Best Credit Cards For Taobao And Latest Taobao Promotions

As China’s version of Amazon, Taobao is nothing short of a bargain hunter’s paradise. It offers literally everything for sale from across China, often at warehouse prices, and delivered directly to your doorstep. This cuts out middlemen and markups, letting you purchase the things you want for less. 

And as always, we’re here to help you get maximum value out of your expenditures by pairing them with the best credit card for shopping in Taobao, so let’s get to it!

But first let’s clear up a few things.

We know that only credit card transactions sorted under the correct Merchant Category Code (MCC) would be eligible for credit card rewards. So, what MCC do Taobao transactions code under?

In general, your Taobao spends would be sorted under MCC 5311 (Department stores, Online shopping) if you’re using the mobile app, and MCC 5411 (Grocery stores, Supermarkets, Online shopping) if you’re using the desktop website.

Hence, your Taobao purchases should normally be recognised as online shopping transactions, and be eligible for the corresponding credit card rewards. 

This shouldn’t happen often, but your transaction may sometimes code under a different MCC, given the sheer amount of brands and manufacturers that the platform represents. If you notice this happening more than a few times, you should consider looking for another retailer on the platform that would allow you to purchase the items you want, and still have your transaction sorted as MCC 5311 or MCC 5411. 

All Taobao transactions are charged in CNY (Chinese Yuan), which means you will need to deal with foreign currency conversion fees.

Linking a local credit card to your Taobao app will allow you to pay in SGD, but doing so means you would be subject to Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) charges – on top of the foreign currency conversion fee charged by your card issuer. 

You can lower these fees by paying with a payment platform that does not charge a foreign conversion fee. And since we’re focused on earning credit card rewards from our Taobao shopping, the best way to have our cake and to eat it too is to pair a credit card with the Instarem amaze card. 

Pairing your credit card with the Amaze card

You can read our Instarem amaze card review for a detailed look under the hood, but here’s the gist.

The amaze card allows you to link up to five Singapore-issued Mastercard credit cards. When you pay with the amaze card, your Taobao transaction will be automatically converted to a SGD-denominated one, with no foreign conversion fee and a friendlier forex rate. This means you’ll enjoy some savings on the currency conversion portion of the transaction. 

At the same time, your transaction counts as an online purchase, allowing you to earn rewards on your linked credit card, just like with any other transaction. 

As an ancillary benefit, you’ll also earn Instarem points, which you can save up to redeem for cashback and other perks later on. 

With all that out of the way, let’s take a look at which credit cards are good for Taobao shopping!

Shopping on Taobao counts as an online transaction when you spend with the DBS Woman’s World Mastercard, which means you’ll be able to earn 10x regards points – equivalent to 4 miles per dollar (mpd).

This is just as well, as from 1 June 2022, transactions made via the amaze card are no longer eligible for rewards. 

Hence, you won’t be able to avoid the foreign currency charges, but at least you’ll still be able to earn some pretty decent rewards.

The Citi Rewards Card recognises transactions with MCC 5311 as eligible for 10x rewards points (or 4 mpd), which means you’ll want to shop via the Taobao mobile app to earn your bonus points. 

But that’s not all. The Citi Rewards Card is one of the best cards to pair with the amaze card, as apart from travel-related transactions and your standard exclusions like insurance premiums, government services, etc., you can pretty much earn bonus reward points on most transactions, which means you can go ahead and pair the two up to squeeze out some extra savings on your Taobao spree. 

[Update!] This pair of cards from UOB offers the highest rewards for Taobao purchases. You can earn 10 UNI$ per S$5 spent, which works out to an air miles earn rate of 4 mpd (or up to 25 UNI$ per S$5 spent / 10 mpd when paired with the UOB Lady's Savings Account!)

However, this bonus earn rate only applies to one spending category for the UOB Lady’s Card and two spending categories for the UOB Lady’s Solitaire card, which means you’ll need to plan ahead to make the best use of your Taobao shopping. 

You see, there are seven spending categories that you can choose from to receive bonus UNI$. Of these, the two relevant to Taobao are Fashion, which includes MCC code 5311 – for transactions made via the mobile app; and Family, which includes MCC code 5411 – for transactions made via the Taobao desktop website. 

If all that seems a little too much to juggle, the Lady’s Solitaire – with its quota of two preferred spending categories – will make it easier to optimise your Taobao shopping. 

The cherry on top is that you can pair the UOB Ladys cards with Instarem's amaze card.

The HSBC Revolution Card recognises MCCs 5311 as eligible for 10x rewards points (4 mpd), so you’ll be covered whether you prefer to shop via the Taobao app or the website. 

On the downside, being a Visa card, you won’t be able to pair this card with amaze to lower your forex charges. 

The OCBC Rewards Card is another great choice to use when shopping on Taobao – but only if you’re using the mobile app.

This is because only MCC 5311 is recognised as eligible for card rewards, but MCC 5411 is explicitly excluded. 

You can earn 10x rewards points per dollar (5 base points + 45 bonus points per S$5 spent), which is equivalent to 4 mpd with this card, up to a cap of 10,000 bonus points per month. Bonus points are awarded for eligible transactions both online and in-store.

