I’ve stopped going to the AXS machine after Xtrasaver stopped dishing out rebates for NETs payment, so it was quite fortunate that as I walked past the AXS machine yesterday when I saw this promotion on the screen. Not a bad deal since it’s equivalent to 4% off $50 pumped at SPC. What’s more, SPC has extended their 6% rebate till 30 Sep 13 so that’s 24.1% off petrol! So what type of HDB payments are there? One can pay one’s HDB loans, season parking charges, car park fines etc etc. If you unfortunately need to pay a fine then I guess this will sort of offset it! Not too sure whether the 3% rebate for Everyday card will apply to this like the transaction online. Does anyone have any positive experience to share?

AXS has just launched a mobile app both on iphone as well as on android system. The current default payment mode is via enets. Hopefully over time it will be extended to credit cards as well as that we can continue to earn credit card points or miles with our bill payments! For now, be among the first 50k people to make a bill/fine payment on this mobile app and get a free Ya Kun treat! While stocks last!

It was only a short while ago that we promoted the POSB Everyday Card and now they have a few more promotions!

1. 10% rebate at Sheng Siong from 13-22 Sep 13. It’s been a while since POSB Everyday Card had a 10% cash rebate promotion after Carrefour left Singapore. Note that the total cash rebate is $50 per calender month per card amount, so don’t overspend!

2. For new card holders (first 900 approved between 15 Aug-31 Oct 13), spend $1500 within the first 3 months and get 25k BIG Points (You must be a member of the Airasia BIG program first)

3. Extension of 6% Cashrebate at SPC till 30 Sep!

2. Spend $1500

Saw this on my facebook news feed. Not a bad deal since you will be getting $50 for crediting your salary with them, and an additional $20 when you pay your bill through GIRO with them. Read the T&Cs carefully at https://secure.dbs.com/Contact/sg/dbs/ea/climbers/tnc.pdf

Some things to note:

1. Only for 2013 graduates from NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD, SIM, SIT

2. Minimum $2000 salary before Nov 13

So I was trying to pay my POSB Everyday Master Credit Card bill with the Daily $ that I have accumulated instead of using the Daily $ at SPC Petrol kiosk in order to maximise my returns. It was not an easy feat as there were no links on the credit card page to tell you how or where to pay using the Daily $. Finally, I saw the link on the right hand column on the IB homepage! Just click on the blue banner and a small popup will appear asking you for your options to redeem your Daily $. Choose Option 3 and key in your credit card number, amount and handphone number. The transaction may take up to 7 days so do plan early!

Go to IB Homepage and look at the right column

On another note, while I was looking around the POSB Everyday Card website, I noticed right at the bottom of the page that there were some change in T&C. To my horror, cash rebate for HDB Season Parking will be reduced from 3 to 1% and Starhub and SP Services will be given a maximum rebate of $1/month. How pathetic! Also, not to mention that the loophole using DBS credit cards at AXS machines to pay for your bills has been sealed. Well, now you know and won’t be shocked when you see your bills next month. Time to either prepay your season parking ( you can do so up to a year) or start hunting for the next better card to use.

Finally had time to plough out the photos of my first trip to Bali, where we stayed in a nice Balinese house with 4 bedrooms and a nice sprawling pool.

One of the bedrooms in the villa

This villa was definitely much cheaper than what the 4 or 5 star resorts were charging. The entire villa cost less than SGD 300, which was very reasonable, and comes with daily breakfast, and the maid cleans the room everyday. No wonder there are people who visit Bali every year!

Currently, airbnb is offering all newly registered visitors USD25 off their first booking of USD 75 or more, when they sign up through this link here. Don’t worry, check out the site first, and if you are interested in the place, drop the owner a message, get a feel of their hospitality then go ahead and book!

It has been 10 months since I last updated the table on the frequent mile miles cards in Singapore, and there have been several changes along the way, which will be highlighted here.

1. Amex KF Ascend has superceded the Gold KF card. The gold card rewards people for a combined total spending at the end of the year but for the ascend card, you should spend large amounts at every one point in time (minimum $1500 per month to clock the bonus 300 miles), and maximise your spends during the first 3 months to clock the double bonus miles. Of course, do not forget your free night stay at Millennium Copthorne Hotel every year.

