The best cashback credit card in Singapore depends on one choice. A flat-rate card pays 1.5% to 1.7% on nearly everything with no conditions. A category card pays 5% to 10% on selected spending, but only after a monthly minimum spend and only up to a cap. Which one pays you more comes down to where your money goes and whether you want to track it.
This comparison uses the banks’ own figures as at November 2026. We are not paid by any issuer.
How We Compared
We read the card pages and terms of the seven issuers this site covers and kept cashback cards open to new applicants whose rate, cap, minimum spend, fee and income requirement are stated there.
They fall into two groups, each ranked on one measure:
- Flat rate: the highest cashback rate with no minimum spend and no cap.
- Category: the highest rate on everyday categories for someone spending about S$800 a month, after the cap.
Sign-up gifts and introductory boosts are ignored. Two cards were left out because they stopped taking new applications in 2026 (DBS Live Fresh and Standard Chartered Smart), and the UOB One Card is left out because it pays a fixed sum each quarter by spend tier rather than a rate on each dollar (its terms cap the extra merchant cashback at $120 a statement month).
The Comparison Table
Annual fees include GST. Income is for Singaporeans and PRs aged 55 and below.
| Card | Issuer | Headline rate | Cap | Minimum spend | Annual fee | Minimum income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Cashback | UOB | 1.7% on most spend | None | None | $196.20, first year waived | $30,000 |
| Cash Back+ | Citibank | 1.6% | None | None | $196.20, first year waived | $30,000 |
| INFINITY Cashback | OCBC | 1.6% | None | None | $196.20, first year waived | $30,000 |
| Simply Cash | Standard Chartered | 1.5% | None | None | $196.20, first year waived | $30,000 |
| 365 | OCBC | 6% on dining, groceries, land transport, petrol | $160 a month | $800 a month | $196.20, two years waived | $30,000 |
| Live+ | HSBC | 5% on dining, shopping, entertainment | $250 a quarter | $600 every month of the quarter | $196.20, first year waived | $65,000* |
| Visa Signature | CIMB | 10% on online shopping, groceries, beauty, pets, cruises | $20 per category, $100 a month | $800 a month | None | $30,000 |
| EVOL | UOB | 10% on local online and mobile contactless | $80 a month, with sub-caps | $800 a month | None | $30,000 |
*HSBC lists $30,000 for salaried existing customers who hold at least $50,000 with the bank.
Flat-Rate Cards: Highest Rate With No Conditions
UOB Absolute Cashback has the highest flat rate, 1.7%, with no minimum and no cap. The catch: it is an American Express card, which fewer merchants take. UOB pays only 0.3% on a list that includes utilities, education, healthcare, government and charity payments. It does not suit anyone whose regular merchants do not accept American Express.
Citi Cash Back+ pays 1.6% and Citibank says the cashback does not expire. Citibank’s fees page waives the $196.20 fee for the first year only, with no spend-based waiver after that. It does not suit someone who wants a guaranteed way to avoid the fee.
OCBC INFINITY Cashback also pays 1.6%, on local and overseas spend. OCBC waives the annual fee automatically once you spend $10,000 in a year, which is the clearest fee rule of the four. Under about $834 a month you would need to ask for a waiver or pay.
Standard Chartered Simply Cash pays 1.5%. It does not suit frequent overseas spenders: the bank’s foreign currency charge totals 3.5% (1% network plus 2.5% bank fee), against 3.25% at UOB.
Category Cards: Higher Rates, With Caps
OCBC 365 pays 6% on dining, groceries, land transport and petrol from 1 November 2026, with one $160 monthly cap and no category sub-caps. Miss the $800 minimum and everything earns 0.25%. It does not suit households that spend under $800 a month on the card.
HSBC Live+ pays 5% on dining, shopping and entertainment, plus petrol at Caltex and Shell. You must spend $600 in each of the three months of a quarter, or the rate drops to 0.3%. Groceries are not a bonus category. HSBC’s income requirement is higher than the others.
CIMB Visa Signature has the highest headline rate, 10%, and no annual fee. But each category is capped at $20 a month, so the 10% runs out after $200 of spend per category. It does not suit someone whose spending sits in one category.
UOB EVOL pays 10% on local online and mobile contactless spend, capped at $80 a month overall. Within that, UOB lists sub-caps of $30 on online and mobile contactless spend, $20 on selected gym, telco and streaming spend and $30 on other spend. There has been no annual fee since 1 July 2026. Without $800 of monthly spend it pays 0.3%.
The short version: A category card’s real rate is its cap divided by your total spend. $80 of cashback on $2,000 of monthly spending is 4%. On $4,000 it is 2%, close to a flat card that asks nothing of you.
The Best Cashback Credit Card in a Worked Example
Illustration only. An illustrative household charges $2,000 a month ($24,000 a year): $500 dining, $300 groceries, $200 petrol and transport, and $1,000 on everything else.
| Card | Monthly working | Cashback a year |
|---|---|---|
| OCBC 365 | 6% × $1,000 in its four categories = $60 (cap $160) | $720 |
| UOB Absolute Cashback | 1.7% × $2,000 = $34 | $408 |
| Citi Cash Back+ or OCBC INFINITY | 1.6% × $2,000 = $32 | $384 |
| Standard Chartered Simply Cash | 1.5% × $2,000 = $30 | $360 |
| HSBC Live+ | 5% × $500 dining + 0.3% × $1,500 = $29.50 | $354 |
The OCBC 365 figure counts only the 6% categories; base cashback on the rest would add a little. All of this assumes none of the spending is on each card’s excluded list.
Annual fees: at this spend OCBC waives its fee automatically and HSBC waives Live+ above $12,500 a year. If a flat-rate card’s $196.20 fee were charged and not waived, the 1.7% card would net $211.80.
Change the mix and the order changes. If only $300 a month fell in OCBC 365’s categories, it would earn $18 a month, less than any flat card. Try your own figures in the cashback vs miles calculator.
When Cashback Cards Are the Wrong Tool
Rewards assume you pay in full. The banks here charge 27.8% to 27.9% a year on unpaid balances, and MoneySense notes that interest applies from the transaction date once you miss full payment. One month of interest on a $2,000 balance costs more than a month of cashback. If that is your position, start with the debt payoff calculator.
Spending more to reach a minimum spend is also a loss. An extra $100 of purchases to earn $48 of cashback is $52 gone.
If you fly often and redeem miles well, compare with the air miles credit cards and our guide to cashback versus miles.
What To Do Next
- Total your last three statements by category and see whether you clear $800 a month without trying.
- Read the exclusions list in the card’s terms for your biggest bills.
- Check the bank’s page for the current rate and any promotion. Promotions change often and are not counted here.
- See how these cards sit beside others on the best credit cards in Singapore page, or by issuer: UOB, OCBC, Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered and CIMB. The HSBC Live+ review has more detail on that card.
