Instarem’s Amaze Card Review: Is It Still Amazing?

In our initial Instarem amaze card review, we noted that it was really quite something — it lets anyone and everyone earn free 1% cashback so long as they met the easily attainable criteria. Alas! Good things don’t last forever; amaze card users will have to contend with slashed cashback and tougher requirements altogether.

But is it still amaze-ing? Read on to find out.

Instarem amaze card changes 

1. [NEW]: From 1 October, UOB has excluded all Instarem Amaze transactions from earning credit card rewards, including UNI$, cashback or air miles. See below for more details.

2. The amaze's 1% cashback rewards system was replaced with a points-based one known as InstaPoints. You'll earn 1 InstaPoint for every S$1 spent on all foreign transactions with a minimum of S$10. This is capped at 500 InstaPoints per spend. However, starting from 1 August 2023, linked-card transactions will only earn you 0.5 InstaPoint instead of 1 InstaPoint for every S$1 spent in foreign currency

3. DBS has excluded Instarem amaze transactions from its DBS rewards programme

4. You won't be able to earn KrisFlyer miles when you use your UOB cards for amaze transit transactions (i.e. public transport) 

5. Previously, you also had to spend at least S$1,500 (or foreign currency equivalent) per calendar quarter to earn InstaPoint cashback. Thankfully, Instarem has removed the minimum spending requirement, allowing you to earn unlimed InstaPoints on foreign currency transactions, capped at 500 InstaPoints per spend 

6. There's also an exclusion list from amaze rewards (see below)

7. Starting from 13 October 2023, there will be a 1% transaction fee (minimum S$0.50) for select payments made in SGD with a linked card. These include payments for insurance, healthcare, education, car dealers, and business services (see the list below). However, transactions made from the amaze wallet will remain fee. 

UPDATE: What UOB's exclusion means for the amaze card

As mentioned earlier, UOB has now removed all amaze transactions from earning UNI$ credit card rewards.

This means that paying through amaze with your linked UOB credit card will disqualify your transaction from earning any cashback, points or air miles. 

Additionally, this also means you will no longer be able to to enjoy the following amaze benefits with the affected UOB cards : 

• Convert offline transactions to online ones (and thus earning higher rewards on the three credit cards mentioned)

• Avoid foreign currency transaction fees of 3% to 3.5% on overseas spends

Which UOB credit cards are impacted by the exclusion?

With this change, there are three UOB credit cards which will no longer earn rewards if used with amaze. These are:

• UOB Lady's Card

  You will no longer earn UNI$ for amaze payments even if you choose Travel as your preferred reward category.

• UOB Lady's Solitaire Card

  You will no longer earn UNI$ for amaze payments even if Travel is chosen as one of your two reward categories. 

• KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card

  You will not earn KrisFlyer miles for amaze transactions, much less the upsized rate of 3 mpd, which is awarded for online spends.  

What should cardholders do in light of the change? 

Well, you'll have to be content with the regular benefits offered by these cards, which mind you, aren't bad or terrible to begin with. It's just that you'll need to look to other card providers to continue enjoying the perks offered by the amaze card. 

Instarem’s amaze card is a multi-currency debit card, much Wise, Revolut, and YouTrip, offering competitive foreign exchange rates when you make overseas purchases.

However, the amaze card holds one major advantage over other multi-currency cards: it lets you link up to five Mastercard debit or credit cards, allowing you to earn cashback/miles/rewards from your linked card(s).

You can also choose which Mastercard to use as your primary card, and this will be where your payments are charged.

What's also amazing about the amaze card is that it can convert all eligible offline spending to online transactions. So when paired with the Citi Rewards Card for instance, you're essentially earning 4 miles per dollar (mpd) spent on eligible purchases, even for local transactions. 

Spending with your amaze card will convert your foreign transaction into an SGD transaction based on a competitive exchange rate. The transaction will then be reflected on your credit card as a local transaction. 

Before it was nerfed, the amaze card was one of the most OP cards available; you could earn up to 1% cashback for local and foreign transactions. This was on top of the miles, points, or cashback your linked card(s) would earn.

