Money Confession: Favourite Credit Card Combinations To Max Out Cashback And Miles (As Used By SingSaver Staffers)
updated: Nov 04, 2024
From the people who work behind the scenes to bring you the best credit card promotions, what are the credit card combinations we ourselves at SingSaver swear by?
written_by SingSaver Team
Real stories about money from real people. Money Confessions, a SingSaver series, will excite you, inspire you, and leave you wishing to get financially woke.
Credit cards are a must-have in any working adult’s wallet, earning you cashback, miles or reward points. You can use it to pay for anything from your meals, to your wedding banquet and even to rent a car when you’re travelling overseas.
In Singapore, more than 56% own more than one credit card, as shown in this survey.
People own multiple credit cards to maximise the perks they receive, especially for cards that impose a cashback cap. With a combination of credit cards, you can make the most of your spending, choosing specific cards for different types of spending and then moving on to another card once you hit the cap.
Working for a personal finance aggregator gives us ‘unfair advantage’ on what can maximise cashback and miles, but we suppose it’s no longer unfair now that we’re sharing credit card combinations we’re using ourselves!
Meet the SingSaver team and their credit cards
Ching Sue Mae, Finance & Web Writer
Ching Sue Mae, Finance & Web Writer
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Citi Rewards |
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What these credit cards are known for
- American Express Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Ascend (KFA): 1.2 KrisFlyer miles for every $1 spent, 4 free lounge passes and 1 night stay at a Hilton property
- Citi Rewards: 4mpd on all online spending (except travel), 4mpd on offline fashion shopping and department stores
- DBS Altitude: 1.3mpd on local spend, including bus and train rides, 2.2mpd on overseas spend, 3mpd on Agoda bookings and 2 free lounge visits
Why this credit card combination?
I got the AMEX KFA as an upgrade after spending quite a sum on my first credit card, the AMEX Krisflyer Blue. This upgrade came with a bonus 10,000 miles, but what really appealed to me was the luxurious fringe benefits — 4 free lounge passes (thankfully, I used pre-COVID) and a free hotel stay at a Hilton property. With a 1.2mpd earn rate, this card is my go-to for transactions made in-store because it directly earns Krisflyer miles (read: no conversion fee). I also think AMEX cards are underrated as you get offers and promotions all the time in the AMEX app.
The Citi Rewards card is sort of a dark horse for me. I applied with the full intention of just getting the attractive cash offer when you sign up. But with a 4mpd earn rate on all online spend, it’s become my most used credit card, because let’s be honest, what can you not buy online these days?
As a user of the DBS Multiplier account, I needed a DBS credit card to bump up my interest earn rate. Being a miles chaser, I was ever only going to sign up for a miles card and the DBS Altitude is DBS’s big name miles card. This was also the card I used for train rides and travel spend, but in the case of 2020, what is travel?
Nic Tse, Finance & Web Content Manager
What these credit cards are known for
- UOB EVOL: Up to 10% cashback on weekends for Grab, dining and entertainment.
- DBS Live Fresh: 6% on online and in-store shopping spend and transport spend.
Why this credit card combination?
The very first credit card I used, and am still using, is UOB EVOL — if for no other reason than to claw back money on my YOLO-based expenditures back in the day.
But YOLO is only great for weekends. I needed a weekday warrior. That’s when I paired it with the DBS Live Fresh. It’s easy to max out the cashback on the two categories of online payments and Visa contactless spends, considering I online-shop a fair bit for my grooming supplies (got to live fresh, right?), dine out at least twice a week, and double it up as my EZ-Link
As I spread my essential and non-essential expenditure carefully between both cards, it’s not difficult to hit the minimum qualifying spending for each of them. On average, I get anywhere between $30 and $50 in cashback each month.
I've also made it a point to always settle bills in full, ahead of time. That's probably why I'm always getting annual fee waivers, which means I'm saving an additional $385 (combined annual fee for both cards) each year.
Rosheeni Dobbie, Marketing Director
| American Express Singapore Airlines Solitaire PPS |
What these credit cards are known for
- American Express Singapore Airlines Solitaire PPS Credit Card: 1.3 KrisFlyer miles for every $1 spent, or 1.5 KrisFlyer mpd when you spend above $3,800 per month, first year fee waived
- Citi PremierMiles: 1.2 miles per $1 spent locally, 2 miles per S$1 spent overseas, 2 free airport lounge visits per year and miles can be converted to multiple frequent flyer transfer partners
Why this credit card combination?
