OCBC Rewards Card
Earn 6 miles per dollar on Watsons and MCC 5311 ’til 30 June 2025 and 4 miles per dollar on Eligible Online and Offline Spends
Great news for OCBC Rewards cardholders! From April 1st to June 30th December 31, 2024, you can earn...
OCBC Rewards Card Overview:
Local Earn Rate | 0.4 miles per dollar (5 OCBC$ per S$5 spent) |
Foreign Currency Earn Rate | 0.4 miles per dollar (5 OCBC$ per S$5 spent) |
Bonus Earn Rate | 4 miles per dollar (50 OCBC$ per S$5 Spent) |
Foreign Currency Fees | 3.25% (you can use Amaze for List A merchants below to circumvent this) |
Min. Miles Transfer | 25,000 OCBC$ (10,000 miles) |
Transfer Fee | S$25 (before GST) |
Spending Cap for Bonus Earn Rate (Per Calendar Month) | S$1,100 |
Points Pooling | Yes (only with OCBC cards that earn OCBC$)Travel$ and VOYAGE Miles are not included. |
Lounge Access | No |
Airport Limo | No |
Points Expiry | 2 years |
Transfer Partners | SIA, Air France KLM, British Airways, Cathay, Etihad, United Accor, IHG, Marriott |
Eligibility & Fees:
- Minimum Age: 21 years old
- Minimum Annual Income: S$30,000 (locals/PRs); S$45,000 (foreigners)
- Annual Fee: S$196.20 (including GST), waived for the first 2 years
- Since minimum income requirement by MAS is S$30,000 per annum, this card is an entry-level card that should be pretty easy to get an annual fee waiver if you have some spending on this card. Most cards have a minimum spend requirement within a year to be eligible for a fee waiver. You can check out my TikTok video on getting annual fee waiver.
Key Benefits:
- Earn 6 miles per dollar on Watsons and MCC 5311 (Department Stores) until
31 December 202430 June 2025! Capped at S$1,000 per calendar month - Earn 4 miles per dollar on Eligible Online and Offline Spends, capped at S$1,110 per calendar month
- Earn 0.4 miles per dollar on every other purchase that qualifies
- Protection of E-Commerce
- Until 30 June 2025, you can earn a bonus 2% Cash Rebate per dollar at BEST Denki, earning only 0.4 miles per dollar
- Fee waiver for the first two years for both the primary card (S$194.40 annually) and the supplemental card (S$97.20 annually)
How to Best Optimise it:
Best Spent at Watsons and Department Stores
- Until
31 December 202430 June 2025, you can earn 6 miles per dollar on Watsons and MCC 5311 (Department Stores) spends
Best Used on specific Online and Offline Spends
- Get 4 miles per dollar on these eligible MCCs, capped at S$1,110 per calendar month
Eligible Retailers (List A)
MCC and Description | Examples (Not Exhaustive) |
MCC 5309 (Duty Free Stores) | DFS Singapore Changi |
MCC 5311 (Department Stores (will earn 6 mpd until 30 June 2025) | BHG, Isetan, Metro |
MCC 5611 (Men’s and Boys’ Clothing and Accessories Stores) | Benjamin Barker |
MCC 5621 (Women’s Ready to Wear Stores) | Love, Bonito |
MCC 5631 (Women’s Accessory and Speciality Stores) | Pandora, Swarovski |
MCC 5641 (Children’s and Infants’ Wear Stores) | Mothercare, Kiddy Palace |
MCC 5651 (Family Clothing Stores) | Uniqlo, H&M, Cotton On |
MCC 5655 (Sports and Riding Apparel Stores) | Decathlon, Lululemon |
MCC 5661 (Shoe Stores) | Aldo, Charles & Keith |
MCC 5691 (Men’s and Women’s Clothing Stores) | Zara, Topshop, Muji |
MCC 5699 (Miscellaneous Apparel and Accessory Shops) | Typo, Miniso, Daiso |
MCC 5941 (Sporting Goods Stores) | Royal Sporting House |
MCC 5948 (Luggage or Leather Goods Stores) | Samsonite, Tumi |
Eligible Retailers (List B) – not to be used with Amaze:
Alibaba | Guardian | *Shopee (exclude Shopee Pay) |
AliExpress | Lazada | Taobao |
**Amazon | **Mustafa Centre | TikTok Shop |
Daigou | NTUC Unity | Watsons |
Ezbuy | Qoo10 | |
*Shopee Pay transactions under MCC 5262 are not eligible to earn any OCBC$ **Transactions under MCC 5411 (Groceries, Supermarket) is not eligible to earn any Bonus OCBC$ | ||
*Shopee Pay transactions under MCC 5262 are not eligible to earn any OCBC$
**Transactions under MCC 5411 (Groceries, Supermarket) is not eligible to earn any Bonus OCBC$
Any Hacks/Promos:
Instarem Amaze Card – a Payment Processor that converts your spending from offline to online
- You may pair it with Instarem Amaze Card to convert offline overseas retail spending to online to earn 4 miles per dollar. The benefit of using Amaze Card with this card overseas instead of using the card directly is to bypass the 3.25% FCY fee that is imposed by the credit card while earning the 4 miles per dollar earn rate on your overseas transaction. Do not use with Amaze Card for these eligible retailers (list B) above because OCBC recognises the transactions by NAME for these retailers and pairing with Amaze will change the name to AMAZE in front of the retailer name. So it will not be valid for the system to recognise.
