16 Best Credit Cards For Big-Ticket Items
updated: Dec 13, 2024
The best credit card for big purchases should not have any rewards earning cap. Maximise your returns on big purchases with the credit cards below.
written_by SingSaver Team
Best Credit Cards For Big-Ticket Items On SingSaver
Cashback: Citi Cash Back+ Card | UOB Absolute Cashback Card | Standard Chartered Simply Cash Card | CIMB World Mastercard
Miles: Citi PremierMiles Card | DBS Altitude Visa Card | DBS Altitude AMEX Card | UOB PRVI Miles AMEX Card | UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard Card | UOB PRVI Miles Visa Card | KrisFlyer UOB Card
Rewards: AMEX Platinum Card | Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card
Have a brand new house to furnish or an engagement ring to surprise your partner? Fret not. The best credit cards for big purchases in Singapore can help stretch every dollar you spend.
With rising costs of living in the backdrop, it is only logical that you do all you can to make your money work harder for you, even when we’re talking about spending money.
In this article, we share tips and tricks on how you can maximise credit card rewards on big purchases and how to use credit cards wisely, especially when you're thinking of applying for credit card instalment plans.
We’ve also rounded up the best cashback credit cards, the best miles credit cards and the best rewards credit cards for big purchases for your perusal. You’re welcome!
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How to maximise credit card rewards on big purchases?
Apart from deciding whether you’d like to earn cashback, air miles or rewards points on your big-ticket items, your credit card of choice mustn’t restrict you when it comes to earning those rewards.
This means picking credit cards without an earning cap.
In case you didn’t already know, some credit cards offer fantastic rewards rates, but they come with caps on how much rewards you can actually earn. A good example would be HSBC Revolution Credit Card.
This rewards card lets you earn 10X rewards points (i.e. 4 mpd) — which is awesome — but only on the first S$1,000 eligible spend in a month. All subsequent spending exceeding that amount will be reverted to its base earn rate of 1x rewards points or 0.4 mpd.
Best credit cards for big-ticket purchases in Singapore
Best cashback credit cards
| Cashback credit card | Flat rate cashback rate |
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1.6% unlimited cashback ⭐ Read our full Citi Cash Back+ Credit Card review here. |
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1.7% unlimited cashback ⭐ Read our full UOB Absolute Cashback Credit Card review here. |
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1.5% unlimited cashback ⭐ Read our full AMEX True Cashback Credit Card review here. |
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1.5% unlimited cashback ⭐ Read our full Standard Chartered Simply Cash Credit Card review here. |
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2% unlimited cashback on: ⭐ Read our full CIMB World Mastercard review here. |
The CIMB World Mastercard is a great choice if luxury goods and dining are a mainstay in your monthly to-buy list. There’s no limit to how much cashback you can earn, but take note of the minimum spend requirement!
The other four credit cards mentioned above are straightforward and fuss-free, with no cap and no minimum spend to boot.
If you prefer something that offers cashback on everything including insurance premiums, school fees, medical bills, utilities, mobile wallet top-ups (i.e. commonly excluded transactions), consider the UOB Absolute Cashback Card or the American Express True Cashback.
Best miles credit cards
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Miles credit card
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Miles earn rate
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- 1.2 mpd on local spend
- 2.2 mpd on overseas spend
- Up to 7.2 mpd on Agoda hotel transactions
- 10 mpd on Kaligo hotel transactions
- No cap on Citi Miles earned
- Citi Miles never expire
⭐ Read our full Citi PremierMiles Credit Card review here.
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- 1.3 mpd on local spend
- 2.2 mpd on overseas spend
- 3 mpd on Agoda bookings
- No cap on DBS Points earned
- DBS Points never expire
⭐ Read our full DBS Altitude Credit Card review here.
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- 1.4 mpd on local spend
- 2.4 mpd on overseas spend
- 6 mpd on major airlines and hotel worldwide with Agoda, Expedia and UOB Travel
⭐ Read our full UOB PRVI Miles Credit Card review here.
