Best Credit Cards for In-Person Shopping (Miles vs Cashback)

1. Turn offline transactions online (great for credit cards that have better earn rates for online spending)
2. Lower foreign currency fee (~2% instead of 3.25% on more credit cards)

❗️ Warning: This card charges a 1% fee (min. 50 cents) on card-linked SGD transactions. Because of the min. fee, cardholders will pay a higher percentage in fee for transactions under $50. So, when using this card for SGD spending of $50 and above, with an earn rate of 4 mpd, is like buying miles for 0.25 cents each (view calculations).

There are currently 6 good cards to pair with Amaze:

1. Citi Rewards: Turn offline transactions online to earn 4 mpd on in-person spending like dining, groceries, general shopping and fuel. Plus, save ~1% on foreign currency fees.
2. Maybank XL Rewards: Save ~1% on foreign currency fees on SGD bonus categories (e.g. flights, hotels, dining, shopping (in-person & online), food deliveries, entertainment etc.) while earning 4 mpd.
3. OCBC Rewards: Save ~1% on foreign currency fees on online/offline shopping (e.g. clothing/shoes, toys, duty free, luggage etc.) while earning 4 mpd.
4. Maybank XL Cashback: Save ~1% on foreign currency fees on SGD bonus categories (e.g. flights, hotels, dining, shopping (in-person & online), food deliveries, entertainment etc.) while earning 5% cashback.
5. Maybank Family & Friends: Turn offline transactions online to get 8% cashback on in-person shopping at merchant categories like departmental stores, clothings, shoes, duty free and luggages. Plus, save ~1% on foreign currency fees.
6. Citi Cash Back: Save ~1% on foreign currency fees while receiving 6-8% cashback on petrol, groceries and dining.

Key points to note about the Amaze card:

• Link up to 5 Mastercards in the Instarem mobile app
• Choose 1 of those cards before your next Amaze transaction
• All Amaze transactions will be charged in SGD, directly to the linked card
• All Amaze transactions will be seen as online transactions by the linked card
• All Amaze transactions will retain the actual Merchant Category Code (MCC) and will be seen by the linked card
• UOB, DBS/POSB and DCS cards do not award miles/points for Amaze transactions
• Avoid Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) fees (if any)
• Amazes foreign currency spread currently stands at around 2%, resulting in an FX loss (fee + spread) that is about 1% lower than Singapore credit cards
• When Amaze is linked to a card, all SGD spending will incur a 1% fee (min. 50 cents). Because of the min. fee, it is recommended to use this card only for SGD transactions above $50. Refunds and pre-authorisations are also liable for this fee.

🔗 Great cards that can be linked to Amaze
Citi Rewards (4 mpd)
Maybank XL Rewards (4 mpd)
OCBC Rewards (4 mpd)
Maybank XL Cashback (5% cashback)
Maybank Family & Friends (8% cashback)
Citi Cash Back (6/8% cashback)

💸 Annual fee
No annual fee, ever

💼 Income requirement
No income requirement

🤑 Foreign currency fee
No foreign currency fee. However, Amaze’s foreign exchange spread currently stands at around 2% more than the Mastercard rate. This is about 1% lower than the ~3.25% fee that most credit cards charge.

⏰ Points expiry
1 year from transaction

💯 Conversion ratio
2,000 InstaPoints = $20

📜 Terms & conditions