which is better for you?

It’s no secret that I used to be on Team Cashback throughout my 20s. Again then, as a single feminine who was spending less than $800 each month, cashback playing cards made essentially the most sense for me as a result of even when I clocked 4 miles for each single greenback, I might solely have sufficient for a 1-way enterprise class flight to Philippines (3 hours) at most after a whole yr. Naturally, getting 1 month again in bills was way more enticing to me!

Now, when you’ve got an identical life profile and like to have chilly, exhausting money again in your pocket so that you can spend on different stuff, then cashback playing cards should still make sense for you.

TLDR: If you happen to spend lower than $1,000 a month, then cashback playing cards could attraction to you. Usually, this could be the contemporary grads, or people of their 20s / 30s who aren’t but married with children and maintain their spending to a minimal.

Quick ahead to right this moment (a decade later) the place I’m now a mom of two and CFO of my family. Sadly, that additionally means I can now not maintain my bank card bills low, since I’m the primary particular person paying (upfront) for the majority of our household’s bills, which adds up to a cool $7,000+ every month.

For the primary 2 years, I attempted to proceed my cashback playing cards sport technique…however failed miserably because the cashback limits saved slapping me throughout the face.

Ultimately, I spotted it was time I switched over to Team Airmiles.

Which was why 2 years in the past, I made peace with my former online nemesis The Milelion after I instructed him I lastly gave up on cashback playing cards and was now accumulating miles. The funniest factor is, he thought I used to be joking – I used to be not.

Which is why right this moment, we’re combining forces in SingSaver’s Ultimate Showdown between cashback and miles. It is a nationwide digital marketing campaign to see if Singapore shoppers are extra in the direction of miles or cashback, which is all of the extra purpose you must take part by getting one of the best bank card for you this month.

Within the meantime, should you’re a dad or mum like me, you may discover the under to be just like your individual family spending habits:

What my typical family bills appear to be

Limits of cashback playing cards

(particularly should you’re a dad or mum)

Let’s speak about how cashback playing cards reallllly maintain you again when your bills are simply 4 to five digits a month.

As an illustration, the Maybank Family & Friends card can give 8% cashback in your groceries, meals, transport, telco invoice, Netflix and even live performance tickets (amongst others) – these usually cowl nearly all of my spending classes. The one downside? That is capped at S$25 cashback every for five classes (S$312 spending), and you will get not more than S$125 in whole per calendar month even should you cross the $800 month-to-month minimal spend. However hey, try how a lot my bills are in these classes:

I might, in fact, shift my groceries over to my UOB One card to strive for as much as 10% cashback to mix with my on-line purchasing, for the reason that card provides the best rebates solely once we spend $2,000 a month on it. However right here’s the issue – we store extra incessantly on FairPrice relatively than Chilly Storage! The cashback can also be given out quarterly, and is capped at $50 / $100 / $200 (for $500 / $1k / $2k month-to-month spend respectively). I’m not the only one who has been having trouble managing this card after all the bank changes (check out this Reddit thread), and the one purpose why I’m nonetheless maintaining it in my wardrobe (the place it doesn’t see the sunshine of day anymore) is as a result of we nonetheless have some money in our high-yield UOB One financial savings account.

In any other case, I might additionally maintain my groceries on Maybank and shift my eating over to the UOB EVOL card for 8% after I pay through cell contactless, however with the cashback capped at $20 per class and requiring $600 minimal spend on the cardboard per 30 days, meaning I’m restricted to $250 for on-line purchasing and eating respectively every month, and having to discover a technique to spend a minimum of $100 elsewhere each, single month one way or the other.

If all of that speak is already supplying you with a headache, simply think about the frustration I confronted in really executing it. After monitoring for just a few months and receiving paltry cashback, I used to be near giving up.

