The two Maybank XL cards are among the easiest cards to earn on for those below 40. The Maybank XL Rewards card gives you 4 miles per dollar while the Maybank XL Cashback gives you 5% cashback, on specific categories — Dine, Shop, Travel, Play, and all foreign currency spend, with a minimum monthly spend of S$500 required to earn that bonus rate. Of course, with all high earn rate cards, there is always the monthly spending cap. But that’s where it gets appealing for new users.
If you apply for either card between 1 July and 30 September 2026, you can earn the bonus on a higher spend cap for your first four months. Here is what changes, and how I would use it. For the full eligibility rules and the spending that does not qualify, see my Maybank XL Rewards/Cashback Card Review.
Bonus Cashback or Miles At A Glance
Here is what you can expect to see in terms of the bonus miles or cashback, subject to the categories.
| Usual | First 4 months (if you apply 1 Jul–30 Sep 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| XL Rewards spend cap | 4 miles per dollar on up to S$1,000/mo spend → earn up to 4,000 bonus miles | 4 miles per dollar on up to S$1,500/mo spend → earn up to 6,000 bonus miles |
| XL Cashback spend cap | earn up to S$80/mo cashback | earn up to S$100/mo cashback |
| Least you must spend | S$500/mo | S$500/mo |
The Categories At A Glance
Not all spend qualifies for 4 miles per dollar or 5% cashback. Only the categories listed below will qualify, so it’s not a catch all card.
| Category | What Maybank counts | MCC |
|---|---|---|
| Dine | Caterers, restaurant dining, fast food eateries, bakeries and food deliveries (local) | 5811, 5812, 5814, 5462 |
| Shop | Apparels, departmental store, sports/riding apparel stores, sporting goods stores, paid television, cable and radio services (local) | 5262, 5310, 5311, 5331, 5399, 5621, 5631, 5651, 5655, 5661, 5691, 5699, 5941 |
| Travel | Airlines, lodging and travel agencies (local) | 3000–3299, 3300–3308, 4511, 4722, 7011 |
| Play | Bars and drinking places, cable television service, cinemas and motion picture theatres, theatrical producers, ticketing agencies, video amusement game and video game arcades (local) | 4899, 5813, 5815, 7832, 7993, 7994 |
| Foreign currency (FCY) | All foreign-currency spend, in store or online (including e-commerce), except the exclusion list. A 3.25% currency fee applies. | Any currency that is not SGD |
These are the categories Maybank lists, but the bonus follows the MCC (the category code a merchant is tagged with), not the shop name, so a few places may not match. Note that: Groceries, petrol and public transport do not earn the bonus. Maybank’s full category and MCC list is in its TREATS Points programme T&Cs.
Who Can Apply
You need to be 21 to 39 years old, and Maybank checks this when you apply. Once you are approved, the card stays yours even after you turn 40.
You do not need to be new to Maybank either. If you already hold another Maybank card, you can still apply and get the deal. The one condition is that the bigger cap goes to newly approved XL cards, so if you already have an XL card, it will not be added to yours.
Two Cards Have Separate Caps - Great For High Spenders
The XL Rewards Card and XL Cashback Card are almost the same card. The only real difference is what you get back: one gives you miles, the other gives you cash.
You can apply for both, and each card has its own S$500 minimum spend and its own cap — so if your monthly spend is big enough, you can stack them.
The catch: that S$500 minimum applies per card. So if you split S$800 into S$400 of spend per card, then neither card earns the bonus rate — you’d get 0.4 mpd and 0.2% on your S$800 of spend. Only stack them if you can comfortably clear S$500 minimum spend on each.
Even though both cards give a bonus earn rate on overseas spending, you must note that Maybank charges a 3.25% fee on all overseas spending, no matter what. This matters most after you hit your monthly spend cap. If you spend past the cap, your overseas spending earns 0.4 miles per dollar (XL rewards) and 0.2% cashback (XL cashback) — but you still pay the 3.25% fee. You lose money on every dollar. So you need to track your spending amount for overseas use. I’ll cover more on how to reduce the fee for overseas spending in a bit.
So in the best case scenario, if you max out both cards every month, you can earn up to 24,000 miles (from spending S$1,500 a month on the Rewards card) plus S$400 cashback (S$100 a month from the Cashback card). That’s 8,000 miles and S$80 more than the normal caps would give you.
How I Would Use It
It would be a good idea to put as much bonus-category spending on the card as you can during the four months. The cap follows the calendar, not your billing cycle, so a card approved on 30 Jul would have a few days left to spend for the first month. I would apply near the start of a month to maximise this.