2. ANZ Travel Signature has restricted the overseas spending to Australia and New Zealand. However, they offer the best miles (2.8/$1) for booking of airline tickets!

3. Citibank Premiermiles has increased the local miles earning rate from 1.2 to 1.4miles/$1. They are also offering 2.5 miles for bookings on SQ (AMEX KF Ascend is so not worth it once you are outside the first 3 months window!)

4. DBS Altitude card has withdrawn bonus miles for overseas spend, so you will earn the same rate as for local spend (i.e. 1.2/$1)

5. UOB PRIVI Miles remains the best for spending locally, and limousine transfer is only available with minimum $500 spent on travel related expenses (previously no minimum spend)

Purchase a full-priced 2D movie ticket ($11) at Shaw Theatres box offices on Saturdays and Sundays and enjoy the second one free!

Simply present a valid SAFRA member card and NRIC at point of purchase to enjoy this deal.

Valid from 12 Oct – 30 Mar 2014 (Sat & Sun only)

Terms & Conditions

• 1-for-1 weekend movie tickets limited to first 1,000 redemptions per day on first-come-first-serve basis.
• Valid from 12 Oct 2013 to 30 Mar 2014, on Saturdays and Sundays only.
• Purchase a full-priced ticket at $11.00 and enjoy the second ticket free.
• Applicable for purchase of tickets from Shaw Theatres box offices only.
• Not applicable for tickets purchased through online, mobile and corporate bookings.
• Member must purchase ticket in person with valid SAFRA card and NRIC for verification purposes.
• Free ticket redeemed will be of the same movie session as paid ticket.
• Ticket purchase must be on the same day of promotion. Not valid for advance ticket sales.
• Valid for cash payment only.
• Not valid for premium priced movies i.e. IMAX, Shaw Theatres premiere, 3D films, Hindi/Tamil films, movie marathons, film festivals and other special event tickets.
• Limited to one (1) free ticket per member per day.
• Not valid with other discounts, offers or promotions.
• Shaw Theatres Pte Ltd and SAFRA reserve the rights to withdraw or amend the terms and conditions of this promotion without prior notice.

Ion has tied up a special promotion whereby you get 2h free parking with $80 spent on Standard Chartered cards on weekends. Bear in mind that if you are eligible for this promotion on weekend nights where it is a per entry fee already, if you stay for more than 2 hours, you will end up paying the full per entry fee despite having this promotion. It’s better now since Ion has also changed to point system where you get 5 points with a minimum of $100 chalked up within a day, so the points may be kept for another day (similar to how Vivocity works – but vivo only needs $50 to claim!)

2013 Singapore Credit Cards Christmas Promotion

Almost all the local & foreign banks have rolled out their credit card promotions for 2013 with the exception of Citibank, and UOB X’mas is too pathetic to even deserve a mention. Last year’s tablet is available here for comparison. Personally, I think there’s more variety this year. For the small time shopper to those who are spending a bomb on their wedding or major revamp for their homes, there is something for everyone. Surprising, OCBC’s premium gifts have already been fully redeemed after 1 week, so do take note of the individual bank’s websites below and check the availability before you make that purchase!

ANZ - https://sg.anz.com/ANZPrivileges/anz-xmas.jsp#cash-credit

Bank of China - http://www.bankofchina.com/sg/bocinfo/bi2/201310/t20131031_2590237.html

CIMB - http://www.cimbbank.com.sg/promo/christmas2013/?pk_campaign=CC-Christmas2013&pk_kwd=whatsnew

DBS - http://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/landing/cards/xmas2013/spend_and_redeem.pdf

HSBC - http://www.hsbc.com.sg/1/2/personal/cards/promotions/christmas?WT.ac=sgh_cards_xmas_card

Maybank - http://info.maybank2u.com.sg/personal/cards/special-promos/christmas2013.aspx

OCBC - http://www.ocbc.com/personal-banking/Cards/card-promotions.html

Standard Chartered - http://www.standardchartered.com.sg/promotion/gift/index.html

This is a little known promotion that I happened to chance across when I visited a SAFRA branch recently. They are selling F&B vouchers at a great discount! Each member is allowed to buyer only 2 sets of vouchers. Consider them for Xmas gift?

