How to receive Cashback for Insurance, School and Hospital payments in 2021

Commonly excluded categories

Transactions like insurance premiums, school fees and hospital bill payments are common exclusions from cashback and miles/points programs of most banks in Singapore. This prevents anyone from using a specialised credit card for maximum miles/points/cashback.

These transactions are usually larger than usual. It will be a waste to not receive any cashback or points for them. The good news is, there is a workaround!

What cards can I use?

These cards award cashback for Insurance, Education and Hospital payments.

American Express True Cashback

Suitesmile card rating:

SIGN-UP BONUS

3% cashback

more infoGet 3% cashback for the first $5,000 of spending, within 6 months.

Key benefit

Get 1.5% cashback
on almost everything

more infoGet 1.5% cashback on almost everything. No minimum spend required. Also receive 21% fuel savings at SPC. Register at amex.co/spcbenefits.

Annual fee

$171.20
(first year waived)

more infoAnnual fee is automatically waived for the first year. Ask for an annual fee waiver every year after that. We do not recommend paying for this card's annual fee as there are other credit cards offering similar benefits. If fee waiver request is not granted, we suggest that you cancel the card.

Min. Income
requirement

$30,000/yr

more infoYou will have to submit prove of income during the application process.

Apply now

Why we like this card

Unlike most other cards, this card offers 1.5% cashback on almost everything.

UOB Absolute Cashback Card

Suitesmile card rating:

Sign-up bonus

$300 cash

more infoGet $300 cash when you apply successfully as one of the first 100 new credit card customer of UOB. You will also qualify if you have not held a UOB card in the past 12 months.

To receive the sign-up bonus, a minimum spend of $1,000 per month, for the first 2 consecutive months is required.

Key benefit

Get 1.7% cashback
on all spending

more infoReceive 1.7% cashback on almost everything. No minimum spend required.

Annual fee

$192.60
(first year waived)

more infoAnnual fee is automatically waived for the first year. Ask for an annual fee waiver every year after that. We do not recommend paying for this card's annual fee as there are other credit cards offering similar benefits. If fee waiver request is not granted, we suggest that you cancel the card.

Min. Income
requirement

$30,000/yr

more infoYou will have to submit prove of income during the application process.

Apply now

Why we like this card

Get 1.7% cashback from payments to any merchant that accepts AMEX cards.

What about AMEX Krisflyer cards?

You may also use AMEX Krisflyer and Krisflyer Ascend for 1.1 and 1.2 MPD respectively on Hospital and Education payments (not Insurance).

However, I do not find both cards attractive as miles are automatically transferred into your Krisflyer account at the end of the month, immediately giving them an expiry date 3 years ahead. I also value Krisflyer miles the lowest among other frequent flyer programs.

What if AMEX is not accepted?

Unfortunately, there are still many organisations that do not accept American Express cards (only Visa and Mastercard). Here’s how you can still receive cashback on transactions made at those places.

tl;dr: Top-up your GrabPay wallet with AMEX True Cashback for the first $5,000 in 6 months and switch to UOB Absolute Cashback after that.

Start by topping up your GrabPay wallet with either AMEX True Cashback or UOB Absolute Cashback card to receive cashback.

Upon signing up for an AMEX True Cashback card, you will receive 3% cashback on your first $5,000 spent in the first 6 months. You will receive 1.5% cashback after that. There is no minimum or maximum monthly spend to receive 1.5% cashback on GrabPay top-ups!

The all-new UOB Absolute Cashback card will give you 1.7% cashback without minimum or maximum monthly spend too.

Once this is done, you will be able to use your GrabPay Mastercard for payments at any merchant that accepts credit cards.

AMEX
+
GrabPay

Sign-up bonus

3% cashback

more infoGet 3% cashback for the first $5,000 of spending, within 6 months.

Key benefit

Unlock 1.5% cashback
where you usually can’t

more infoTop up your GrabPay wallet with AMEX True Cashback or UOB Absolute Cashback to receive up to 1.5% cashback at merchants that do not accept American Express cards.

Note the GrabPay limits: $5,000 per transaction per day, $10,000 per month, $30,000 per year.

Annual fee

$171.20
(first year waived)

more infoAnnual fee is automatically waived for the first year. Ask for an annual fee waiver every year after that. We do not recommend paying for this card's annual fee as there are other credit cards offering similar benefits. If fee waiver request is not granted, we suggest that you cancel the card.

Min. Income
requirement

$30,000/yr

more infoYou will have to submit prove of income during the application process.

Apply for AMEX True Cashback
Apply for GrabPay Card on Grab’s mobile app

Why we like this card

Although it requires an additional step, having up to 1.5% cashback for categories that usually get you nothing (insurance premiums, school fees, hospital bills) makes it worth it!

GrabPay limitations

An extra point to note is, because of MAS regulations, Grab will only allow you to spend a maximum of $5,000 per day/transaction, $10,000 per month and $30,000* per year.

If your bill exceeds the daily/transaction limit, you may request (the organisation) to make multiple payments over separate days. More about this limitation here.

* May vary depending on individual risk profiles.

Bottom line

The all-new UOB Absolute Cashback card earned its place in my wallet because it offers the highest unlimited cashback with no exclusions. This card has been added to Suitesmile’s list of the best credit cards in Singapore for each spending category.

Useful articles about credit cards and the Miles Game

As usual, I recommend reading the following articles if you are new to credit cards:

• Getting Started: Is the Miles Game for you?
• Keeping track of your credit cards
• How to drastically minimize the risk of accumulating credit card debt
• Should you pay your credit card’s annual fee?
• Cashback vs Miles: Which cards are better?