OCBC Frank Card - Has it lost its edge ?

The OCBC Frank Card was one of my favourite Credit Cards! It allowed me to stretch my dollar from all my online spending. Giving me up to 6% on my online spending and an unlimited cash back of 0.5% on all other spend. It even made it to the list of the best cash back credit cards !

Until this happened. 

A Frank SMS

Tsk, Tsk. So sneaky. 

Similar to the changes made to the UOB One Card, OCBC has revised some of the cash back rate, sadly it made the card less competitive. 

Let us break down the changes from 1st October.

Frank Cashback Changes

1) The main point to note is the removal of the "No Cap on 0.5% rebates". 

This essentially means that once you've hit the S$60 spending rebate from any of the criteria, you will no longer be eligible for more rebates! 

2) Weekend/Weekday Dining, Entertainment rebates, increased to 5% and 3% respectively.

With all due respect, there is already a card for that. Its call the OCBC365. Incorporating this aspect into a pure spending/cashback card simply diminishes the function of the Frank Card. 

3) Minimum spend to earn rebates, reduced to S$400. 

Well its great that they reduce the minimum spend amount. But if you are a financially savvy customer, you would have an OCBC360 account and one of the terms for the OCBC360 additional interest criteria is to spend S$500 on your OCBC credit cards. Reducing the min. spend to earn rebates does not really do much in this case.

4) Minimum spend to exclude Online and Nets Flashpay ATUs spending

This is perhaps the nail-in-the-coffin for this card! If it was already hard to achieve the min. spend amount, especially if the bulk of your spending are from online shopping, then it would be impossible to qualify for the rebates at all!

With this 'hidden' criteria, you would need to spend S$400 from "KTVs, Cinemas, Bars and some cafes" and "everything else" each month, to qualify for rebates.

A Frank Summary

I guess all good things must come to an end. The revision of the terms really makes this card lose out to its cashback peers, like the UOB One Card and the SCB Manhattan card. The only saving grace for the Frank Card is that many holders are also OCBC360 account holders. In any case, i would expect quite an exodus of users from the Frank Card - i myself would be looking at other OCBC rebate Cards (OCBC Cashflo).

Stay tuned for a shoot-out of the latest cash back cards available!

Best Cash Back Credit Cards In Singapore

Singaporeans have a love-hate relationship with Credit Cards. We love them because they help us fulfill our dreams of owning that magnificent Ferrari we dreamed of since the age of 7. Yet we hate them when the bill comes through the letterbox the month after our binge spending.

Regardless of whether you love or hate them, lets face it, we are not going to bring wades of cash to buy our 55" TV or that Italian calf skin sofa. With the plethora of credit cards, each having its own reward types, we are often more confused with our choices than a chameleon in a bag of skittles.

Confused Chameleon

In this article, i will focus solely on the Cash Back Rewards Cards. In my opinion, Cash Back is the simplest and easiest form of rewards. The concept is simple: You spend XXX$, you receive Y% of your spending at the end of the rewards period. There is absolutely no hassle in converting points to vouchers, etc.

Without further ado, let me share some of the BEST Cash Back cards in Singapore. 

* These are also the ones that i personally use.

1) UOB One Card

This card is great for regular recurring usage / non-big ticket items. (Example: Payment for groceries, petrol, etc).

- Earn up to 3.33% Cash Back (Min Spending: S$300)

To earn the 30$, 80$ or 150$ cash back tiers, you would have to consistently spend the 300$, 800$ or 1,500$ for 3 consecutive* months. 

* Note that this is based on your statement cycle.

• S$300 S$300 S$300 S$30
• S$800 S$800 S$800 S$80
•  S$1,500 S$1,500 S$1,500 S$150

- Additional 2% cash rebates on all overseas transactions 

Pre-requisite: Annual income of at least $30,000

Read more about it here

2) Standard Chartered Bank - Manhattan Card

This card used to be THE BEST rebates card in the market at 5% cash back. The cash back rates has since been revised to 3%. Although still attractive, i would recommend it to be used in conjunction with the UOB One Card and only use it on big ticket items (>3000$) or when you have reached your 'tier'.

- Earn up to 3% Cash Back (Tiered Spending, Capped at 200$ per Quarter, 800$ per Year)

• $1–$999  0.5%
• $1,000–$2,999  1%
• $3,000 and above  3%

Pre-requisite: Annual income of at least $30,000

Read more about it here

3) OCBC - Frank Card

This card is recommended for those who shop online. It gives an attractive rebate of 6% on all most (See non-exhaustive list) online purchases.

Online Purchases Only

- Earn up to 6% Cash Back (Minimum Spending S$500, Capped* at 60$ Per Month)

* When you've earned S$60 rebates a month, you are still entitled to get unlimited 0.5% rebates

All Other Purchases

Unlimited 0.5% rebates

Pre-requisite: Annual income of at least $30,000

Read more about it here

4) POSB - Everyday Card

This card is great for the regular shoppers at Watsons & Sheng Siong. 

- Earn up to 5% Cash Rebate from Sheng Siong

- 3% cash rebate for AirAsia, Watsons.

- 3% cash rebate for flights purchased at AirAsia.com 

- 2% cash rebate on overseas spending

- 0.3% on everything else

Read more about it here

Special Mention:

HSBC Visa Platinum

- Up to 5% cash rebates at grocery stores and supermarkets
- Up to 2% cash rebates at food and beverage outlets

With the mind boggling number of credit cards in the market, choosing the right one can be difficult. Pick the ones that will facilitate your lifestyle and remember to enjoy your spending (& Cash Back) in moderation !.


Image Credits: hdwallpapersinn, POSB, UOB, SCB