Peach Garden

1. 30% off Peach Garden Vouchers
$14 for $20 voucher (max 2 per pax)

2. 30% off Nando’s Vouchers
$21 for $30 (max 2 per pax)

This may be kinda late but Citibank has tied up the same promotion in Sep-Dec 13! Refer to previous post here. Mark down 10 Dec to pump your petrol!

Simply charge a min. of $80 to your Citibank Credit Card on the 10th and get:

• Free Car Wash*

  Cashiers at Esso will give out a Car Decal and a Car Wash Voucher to redeem for your free car wash.

• $1 Cash Rebate*

  The Cash Rebate will be credited to your Citibank Credit Card after 3 statement cycles.

  *Limited the first 4,000 redemptions. Each customer is only entitled to 1 car wash and $1cash rebate redemption per 10th of the month.

Save up to 21%* + Get up to 2.5%^ Smiles Points
DBS Esso Platinum Card. The ultimate driver’s card.

With up to 21%* off petrol, the DBS Esso Platinum Card lets you save at the pumps and earn up to 2.5%^ fuel equivalent savings in Smiles Points.

3 steps to ultimate petrol savings:

1. Scan the QR code to download the DBS Shopper App
2. Select “Coupons”
3. Flash the “One Time Coupon” at Esso and pay with your DBS Esso Platinum Card

Just an update to the previous post on credit card discounts at petrol kiosk. Currently Version 3.

1) Caltex – Best deal still remains as SAFRA paired with Stanchart Xtrasaver 21.1% – simple and fuss free.

2) Esso – Citi Dividend still the best for Esso, pump on the 10th of December to get a free carwash + $1 rebate. Otherwise download the DBS app and get the $3 e-coupon off $75 on petrol using the DBS Esso card.

3) Shell – UOB has stopped promotions with Shell and been replaced by Citibank and HSBC, but still slightly inferior compared to Esso’s discounts. HSBC rebates are difficult to achieve due to the T&C with minimum spend.

4) SPC – UOB has the best discount so far with 21% off but you can only get this max discount when you pump in multiples of $50 so as to get the $3 discount. The 6% rebate with POSB Everyday has been extended till end December. Who knows if it may be extended next year?

It’s the season for giving again! While shoppers are out thronging the malls during this festive season, there is a growing population sitting at home and shipping things to their home via the click of a mouse. And nothing is more enticing than the rebates or accelerated points that you get with online shopping! The previous post here is clearly outdated due to new cards in the market and some change in the T&C for some.

The “best” one may be HSBC with its 10% cash rebate but if you do your sums, spending $300/month online with a cap of $100 of rebate per quarter means a rebate of 8.33% at best, not to mention they are very strict with the per monthly rule! My top 3 picks are as follows:

1. OCBC Frank card – A good 6% rebate on anything online, so long as you spend a minimum of $500, but anything more than $1000 will only earn you 0.5% rebate.

2. Bank of China Shop! Card – A relatively unknown card, but they offer a good rebate of 5.5% so long as you spend $100 per month. However, do note the rebate is for the first $1000 so don’t spend too much excessively! Amount spending after that is actually 1% rebate.

3. UOB Preferred Platinum Visa – The rate of return is pretty good, you can calculate a better % in terms of rebate for certain vouchers if you look hard enough. One thing to note is that the points are given every $5, so anything with a $4.99 will be rounded down and no UNI$ given.

Generally, I try to avoid those cards that require you to maintain a minimum per month per quarter. That means you need to monitor for 4 months at a row and sometimes one may be busy and forget to chalk up that amount. Not to mention you may not buy things online every month so the actual rebate may be even less. What’s your secret card for online shopping? Any comments are welcomed.

Priceless Singapore is promoting their site right now. Be amongst the first 5000 to sign up and you get a free $20 prepaid Mastercard for free!

T&C available here

There are some of us who have credit cards from AMEX, ANZ, BoC, CIMB, DBS, OCBC, OUB, Standard Chartered etc and would need to make payment every month. Generally, I use Standard Chartered, Citibank and DBS online payment service to pay these bills monthly. Now, Maybank has an interesting promotion that pays you $0.10 per successful payment to other banks’ credit cards and chance to win Ipad Mini. Minimum payment $5, and capped at $3000.

Qualifying period: 1 January – 31 March 2014.

Cashback capped at $10/month.

