UOB Evol Card
Earn 10% cashback on all online and mobile contactless spend (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay) and on overseas in-store FX spend
UOB Evol Card Overview:
UOB EVOL, formerly known as UOB YOLO Card, is in many ways the new and improved version of its predecessor. Earn 10% cashback on online and mobile contactless spend and on overseas in-store foreign spend. 0.3% on all other spends. This has a minimum spend of S$800 and a total cashback cap of S$80. UOB EVOL is also Southeast Asia’s first bio-sourced card supporting green initiatives and offering a variety of sustainable deals. UOB EVOL Card has lost its top spot as the go-to option if you want to maximise rewards along with interest on your UOB One Account.
Eligibility & Fees:
- Minimum Age: 21 years old
- Minimum Annual Income: S$30,000 (locals/PRs); S$40,000 (Foreigners)
- Applicants who do not meet the minimum income requirement can submit a minimum Fixed Deposit Collateral of S$10,000.
- Annual Fee: S$196.20 (incl. GST), waived with 3 monthly transactions for 12 consecutive months)
Key Benefits:
- Earn 10% cashback on all online and mobile contactless spend (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay)
- Earn 10% cashback on overseas in-store FX spend
- 0.3% cashback for all other spends
- Minimum spend of S$800 each statement month
- S$80 total cashback cap per statement month, capped at:
- S$30 – online & mobile contactless
- S$20 – overseas in-store spend
- S$30 – other spends
- Gain access to over 1,000 deals at eco-friendly, dining, and online shopping merchants
- Receive a first-year annual fee waiver. Annual fee for subsequent years waived with min. 3 transactions every month. (if not, just call UOB and ask for a waiver in a nice way)
- Starting from November 1, 2024, UOB credit cardholders can now earn both UOB$ and their usual credit card rewards (like cashback or miles) when shopping at UOB$ merchants. Read more on “Past Buffs/Nerfs” below.
Best used on Online and Mobile Contactless Spend:
- Best way to maximize cashback with the S$800 min spend:
Cashback Rate | Spending | Cashback Cap | |
Mobile and online spending | 10% | 300 | 30 |
Other spending | 0.3% | 500 | 1.5 |
Effective cashback: 31.5/800 x 100% = 3.94%
- Overseas online FX spend are not eligible for the 10% cashback, as the overseas FX spend has to be in-store to qualify you for the cashback. Therefore, i’ve omitted it from above as it is not realistic for most people.
You can pair it with UOB One Account to fulfill S$500 minimum spend to earn extra interest on your savings when you spend with UOB EVOL Card, even though I think UOB One Card is a better card for this purpose.
Exclusion List:
- cash advances
- balance and/or fund transfers;
- NETS and NETS-related transactions;
- monthly instalments under 0% Instalment Payment Plan and SmartPay;
- any transactions at UOB$ merchants where UOB$ are issued (previously known as SMART$);
- amounts approved under the UOB Payment Facility and any associated fees or charges (w.e.f. 19 June 2023)
- any transactions made at Shell petrol stations and SPC petrol stations;
- any interest, fees and charges (including without limitation, late payment charges or interest charges, annual or monthly fees or charges) imposed by the Bank;
- any credit card transaction that is subsequently cancelled, voided, refunded or reversed for any reason
MCC | Description |
4829 | Wire Transfer/Remittance |
4900 | Utilities |
5199 | Nondurable Goods |
5960 | Direct Marketing – Insurance Services |
6012 | Member Financial Institution–Merchandise and Services |
6050 | Quasi Cash–Financial Institutions, Merchandise and Services |
6051 | Quasi Cash–Merchant (Non-Financial Institutions – Foreign Currency, Non-Fiat Currency, Cryptocurrency) |
6211 | Securities–Brokers and Dealers |
6300 | Insurance Sales/Underwrite |
6513 | Real Estate Agents & Managers – Rentals |
6529 | Quasi Cash-Remote Stored Value Load-Financial Institute Rentals |
6530 | Quasi Cash-Remote Stored Value Load-Merchant Rentals |
6534 | Quasi Cash-Remote Money Transfers |
6540 | Stored Value Card Purchase/Load |
7349 | Clean/Maint/Janitorial Serv aka Property Management |
7511 | Quasi Cash – Truck Stop Trxns |
7523 | Automobile Parking Lots and Garages |
7995 | Gambling – Betting, including Lottery Tickets, Casino Gaming Chips, Off-Track 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 | Charitable and Social Service Organizations |
