Getting Started, Step 3: Using the right cards for your spending

Card rating ^{Suitesmile's overall rating of this card (out of 5), all things considered. This includes how it compares against alternative miles/cashback cards, its annual fee, and how easy (or hard) it is to achieve the advertised benefits.}:
Ease of use ^{A rating (out of 5 stars) of how easy it is to achieve the maximum earn rate and other benefits advertised by this card.}:
Minimum annual income: Nil
Annual fee: No annual fee, ever

 Turn in-person transactions online to earn bonus earn rate on eligible credit cards
 Lower credit card foreign transaction fee by ~1% ^{Credit card providers charge about 3.25% FX fees while Amaze transactions come with a 2.1% FX spread. By converting foreign transactions via card-linked Amaze spending, you'll save about 1% in FX fees.}
 No foreign transaction fees ^{Credit card providers charge about 3.25% FX fees while card-linked Amaze transactions come with a 2.1% FX spread. By converting foreign transactions using Amaze, you'll save about 1% in FX fees.}

⚠️ Card-linked transactions only work best with Mastercards from selected banks like Citibank, Maybank and OCBC
⚠️ 1% fee (min. 50 cents) on card-linked transactions in SGD

📄 Quick review

More information on the

Amaze Card

Suitesmile rating:

---

✍️ Short summary
The Amaze Card is a Debit card that does not require topping up of an e-wallet to enjoy its key benefits:

1. Turn offline transactions online (great for credit cards that have better earn rates for online spending)
2. Lower foreign currency fee (2.1% instead of 3.25% on most 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 S$50. So, when using this card for SGD spending of S$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 6-8% 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 S$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 = S$20

📜 Terms & conditions

🎁 Sign-up promoGet 225 InstaPoints (worth S$2.25) when you sign up as a new cardholder.

Card rating ^{Suitesmile's overall rating of this card (out of 5), all things considered. This includes how it compares against alternative miles/cashback cards, its annual fee, and how easy (or hard) it is to achieve the advertised benefits.}:
Ease of use ^{A rating (out of 5 stars) of how easy it is to achieve the maximum earn rate and other benefits advertised by this card.}:
Minimum annual income:• S’porean/PR: S$30,000
• Foreigner: S$42,000Annual fee: S$196.20 (first year waived; request waiver every year)

 Earn 4 mpd on online spending, selected in-person shopping and in-person overseas spending (via Amaze ^{For in-person overseas spending, the trick is to link the Citi Rewards Card to Amaze, then use the Amaze Card to spend. Such transactions will be seen as 'online' by Citibank, earning you the bonus earn rate.}), up to S$1,000 per statement month
 No minimum spending
 5-year miles expiry cycle ^{Miles/Points expire in 5-year cycles (plus 3 months grace period) from your card approval date. As such, points earned near the end of a cycle will have a shorter expiry term.}
 9 useful miles transfer partners

⚠️ 0.4 mpd earn rate on non-bonus spending
⚠️ Travel-related spending (e.g. flights, hotels) excluded from bonus earn rate
⚠️ In-person shopping bonus earn rate (without Amaze linkage) is MCC-sensitive
⚠️ 3.25% foreign transaction fee (save ~1% via Amaze)
⚠️ Amaze linkage for SGD spending comes with a 1% fee

Card rating ^{Suitesmile's overall rating of this card (out of 5), all things considered. This includes how it compares against alternative miles/cashback cards, its annual fee, and how easy (or hard) it is to achieve the advertised benefits.}:
Ease of use ^{A rating (out of 5 stars) of how easy it is to achieve the maximum earn rate and other benefits advertised by this card.}:
Minimum annual income:• S’porean/PR: S$30,000 – S$65,000 ^{Income requirement depends on your Total Relationship Balance (TRB) with HSBC. S$30,000/year if TRB is S$50,000 and above; S$65,000/year if TRB is below S$50,000.}
• Foreigner: S$65,000Annual fee: No annual fee, ever

 Earn 4 mpd on selected contactless and online spending, up to S$1,000 per calendar month ^{Earn 4 mpd on contactless and online transactions, on a wide range of spending categories like retail shopping (online and in-person), dining, flights (direct with airlines only), hotels (excl. online travel agencies like Agoda, Trip.com etc.), food delivery and ride-hailing.}
 Boost bonus earn rate to 8 mpd (up to S$1,200 per calendar month) with a minimum deposit of S$50,000 ^{HSBC customers with a minimum deposit of S$50,000 in the HSBC Everyday Global Account can enjoy an earn rate of 8 mpd (instead of 4 mpd) on selected contactless and online spending.}
 No minimum spending
 3-year miles expiry term
 7 useful miles transfer partners
 Free miles transfers to frequent flyer programs
 Instant miles transfers
 No annual fee, ever

⚠️ 0.4 mpd earn rate on non-bonus spending
⚠️ Poor transfer ratio to KrisFlyer ^{Due to inferior transfer ratio, if/when the points earned on this card are converted to KrisFlyer miles, the bonus earn rate would effectively be 3.3 mpd, instead of 4 mpd.}
⚠️ Bonus categories are MCC-sensitive
⚠️ 3.25% foreign transaction fee

Card rating ^{Suitesmile's overall rating of this card (out of 5), all things considered. This includes how it compares against alternative miles/cashback cards, its annual fee, and how easy (or hard) it is to achieve the advertised benefits.}:
Ease of use ^{A rating (out of 5 stars) of how easy it is to achieve the maximum earn rate and other benefits advertised by this card.}:
Minimum annual income:• S’porean/PR: S$15,000 – S$30,000 ^{S$30,000/year if aged 55 and below; S$15,000/year if aged 56 and above.}
• Foreigner: S$60,000Annual fee: No annual fee, ever

 No foreign transaction fees
 Unlimited fee-free overseas ATM withdrawals

⚠️ “21% cashback” claim for FairPrice spending is impossible to achieve
⚠️ Low earn rate of 0.22% (spend with better cashback cards)

📄 Quick review

More information on the

Trust Link Card

Suitesmile rating:

---

✍️ Short summary
This card gives you great foreign exchange rates and unlimited fee-free overseas ATM cash withdrawals. Plus, it does not come with an annual fee.

To avoid interest charges on ATM cash withdrawals, follow these easy steps:

1. Optional: Apply for the Trust Link Credit Card if you want the credit card function (use code V1WB7T8A)
2. Apply for a Trust Savings Account through the Trust app (instant approval, no minimum balance, monthly fee or lock-in period)
3. Deposit money into your Savings Account
4. Pair your Trust Link Card with your Savings Account before any ATM withdrawals (withdrawn cash amount will be automatically deducted from your Savings Account)
5. Select Savings Account on the ATM screen (i.e. not Current Account, not Credit Card, not Cash Advance) and complete your withdrawal.

The Trust Link Card comes with other unappealing benefits like 0.22% cashback on general spending and 0.5% cashback on FairPrice Group spending.

---

💸 Annual fee
No annual fee, ever

💼 Income requirement
S$30,000/year (S’porean/PR aged 55 and below),
S$15,000/year (S’porean/PR aged 56 and above),
S$60,000/year (Foreigner)

🤑 Foreign currency fee
No foreign currency fee

📜 Terms & conditions

🎁 Sign-up promo