Instarem Amaze Card Review – What You Need To Know

What is Instarem Amaze Card?

Instead of carrying multiple credit cards, the Instarem Amaze card is a payment processor in the form of a physical card that helps you consolidate them. This card acts like a central hub, letting you link up to 5 of your Mastercard debit or credit cards for easy spending. It also has a built-in Amaze wallet for additional payment options. We talk about Amaze card so much because it helps us earn more rewards for local and overseas purchases, by keeping rewards offered by your linked cards. I did a tiktok video previously about it – Citi Rewards + Amaze: How it works (the same applies for the above mentioned cards)

Instarem Amaze Card App:

P.S: While the founder’s edition card exists (card as shown below), new applicants receive the standard turquoise version. Both offer the same functionality.

Q: Can’t I just use the credit card directly when i’m out or overseas?

Many cards, like Citi Rewards, offer bonus miles/points for online purchases. But using them at physical stores often misses out on these perks. The Amaze card bridges this gap. By linking it to Citi Rewards, it can convert restaurant purchases (typically offline) into online transactions, letting me earn those sweet 4 miles per dollar!

Overseas transactions with your regular credit card often incur hefty foreign currency fees (3.25%). The Amaze card offers competitive exchange rates (2-2.5% spread), saving you money on every international purchase.

That is the reason why there are the Best Cards To Pair With Amaze which are Citi Rewards, Maybank Family & Friends and OCBC Rewards for various benefits.

If you are new to the miles game, you should definitely sign up for the Citi Rewards as it is the most versatile miles card in the market to allow you to earn miles on almost everything.

The Difference between Instarem Amaze card and Amaze wallet:

How To Apply an Instarem Amaze Card:

• 1: Download the Instarem app and create an account
• 2: Link your mastercard to amaze
• 3: Start using your card
• Receive bonus instapoints with code “IJUSTTRYLAH”

However, take note of some fees when using Amaze.

1% fee (minimum S$0.50) is imposed when you do these transactions with Amaze:

• MCC 6540 (eg. E-wallet top ups)
• MCC 4111 (EZ-Link wallet top-ups and TransitLink General Ticketing Machines only)
• when topping up Amaze wallet using a Mastercard and Visa card
• local spendings above S$1,000 per month when amaze is linked to a card.

There is no incentive to do the first 3 points, so it doesn’t affect us. But the last one is something to watch, particularly Citi Rewards, which i will explain below.

Citi Rewards

Type of spending affected: local offline

The Citi Rewards card offers 4 miles per dollar, but only up to S$1,000 per month (statement period). The Amaze card, however, charges a 1% fee for exceeding S$1,000 in local spending each calendar month.

Key Difference: The Amaze card’s limit resets monthly, while Citi Rewards resets per statement period. This can affect your strategy for maximizing rewards without incurring the Amaze fee.

Use the Spending Cap to our Advantage (when using Citi Rewards by itself)

• If the statement date on your statement, is 11th of the month (see picture below), it means your spending cap of S$1,000 will run from 12th of the month to 11th of the following month. This means your 4 miles per dollar spending cap resets on the 12th of each month. It matters because, let’s say you have a large spending of S$2,000 in a month, you could spend S$1,000 on the 9th and another S$1,000 on the 12th to earn 4 miles per dollar for the full S$2,000 spending.

Revised Optimized Spending Strategies when paired with Amaze:

• If your spending is S$2,000 local online spending – Use Citi Rewards without Amaze
  • If you need to spend S$2,000 back to back on offline spending, spend S$1,000 on Instarem Amaze Card + Citi Rewards between 12th of June to 30th June and another S$1,000 between 12th of July to 31st of July. (see below for visual representation)

This change won’t massively affect you if you have an OCBC Titanium Rewards or Maybank Family and Friends Card because those rewards aren’t based on online or offline transactions.

Important Notes:

• Alerts will be sent via email and push notification when your domestic spend is nearing the 1,000 SGD fee-free cap. You can also track your domestic spending in-app.
• S$1,000 per calendar month is limited to local spending – includes purchases that are refunded, and in some cases, where a merchant temporarily withholds payment before making a purchase (pre-authorization).
• When Instarem amaze card is linked to a amaze wallet, all monthly local transactions will continue to be fee-free.
• Foreign currency purchases made abroad will not be subject to this fee or count toward the S$1,000 cap.

Example:

My Take:

• it’s still wise to keep an eye on your spending, especially for larger transactions on Citi Rewards
• The Amaze card remains a great option for overseas purchases and most everyday contactless payments. Just remember to check the app occasionally to monitor your monthly spending and ensure you stay within the fee-free threshold.

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.