Best bank offers in Singapore (May 2024): $158 Singapore Airlines flights, win $12,000 NTUC shopping vouchers, and more

Everybody loves credit card sign-up promotions, but not many of us realise the promotions don't end with a welcome gift. Banks actually shower us with tons of lifestyle deals and perks just for owning and using their credit cards or debit cards.

Once in a while, we even get super exclusive deals like priority early access to concert tickets. Remember the UOB pre-sale in 2023 that saw an onslaught of Swifties flood UOB? More recently, UOB cardholders also got early access to Waterbomb Singapore 2024.

Here's a look at all the ongoing bank offers and deals in Singapore that you can enjoy with your credit card or simply with your banking app, including lucky draws, cashback or gift promotions, and flight deals.

Bank offers in Singapore: Lucky draws, giveaways and more

UOB's The Big Savings Payout

Inflation getting the better of you? UOB’s latest promotion The Big Savings Payout is designed to help you fight back against inflation and boost your savings. Running until June 29, 2024, this special offer allows you to earn up to S$1,000 in guaranteed cash and enter a lucky draw to win NTUC vouchers simply by topping up your UOB savings account.

Here’s how it works:

1. Register your participation by June 29, 2024.
2. Deposit a minimum of S$20,000 into an eligible UOB account — a UOB One Account, UOB Stash Account, UOB Lady’s Savings Account, UOB Passbook Savings Account and UOB Uniplus Account.
3. Keep your new money in your account for four months — that means no withdrawing even a portion of it.

Depending on how much you deposit, you could earn from S$80 up to a whopping S$1,000 in cash credits!

Now for the lucky draw part. By participating, you'll also get a chance to win NTUC shopping vouchers worth a total of S$12,000 to help cover the rising costs of daily essentials like eggs, flour, and poultry. There’ll be 10 lucky winners who will get to stock up their pantry big time!

Plus, if you open a new UOB savings account, you’ll double your chances of winning.

This offer is open to UOB Personal Banking, Wealth Banking, Privilege Banking, and Privilege Reserve Banking account holders and ends on June 29, 2024.

Win 1,500 ION+ Points monthly with American Express

Calling all shopping enthusiasts! If you love a good spree at ION Orchard, you won't want to miss this promotion from American Express. In celebration of ION Orchard's 15th anniversary, for 15 months, 15 winners every month will walk away with 1,500 ION+ Points if they spend a minimum of S$150 using an American Express Card at ION Orchard. Those points are equivalent to a whopping S$600 in e-vouchers!

You get extra bonus chances depending on which American Express credit card you pay with. If you go for the American Express® Platinum Reserve or Platinum Credit Card, you'll score an additional 10 chances. 

Opt for The Platinum Card®, and you'll get 20 bonus chances to win!

This fabulous opportunity runs from Jan 1, 2024 till March 31, 2025. Happy shopping!

POSB's #FinFit Financial Planning Challenge for NSFs

You know that joke about how NSF (full-time national servicemen) actually stands for "not sufficient funds"? Well that could change with POSB's #FinFit Financial Planning Challenge for NSFs running from now till Sept 30, 2024.

Here's the deal: sign up by Sept 30, 2024, and take on various quests that'll teach you all about growing your savings, going cashless, investing wisely, and securing yourself with a DBS insurance plan.

In return for your efforts, you’ll be rewarded with up to S$15,000 worth of prizes — not to mention the financial knowledge you’ll gain.

The first 1,000 NSFs to register will snag a cool S$5 cash gift. Plus, all eligible participants will enter a lucky draw where 40 winners will each win a digiPortfolio investment worth up to S$1,000:

• $1,000 digiPortfolio: 6 winners
• $200 digiPortfolio: 15 winners
• $100 digiPortfolio: 20 winners

The lucky draw will take place on Nov 6, 2024, and winners will be announced by Nov 30, 2024.

POSB Work Permit Welcome Rewards 2024

Are you new to POSB and hold a Work Permit? Great news! POSB is rolling out the red carpet for you with their POSB Work Permit Welcome Rewards 2024. Get ready to treat yourself with up to S$20 in bonuses just for getting started with your banking essentials.