This was fantastic as it’s essentially ‘free’ cashback — you’ll continue to rack up rewards earned on your credit card spend. For example, you could earn up to 8% cashback with the Citi Cash Back credit card on top of the additional 1% cashback from amaze.  

The fact that amaze also doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee made it one of the best cards for local and foreign transactions.

However, the cashback for local transactions was nerfed from 1% to 0.5% circa 2022. It was then nerfed further as Instarem replaced the cashback system entirely with InstaPoints.

Our favourite Mastercard credit cards to pair with the amaze card include: 

Card	Cash rebate/miles earn rate	Details
Citi Rewards Card	10X ThankYou Points (4 mpd) on shopping, online shopping, online food delivery, online groceries, Grab and Gojek rides	- S$1,000 spend cap per statement month - Travel transactions excluded - S$196.60 annual fee (first year waived) - No minimum monthly spend
Maybank Family & Friends Card	8% monthly cashback on 5 chosen categories per quarter (capped at S$25 each category, up to S$125 per month) Categories include: - Groceries  - Dining & food delivery  - Transport  - Data communication & online TV streaming - Retail & pets  - Online fashion  - Entertainment - Pharmacy - Beauty & wellness - Sports and sports apparels  - Malaysian Ringgit Spend (automatically included on top of your 5 preferred categories)	- Minimum S$800 monthly spend, otherwise 0.3% cashback - S$181.67 annual fee (first three years waived)
OCBC Rewards Card	15 OCBC$ (6 mpd) per S$1 spent on on selected retailers per quarter [New!] From 1 April to 30 June 2024, OCBC Rewards Cardholders will earn 6 mpd at Watsons, department stores or duty-free shops. 10 OCBC$ per S$1 spent (4 mpd) on clothes, bags, shoes, and other shopping transactions	- 10,000 OCBC$ cap on bonus spend (S$1,110) per month, capped at 120,000 bonus OCBC$ (or about S$12,000 spent on shopping) annually - Additional 5,000 OCBC$ cap per month on selected retailers - OCBC$ awarded per S$5 blocks - S$196.20 annual fee (first two years waived)
Citi PremierMiles Card	2 mpd on foreign spend and 1.2 mpd on local spend	- Miles never expire - 2 free airport lounge passes per year via Priority Pass - S$196.20 annual fee (first year waived) - No monthly minimum spend
HSBC TravelOne Card	2.4 mpd on foreign currency spend, 1.2 mpd on local spend	- No conversion fee for air miles or hotel points (until 31 Dec 2023) - 4 complimentary airport lounge access via Dragon Pass for primary cardholders - S$196.20 annual fee (first year waived) - No monthly minimum spend
Citi Cash Back Card	- 8% cashback on groceries and petrol - 6% cashback on dining - 0.25% cashback on all other retail spend	- Cashback capped at S$80 per month - S$800 minimum monthly spend - S$196.20 annual fee (first year waived)
Citi Cash Back+ Card	- Unlimited 1.6% cashback on all eligible spend	- No cashback cap - S$196.20 annual fee (first year waived)

InstaPoints are loyalty points that you earn when you spend with the amaze card.

You'll earn InstaPoints at a rate of 1 point per S$1 (or foreign currency equivalent) spent. But note that this is capped at 500 InstaPoints per transaction.

But starting from 1 August 2023, all amaze card-linked transactions will earn 0.5 InstaPoint instead of 1 InstaPoint for every S$1 spent in foreign currency previously, or a 50% cut. 

That said, you'll continue earning 1 InstaPoint for every S$1 spent on the amaze wallet.

Aside from spending with the amaze card, you'll also earn InstaPoints through successful referrals and remitting money overseas. 

You can redeem your InstaPoints for cashback at a fixed rate of 2,000 InstaPoints for S$20, or 1% cashback. Your InstaPoints will expire within a year of being issued. 

Aside from cashback, you can also use your InstaPoints for a discount for foreign remittance. 