I will always try to use my Amex first as it has the higher miles earn rate, especially once you hit the minimum threshold. But if a particular place does not take Amex, I will use my Citi PremierMiles. The only exception to this is at online stores, which have special DBS/POSB offers or discounts (i.e. Zalora), in which case I would use my DBS debit card.
Syarafina Ahmad, Marketing Associate
What these credit cards are known for
- OCBC 365: 5% cash rebate on dining spends, 3% cashback on groceries, private hire/taxi rides, recurring telco and electricity bills
- Citi PremierMiles: 1.2 miles per S$1 on local spend, 2 miles per S$1 on overseas spend, up to 10 miles per S$1 spend on hotel transactions and 2 free lounge visits
- Standard Chartered Unlimited: 1.5% cashback on all spend, no minimum spend and no cashback cap
Why this credit card combination?
The OCBC 365 is my go-to card mainly because it's the card of my current account and it used to give the most cashback (this was about 3 years ago). Fast forward to today and they've since changed their terms, so I'm not sure it still gives the most cashback. But because I've been so used to just whipping this card out and it's also the card that's saved onto most of my online shopping and Grab accounts, I end up using this card for most purchases anyway.
With the Citi Premiermiles card, I got it when I was spending a large sum of money on my wedding to earn myself some miles.
The Standard Chartered Unlimited is the card I got most recently. I like that it’s easy to earn cashback, unlike the OCBC 365 which has requirements such as a minimum spend to hit and also caps the amount of cashback I can get.
Cassandra Wee, Head of Insurance
| OCBC 365 | DBS Altitude |
- OCBC 365: 5% cash rebate on dining spends, 3% cashback on groceries, private hire/taxi rides, recurring telco and electricity bills
- DBS Esso: 18% instant fuel discount at Esso and additional savings adding up to a total of 21.2% in fuel savings
- DBS Altitude: 1.3mpd on local spend, including bus and train rides, 2.2mpd on overseas spend, 3mpd on Agoda bookings and 2 free lounge visits
Why this credit card combination?
I use the OCBC 365 for my dining and grocery spend because of the cashback it gives me. Because of my Multiplier account and my existing DBS banking relationship, I also use the DBS Esso card and DBS Altitude.
DBS Esso is great for fuel savings when I pump petrol. I use the DBS Altitude to earn miles on my big ticket items, or for purchases that do not earn me good cashback on my OCBC 365. The good thing about DBS Altitude is also that the miles do not expire.
Genevieve Gui, Customer Experience Manager
| OCBC 365 | Citi PremierMiles |
What these credit cards are known for
- OCBC 365: 5% cash rebate on dining spends, 3% cashback on groceries, private hire/taxi rides, recurring telco and electricity bills
- Citi PremierMiles: 1.2 miles per $1 spent locally, 2 miles per S$1 spent overseas, 2 free airport lounge visits per year
Why this credit card combination?
OCBC 365 was a starter card that came together with my OCBC 360 account. The biggest draw was that it helped me hit my spending criteria for the bank account. It fits my needs well as my biggest spending are on dining and transport. But now that my living habits have changed due to COVID-19, maybe it's time to look into a different cashback card from OCBC to maximise my benefits.
When I feel like I've met my minimum spend of $800 on my OCBC 365 for my OCBC 360 account, I'll whip out the Citi PremierMiles. I got the Citi PremierMiles because the other spending category I had was shopping. I like to shop in-stores instead of doing it online and not many cards cater to that category as a benefit. Because it's a secondary card, my miles will accumulate slowly so a Citi card works well for me as Citi miles never expire.
Mintu Sinha, Sr. QA Engineer
| DBS Live Fresh | HSBC Advance |
What these credit cards are known for
- DBS Live Fresh: 6% cashback on shopping and transport spend, including SimplyGo rides
- HSBC Advance: 1.5% cashback on all purchases with no minimum spend or 2.5% cashback on all purchases if you spend more than $2,000 a month
Why this credit card combination?
I’m using the DBS Live Fresh as it’s a good cashback card that also helps me earn more interest for my DBS Multiplier account. I like that I get cashback when I pay for my groceries, dining, transport and more.
I also like the HSBC Advance because it has a good cashback rate of 1.5% without a minimum spend, making it a great card for my utility bills.
Jeremiah Ding, Product Marketing Executive
| Citi Cash Back+ |
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What these credit cards are known for
- Citi Cash Back+: 1.6% cashback on all spend, with no minimum spend and no cap
- UOB One: 5% cash rebate on all spends, such as groceries, petrol and retail, up to 10% cash rebate on Grab services, Dairy Farm Group merchants and an additional 1% on Singapore Power utilities payment
Why this credit card combination?
With 1.6% cashback, the Citi Cash Back+ Card is a great all-purpose card that I use for most of my spending.