Here’s how to snag those rewards:

1. Open and Activate: Start by opening a POSB Payroll account and activate your new DBS Visa Debit Card — which, by the way, gives its credit card counterparts a run for their money.
2. Spend and Earn: Use your DBS Visa Debit Card for your purchases, accumulating at least S$200 in qualified spends each month for three months. You'll earn S$5 cashback each month, adding up to a total of S$15.
3. Bonus Bucks: Haven't tried PayLah! yet? Download and register on the PayLah! app using the promo code 'FIVELAH' to pocket an extra S$5.

Make sure to take advantage of these offers before they expire on Dec 31, 2024.

Standard Chartered Simply Cash Credit Card - 0% foreign transaction fees

Even though the Standard Chartered Simply Cash Credit Card isn’t a miles card (the Standard Chartered Journey Credit Card takes that spot), this promotion makes it a fantastic option for travellers this June 2024. Ready to maximise your travel spending without the extra fees? Here’s a great way to do it:

From now until May 31, 2024, you can enjoy 0% foreign transaction fees on your travel spends with the SC Simply Cash Credit Card. Just follow these three simple steps to unlock this benefit:

1. Register: Send an SMS with the code FXSC to 77222 to successfully register for the promotion.
2. Spend: Make sure to spend at least S$2,500 on your card before May 31, 2024.
3. Earn Cashback: After meeting the spending requirement, you’ll receive 3.5% cashback on all foreign currency transactions during June 2024, up to a cap of S$50.

Do note that the 3.5% cashback is not on top of the 0% foreign transaction fees. The 3.5% offsets:

• A prevailing charge of 1% imposed by Visa on your transaction
• A prevailing fee of 2.5% of the converted Singapore Dollars amount of your transaction

This promotion is perfect for savvy travellers looking to save on fees. But act fast — registration is limited to the first 5,000 cardholders, and you only have until May 31, 2024 to spend $2,500 on your card.

43rd UOB Painting of the Year

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This one isn't quite a bank promotion or offer, but you could stand to win up to $33,000 if you take part in the 43rd UOB Painting of the Year competition. 

Open to all Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents, whether you’re an established or emerging artist, this is your chance to showcase your talent and possibly win big.

Here’s how to enter:

• Submit your artwork electronically via www.UOBandArt.com by 11.59 pm on July 31, 2024. Ensure your photo is at least 300 DPI and no larger than 3 MB in JPEG or PNG format.
• If you make it to the second round, be ready to deliver your actual artwork on Aug 30 or 31, 2024, at Artspace@Helutrans.

Artworks will be evaluated on message, creativity, composition, and technique. Prizes are hefty, with the top award in the Established Artist Category reaching S$33,000, and a special regional prize of S$13,000 across the five countries — Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Plus, 1 winner will earn a spot in a coveted residency program!

If you’re an artist, don’t miss this incredible opportunity to gain recognition and elevate your artistic career.

Bank offers in Singapore: Travel deals

There's no shortage of airfare discounts from banks like DBS, Citibank, HSBC and more. I’ve trawled through their promotion pages to summarise them here.

Citibank flight promotions (2024)

Have a Citibank credit card? Here’s a summary of Citibank’s ongoing flight promotions in 2024 — there are plenty to choose from!

Book your flights with the Citi PremierMiles Card to earn Citi Miles that never expire.

Your Citibank credit card could also get you a discount on online travel booking sites for accommodation, flights, and more. Here’s a list of the ongoing offers:

HSBC flight and cruise promotions (2024)

On top of these promotions, you can also take $50 off flights, hotels and more with HSBC when you book on Traveloka with a minimum spend of $500. Book from now to Dec 29, 2024 for any travel period with the promo code HSBCWEEKEND.

HSBC cruise promotions (2024)

Don’t have an HSBC credit card? The HSBC TravelOne Card offers one of the highest miles earn rates for foreign spending, at 2.4 miles per S$1.

