Remember the 2008 Pixar film Wall-E? The premise of the animation is a future world where human beings became lazy and gross due to an over-dependence on robots and automation.

With services like Foodpanda, Deliveroo, and GrabFood becoming practically unavoidable, Singaporeans are fast closing in on such a state.

Food delivery promo codes in Singapore (August 2020) 

If you’re going to use these food delivery apps, at least take the opportunity to save a few bucks with a promo code. Be sure to share this article with your fellow lazy friends and coworkers!

Deliveroo promo codes Singapore 

Here are the current promo codes for Deliveroo Singapore. There used to be way more, but Deliveroo has apparently gotten enough traction to cut down on the promo codes and yet still get orders.

Currently, only Citibank, HSBC and UOB have promo codes for new and existing users.

Standard Chartered has returned with one promo code which is available until end September, so that’s not too bad.

Deliveroo has a bit of a reputation as an atas food delivery service, but I think they’re not that bad.

If you don’t want to spend too much, you can use the filters to suss out hawker fare, fast food, bubble tea, and the more affordable restaurants. 

Also, if you order food delivery often enough, you can consider signing up for Deliveroo Plus at $14.90/month.

It gives you unlimited free deliveries, which could come in handy, especially during this circuit breaker period.

Delivery fees are usually between $3 to $5. That means you only meed to three to five orders to make it worthwhile. 

Do note, however, that you may need to consolidate a few orders to hit the Deliveroo minimum order of $12, or else you’ll be charged the difference as a “small order fee”.

Foodpanda promo codes Singapore 

Foodpanda is presently the most competitive food delivery player in Singapore, at least when it comes to promo codes. There is a compiled list of the ongoing promotions and credit card partnerships on the Foodpanda site.  

Credit card promo codes

Foodpanda promo code	Users	What you get	Validity
CITINEW	New users	$8 off first 2 orders with minimum spend of $15	31 Aug 2020
DBS8NEW	New users	$8 off first 2 orders with minimum spend of $15	31 Dec 2020
UOB5NEW	New users	$5 off with minimum spend of $15 (3x use)	31 Dec 2020
CITIAUG	Existing users	$6 off with minimum spend of $30 (limited redemptions daily)	31 Aug 2020
CITIAUG10	Existing users	$10 off with minimum spend of $50 (limited redemptions daily)	31 Aug 2020
FDPAYLAH	Existing users	Free delivery when paying with PayLah! with minimum spend of $18 (2x use)	31 Aug 2020
DBSAUG	Existing users	$5 off with minimum spend of $25 (2x use)	31 Aug 2020
DBSNDP20	Existing users	$5.50 off with minimum spend of $40 (2x use)	6 to 12 Aug 2020
UOBAUG	Existing users	$6 off with minimum spend of $30	31 Aug 2020
UOBSHOPS8	Existing users	$6 off pandamart or foodpanda shops order with minimum spend of $30 (2 redemptions per user)	31 Aug 2020

General promo codes and deals

SAVE50	New users	50 per cent off on foodpanda and pandamart, with minimum spend of $10 (capped at $8)	31 Sept 2020
–	Existing users	15 per cent off for pick up orders	31 Aug 2020
LOVESG	Existing users	Free delivery for orders from local brands with minimum spend of $15	3 to 9 Aug 2020
OTH3OFF	Existing users	$3 off order from foodpanda restaurants or shops in ION Orchard with minimum spend of $10	9 Aug 2020
ION6OFF	Existing users	$6 off order from foodpanda restaurants in ION Orchard with minimum spend of $20	31 Aug 2020
CATHAYMALLS	Existing users	$5 off order from foodpanda restaurants or shops in The Cathay or Cineleisure with minimum spend of $15	15 Sept 202
SHOPSMC5	Existing users	$5 off Mothercare orders on foodpanda shops with minimum order of $15	31 Aug 2020
MFMONDAY	Existing users	Free delivery on in-app orders from vegetarian restaurants only on Monday, minimum order $10	31 Aug 2020

Foodpanda is getting more generous with their promo codes and it seems like they want to promote their shops and pandamart which are pretty useful when you want to order something quickly.

The minimum spending to qualify for a discount is something that can be easily hit — for instance, you can order two portions for dinner and keep one for lunch the next day. 

Foodpanda has launched a couple of National Day deals for a limited period so it’s a good time to take advantage of them.

If you’re not a particularly loyal customer, it’s definitely worth it to do a bit of price comparison for the more popular restaurants that are on two or more delivery platforms.

If you want to save on your meal, Foodpanda also has a free delivery filter. Note that free delivery is usually only available if you hit a minimum order e.g. $12 or $15.

Alternatively, Foodpanda supposedly released their Panda Pro subscription plans. They’re actually very affordable — the plans start at $3.99 for five free deliveries per month.

GrabFood promo codes Singapore

Compared to Foodpanda and Deliveroo, GrabFood’s credit card tie-ups are quite disappointing. Currently, only Citibank and HSBC cardholders have perks.