Hack 1: Stack HeyMax To Buy Vouchers
Since there is a minimum spend required of S$500, you may sometimes need to spend a bit more to hit that requirement. Other times, you might want to use this card on categories outside of the allowed categories: DINE, SHOP, TRAVEL, PLAY.
This is where HeyMax comes in. HeyMax is a rewards app that pays you points currency called Max Miles when you shop through it, and those Max Miles stack on top of your card.
The simplest way to understand it is that it is the miles version of ShopBack. ShopBack gives you cashback when you shop through its app first; HeyMax works the same way, except you earn miles instead of cashback. You click through HeyMax to a shop, buy as normal, and collect Max Miles. Later, you turn those miles into flights. I have a full beginner’s guide on heymax.
Don't Have HeyMax? Sign Up Here First
43774BFE
- Download the HeyMax app from the App Store or Google Play
- Enter the referral code 43774BFE when prompted during sign-up
- Complete phone verification
- Make 1 confirmed transaction via HeyMax within 180 days of account creation
- Get 200 Max Miles as your sign-up reward
How To Buy Vouchers Using HeyMax
Step 1: Login to HeyMax. Choose "Buy Vouchers"
Step 2: Choose the Merchant Voucher You Want To Buy
Step 3: Choose to Pay With Maybank XL Card
my screenshot below is HSBC revolution, but you get the idea.
Step 4: Access Your Vouchers Via Profile > "My Vouchers"
Hack 2: Use With Amaze For Foreign Currency Spend For DINE, SHOP, TRAVEL, PLAY
There’s a hack to pay less than the 3.25% fee when you spend overseas: link your XL card to an Instarem Amaze card.
Amaze is a payment card that allows you to link to 5 Mastercards and XL card happens to be one of the cards that work with it. Many banks have disallowed the use of amaze with their credit cards, so this doesn’t work for most 4 miles per dollar cards.
How it works: When you pay with Amaze overseas, it converts the money to Singapore dollars first (at a cost of around 2%), then passes the charge to your Maybank card as a normal SGD transaction. If that spending is in the bonus categories — Dine, Shop, Travel, or Play — you still earn your 4 miles per dollar, and you’ve paid about 2% instead of 3.25%.
If you forget everything, remember this one important rule: only use Amaze with Maybank XL for those four categories overseas within your spend cap.
Here’s why. Your XL card gives 4 miles per dollar or 5% cashback on foreign currency spending — any category. But once Amaze converts the money to SGD, it’s no longer foreign currency spending. It’s now an SGD transaction, and SGD transactions only earn the bonus if they’re in Dine, Shop, Travel, or Play. Anything else drops to 0.4 miles per dollar.
So the simple rule when you’re overseas:
In the bonus categories? Pay with Amaze — save on the fee, keep the miles.
Outside the bonus categories? Pay with the XL card directly — the foreign currency itself is what earns you the 4 miles per dollar at a higher cost of 3.25% fx fee.
How to Maximise Your Sign-Up Rewards as a New-to-Bank Credit Cardholder
If you’re eyeing the XL series from Maybank, timing and card sequencing are everything. Starting with either of these allows you to earn better sign-up rewards. Here’s how:
Step 1: Choose the Right “First” Card
- If you’re planning to apply for the XL Cashback Card: I suggest to go with the Maybank Family & Friends Card. You do not have to continue using the card after fulfilling the qualifying spend.
- If you’re going for the XL Rewards Card: I suggest to go the Maybank World Mastercard.
Step 2: Meet the Qualifying Spend
- Use your chosen first card to meet its qualifying spend. This unlocks the Samsonite reward.
Step 3: Apply for the XL Card
- Once you’ve unlocked the Samsonite reward, apply for the XL card of your choice – rewards or cashback. This gives you: 12 months of Complimentary Etiqa Trip XpLorer Protect Travel Insurance for first 12,000 card applicants.
Starting with Family & Friends not only boosts your rewards, but it pairs beautifully with your XL Cashback Card for everyday spending.
And starting with World Mastercard gives you an automatic Rewards Infinite membership—which means your miles never expire.
What To Watch Out For
- It only lasts four months. From month five, the cap drops back to S$1,000 (Rewards) or S$80 (Cashback), so set a reminder in your calendar.
My Take
If you are under 40 and you spend regularly on food, shopping, travel or overseas, this is a good time to sign up. The bigger cap is worth up to 8,000 extra miles or S$80 more cashback over four months, on spending you would have done anyway.
As always, check the official terms before you rely on any figure above. Here are all of Maybank’s terms and conditions for the XL cards:
💳 Credit cards change their T&Cs every so often and it’s difficult to stay updated. That’s why I created a Telegram Broadcast where you can receive timely bite-sized updates.