DBS flight promotions (2024)

From complimentary luggage bags to 10% off airfares, DBS credit cards have plenty of ongoing flight promotions:

DBS is also running a number of ongoing accommodation offers:

The DBS Altitude Visa Signature Card is a great travel buddy. Pay for your travel expenses with it to earn up to 10 Miles per $1 in the form of Miles for Life! DBS Points that never expire.

UOB flight promotions (2024)

With a UOB credit card, you could get up to 10% off flights to various destinations around the world.

View all UOB flight promotions.

Although the UOB flight deals above don’t have any for Singapore Airlines, the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card is a great way to earn KrisFlyer Miles on your Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Scoot, KrisShop, and Kris+ purchases.

OCBC flight promotions (2024)

OCBC credit cards don’t fall short on travel promotions. Check out these lists of flight and hotel promotions! 

View all OCBC travel promotions.

The OCBC 90°N Card is OCBC’s signature miles card that lets you earn up to 7 Miles per $1 spend on Agoda accommodations worldwide.

Maybank flight promotions (2024)

Charge your next Qatar Airways or EVA Air flight to your Maybank credit card to enjoy up to 10% off.

Make the most of your travel spending by charging your air ticket to the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature card.

You’ll earn 3.2 air miles (8X TREATS Points) for every S$1 spent on air tickets and foreign currency transactions!

Credit card privilege programmes in Singapore

If you own a credit card, you're entitled to dining, travel, and other lifestyle offers you may not even know about. Each bank has their own privilege programme or deals catalogue that makes claiming a deal as easy as applying a promo code or claiming a voucher on your banking app. 

These differ from rewards programmes that let you redeem gifts using points accumulated from your credit card spending — for example, redeeming a $5 NTUC voucher with 100 points.

Here, we're talking about catalogues of deals and promotions that you have the privilege of accessing simply because you have a credit card with that bank-for example, showing your credit card at a restaurant to enjoy a 1-for-1 offer on all main courses.

Here's a list of credit card promotion/privilege programmes in Singapore for UOB, DBS, and more. 

UOB: UOB Rewards+

UOB Rewards+ is the UOB rewards programme that all UOB Cardmembers are entitled to. It also claims to be the largest rewards catalogue in Singapore. So if you have a UOB card, make sure you download the UOB TMRW app to browse all deals. You can also view dining deals at The Dining Advisor.

Standard Chartered: The Good Life

The Good Life Privileges is a deals and rewards programme open to anyone with a Standard Chartered credit or debit card (or both).

Citibank: Citi World Privileges

Citi World Privileges is full of deals for not just the rest of the world while you’re on holiday, but when you’re back home in Singapore too.

DBS Privileges and Offers

DBS may not have a fancy schmancy name for their credit card offers programme, but they’ve still got a ton of good deals you should check out.

American Express: Love Dining and Chillax

Amex Platinum cards aren’t the most accessible, but give you access to tons of dining deals and privileges. Check out their Love Dining deals for offers at restaurants and hotels, and their Chillax programme 1-for-1 drink offers and welcome cocktails at bars around the island.

HSBC Credit Card Promotions and Deals

Like DBS, HSBC doesn’t have a dedicated name for their HSBC credit card promotions programme. An HSBC credit card also gives you access to standard offers on The Entertainer with HSBC, although only selected cards give you premium offers.

OCBC Credit Card Promotions

Another nameless programme, OCBC’s credit card promotions and deals span across food, fashion, health and many other categories.

Maybank Credit Card Promotions

The Maybank credit card promotions are all listed online, but don’t forget to change the filter to see the promotions you want. Categories include: dining, beauty, travel, wellness, shopping, and more. There doesn’t seem to be a way to see all categories at once.

CIMB Credit Card Promotions

Check out CIMB’s credit card deals across categories like dining, travel and lifestyle, e-commerce, and beauty and wellness. You can also select “near me” to see deals based on your location.

ALSO READ: 9 best air miles credit cards in Singapore (April 2024)

This article was first published in MoneySmart.