Another plus point is, yes, you can also pair this card with the amaze card for lower foreign currency conversion rates. 

[Update!] From now till 30 June 2024, enjoy an upsized 15 OCBC$, which is equivalent to 6 mpd, for every S$1 spend at Watsons, department stores, or duty-free shops at the airport! 

This rewards you with a total of 5,000 extra OCBC$, in addition to the 10,000 bonus OCBC$ cap per month! T&Cs apply.

The UOB EVOL Card lets you earn 10% cashback on Taobao, but only up to a total of S$80 cashback per month. Online and mobile contactless spends (10% cashback) are capped at S$30 cashback per month, overseas in-store FX spend (10% cashback) is capped at S$20 per month, with all other spends (0.3% cashback) capped at S$30 per month. Note that a minimum monthly spend of S$800 is required to earn cashback. 

Next up is the DBS Live Fresh Card which offers a S$50 cap per month on shopping spend (including online shopping) at a cashback rate of 6%.

There are a few more cashback categories you can max out, too, including S$20 for transport spend and 0.3% unlimited cashback on other spends (with no cap). Overall, the DBS Live Fresh offers a 6% cashback per calendar month, with the cashback capped at S$70. A S$800 minimum monthly spend is required to qualify for cashback. 

And last but certainly not least, we have the popular UOB One Card, which offers 3.33% cashback per quarter, provided you fulfil S$500, S$1,000 or S$2,000 monthly spends each month for the quarter. That’s not a bad reward scheme by any means; it’s just that there aren’t any relevant mechanics to give us additional rewards for Taobao purchases. 

However, you can earn up to 6.67% additional cashback on McDonald's, Grab, Shopee, SimplyGo, Giant, Cold Storage, CS Fresh, Guardian, 7-Eleven, Jasons, Jasons Deli, and UOB Travel, and up to 6.67% enhanced cashback for new UOB card members (total 15% cashback per quarter).

The CIMB Visa Signature offers one of the highest cashback rates at 10% cashback on online spend, groceries, beauty & wellness, pet shops & veterinary services, and cruises.

In particular, MCC 5311, along with several other online shopping MCC are classified as eligible spends:

• MCC 5611: Men’s and Boys’ Clothing and Accessories Stores
• MCC 5621: Women’s Ready to Wear Stores
• MCC 5631: Women’s Accessories and Specialty Stores
• MCC 5641: Children’s and Infants’ Wear Stores
• MCC 5651: Family Clothing Stores
• MCC 5655: Sports Apparel Stores
• MCC 5661: Shoe Stores
• MCC 5691: Men’s and Women’s Clothing Stores
• MCC 5699: Miscellaneous Apparel and Accessories Stores
• MCC 5311: Department Stores

That said, you do need to spend a minimum of S$800 per statement month, and the cashback is capped at S$100 per statement month and S$20 per category. But the silver lining is that there aren't any annual fees!

DBS/POSB Cards

For Taobao New Users

• 20 RMB off with minimum spend of 21 RMB with promo code TBSGNEW20

• Valid for use on first orders only. Offer is only eligible for in-app purchases and one-time input per user only. Singapore address must be used at checkout in order for Promo Code field to be shown.

• Promotion Period: Till 31 December 2024 or stocks last.

Taobao Monday Deal

• S$5 off with a minimum spend of S$100 on every Monday from 12am.

• Redeem your voucher here. Offer is limited to the first 500 users, one-time user per user. 

• Offer is only eligible for in-app purchases, and the discount will be applied automatically upon checkout.

• Promotion Period: Till 31 December 2024 or stocks last.

Taobao Coins Promotion

• Get a 3% service fee waiver voucher with Taobao Coins (worth S$3).

• Use 30 Taobao coins to redeem this offer. Capped at 500 redemptions per week. Click here to view the terms and conditions.

• Promotion Period: Till 31 December 2024 or stocks last.

Citi Cards

Coins Waiver Voucher

• 3% off service fee waiver with 25 coins (capped at S$3)

• Valid from 1 Oct 2023 to 30 Sep 2024

Notes:

• Set Taobao location to Singapore on homepage

• Click the Coins icon on Taobao Singapore Homepage

• Redeem vouchers with the required coins every day from 12am

• Voucher will be automatically applied when purchased with your Citi Card

Citi Wednesdays offer

• S$10 off with a minimum spend of S$100 (Limited redemptions every Wednesday)

• Valid from 26 July 2023 to 25 Sep 2024

Maybank Cards

Taobao Sundays

• S$10 off with a minimum spend of S$100

• Limited to first 200 redemptions every Sunday

• See terms and conditions here

Taobao is known for their low prices and mind-boggling array of goods, so it’s no wonder many of us love shopping there. Afterall, what better way to suss out a bargain than to shop directly at the Factory for the World!

As we’ve hopefully shown you in this article, choosing the right credit cards for your Taobao purchases can make a good deal even better. Not only can you get what you need at wallet-friendly prices, you can also accumulate credit card rewards to enjoy later down the road. An easy win-win, so why not?