4 Types Of Credit Cards With Lifetime Annual Fee Waivers

Most credit cards in Singapore come with no annual fee for only the first year or two of usage. After all, the providers want to make it easy and appealing for you to switch to their credit cards. 

But once that ‘free trial’ ends, you might get charged with a hefty annual fee (typically S$180 + GST). Once you recover from the shock of seeing that S$192.60 line item on your credit card bill, you can usually call in and ask the credit card company to waive it. However, there is a chance your request will get denied.

If you can’t get your annual fee waived, then you can simply cancel your credit card to avoid paying the fee. But that leaves you short of your favourite credit card, and you’ll probably need to update your billing arrangements. 

In short, credit card annual fees can be waived, but the process can be quite bothersome. If you really don’t enjoy all this administrative hassle, opt for these four types of credit cards that let you enjoy no annual fee.

Depending on your lifestyle and spending habits, the right CIMB credit card will go a long way in helping you stretch your money. Just so you know, all three CIMB credit cards have minimum spend requirements in place.

💡 Pro-tip: If you need help hitting your CIMB credit card's minimum spend, consider applying for a supplementary card or two for your spouse and/or family members to use too! Whatever expenditure is incurred on the supplementary card directly contributes towards your main card's (as primary cardholder) monthly minimum spend.

See also: Which Supplementary Cards Offer The Best Benefits?

Another great credit card option that doesn't bear annual fees is the ever-popular HSBC Revolution Card.

This powerhouse card is the miles card that every miles-chaser needs to have in their wallet. Or even if you're just beginning your miles journey, the HSBC Revolution is an excellent entry-level card to get your miles game started.

It offers up to 4 miles per S$1 spend on online and mobile contactless spend on travel, shopping, groceries, and dining. This 4 miles rate is capped at S$1,000 spend per month, subsequently, it reverts to the base 0.4 miles rate. Earning miles is no longer a stressful endeavour.

⭐ Read our full HSBC Revolution Card review here.

If none of the CIMB credit cards appeals to you, perhaps the Standard Chartered Smart Credit Card might? You can also consider getting a debit card. Most (but not all!) debit cards in Singapore also have no annual fees for life.

⭐ Read our full SCB Smart Credit Card review here.

Lastly, for those with a lower monthly budget or spend, perhaps a credit card like the UOB EVOL Card will do you good? Not only does it fall in the lower range of S$600 minimum monthly spend as far as credit cards go, but it doesn't have any annual fees either – as long as you spend three qualifying transactions per month, but that's not difficult at all.

⭐ Read our full UOB EVOL Card review here.

Another way to get a near-perpetual annual fee waiver on your credit card is to pick one with an automatic fee waiver function. 

DBS/POSB, OCBC, UOB and Maybank all offer automatic fee waivers once you hit their stipulated minimum annual spend. So as long as you spend this amount every year, you’ll never have to call and ask for a fee waiver. 

The minimum spend varies from card to card, and not all credit cards are eligible. Below, we’ve compiled the credit cards with the lowest thresholds for automatic annual fee waivers.

For low-spenders, we would recommend either the Maybank Platinum Visa Card or the OCBC Plus! Visa Credit Card. 

The Maybank Platinum Visa Card charges a quarterly fee instead of an annual one. But to get it waived, you just need to charge something to the card every quarter. That’s it. There’s no minimum amount.

If you happen to be a member of NTUC or SAFRA, you’re already eligible for a no-annual-fee credit card. These organisations have co-branded credit cards with perpetual annual fee waivers as long as the cardholder remains a paying member.

The SAFRA DBS Credit Card is a relatively fuss-free credit card. Just spend at least S$500 a month to get 3% cash rebates on your online spending and contactless payments. SAFRA membership is open to NSFs/NSmen, and fees range from S$43.20 (3 years) to S$437.40 (10 years).

Finally, you can get a perpetual annual fee waiver if you are a priority banking customer with Maybank or DBS. The corresponding credit card’s annual fee will be waived perpetually, as long as you remain a member of the programme.

Turns out there is a whole variety of credit card options out there for those who dread performing the yearly fee waiver ritual. We’ve hand-picked some of the very best ones above.

That said, if you've already used your card's complimentary fee waiver and want to learn how to continue waiving the fee, there is a way. 😏 Check out our full Annual Fee Waiver Guide (By Banks) to learn how.

Want to see what other credit cards you might be missing out on? Go ahead and peruse the best credit cards in Singapore on SingSaver. Make sure you use the Annual Fee Waiver toggle to filter only the free ones!