- Rule of thumb: ONLY use AMAZE for overseas retail for OCBC Rewards
- We do not need to use Amaze with OCBC Rewards for local spending
-
How to use it:
-
Load the Amaze card into Google Pay and Apple Pay and use contactless payment via Amaze.
-
What to Avoid:
Exclusion List:
MCC | Description |
4784 | Tolls and Bridge Fees |
4829 | Wire Transfer Money Orders (WTMOs) |
4900 | Utilities–Electric, Gas, Heating Oil, Sanitary, Water |
5047 | Medical, Dental, Ophthalmic and Hospital Equipment and Supplies |
5199 | Nondurable Goods (Not Elsewhere Classified) |
5262 | Marketplaces (Only for Shopee Pay) |
5960 | Direct Marketing Insurance Services |
5993 | Cigars, Stores and Stands |
6010 | Member Financial Institution–Manual Cash Disbursements |
6012 | Member Financial Institution–Merchandise and Services |
6051 | Quasi Cash–Merchant (Non-Financial Institutions – Foreign Currency, NonFiat Currency, Cryptocurrency) |
6211 | Securities–Brokers and Dealers |
6300 | Insurance Sales, Underwriting and Premiums |
6513 | Real Estate Agents and Managers–Rentals |
6540 | Non-Financial Institutions – Stored Value Card Purchase/Load |
7349 | Cleaning, Maintenance and Janitorial Services |
7523 | Automobile Parking Lots and Garages |
7995 | Gambling – Betting, including Lottery Tickets, Casino Gaming Chips, OffTrack Betting, and Wagers at Race Tracks |
8062 | Hospitals |
8211 | Schools, Elementary and Secondary |
8220 | Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools and Junior Colleges |
8241 | Schools, Correspondence |
8244 | Schools, Business and Secretarial |
8249 | Schools, Trade and Vocational |
8299 | Schools and Educational Services–Not Elsewhere Classified |
8398 | Organizations, Charitable and Social Service |
8651 | Organizations, Political |
8661 | Organizations, Religious |
8675 | Automobile Associations |
8699 | Organizations, Membership–Not Elsewhere Classified (Labor Union) |
9211 | Court Costs Including Alimony and Child Support |
9222 | Fines |
9223 | Bail and Bond Payments |
9311 | Tax Payments |
9311 | Government Services–Not Elsewhere Classified |
9402 | Postal Services–Government Only |
9405 | Intra-Government Purchases–Government Only |
Is it Worth it:
Advantages:
- Able to own the blue and pink version of the card which hold its own cap (which means if you have both blue and pink card, you have a S$1,110 x 2 = S$2,220 cap to earn 4 or 6 miles per dollar in total) per calendar month
- Can pair with OCBC 360 account to fulfill S$500 per month SPEND criteria and earn extra interest on your savings.
- Able to use with Amaze for overseas shopping transactions
Disadvantages:
- It used to be a yearly spending cap, now it is a monthly spending cap like Citi Rewards, HSBC Revolution. It would rank below these cards in terms of versatility
- Depending on your spending pattern, it might be difficult for one to spend S$500 per month on OCBC Rewards to hit the OCBC 360 account SPEND criteria consistently.
- You do incur a slightly fx spread of 1-2% when using Amaze + OCBC Rewards on List A merchants overseas
Frequently Asked Questions:
- When are the OCBC$ credited: The base points usually credits when the transaction is posted, usually takes 24 hrs or in some, it could take 2-3 days. While the bonus points are transferred by the end of the next calendar month
- How long are OCBC$ valid for: OCBC$ expires every 2 years and can pool across cards that earn OCBC$, but not with OCBC’s other rewards currencies (Travel$, VOYAGE Miles) – This means if you have other OCBC$ earning cards (eg. OCBC Rewards Blue and Pink), you can transfer the miles together from both card at one shot with a single transfer fee.
- How are OCBC$ calculated: Since it is now being awarded in blocks of S$5, this could be a slight dilemma for small spendings. For example you have a transaction worth S$14.99, since it will only be credited in increments of S$5 therefore, you are only awarded points for S$10 of that transaction.
- Exchange your OCBC$ for Rebates, Vouchers, or Miles
- Maximize the value of your OCBC$ with three redemption options: rebates, vouchers, or miles.
- Rebates: Redeem 3,600 OCBC$ for a S$10 cash rebate through OCBC Rewards.
- Vouchers: Exchange your OCBC$ for vouchers from popular retailers, products, or experiences via STACK Marketplace.
- Miles: Convert your OCBC$ into miles using these options:
- KrisFlyer Miles through OCBC Rewards
- Other loyalty points via STACK Marketplace
- Maximize the value of your OCBC$ with three redemption options: rebates, vouchers, or miles.
Final Thoughts:
- OCBC Rewards will be my third or fourth option if i burst the caps for my other cards. I would use it to shop for electronics/furnitures from places like Taobao Lazada, Shopee (do not use Shopee Pay), Amazon etc.
- OCBC Rewards is useful to do overseas spending at Department stores, factory outlets with Amaze card, without incurring bank foreign currency fees of 3.25%, but the monthly spending cap of OCBC Rewards still applies.
💳 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.
💡 We believe in always paying our credit card bills on time and in full. It is only by doing that, can we fully maximise our credit card benefits.
