Which Credit Card is the Best for Overseas Dining?

Here are 5 credit cards in Singapore that can save you serious cash when dining at major cities around the world.

Traveling to a major city in Europe, Australia or North America? Expect to spend hundreds of dollars on food alone. Unlike Singapore, most Western cities don’t have an equivalent of a hawker centre. To buy a really cheap meal, you have to eat greasy fast food or dine by the sidewalk.

So if you want to eat well without spending a fortune, you have two choices: hunt for vouchers like a maniac, or use a dining credit card that gives rebates abroad.

We’ve rounded up a few credit cards that you can use to earn cashback on overseas dining. Can you spot which one saves you the most money?

* Assume S$300 weekday spend, S$200 weekend spend

** Credit card terms and conditions apply.

Winner: CIMB Visa Signature Card

If you’re after a credit card specifically for overseas dining rebates, the CIMB Visa Signature is our top pick. With a high 10% earn rate on dining, you can quickly maximise the S$60 monthly cashback limit during a one-week trip.

However, earning the cashback is not as straightforward as swiping your card. First, you must spend S$500 on your card a month, and you need to make 8 dining transactions worth S$30+ each within that statement period. But given that the average price of a restaurant meal is around S$48 in a city like New York, meeting these conditions shouldn’t be a problem.

The CIMB Visa Signature also has a couple of useful features you can use in Singapore, including a 10% cash rebate on online spend in foreign currencies, 0% instalment plans for up to 20 months, and no annual fees for life. It also has no administrative fee on foreign currency transactions, which is really useful for travel or online shopping.

Compared to other cards, however, it’s quite lacking in terms of local dining and retail deals. But the generous rebates and privileges more than make up for it.

Also Consider...

1. Citi Cash Back Card

This all-around cashback credit card offers 8% rebate for dining, groceries, and petrol with a minimum spend of S$888 a month.

It’s a generous amount, but rebates for each category is capped at S$25 per month. This means that at any given month, S$25 is the most rebate you’ll earn for dining on holiday.

However, you can also use the Citi Cash Back Card to earn rebates at supermarkets worldwide. So if you’re crashing at an Airbnb or have access to a kitchen during your trip, consider cooking your own meals. You’ll save so much money this way, and get an extra S$25 cashback too!

2. UOB YOLO Card

The UOB YOLO Card has a number of great dining deals in Singapore, but how does it fare overseas?

As it turns out, its dining rebates let you save quite a bit when you travel. Earn 3% rebate on weekday dining and entertainment. And until 30 September 2016, the UOB YOLO Card gives up to 8% rebate on weekend dining and entertainment.

If you’re chasing overseas dining rebates alone, the UOB YOLO Card is a better choice for weekend getaways. As you can see from the table above, you don’t earn much from weekday dining.

However, the UOB YOLO Card also cuts down on travel expenses beyond restaurant meals. Cardmembers get a 3% rebate on online bookings at Agoda, Airbnb, Jetstar, and a number of travel websites. Check out the full list here.

3. ANZ Optimum World MasterCard

The ANZ Optimum World MasterCard is a powerful piece of plastic. Its rotating cashback feature lets you decide where your savings should go.

It’s as simple as choosing one out of four categories at the beginning of each quarter: dining & leisure, travel, shopping, and groceries. You get 5% cashback on that category, and 1% cashback on all other spend.

Maximise the overseas dining rebates by choosing the dining category during the quarter you’ll be traveling.

Let’s say you’ll be at Melbourne during 15 - 25 August, and your dining expenses add up to S$500. If you choose the dining category before the 25th of July (the start of the third quarter), you earn S$25 cashback. But if you forget to declare your chosen category, you only get S$5 cashback.

4. OCBC 365 Card

While the OCBC 365 Card has the smallest overseas dining rebate, it can net you a whole lot of savings in Singapore.

At S$80 maximum cashback per month, the OCBC 365 Card has one of the highest cashback limits in the market. You can use it to get 3% rebate on online travel bookings, plus 6% rebate on Singapore dining and 3% rebates on groceries island-wide.

The OCBC 365 Card also gives you access to the Visa Luxury Hotel Collection. Cardmembers get preferential rates for the best hotels and resorts around the world, plus perks like automatic room upgrade upon arrival and complimentary breakfast!

You can use SingSaver.com.sg's free comparison tools to find the top dining credit cards in Singapore.

Read This Next:

4 Crazy Expensive Versions of Local Singaporean Food

Which Air Miles Credit Card Are You?