When I know I’ll be spending at least $500 to $2,000 for 3 consecutive months, I use the UOB One Card to maximise the cashback earned. These big-ticket purchases tend to come in the form of video game consoles, or personal guilty pleasures such as a brand new Omnidesk or SecretLab chair. The additional cashback earned on Grab or Dairy Farm Group merchants such as Cold Storage or 7-11 is the cherry on top.
ChiunYiun Ngu, Affiliates & Partnerships Manager
| OCBC Frank |
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What these credit cards are known for
- OCBC Frank: 6% cashback on online spending, contactless mobile payments and foreign currency spending made in-store
- DBS Live Fresh: 6% cashback on shopping and transport spend, including SimplyGo rides
Why this credit card combination?
The truth is, I actually have 3 miles cards (DBS Altitude, UOB PRVI and Citi PremierMiles) and 2 cashback cards. But these days, I’m using my cashback credit cards a lot more. My miles cards are kept in the cold storage because they’ve racked up quite a bit of miles for me, but I’ve yet to transfer my points to miles and sadly, there isn’t an opportunity for me to travel overseas now.
When using these two cashback cards, I use the OCBC Frank first and move on to using the DBS Live Fresh once I hit the minimum spend required ($800). Another factor when choosing which card to use is also the category I’m spending on.
What’s more, both these cards give cashback for contactless spend, which makes my life a whole lot easier because I can rely on my Apple Pay and go out without my wallet.
Xiuwen Zhang, Junior Art Director
| OCBC 365 | Citi SMRT | American Express True Cashback |
What these credit cards are known for
- OCBC Frank: 5% cashback on online spending, contactless mobile payments and foreign currency spending made in-store
- Citi SMRT: 5% rebate at NTUC FairPrice, Giant, Sheng Siong, selected fast food eateries, coffee chains, cinemas and 3% rebate on online spending except travel-related purchases
- American Express True Cashback: 1.5% cashback on all spend, with no minimum spend and no cap. Earn 3% cashback on the first $5,000 spent within the first 6 months.
Why this credit card combination?
I have three credit cards that I use in my own combination. I first got the OCBC 365 as it is best designed for my personal spending, such as online shopping, dining, entertainment and travel. The Citibank SMRT completes my combination, whereby I get cashback by paying utility and grocery bills.
I’m usually quite lazy to remember what the rebates and benefits are for credit cards, so I’ll just apply for the most straightforward one according to my needs at that particular point of time. Case in point: during my wedding, I got the American Express True Cashback card and really maxed out that 3% cashback (it has unlimited cashback).
Low Khoon Wah, Insurance Product Specialist
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What these credit cards are known for
- DBS Live Fresh: 6% cashback on shopping and transport spend, including SimplyGo rides
- HSBC Advance: 1.5% cashback on all purchases with no minimum spend or 2.5% cashback on all purchases if you spend more than $2,000 a month
Why this credit card combination?
As I have a Multiplier account with DBS, I use the DBS Live Fresh that gives me cashback on my spending. For any extra expenses that I incur after hitting the minimum spend requirement of $800 on the DBS Live Fresh, I will then channel it to my HSBC Advance credit card that gives me 1.5% cashback.
When I applied for the HSBC Advance, I qualified for the free Samsonite luggage, which was meant to be a great travel companion for the long China trip that I was planning back then (when travelling was still a thing). I also got the HSBC Advance for the free ENTERTAINER by HSBC membership that allowed me to enjoy 1-for-1 dining deals, when dining out was more prevalent.
Yvonne Han, Business Development Manager
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Citi Cash Back |
What these credit cards are known for
- DBS Live Fresh: 6% cashback on shopping and transport spend, including SimplyGo rides
- Citi Cash Back: Up to 8% cashback on dining, grocery shopping, private commute and petrol savings at Esso and Shell
Why this credit card combination?
I started using the DBS Live Fresh card as a supplementary to my newly opened DBS Multiplier Account — I could maximise the account’s preferential rate with spends on any DBS credit card. I chose the DBS Live Fresh as it was the most appealing for cashback, my preferred incentive in using credit cards. I’m very satisfied with the monthly cashback I’m receiving from my credit card spend, it gives me greater relief that I’m able to enjoy greater savings from my spend.
The second credit card that I frequently use is the Citi Cash Back card. I applied for this card through SingSaver’s exclusive offer, and I’m glad I did so because of the many promotions that helped me in greater savings on my spend. For example, I was able to use the card for their recent promotion of $60 cashback for recurring payments, as well as their many dining offers.
about_the_author
SingSaver Team
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