Unpredictably, medical bills is among the highest and most costly type of expenses. Hospital costs are likely to increase according to the severity of the condition and the treatment plan, but you always have a choice about the kind of facility you go with—public or private. Still, we wanted to be thrifty and put some money to save up, don’t we? However, hospital bills and medical expenses are typically excluded from most credit card benefits. Fortunately, there are some credit cards that allow you to earn miles or cashback on medical expenses. Read more to see some of the best cards for hospital bills
Although there are a lot of credit cards that exclude MCC 8062 (Hospitals), we must remember that depending on the medical need, medical transactions may fall under a variety of MCCs:
MCC | Examples |
8011 (Doctors- Not Elsewhere Classified) | Alliance Healthcare, Healthway Medical, Q&M Medical, Raffles Medical, Clinics in Thomson Medical, Specialist Clinics/ Private Medical Suites in Private hospitals like Mount Elizabeth Orchard, Aesthetic clinics |
8021 (Dentists and Orthodontists) | TP Dental Surgeons, Elements Dental, Parkway Dental, Unity Denticare |
8031 (Osteopathic Physicians) | City Osteopathy Physiotherapy, The Osteopathic Centre |
8041 (Chiropractors) | Chiropractic First, Spinal Rehab Centre |
8042 (Optometrists and Ophthalmologists) | Asia Retina |
8043 (Opticians, Optical Goods and Eyeglasses) | KJ Optometrists, Northern Optician, New China Opticians |
8044 (Optical Goods and Eyeglasses) | Nanyang Optical, Paris Miki, W Optics |
8049 (Chiropodists) | Footworks Podiatry Clinic, East Coast Podiatry |
8050 (Nursing and Personal Care Facilities) | Charis Manor Nursing Home, LC Nursing Home, Orange Valley |
8062 (Hospitals) | Raffles Hospital, SGH, KKH, all Polyclinics, all specialist centres (like National Cancer Centre, National Heart Centre, Singapore National Eye Centre, etc), Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Mount Alvernia Hospital |
8071 (Dental and Medical Labs) | NewPath Diagnostics Lab |
8099 (Health Practitioners, Medical Services Not Elsewhere Classified) | The Skin Specialist Clinic, Doctor Anywhere, Eu Yan Sang TCM Clinic, HealthHub, Health Buddy, NUHS app |
9399 (Government Services (NEC) OR Fire Departments0 | Ng Teng Fong |
Finding MCCs To Determine the Best Credit Card for Hospital Bills
The first step is to identify the Merchant Category Code (MCC) assigned to your clinic or hospital. Most hospitals fall under MCC 8062, but verifying the exact code is advisable, especially for significant bills. There are three methods to achieve this:
Quick Reference Tool (Less Accurate):
- Dobin App: This online tool lets you search for a merchant and see potential MCCs. However, it’s less reliable for merchants using multiple MCCs. It can give you a general idea of what cards might be suitable for the MCC, but not a guaranteed match.
- You will need a Dobin account – use code “IJUSTTRYLAH” to sign up a free account. You do not need to connect your bank account to check the MCCs. I explained how to check in this video.
After that, use either of the below methods to confirm the MCC.
Most Accurate Methods (Guaranteed MCC):
- DBS digibot or Instarem App: These methods involve temporarily locking your card and attempting the payment (it will fail). Then, you can view the declined transaction details within the respective app to find the MCC.
- Instarem App using your amaze card: Lock your card, attempt payment, then check the “Activity” section for details of the failed transaction (including MCC).
- DBS digibank/ibanking using a DBS card: This method has more steps and is for those who may not have Amaze card. Here’s how:
- Lock your card temporarily.
- Attempt the payment (expect it to fail).
- Unlock your card and log in to DBS digibank/ibanking to activate the digibot.
- Navigate to “Check my Recent Transactions” > “Credit Cards” > Select used card > “View Transaction History” > “Declined Transactions.” The MCC will be displayed here. You can search the name of the MCC from this list.
Once you have the MCC, refer to the provided list to identify cards that offer the most rewards for such transactions.
Working Around Spending Caps of Credit Cards
Many credit cards offering high cashback or miles rewards come with spending limits. Don’t worry, there are ways to maximize your rewards even with these caps!
Splitting Payments:
- Check with the merchant if they allow splitting your bill across different months. This way, you can stay under the cap in a single month while still reaching the total for maximum rewards.
Understanding Spending Cap Cycles:
- Figure out if your card’s spending cap resets based on the calendar month (e.g., January 1st to January 31st) or your statement closing date (which can vary slightly each month). Knowing this cycle allows strategic planning.
- Calendar Month Cap: If the cap resets on the calendar month-end, you can strategically time large purchases. Let’s say the sweet spot for maximum cashback is $500. If your payment is S$1000, You could spend $500 on January 31st and another $500 on February 2nd to trigger the full reward without exceeding the cap in a single month.
- Statement Closing Date Cap: Knowing your statement closing date allows you to plan larger purchases near the end of your billing cycle, maximizing your chance of reaching the cap within that period.
Additional Tip:
- Call your bank directly to confirm the reset date of your card’s spending cap. This ensures you have the most accurate information for strategic spending.
