While it may only have a fairly small population for a country, the thriving city state of Singapore has an extremely credit card market with a number of Singapore, Asian and international institutions offering a range of cards such as the HSBC Gold Card. It’s hard to get around Singapore without exposure to credit card offers, there are posters and promotions everywhere and many of the major stores or restaurants have alliances with certain card issuers.
When looking for a Singapore credit card, here are some of the key things to understand;
Rates/APR: While the market is competitive it differs significantly from markets such as Europe and the USA where interest rates (APR) play a big factor in decision making. In Singapore the default purchase rate is offered at the same 24% APR on the vast majority of cards. This means there is often little to compare when it comes to purchase rates but you should check what the grace period is (if any) from when you purchase goods to when interest starts getting charged. Because the rate of 24% is high it makes using credit cards an expensive way to fund purchases unless you plan on paying the debt off in full each month.
Annual Fees: Singapore credit cards have a nominal annual fee but it is normal for this to be waived for a number of years to new card holders. Before you apply make sure you know how many years fee waiver the card provides and make a note of what the annual fee will be once the waiver ends. If you move cards every few years or speak to your card issuer you may be able to avoid paying fees on many cards.
Rewards: Rewards are key to credit card offers in Singapore and finding the best credit card is all about finding a card that offers the best rewards to suit your spending pattern and lifestyle. While you can certainly find cards offering the standard reward schemes such as frequent flyer points in Singapore it is common to get access to special offers and rebates at restaurants, clubs and partner retailers across Singapore. Premium cards such as Platinum credit cards normally offer special privileges such as extra service or access at Singapore venues or travel and product insurances.
While in other countries a rewards scheme may be something tacked on to a credit card, in Singapore the rewards and privilages are the key point of difference for most cards.
Funds Transfer: Finally, one more thing to check if you have outstanding debt on other credit cards is if they allow a credit card funds transfer where you move the balance of other cards to your new card at a lower APR. It’s not a standard feature with all cards but as the market gets more competitive it is becoming more normal.
Applying for a credit card can be done quickly and easily online with most banks although many will require some extra information before they will approve and send out your credit card. If you are not a Singapore citizen then you can still apply for most cards but you will find the lending criteria is a little stricter.
Finance article by R Greenwood of creditcardapr.com.sg which compares credit cards in Singapore including reward credit cards for Singapore consumers.