UOB Absolute Cashback Card Overview:
The UOB Absolute Cashback card makes earning cashback simple, offering an industry-high 1.7% unlimited Cashback on spends across all categories and without any minimum spend requirement to boot. This little to spend exclusions can make you transact on anything from the usual everyday spends to commonly excluded MCCs such as Insurance, School Fees, Hospital Bills, etc. The would possibly the perfect go-to card for all your general spending needs.
Eligibility & Fees:
- Minimum Age: 21 years old
- Minimum Annual Income: S$30,000 (locals/PRs); S$40,000 (foreigners)
- Annual Fee: S$196.20 (incl. GST), waived for first year
Key Benefits:
-
- Earn 1.7% cashback
- Earn 0.3% cashback on GrabPay Wallet Top Ups
- No minimum spend requirement
- No cashback cap
- No spend exclusions
How to Best Optimise it:
Best for 0.3% cashback on GrabPay Top-Up
- This card is the only card that offers some rewards when you top up GrabPay
What to Avoid:
Exclusion List:
- all NETS and NETS-related transactions;
- Installment Payment Plans, SmartPay transactions (unless otherwise stated);
- cash advances;
- any fees and/or charges (including without limitation, late payment charges, interest charges, annual or monthly fees or charges, service fees or processing fees) imposed by UOB;
- personal loans, balance and/or fund transfers;
- any transaction that is subsequently cancelled, voided, refunded or reversed;
- amounts approved under the UOB Payment Facility and any associated fees or charges; and
- amounts which have been rolled over from any preceding month’s statement.
Is it Worth it:
Advantages:
- Highest 1.7% cashback rate for cards in this category
- No minimum monthly spend and maximum spending cap
Disadvantages:
- With the recent nerf, earning rate of 0.3% cashback on commonly excluded MCCs are relatively low
- Mobile contactless payment methods (eg. Apple Pay, Google Pay etc) not supported. You would have to bring the card out and tap it at the paywave terminal
- American Express Cards are not widely accepted by many merchants in Singapore, as compared to Visa or Mastercard
- Unable to use for GrabPay Top Ups
Past Buffs/Nerfs:
Nerf:
Recently, commonly excluded MCCs can earn the 1.7% earn rate making it the best card to use for those in exclusion list. However, due to the recent update, cashback awarded on the following local transactions will be revised from 1.7% to 0.3% (which is relatively low):
Merchant Category Code (MCC) | Description |
MCC 7911 | Schools, Dance Halls and Studios |
MCC 8211 | Schools, Elementary and Secondary |
MCC 8220 | Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools and Junior Colleges |
MCC 8241 | Schools, Correspondence |
MCC 8244 | Schools, Business and Secretarial |
MCC 8249 | Schools, Trade and Vocational |
MCC 8299 | Schools and Educational Services–Not Elsewhere Classified |
MCC 9311 | Tax Payment |
MCC 9399 | Government Services—not elsewhere classified |
MCC 9402 | Postal Services—Government Only |
MCC 0742 | Pet stores and Veterinary Services |
MCC 5047 | Medical Equipment and Supplies |
MCC 5122 | Drug Stores |
MCC 5912 | Drug Store and Pharmacies |
MCC 5975 | Medical Equipment, Hearing Aid |
MCC 8011 | Medical Services, Doctors |
MCC 8021 | Medical Services, Dentist and Orthodontist |
MCC 8041 | Medical Services, Chiropractors |
MCC 8042 | Medical Services, Optometrists and Ophthalmologist |
MCC 8043 | Medical Services, Opticians |
MCC 8049 | Medical Services, Chiropractors and Podiatrists |
MCC 8062 | Hospitals |
MCC 8071 | Medical Services, Dental Laboratories |
MCC 8099 | Medical and Health Services |
MCC 4900 | Utilities |
MCC 8398 | Organizations, Charitable and Social Service |
MCC 6513 | Real Estate Agents & Managers – Rentals |
MCC 7261 | Funeral Services and Crematories |
MCC 7278 | Shopping Services |
MCC 7311 | Advertising Services |
MCC 7361 | Employment Services and Agency |
MCC 7392 | Consulting and Public Relation Services |
MCC 8999 | Professional Services |
Frequently Asked Questions:
When will I receive my cashback: Cashback earned in current statement period is automatically used to offset the following month’s bill
Comparison Table with other cashback cards with no min spend requirement and no cap:
Description | AMEX True Cashback | Mari Credit Card | UOB Absolute Cashback | SC Simply Cash | Citi Cashback+ |
Cashback Rate | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.6% |
Spend Requirement | No | No | No | No | No |
Cashback Cap | No | No | No | No | No |
Earn cashback on commonly excluded MCC | Yes (including education fees, insurance, healthcare, utilities and telco)) | No | Yes (but after the update, 0.3% cashback only) | No | Yes (Other private healthcare facilities) *MCC 8062 (Hospital) excluded |
Minimum Annual Income | S$30,000 | S$30,000 | S$30,000 | S$30,000 | S$30,000 |
Earn cashback on bill payments | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Cashback Redemption | Receive cashback in the same month’s statement | The cashback credited will be automatically applied to offset the billed amount in your next statement cycle. | Receive cashback automatically in the next statement month | Receive cashback automatically in the next statement month | Redeem cashback via SMS or on the Citi Mobile® app — cashback earned doesn’t expire |
Final Thoughts:
The best part about this card is that you can earn 0.3% cashback on Grab wallet Top-ups. Other than that, I don’t recommend using this card for anything else.
💳 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.