8661 | Religious Organizations |
8651 | Political Organizations |
9211 | Court Costs including Alimony and Child Support |
9222 | Fines |
9223 | Bail and Bond Payments |
9311 | Tax Payment |
9402 | Postal Services—Government Only |
9405 | Intra-Government Purchases—Government Only |
9399 | Government Services—not elsewhere classified |
Advantages:
- can pair with the UOB One Account to earn maximum interest on savings
Disadvantages:
- much higher minimum spend required as compared to UOB One
- massive nerf with the recent update
Recent Buffs on UOB Cards:
- Previously, UOB credit cards excluded UOB$ merchants from earning regular card rewards, meaning customers could only earn UOB$ (often lower value) instead of cashback or miles. However, effective 01 November 2024, UOB credit cardholders can now earn both UOB$ and their usual credit card rewards (like cashback or miles) when shopping at UOB$ merchants. UOB$ merchants are retailers that offer cashback (UOB$) to customers, which can be used on future purchases at the same store. With the new change, UOB cardholders can now stack both UOB$ and credit card rewards, making it more rewarding to shop at UOB$ merchants.
- This change applies to UNI$-earning cards (like UOB Preferred Platinum Visa or UOB Lady’s card), and even UOB EVOL cards will earn their cashback on top of UOB$. The UOB One card already allowed rewards at UOB$ merchants, so that remains unchanged.
Major Nerf on :
- The Cashback Rate is significantly reduced going from about 6.72% to a realistic 3.94%
- Minimum Spend increases from S$600 to S$800
- Online Spend and Mobile Contactless Spend are now merged into one category, therefore earning the same rate. This indicates that the maximum spend in this category is S$300 due to the S$30 cashback cap, and the remaining S$500 is needed to reach the S$800 minimum spend.
- You would need to spend in-store overseas to get the other percentage of cashback which is not so efficient as not everyone has the capacity to go outside the country and spend more to maximize the spending requirement in a month.
Here’s the summary of the recent changes:
Before 7 June 2024 | After 7 June 2024 | |
Cashback Programme | – 8% cashback on online spend – 8% cashback on mobile contactless spend – 0.3% cashback on other eligible spend | – 10% cashback on online and mobile contactless spend – 10% cashback on overseas in-store FX spend – 0.3% cashback on other eligible spend |
Total monthly cashback cap | S$60 (S$20 online, S$20 mobile, S$20 others) | S$80 (S$30 online & mobile, S$20 overseas, S$30 others) |
Minimum Spend | S$600 | S$800 |
- Even though they publicised it as 10% cashback for mobile and online spending, but at a best case scenario, for purely local spending, you would have to spend S$300 at 10% cashback on mobile and contactless spend and another S$500 at 0.3% cashback for all other spending to give you a meagre 3.94% effective cashback
- Do note that for new cardholders whose cards are issued starting on June 7, 2024, the changes will take effect immediately. While for current and existing cardholders, the changes will become effective for statements generated on 7 August 2024.
- Does utility bills qualify for UOB Evol cashback: No. Only UOB One credit and debit card does.
- If you just want the highest cashback general credit card: You can immediately replace this card with the Maybank Family & Friends Card to earn 8% cashback over 5 categories and even pair it with Amaze to use it overseas to earn around good 6% cashback. You can check the link above to read the review I wrote and how to use with Amaze.
- If you want to pair with UOB One Bank Account Strategy: For lowest minimum spend required, you can go for UOB One Credit Card @ S$500 min spend.
- No Minimum Spending Strategy: If you just want ONE card for all spend (without tracking of categories), you can consider going for DCS Ultimate Platinum @ 2% cashback.
Final Thoughts:
As a card that we previously prized as a daily spending card, the overseas spending portion feels just unrealistic for most Singaporeans to travel overseas and spend in-store to achieve every month. At a high minimum spend of S$800, with a meagre 3.94% cashback, it might be a better idea to switch to another card with immediate effect.
💳 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.
