So here's the deal, UOB One Card will be revising their rebate structure from the 1st October 2015. Before we get into the details, lets take a look at what the UOB One Card rebates used to be, before the impending changes.
The UOB One card would give you tiered rebates based on the minimum spending over 3 months. The rebates are listed as S$30, S$80 and S$150, earned quarterly. What this means is that to hit each of the rebate tiers, one must spend at least S$300, S$800 and S$1,500 consistently over 3 months.
In my opinion, this card is decent for those who consistently charge a fixed amount to their card each month. The penalty for failing to hit the minimum spend on any of the 3 months would cause you to fall to a lower rebate tier or in the worse case, not earn any rebate at all.
So if you had trouble trying to hit any of the 3 tiers, then the bad news is that from 1st October, it is going to be even harder!
However, if you are able to meet the requirement consistently, you will be rewarded with a nice 3.33% cash back. At 3.33%, this is one of the best cash back cards available on the market at the moment.
Let's take a look at the revised rebate structure for the UOB One Card:
The Changes
From the 1st October, the minimum tiers are increased to S$500, S$1000 and S$2000 respectively. The payout amount is tweaked slightly at S$50, S$100 and S$300 - effectively rewarding those who spend upwards of S$2000 for each month.
Also, one additional point to note, the 2% overseas cash rebate promotion will no longer apply from October.
Summary
With the new requirements, those who have no trouble spending S$2000 per month on their One Card will be rewarded with a generous 5% rebate. However if you are like me, finding it hard to hit the S$500 monthly spending tier, it would be an even more uphill task trying to monitor your monthly spending to ensure you qualify for the rebate.
Although the One Card gives one of the highest cash backs in the market, there are still many options available from other banks that have easier requirements and give relatively decent rebates.
Some food for thought: From a consumer standpoint, making it harder to achieve the rebate amounts simply discourages use of the credit card.
Some food for thought: From a consumer standpoint, making it harder to achieve the rebate amounts simply discourages use of the credit card.