Also, amaze has a list of merchants that are excluded from reward points, which also includes public transport transactions:

MCC	Description
4111	Railroads, Transportation Services
4784	Tolls and Bridge Fees
4900	Utilities: Electric, Gas, Water, and Sanitary
5047	Medical, Dental, Ophthalmic and Hospital Equipment and Supplies
5199	Nondurable Goods (Not elsewhere classified)
5960	Direct Marketing: Insurance Services
5993	Cigar Stores and Stands
6012	Financial Institutions: Merchandise, Services, and debt Repayment
6211	Security Brokers/Dealers
6300	Insurance Sales, Underwriting, and Premiums
6513	Real Estate Agents and Managers: Rentals
6540	Non-Financial Institutions – Stored Value Card Purchase/Load
7299	Other Services (Not elsewhere classified)
7349	Cleaning, Maintenance and Janitorial Services
7523	Parking Lots, Parking Meters and Garages
8062	Hospitals
8211	Elementary and Secondary Schools
8220	Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools, and Junior Colleges
8241	Correspondence Schools
8244	Business and Secretarial Schools
8249	Vocational and Trade Schools
8299	Schools and Educational Services
8398	Charitable Social Service Organisations
8661	Religious Organisations
8675	Automobile Associations
8699	Membership Organisations
9211	Court Costs, including Alimony and Child Support
9222	Fines
9223	Bail and Bond Payments
9311	Tax Payments
9399	Government Services
9402	Postal Services

You don't have to pay any annual fee, admin fee, or foreign transaction fee for using the amaze card.

However, you'll be charged a 1% fee (minimum S$0.50) on some SGD transactions you make with amaze, when you top up your amaze wallet with a Visa Card, and withdraw money with your amaze card overseas. 

Annual fees	Free
Card issuance	Free
Card replacement and delivery	Free
FX (non-SGD) transactions	Free
Chargeable SGD transactions	1% fee (minimum S$0.50) on transactions made in SGD to select merchants. Note: Some SGD transactions that are linked to amaze wallet will not incur this fee See the list of merchants below
amaze wallet top-up with Mastercard	Free
amaze wallet top-up with Visa	1.5% fee
amaze wallet top-up with PayNow	Free
Overseas ATM cash withdrawal	2% fee

Starting from 13 October 2023, a 1% fee will apply to select payments made in SGD with an amaze-linked card, including insurance, healthcare, education, car dealers, and business services. However, these will remain free when you pay with the amaze wallet. 

However, there's good news for e-wallet and prepaid card top-ups: the fee will be reduced from 2% to 1%. This includes GrabPay, ShopeePay and other e-wallets under MCC 6540 as well as EZ-link wallet top-ups, security brokers, and quasi-cash merchants (MCC 6051 and 6211). 

Merchant description	Examples	MCC (merchant category code)	amaze transaction fee
Non-financial institutions: wallets, cards, etc.	GrabPay Wallet, ShopeePay	6540	1%
Security brokers, dealers, Quasi cash merchants	Xmglobal IG.com, Coinhako, Coinbase, Wirex	6211, 6051	1%
Others	EZ-link wallet top-ups and TransitLink General Ticketing Machines only	4111	1%
Insurance and specialty retail stores	Singlife, FWD, AIA, Atome, ShopBack PayLater	6300, 5999	1% (no fees via amaze wallet)
Healthcare services	Doctor Anywhere, Raffles Medical, Polyclinics and Hospitals, Q&M Dental	8099, 8011, 8062, 8021, 8041	1% (no fees via amaze wallet)
Advertising and business services	Google, Tiktok ads, Amazon Web Services	7311, 7399	1% (no fees via amaze wallet)
Government services	HDB, LTA, Town Council	9399	1% (no fees via amaze wallet)
Education	THE LEARNING LAB, NTUC LearningHub, NUS, NTUC, SUSS	8299, 8220	1% (no fees via amaze wallet)
Automotive services/car dealers	Performance Motors Cycle & Carriage, MITSUBISHI/KIA SVC CTR	5511, 7538	1% (no fees via amaze wallet)

Follow these easy steps to start using your amaze card: 

1. Activate your amaze card through the Instarem app

2. Link your preferred Mastercard card(s) 

3. Indicate your default card

4. Use your amaze card 

Use the amaze card as you would any credit card; it even lets you make contactless payments.