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- 1.2 mpd on all spend
- 3 mpd on Singapore Airlines, Scoot and KrisShop purchases
- 3 mpd on dining, food delivery, online shopping and travel, and transport spend (with min. S$800 annual spend on Singapore Airlines Group)
⭐ Read our full UOB KrisFlyer Credit Card review here.
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- 1.1 mpd on all local spend
- 2 mpd on Singapore Airlines and KrisShop spend
- 2 mpd on overseas spend in June and December
- 3 mpd on Grab, capped at S$200 per month
⭐ Read our full AMEX Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Credit Card review here.
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- 1.2 mpd on local spend
- 2.1 mpd on overseas spend
- Up to 7 mpd on Agoda accommodation bookings in foreign currency
- Up to 6 mpd on Agoda accommodation bookings in local currency
- No cap on miles earned
- 90°N Miles never expire
⭐ Read our full OCBC 90°N Credit Card review here.
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- 1.3 mpd on local spend
- 2.2 mpd on overseas spend
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You certainly have many options when it comes to picking an air miles credit card that lets you earn unlimited miles.
All of the shortlisted air miles credit cards above have their pros and cons; so choose one according to your spending habits.
Want some inspiration to get started? I use the UOB KrisFlyer Credit Card, DBS Altitude Visa and Citi PremierMiles for my own miles accumulation journey.
Best rewards credit cards
| Best rewards credit cards | Rewards earn rate |
| - 3.25 ThankYou Points per S$1 spent locally (i.e. 1.3 mpd) - 5 ThankYou Points per S$1 spent overseas (i.e. 2 mpd) - Exclusive Cit relationship bonus of up to 30% extra ThankYou Points |
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- 2 Membership Rewards Points per S$1.60 spent (1.1 miles) |
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- 3.5 Rewards Points per S$1 spent locally (i.e. 1.4 mpd) - 7.5 Rewards Points per S$1 spent overseas (i.e. 3 mpd) |
See also: 5 Metal Credit Cards to Apply For in Singapore
While there are many solid rewards credit cards on the market that I enjoy using and recommend, most of them limit the number of bonus rewards points you can earn monthly.
For those who are new to the world of credit cards, the abovementioned Citi Prestige and Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card belong to the premium credit cards camp that requires their cardmembers to earn a certain amount of annual income and pay their respective hefty annual fee. Their travel and lifestyle perks are truly fantastic, though!
As for American Express Platinum Credit Card, this credit card is targeted at foodies as well as discerning consumers who appreciate and enjoy platinum-level lifestyle perks year-round.
Use credit cards wisely
Credit cards are good financial tools if you know how to use them wisely and responsibly.
They can help make your money go further, even when it comes to big ticket items and purchases like luxury bags, designer clothes, bespoke jewellery, the ultimate luxurious vacations, home furnishings and appliances (these really add up quickly and easily), fancy wine and dine, etc.
Pro tip: Pay all your credit card bills in full before their due dates to make your rewards count!
Compare Best Credit Cards For Big-Ticket Items
| credit_card | Card benefit | Min. Annual Income | Annual Fee | offers_rewards | apply | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.6% cashback | S$ 30,000 | S$ 196.20 | eligible_rewards (6) | on_provider_website | eligible rewards (6) on_provider_website | ||||||
1.7% cashback | S$ 30,000 | S$ 196.20 | eligible_rewards (6) | on_provider_website | eligible rewards (6) on_provider_website | ||||||
1.2 - 10 miles per dollar | S$ 30,000 | S$ 196.20 | eligible_rewards (6) | on_provider_website | eligible rewards (6) on_provider_website | ||||||
1.2 - 3 miles per dollar | S$ 30,000 | S$ 196.20 | eligible_rewards (1) | on_provider_website | eligible rewards (1) on_provider_website | ||||||
3.25 - 5 points per dollar | S$ 120,000 | S$ 545.00 | eligible_rewards (6) | on_provider_website | eligible rewards (6) on_provider_website | ||||||
2 - 10 points per dollar | Conditional | S$ 327.00 | eligible_rewards (1) | on_provider_website | eligible rewards (1) on_provider_website | ||||||
about_the_author
SingSaver Team
At SingSaver, we make personal finance accessible with easy to understand personal finance reads, tools and money hacks that simplify all of life’s financial decisions for you.