Which Credit Card Should You Use for Online Purchases?

Staying home and doing your shopping online now instead? Check out which is the best credit card to use for more cashback during this period.

On 28 March, the government started encouraging us to “buy food and groceries” online. Then on 4 April, they announced the closure of non-essential workplaces, full home-based learning for schools, and advised us to stay home to reduce further spread of the virus.

I’ve been getting most of my purchases done online since mid-February, ever since we started to cut out social gatherings and stay home instead. And if you’re like me, you’re probably wondering which is the best credit card to use for your online spending. Given the current situation, many of the cashback cards we used to hold are hardly relevant anymore.

If you’re on the cashback camp, I’ve previously highlighted that one of the best cards to use for online shopping is the DBS Live Fresh Card, as it gives 5% cashback for online purchases (and Visa contactless spend). But with their latest DOUBLE CASHBACK on online spend, there’s even more reason to use this card now that it’s a whopping 10% cashback*!

*Activated once you hit your spend goals. Get 5% for your online spend otherwise if you do not.

It is also much easier to simply have one go-to card during this period that rewards you for general online and Visa contactless spend^ (for when you dabao food or take public transport to work because you work for an essential service).

^With the usual exclusions of payments made to government agencies, schools, etc.

Here’s an example of how this could work during this stay-home period:

Item Category Cashback rate
Groceries Visa contactless 5%
F&B takeaway Visa contactless 5%
Public transport (for those who work for an essential service) Visa contactless 5%
Online groceries (e.g. RedMart) Online 10%*
Online food delivery (e.g. Deliveroo, FoodPanda) Online 10%*
Online streaming (e.g. Netflix, Viu) Online 10%*

*Activated once you hit your spend goals. Get 5% for your online spend otherwise if you do not.

If you’re still heading out to work because your job is classified as an essential service, then don’t forget that your rides on public transport (via SimplyGo) and outside food takeaways count towards your qualifying 5% cashback spend too.

And here’s how the maximum cashback (per category) works for a New DBS Live Fresh Cardmember, which is a much higher cap than most of the other credit cards. 

Category Cashback Maximum Cashback
Online Spend 5%~ – 10%# $40
Visa Contactless Spend 5%~ $20
All Other Spend 0.3% $20

~ To earn 5% cashback on online and Visa contactless spend, you will need a minimum spend of S$600 in a calendar month.

# To earn 10% cashback on online spend, you will need to hit your spend goal found on the Promotion Tracker on your DBS Lifestyle App in a calendar month.

Sponsored Message:

Don’t have the DBS Live Fresh Card yet? Apply for one online and choose between AirPods or S$200 cashback as your welcome gift. Plus, you will automatically get double cashback (up to a maximum of $40) on your online spend when you hit your spend goal found on the Promotion Tracker on your DBS Lifestyle App with your new DBS Live Fresh Card!

Otherwise, get 5% cashback on your online spend and Visa contactless spend with $600 minimum spend instead, which is still one of the best earning rates in the market.

Note: You must not have cancelled a DBS card in the last 12 months.

If you’re already an existing DBS Live Fresh Cardmember, simply be among the first 10,000 to register here and check out your personalised spend goal, which is determined based on your average monthly spend from Feb 2019 to Jan 2020. You’ll qualify for your DOUBLE cashback (10%) once you hit your spend goal.

P.S. There’s another 10% on online spending cashback credit card out there, but since it is capped at only $20, it pales in comparison to this.

Read more about the terms and conditions here and here.

Disclosure: This post is written in collaboration with DBS. All opinions are that of my own.

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