The ultimate kicker got here after I realized there was nearly no method for me to earn respectable cashback on my revenue taxes, household insurance coverage premiums and kids’s training charges ever since many of the banks nerfed the cashback benefits on CardUp. This leaves simply Bank of China Family and Maybank Platinum Visa because the final remaining contenders (however capped at $2,400 spend month-to-month i.e. $28.8k a yr). And guess what? Final yr alone, these 3 categories already added up to a cool $75,000 for us.

Irrespective of how I labored inside my arsenal of cashback playing cards, the capped class cashback limits ($250 – $300) per 30 days made it nearly inconceivable for me to match each greenback to a minimum of some type of acceptable cashback yield.

So after making an attempt for a yr, I lastly gave up and converted to miles bank cards as a substitute.

The second I switched to Workforce Miles, my monetary life all of a sudden turned loads much less hectic! I used to be lastly free of the foolish class spending caps which might be a mainstay in most cashback playing cards, and solely wanted to observe:
(i) which classes,+
(ii) the utmost spend
that I placed on every miles card each month.

No kidding, check out how these the classes and max month-to-month spend appears to be like like on these 4 mpd playing cards:

Is it any surprise why I switched?! In actual fact, I ought to have carried out it sooner – from as early as 2018 as soon as I turned a dad or mum.

Earn as much as 34,000 bonus miles plus items if you apply for miles playing cards this month

Now, should you’ve been pondering of making use of for any bank card to up your miles sport, I counsel you do it from now between 8 May to 4 June 2024 via SingSaver. That’s as a result of not solely do you get extremely beneficiant sign-up rewards, you additionally get to vote (together with your card functions) to find out whether or not Workforce Miles or Workforce Cashback will win.

A lot of you ask which playing cards I personally use and would advocate, so I might counsel that you just first get these 3 playing cards to start out incomes 4 miles for each greenback throughout the next classes:

However in fact, if you wish to really earn most miles by placing even your children’ training charges, household insurance coverage premiums and revenue taxes in your bank card, then I might advocate that you just read my article here to see the complete miles credit card stack to get.

Within the meantime, right here’s a fast overview of what I personally use for the under classes (in my capability because the family CFO) each month:

The most effective half is that in contrast to cashback playing cards, miles playing cards don’t require you to hit a minimal month-to-month spend earlier than you’re eligible to start out incomes rewards. That lets you begin incomes miles out of your very first greenback.

My expensive nemesis-turned-ally Milelion insisted that I wanted to publicly clarify why I had switched sides, so I hope this publish lets you perceive why.

TLDR: Price range Babe grew up, had children and therefore spends 4-digits each month for her family and dependents…so cashback playing cards now not match her spending wants.

On the finish of the day, the selection between miles vs. cashback playing cards actually comes all the way down to a person’s life-style profile and preferences. I said this same line before in 2017 so nothing has modified…apart from my life stage spending habits.

It was good to have been in a position to maintain my bank card payments under $1,000 a month after I was a younger, single feminine with no children to be financially answerable for…however hey, all of us develop up sometime 🙂

After all, should you’re younger and frugal (like I used to be!), miles playing cards could not essentially serve you nicely as a result of it’ll take a very long time earlier than you clock sufficient in your first free flight; however should you’re a dad or mum paying for greater than 1 particular person’s monetary dues (i.e. your children or the aged), then cashback playing cards will solely maintain you again. Want I even remind you ways hectic it may be making an attempt to handle your cashback playing cards whereas juggling your job and younger children who don’t all the time pay attention?! 🤣

Your selection between a far and cashback bank card ought to align together with your spending habits and life-style. Nothing has modified.

Apply now for the best miles (or cashback) cards for you here + vote with your card applications on SingSaver earlier than June!

You’ll additionally get as much as 34,000 bonus miles plus items like Apple iPad, Dyson, Samsonite luggages, amongst different items and fortunate attracts (which could simply see you win a free return Enterprise Class journey to Switzerland)!

Singapore, let’s see whether or not it’ll be Workforce Airmiles or Workforce Cashback to emerge champion when the outcomes are out subsequent month.

With love,
Price range Babe