The Great Singapore Sale (GSS) is here. Which credit card offers the best gifts and rebates for this shopping season?
These are the promotions as of 3 Jun 2011.
01HSBC
Minimum Spending and Cash Rebate
- S$1,000 (10% rebate capped at $50)
- $2,500 (15% rebate capped at $150)
- $4,000 (20% rebate capped at $250)
- Spend $100 daily ($5 rebate capped at $5)
The Fine Print
- 10% to 20% rebates are limited to first 2,000 redemptions via SMS from 26 May to 30 Jun 2011
- Minimum spending can be anywhere (e.g. petrol), but rebate only applies to the portion that is overseas spending or local retail and dining spending only
- 5% daily rebate is limited to first 1,000 redemptions per week
Comments
- Too good to be true and indeed so. If for example $4,000 is spent on retail (and nowhere else), rebate is just 6.25%.
- 5% daily rebate is still attractive (if you are quick)
02ANZ
Minimum Spending and Gift
- $15,000 - Sony Bravia 40" LCD TV
- $6,000 - Nautica watch
- $2,000 - "Crystal pen"
The Fine Print
- Limited to first 100, 200 & 300 redemptions respectively from 15 May to 31 Jul 2011
Comments
- Decent gifts but high minimum spending (and too few TVs)
03Standard Chartered
Minimum Spending and Gift
- $3,500 - Macbook Air 11-inch 64GB worth $1,348 (200 redemptions)
- $7,000 - Mac 27-inch 2.7GHz worth $2,348 (200 redemptions)
The Fine Print
- Gifts split equally into 2 spend periods: 1-30 Jun and 1-31 Jul
- Gifts allocated by lucky draw, SMS to qualify
- Card users can also choose a guaranteed gift of a Sony MP3 player "worth $129" by foregoing the lucky draw
Comments
- Attractive gifts, but low likelihood of a win. MP3 player is hardly worth the effort to charge to a SCB credit card
04Also-Ran: UOB
Type of spending (Cash rebate)
- Shopping and dining - $1 spend gets 100% equivalent in reward points
- Online shopping - $1 spend gets 150% equivalent in reward points
The Fine Print
- 5 winners per day from 19 May to 30 Jun
- Rebate is capped at $500 and $750 for shopping/dining and online transactions respectively
Comments
- Pretty much a lucky draw with a very low probability of winning back what you spend
05Also-Ran: Maybank
Minimum Spending and Gift
- $600 - $20 tr’eats vouchers (1st 500 redemptions)
- $2,000 - Marriott Cafe Local High-Tea Buffet worth $76 (1st 300 redemptions)
- $4,000 - Tommy Hilfiger Watch worth $289 (1st 150 redemptions
Comments
- Low spending thresholds, so low that the gift were fully redeemed just days into the GSS
06Special Mention: Citibank
Citibank does not have a specific GSS promotion, but in a promotion marketed via a mailer (and only applicable for those who receive the mailer), Citibank credit cards offer a $100 rebate for a minimum of $1,000 spent in Jun 2011 (the rebate is $45 for $500 minimum spend). No SMS is required to qualify.
Conclusion
There is little to choose between this year's GSS credit card promotions. Might be worth it to make a shopping trip to Bangkok or Hong Kong instead.
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