Confirmed: Get 2 mpd with zero FX fees with the Chocolate Card

As a confirmation of yesterday’s sneak peek, Chocolate Finance and HeyMax have collaborated to offer what I feel is the best miles card in Singapore for foreign currency spending.

What is Chocolate Finance?

Unlike traditional e-wallets (e.g. YouTrip, Grab), Chocolate Finance Account holders enjoy 3.3% returns per annum on the first S$20k, and 3% per annum on the next S$30k in the account. Chocfin promises these returns on your first S$50k through its top-up program. Amounts above S$50k have a target return of 3% per annum.

Here’s why it’s awesome:

• No account fee
• No minimum holding amount
• No minimum holding period (withdraw any time)
• Withdraw up to S$20k per day instantly, 3-10 business days if more than S$20k per day
• No withdrawal fee
• Returns are credited daily (just after midnight)

I’ve been a Chocolate Finance customer since launch, and absolutely love the beautifully-designed mobile app. But more importantly, I truly appreciate the high level of transparency presented by Chocfin on its products, headlines, advertisements and risk disclosures. This is a refreshing change from the misleading headlines/ads by other financial institutions in Singapore that you may be familiar with.

Chocfin Pte Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (CMS101452) to perform fund management activities, and it is important to note that the Chocolate Account is not a bank account, hence not SDIC-insured.

Read more about Chocolate Finance here.

🥰 Applying for a Chocolate Account using my personal referral link would contribute $5 to this independent travel hacking website.

What is HeyMax?

HeyMax is a shopping portal that rewards users with miles, when they click through the website (like how ShopBack gives you cashback).

I’ve not been an active user of HeyMax, and have not written about it since its launch in 2023. But there will soon be a very good reason to be one, so here’s a quick rundown:

• Max miles don’t expire
• Max miles can be transferred to FFPs for free
• Max miles can be transferred to 27 FFPs
• Max miles can be transferred in multiples of 1,000

As you can probably tell, Max miles are far more flexible than those that can be earned via Singapore credit cards, but it has 1 flaw for Singapore-based travellers: KrisFlyer is not a transfer partner.

However, I trust that Suitesmile readers are aware that KrisFlyer is not the only useful Frequent Flyer Program (FFP) out there. In fact, when it comes to value, other FFPs are better for flights to/from popular regions (e.g. Japan, S. Korea, Europe).

Sign-up bonus: Sign up for a free HeyMax account using my link to receive 200 Max miles instantly. Plus, get 500 Max miles (edit: this has been dropped to 50 Max miles) after verifying your phone number and performing 1 transaction. Plus, get 88 to 888 Max miles “Ang Bao” if you sign up, verify your phone number and perform 1 transaction by 12 Feb 2025. That’s a total of 788 to 1,588 miles up for grabs.

Key features of the Chocolate Card

From 11 Feb 2025, here are the key features of the Chocolate Card:

• Earn 2 miles per dollar on almost everything, up to $1,000 per calendar month
• Earn 0.4 miler per dollar on amounts above $1,000 calendar month
• Zero foreign currency fees
• Zero annual fee
• Zero miles transfer fee
• No annual income requirement
• Singapore residents above 18 years old can apply
• Typically-excluded categories count too (e.g. insurance, AXS, hospitals, public transport, charity, utilities)
• Order a physical card from the Chocolate app for free

Apply for a HeyMax and Chocolate Account.

Who can apply for a Chocolate Account/Card?

Singapore residents above the age of 18 years can apply for a Chocolate Finance Account (and Card).

As mentioned above, there is no income requirement to hold this card. Students and retirees can soon earn miles, to save on flights or fly in Business/First Class. Wish I had this opportunity when I was 18. 🥲

Pros and cons of the Chocolate Card

So, should you apply for the Chocolate Card? Let’s have a look at the unique set of pros and cons from this Chocolate Finance partnership with HeyMax.

This is a brilliant card for:

✅ Students, retirees (no income requirement)
✅ All foreign currency spending
✅ SGD spending on typically-excluded categories like insurance, AXS, hospitals, public transport, charity, utilities
✅ AXS bill payments (except credit card bills)

This is just an okaaay card for:

😐 Other SGD spending where credit cards have better earn rates, like online shopping, dining, groceries, hotels, flights, ride-hailing, phone bills, fuel.

This is a bad card if:

❌ You are looking for a credit card (where cash/investment is not directly deducted)
❌ You only want to accumulate KrisFlyer miles
❌ You don’t intend to travel much and don’t care about miles

How to link your Chocolate Card to HeyMax?

Linking your Chocolate Card to HeyMax is pretty simple.

1. Sign up for a new HeyMax account here
2. Add your Chocolate Card in HeyMax

And…that’s it!

Limitations of the Chocolate Card

The Chocolate Card is a debit card, which of course, has some limitations as compared to credit cards.

Here’s a quick summary:

The Chocolate Card is protected by Visa’s Zero Liability Policy, which guarantees that you won’t be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or card details.

I’ve been told that Chocolate Finance is working on a feature for cardholders to manually set spending/transaction limits in future.

If you wanna be extra-extra safe, you may freeze the Chocolate Card in the app, and only unfreeze when transacting with the card. For peace of mind, I do the same to my Amaze card, which is also a debit card.