Good for Maybank customers who use a lot of other banks’ credit cards too

It’s the time for the car inspection before one is given the green light for renewal of the road tax. In Singapore, there are only 2 companies that provide this service – VICOM and STA Inspection. I’ve done at both previously and the cost was the same. I vaguely remembered there was a promotion previously at STA using the SAFRA card and I found their website with a list of promotions:

1. Free $15 Shell vouchers ($5 off every $50 petrol pumped)

For more details, please visit www.sghappydrivers.com.

+ Comprising of 3 coupons, each offering $5 off for every $50 purchase of Shell fuels.
- Promotion is valid from 17 Feb 2014 to 30 April 2014.
- Further Shell terms and conditions apply.

2. Earn 3% Citi rebate if you pay for vehicle inspection and car evaluation services using your Citibank cards

3. Get 10% off vehicle inspection using our SAFRA Card at the inspection centres to enjoy the exclusive offer. Promotion is valid till 31 Dec 2014.

4. Use of NS45 vouchers (which expires 31 March 14)

5. Earn linkpoints ($1=3 points) (NTUC Union Members)

Maybank is really innovative. Now they have come up with this Mobile Money transfer program and offering its users $10 just to make 2 transactions! Not a bad deal if you ask me since it is free!

Make two Maybank Mobile Money transfers* before 30 Apr 2014 and SMS to redeem S$10 worth of CapitaVouchers.

*Transferred amount has to be successfully collected.

Key info

• Each customer is entitled to one S$10 shopping voucher for the entire campaign period
• Campaign period is from 20 February 2014 to 30 April 2014

Step 1:

Register for Maybank Mobile Money (MMM). Click here to learn how to register.

Step 2:

Make 2 MMM transactions. Check out this video http://info.maybank2u.com.sg/mbbs-tv/mmm.aspx on how to pay and collect.

MMM can be used in many ways, such as:

• Paying for your child’s lessons or tuition
• Paying the plumber and other home service providers
• Sharing the cost of a gift or split the restaurant bills with friends and many more

Step 3:

SMS to redeem for your shopping voucher when you know the funds have been collected.

Terms and Conditions for the Maybank Mobile Money Usage Promotion (“Promotion”)

• The Promotion will be conducted from 20 February to 30 April 2014 (“Promotion Period”) in accordance with the terms and conditions stated below.
• Eligible Maybank customers must perform a minimum of two (2) Maybank Mobile Money transactions which must be successfully sent and collected within the Promotion Period.
• The required Maybank Mobile Money transactions have to be made using a Maybank Singapore Savings or Current Account (“Account”), opened individually or jointly. Corporate accounts will not be considered for this Promotion.
• To redeem the S$10 shopping voucher, the Maybank Account holder must send an SMS to Maybank after the two (2) Maybank Mobile Money transactions are made and within the Promotion Period. If Maybank receives an eligible SMS within the Promotion Period then the Maybank Account holder will receive an auto reply SMS from Maybank.
• Maybank will not consider any SMS sent in the wrong format or any SMS sent prior to the Maybank Mobile Money transactions being made. Proof of sending an SMS does not constitute proof of Maybank’s receipt of the SMS.
• The S$10 shopping voucher is limited to the first 1,000 eligible Maybank Account holders .
• The shopping voucher will be sent by mail to the successful Maybank Account holder’s address which is on record with Maybank by 30 May 2014. Maybank assumes no liability for any shopping voucher which is deemed to be lost or stolen.
• Each Maybank customer is eligible to receive a maximum of one (1) S$10 shopping voucher within the Promotion Period, regardless of the number of accounts held. If the Account is a joint account only the Account holder who performed the Maybank Mobile Money transactions will receive the shopping voucher.
• The Promotion is not valid in conjunction with other promotions carried out by Maybank unless otherwise stated.
• Maybank reserves the right to exchange or substitute the shopping voucher at its sole discretion without prior notice.
• Maybank may vary, delete or add to any of these terms and conditions, or withdraw, suspend or discontinue this Promotion at any time. Maybank has the sole discretion to exclude any person from participating in this Promotion and Maybank’s decision on all matters with regards to this promotion shall be final, conclusive and binding on the Maybank account holder.
• Terms and Conditions governing the Maybank Mobile Money Sender and Maybank Mobile Money Collector apply together with the terms and conditions governing the shopping voucher.