Bank of China has announced an upcoming revision to the BOC Family Card’s rewards programme that will significantly reduce the number of transactions that earn cashback. The change, communicated directly to cardholders via text message, takes effect from 1 January 2026 and is expected to impact many everyday payment strategies that currently earn rebates.
Key Exclusions: CardUp & iPayMy
One of the biggest changes is the explicit removal of rewards on transactions made via CardUp and ipaymy. Historically, BOC Family Card users could earn around 3% cashback on these payment platforms — often enough to offset the roughly 1.8% to 2.6% fees charged by the services — effectively turning bill payments like tax, rent, and insurance into net rewards.
However, under the updated terms and conditions, both CardUp and ipaymy are now specifically excluded from earning any cashback, closing the opportunity that many cardholders have relied on to maximise rewards.
Education Expenses No Longer Earn Cashback
Another major change is the addition of several education-related Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) to the exclusion list. Starting January, transactions classified under codes like:
- 8211 – Elementary & Secondary Schools
- 8220 – Colleges & Universities
- 8241 – Correspondence Schools
- 8244 – Business & Secretarial Schools
- 8249 – Trade & Vocational Schools
- 8299 – Schools and Educational Services (Not Elsewhere Classified)
will no longer qualify for cashback. This means tuition and other school-related expenses previously eligible for rebates will lose that benefit.
Other MCCs & Categories Now Excluded
Beyond CardUp, ipaymy and education, BOC’s updated terms also add clarity to other exclusions, limiting what counts toward cashback:
- Top-ups — e.g., mobile wallets like SimplyGo or ShopeePay top-up will not earn cashback. For clarity, direct payments for bus/MRT visa SimplyGo and online Shopee purchases can still earn rewards as long as it is not top-ups.
- Telco bills — MCC 4814 for telecommunication expenses is excluded, unlike many competing cards that still reward such spend.
- Charitable, religious, political, and membership organisations — codes like 8398, 8661, 8651, 8699 are now excluded.
- Professional services — MCC 8999 has been added to the list.
Conclusion:
For many holders of the BOC Family Card, these changes represent a significant reduction in flexibility for earning cashback on non-traditional spend and bill payments. Strategies that depended on payment platforms to convert everyday or irregular expenses into reward-earning transactions will no longer work, pushing users to reconsider how they allocate spending across cards.
