ComfortDelGro’s Zig super-app has launched Zig Rewards, the would-be competitor to GrabRewards. How do the two programmes measure up?

In March this year, ComfortDelGro launched Zig, an app which lets users hail taxi rides, order food delivery, make restaurant reservations and even book activities and staycations.

It’s a highly ambitious project, and while there are doubts as to whether Singapore really needs another super-app, you can’t blame them for trying. 

To up the ante, Zig has now launched a loyalty program of its own, called Zig Rewards. What’s this all about, and how does it measure up to the competition like GrabRewards? 

Let’s find out.

What are Zig Rewards?

Zig Rewards is a three-tiered program featuring Rookie, Whiz and Master levels. Members earn coins from booking Comfort taxi rides or ordering takeaway food as follows:

• Rookie: 1 coin per $1 spent
• Whiz: 1.5 coins per $1 spent
• Master: 2 coins per $1 spent

To mark the launch of the program, Zig Rewards is offering a limited-time 2X promotional rate till  Sept 30, 2021. Members will earn two to four coins per $1 spent, instead of the usual one to two. 

Here’s how tier qualification works:

• Rookie: All members start at this tier
• Whiz: Accumulate 500 Zig coins in a 12-month period (equivalent to $500 spend, or $250 spend during the 2X period)
• Master: Accumulate a further 1,500 Zig coins in a 12-month period (equivalent to $1,000 spend, or $500 spend during the 2X period)

One important thing to note about moving up tiers: at the point of qualification for a higher tier, any Zig coins in excess of qualification do not count towards renewal or further upgrades.

For example, a Rookie member who spends $600 in a single transaction will earn 1,200 coins. The additional 700 coins in excess of Whiz qualification won’t count towards Master qualification, so break up your transaction if needed. 

That said, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be dealing with such a large transaction size, given how Zig coins can only be earned on taxi rides or takeaway food at the moment. It may become more of an issue if/when Zig Rewards is expanded to cover staycation bookings. 

All Zig coins expire one year after the date of issue.

What can Zig coins be redeemed for?

The Zig rewards catalogue currently features a mix of vouchers redeemable at Dairy Farm, FairPrice, Courts, RedMart and more. A $5 voucher costs 500 coins, while a $10 voucher costs 1,000 coins. This yields a value of 1 point = 1 cent.

How does Zig Rewards compare to GrabRewards?

Zig Rewards is going up against GrabRewards in the battle of ride hailing/food delivery apps, so it’s only apt to compare which one offers the better rebates. 

Based on the current earning and burning rates, Zig offers anywhere from a two to four per cent rebate (which falls to one to two per cent from Oct 1, 2021). 

The rebates on GrabRewards, on the other hand, range from 0.2 to 1.2 per cent, which isn’t nearly as generous. 

On the other hand, GrabRewards has a much bigger rewards ecosystem than Zig. GrabRewards points can be converted into airline miles with Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways, hotel points with Accor, gift cards with Amazon, Lazada, Tangs and many other retailers, CapitaStar$, lounge passes, movie tickets, and of course GrabFood and Grab ride vouchers.

Grab also runs periodic flash sales, which increase the value of redemptions by up to 50 per cent. 

It’s also much easier to earn GrabRewards points. Not only do you earn them on delivery, food and rides, thanks to the GrabPay Card you can rack up GrabRewards points anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Zig Rewards coins, on the other hand, can only be earned with rides and food delivery. 

Another advantage GrabRewards has is that points do not expire, as long as you earn or redeem at least one point in a six-month period. Given the myriad of ways to do this, there’s really no reason why your points should ever expire.

Zig Rewards coins will expire after 12 months, regardless of account activity. 

Viewed from this perspective, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Zig has to offer a higher rebate in order to entice users. 

How do Zig Rewards compare to ComfortPoints?

Regular Comfort customers will know that the ComfortDelGro app (which will continue to operate alongside Zig) also has its own rewards system called ComfortPoints. Customers earn five points per $1, and each point is worth about $0.05, an effective rebate of just 0.25 per cent.

Needless to say, the advent of Zig makes ComfortPoints almost irrelevant, assuming that Comfort taxi rides are the same price on the Comfort app and Zig. While this should be the case, it doesn’t hurt to do a quick check before pressing the book button.

What credit card should I use for Zig?

When using the Zig app, you’ll want to use the following credit cards to maximise the miles earned on your transactions:

• DBS Woman’s World Card: 4 miles per $1, capped at $2,000 per calendar month
• Citi Rewards Card: 4 miles per $1, capped at $1,000 per statement month

Cashback users can use the following cards instead:

• UOB EVOL: Eight per cent cashback for online transactions, capped at $20, with min. spend of $600 per statement month
• DBS LiveFresh:  Five per cent cashback for online transactions, capped at $20, with min. spend of $600 per calendar month
• OCBC FRANK:  Six per cent cashback for online transactions, capped at $25, with min. spend of $600 per calendar month

Conclusion

While it remains to be seen if Zig can bloom into the super-app ComfortDelGro envisions, it’s undeniably offering a very generous rebate through Zig Rewards until the end of September. Coupled with the usual deluge of post-launch promo codes, this could well be a case of making hay while the sun shines. 

GrabRewards, however, does benefit from more redemption partners, more earning opportunities, and non-expiring points. In general, my advice would be to base your bookings on whichever platform offers the lowest cost delivery/rides, as opposed to the loyalty programme as such. 

And to make the most out of your purchases, bookings and orders, be sure to charge them to the right cashback card for maximum rewards.

This article was first published in SingSaver.com.sg.