SCB Visa Infinite Card is up to 7.7 miles per S$1 spend.

Still confused about which credit card you should get? Read our ultimate 2023 credit card guide to get answers to all your burning credit card questions!


Otherwise, compare the best credit cards with our handy comparison tool by clicking on the link below!