They recently partnered Lendlease and Far East Malls to offer a $5 discount for Grab merchants in these malls though.

So you can order Haidilao from the 313@somerset outlet as opposed to another outlet! You still have to pay for delivery based on distance so the discount may not be that worth it.

GrabFood promo code	New or existing	Discount	Validity
SELFPICK	Existing users	15 per cent off GrabFood order when you opt to pick up your meal at selected restaurants (three redemptions per person)	10 Aug 2020
GRAB5PP	Existing users	$5 off min. spend $15 for selected outlets at Parkway Parade (limited redemptions available)	21 Aug 2020
GRAB5PLQ	Existing users	$5 off min. spend $15 for selected outlets at Paya Lebar Quarter (limited redemptions available)	21 Aug 2020
GRAB5JEM	Existing users	$5 off min. spend $15 for selected outlets at JEM (limited redemptions available)	21 Aug 2020
GRAB5313	Existing users	$5 off min. spend $15 for selected outlets at 313@somerset (limited redemptions available)	21 Aug 2020
NDP2020	Existing users	15 per cent off on takeaway orders	7 Sept 2020
FREEDEL	Existing users	Free delivery with minimum spend of $80	31 Aug 2020
FEM5Off	Existing users	$5 off min. spend $15 for selected outlets in Far East Malls	30 Sept 2020
HSBCFOOD	Existing users	$5 off min. spend $15 (limited redemptions available)	4 Dec 2020
HSBC3OFFFOOD	Existing users	$3 off min. spend $20 (limited redemptions available)	31 Dec 2020

So far the Grab promo codes for Lendlease malls are still ongoing and this is the last month to use them.

There’s also one promo code for National Day that runs till Sept 7, so that’s not too shabby.

Additionally, GrabFood frequently has in-app promotions and campaigns (usually seasonal, like for Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, yada yada).

The promotion mechanics are also quite varied. I’ve seen direct discounts, bundled set meals and free delivery promos.

Here are some examples:

Most of these discounts require quite a high minimum spend and/or are bundles for two or more people.

That makes it a little inconvenient, but if you can fulfil the criteria, the discounts are not bad. Plus, GrabFood’s off-peak delivery fees start from as low as $2+, which is one of the lowest in town. 

Conclusion: Which food delivery service is the cheapest?

Lots of restaurants are on all 3 food delivery platforms, so at this point, it’s no longer a matter of choice. 

To compare the prices, I did an experiment ordering bubble tea on all three platforms. For this, my poison of choice was the Woobbee Milk Tea (medium).

Delivery platform	Bubble tea price	Delivery fee	Total price
Foodpanda	$3.30 + $1.70 difference to minimum	$3.49	$8.49
Deliveroo	$3.30 + $5 small order fee	$3	$11.30
GrabFood	$3.30 + $6.70 small order fee	$3.80	$13.80

The last time I tried this (in Feb 2020), it was the cheapest on GrabFood, because there was no minimum order, and it happened to be off-peak so I scored a low delivery fee ($2.10).

However, it seems that due to the current circuit breaker situation, it’s ALWAYS peak hour.

Also, certain restaurants started implementing a small order fee… And boy did that add up.

Long story short — when I replicated this experiment (in Apr 2020), GrabFood became the most expensive option.

For Foodpanda, there was no change in prices (from Feb to Apr). I had to top up $1.70 to reach the $5 minimum order and pay delivery fees of $3.49 (flat rate).

The total bill came up to $8.49, which is I thought was ridiculous to pay for a cup of boba tea… but is now the cheapest option.

Deliveroo didn’t change their prices either. Although the delivery fee of $3 was the cheapest, there was a small order fee of $5 that jacked the prices up.

Of course, this example is biased in that I tried to order $3 bubble tea.

If you meet the minimum order for them all, you’ll find that the menu prices are all comparable and all you’re really comparing are delivery fees.

Bonus: Which credit card should you charge your order to?

If you frequently order in food, it’s worthwhile to check out which credit cards can give you some rebates or miles for your meal.

You’d think that food deliveries would automatically be included under the “dining” category… but currently, only the OCBC365 card explicitly states so.

With it, you can get 6per cent rebate on all dining expenses, including your GrabFood, Deliveroo and Foodpanda orders.

The other popular dining cards like Citi Cashback and UOB YOLO don’t mention food deliveries, but if you want you can risk it and hope the banks recognise it as “dining”. (If you do, please tell us how it goes in the comments below!)

But not all hope is lost. The thing about ordering food online is that it can fall under the “online spending” category too.

If you’re into cashback, you can consider the DBS Live Fresh Card (5per cent online spend).

If you prefer miles, there’s the Citi Rewards Card that gives you 10X rewards ($1 = 4 miles) for online shopping.

It’s wise to note that T&Cs are always subject to change, so do read up and/or call the bank before you sign up.

This article was first published in MoneySmart.