Best Cards for Payment at Government Hospitals, Polyclinics or Specialist Centres via Health App
If you’re paying for public/government hospitals or polyclinics or specialist centres, you can pay with the following cards through HealthHub/ Health Buddy/ OneNUHS app to earn maximum cashback! Paying through these apps can help to convert the payment from offline to online as well as convert the MCC code from 8062 to 8099 which is not usually on the exclusion list. This helps us to circumvent the MCC code 8062 if you were to pay directly at the location.
Here are the cards you can use:
Cards | Earn Rate | Cashback/Miles Cap | Sweet Spot Spending per Month | Remarks |
5% cashback with min. spend of S$500 per month | 600 SMRT$ = $600 | Max. S$12,000 | Only for online payments; redeemed via SMS | |
4 miles per dollar | 6000 miles per calendar month | S$1,500 | Only for online payments | |
4 miles per dollar | 4000 miles per statement monthv | S$1,000 | Only for online payments | |
3.33% cashback with min. monthly spend of S$500, S$1,000 or S$2,000 per quarter | S$50, S$100, S$200 per quarter | Exact amount of S$500, S$1000 or S$2000 | can pair with UOB One Account to maximise interest on savings | |
3.33% cashback with min. monthly spend of S$300, S$1,000 or S$2000 per quarter | S$30, S$100, S$200 per quarter | Exact amount of S$300, S$1000 or S$2000 |
**for online payments, you should key in the citi rewards card directly into the app. Do not use apple pay or google pay for this. You probably don’t want to use it with amaze card so as not to hit the S$1K monthly domestic spending quota.
Thoughts: I really like the Citi SMRT card as you are able to charge up to S$12K in a month (assume you have enough credit limit) and get 5% cashback on the hospital bill. All other cards are great too, but you will need to split the payments across the months.
Best Cards for Payment at Private or Public Hospitals (not payable via the apps above):
*Sweet spot spending is the maximum amount that you can spend with your credit card to achieve optimum benefit
Cards | Earn Rate | Cashback/Miles Cap | Sweet Spot Spending per Month | Remarks |
4 miles per dollar | 4000 miles per statement month | Max S$1,000 | works with HealthHub Add New (must use with Amaze if paying via contactless) | |
1.5% cashback with no minimum spend 1.5% cashback with no minimum spend | S$70 per calendar month | S$2,800 | ||
3% cashback with min. spend of S$800 within the statement month only for hospitals with MCC 8062. Otherwise, all hospitals not coded as MCC 8062 will be 0.3%) 3% cashback with min. spend of S$800 within the statement month | S$25 per statement month | S$833.33 | Will not work with HealthHub |
Thoughts: I would choose the HSBC Advance under this section if I am expecting a large hospital bill like delivery of baby in a hospital.
Best Cards for One-Time Payment at Private or Public Hospitals or Private Clinics:
Since there is no spending cap for these cards, you can easily make a one-time payment using these cards.
Cards | Earn Rate | Private Hospitals | Public Hospitals | Remarks |
1.6% cashback | ? | ? | Cashback must be redeemed in blocks of S$10 | |
1.5% cashback 3% cashback for first S$5K payment for new to AMEX cardholders | ? | ? | Only for hospitals that accept American Express | |
 AMEX Highflyer Card | 1.8 miles per dollar | ? | ? | Only for hospitals that accept American Express |
 OCBC Voyage Card | 1.3 miles per dollar | ? | ? |
? Thoughts: It is worthy to note that American Express Cards may not be accepted by most hospitals or clinics. Therefore, i would pick SC Simply Cash as my first choice as mastercard is widely accepted and i would have quicker access to the cashback.
Best Cards for Payment at Private Clinics under MCC 8011:
Assume the payment is made at the clinic via mobile contactless:
Cards | Earn Rate | Cashback/Miles Cap | Sweet Spot Spending per Month | Remarks |
4 miles per dollar | 4000 miles per statement month | S$1,000 | ||
 UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card | 4 miles per dollar | 4400 miles per calendar month | S$1,100 | Only for mobile contactless |
 UOB Visa Signature Card | 4 miles per dollar | 8000 miles per statement month | S$2,000 | Only for contactless |
3.33% cashback with min. monthly spend of S$500, S$1,000 or S$2,000 per quarter | S$50, S$100, S$200 per quarter | Exact amount of S$500, S$1000 or S$2000 | can pair with UOB One Account to maximise interest on savings | |
3.33% cashback with min. monthly spend of S$300, S$1,000 or S$2000 per quarter | S$30, S$100, S$200 per quarter | Exact amount of S$300, S$1000 or S$2000 |
Thoughts: I would like a combination of the above cards with whatever I have at the moment, and I would plan out how I would want to make the payment if the bill size is large.
Final Thoughts:
It is evident that MCC 8062 (Hospitals) is commonly excluded in credit cards, although, there are other medical facilities where we can use our credit cards in other MCCs like MCC 8011, 8099 etc. Therefore, it is very important to check which MCC the facility falls on and what credit cards are best used depending on your needs. I hope this was helpful for you.
Credit cards change their T&Cs every so often and it is difficult to stay updated. That’s why I created a Telegram Broadcast where you can receive timely bite-sized updates to get the most out of your spending.