The amaze card is also free; you can apply for a physical amaze card via the app and it will be delivered to you. There's no annual fee, processing fee, and application fee either. 

Even if you’re paying in a foreign currency, charge your purchase to your amaze card. It will automatically convert the amount for you at competitive FX rates without additional fees or charges. 

To check how much your transaction is exactly in SGD, log in to your Instarem mobile app. 

Furthermore, there is no need to top up your amaze card before using it online, in-store or on the go either.

Proponents of YouTrip may not know this: the amaze card doesn’t come with annoying foreign currency conversion (FCY) fees or charges! 

This means users can access competitive FX rates 24/7 wherever they may be, plus continue to earn rewards on their linked credit card.

That said, it does charge a small FX spread when you make a foreign transaction. While the FX spread is slightly above those charged by YouTrip, Revolut, and Wise, it's still much lower than what credit cards typically charge. 

Here's a fee comparison between amaze, Revolut, YouTrip, Wise, and credit cards:

 

Can you use the amaze card on Apple Pay?

Unfortunately, not at the moment. You’re in luck if you have Google Pay, though. 

Instarem amaze card referral

You get 400 InstaPoints referral bonus when you invite a family member or friend to join Instarem. Your referred family member or friend will receive 475 InstaPoints. As mentioned, these can be used for cashback or a discount when you remit money overseas, just like Wise. 

What currencies does Instarem amaze support?

Like other multi-currency wallets out there, Instarem amaze also has a multi-currency wallet feature; you can store and covert in Singapore dollars, Euros, British pounds, Swiss francs, Japanese yen, New Zealand dollars, and Australian dollars.

That said, if you want more currency support, then Wise and Revolut are better options. Wise supports over 50 currencies, while Revolut allows you to hold more than 30+ currencies. 

Although the cashback part of the equation isn’t as attractive as it used to be, the amaze card is a convenient addition to anyone’s wallet, particularly if you’re a frequent traveller or spend in foreign currencies predominantly. 

Apart from offering competitive FX rates, it allows you to link your favourite Mastercard credit cards, allowing you to continue earning credit card rewards for both foreign and local transactions. 

The cherry on top would be that there’s no need to top up or have funds locked up in the account. 

You can also withdraw up to S$1,000 daily from overseas ATMs. But note that you'll incur a 2% admin fee and an ATM owner fee for withdrawals. You'll also be charged a dynamic currency conversion fee if you don't withdraw in the local currency.

That said, the threshold is much higher than other multi-currency cards like Wise and Revolut, which only allow you to withdraw S$350 monthly.    

As for its downsides, while the amaze wallet supports a few currencies, it's not as comprehensive as Wise and Revolut, which operate in more countries. As such, you might want to bring those cards along if you're visiting a country with a currency that's not supported on amaze. 

Another minor thing to note: the foreign exchange rate offered by Wise, Youtrip, and Revolut is competitively lower.

This wouldn't matter since the difference is marginal unless you buy undervalued currencies and want the best exchange rates. That said, the amaze offers cashback on foreign purchases, which helps.

Lastly, amaze currently only supports Mastercards; if you have a Visa credit or debit card, you won't be able to collect reward points, cashback, or miles on your card. 

Pros of Instarem amaze:

• Can link up to five Mastercard debit/credit cards to earn cashback/rewards/miles; no top-ups to digital wallet required

• No foreign transaction fee, only a small FX spread

• You can remit money overseas

• Earn 0.5 InstaPoint for every S$1 spent overseas when paired with a credit or debit card (1 InstaPoint for every S$1 spent via amaze wallet)

• InstaPoints can be redeemed for cashback

• Allows you to convert eligible offline transactions into online transactions

Cons of Instarem amaze:

• Cashback isn't as great as it once was

• Can't link to Visa debit/credit cards (though you can top up your amaze wallet with Visa cards)

• InstaPoints are only obtainable on overseas transactions

• Doesn't hold and support as many foreign currencies compared to Wise, Revolut, or YouTrip

• Cashback can only be used in amaze wallet