CardUp offering 1.75% income tax payment promotion; buy miles from 1.07 cents

CardUp has launched a new promotion for Milelion readers, which allows them to pay income taxes with just a 1.75% admin fee. This is below the public 1.89/1.99% rate announced last week, and applies to both new and existing customers.

Pay income tax with 1.75% admin fee

All CardUp customers, whether new or existing, will be able to enjoy a special rate of 1.75% on income tax payments with the promo code ML175TAX20. 

This code is valid with all Singapore-issued Mastercard and Visa cards. 

Payments must be scheduled by 26 October 2020, with due date latest by 29 October 2020. The full T&C for this code can be found here.

💳 If you’re using an American Express card, you can instead use the code AMEXTAX24 to enjoy a discounted rate of 2.4% (versus the usual 2.6%). Payments must be scheduled by 23 July 2020, with the latest due date by 28 July 2020. The full T&C can be found here.

What’s the cost per mile?

With the discounted admin fee, here’s how much buying miles will cost with the following credit cards, in terms of cents per mile (CPM).

Card	MPD	CPM @ 1.75%
DBS Insignia	1.6	1.07
UOB Reserve	1.6	1.07
OCBC Premier & PB VOYAGE	1.6	1.07
SCB Visa Infinite	1.41	1.23
UOB PRVI Miles	1.4	1.23
UOB Visa Infinite Metal	1.4	1.23
Citi Prestige	1.3	1.32
OCBC VOYAGE	1.3	1.32
HSBC Visa Infinite	1.252	1.38
Citi PremierMiles	1.2	1.43
SCB X Card	1.2	1.43
DBS Altitude Visa	1.2	1.43
OCBC 90N	1.2	1.43
KrisFlyer UOB	1.2	1.43
BOC Elite Miles	1.0	1.72
1. With minimum S$2K spend per statement month, otherwise 1.0 mpd 2. With minimum S$50K spend in previous membership year, otherwise 1.0 mpd. CardUp payments will be excluded from 1 July

Most options here yield a cost of 1.5 cents per mile or less, which is a very good price to purchase miles.

How do I use the code?

After you’ve logged in to your CardUp account, click the “Schedule Payment” button and select “Taxes & Stamp Duty”). Select “Income Tax”, acknowledge the terms and conditions and click “Next”.

Enter the amount you wish to pay (this should match the amount reflected on your NOA)……and the date on which you wish to make payment. Here’s also where you upload your NOA and enter the relevant promo code.Ensure the 1.75% fee reflects on the final screen, then submit your payment for approval.

Other things to note

This promo code can be used a maximum of once per user. In any case, you can only use CardUp to pay off your entire tax due amount, as IRAS doesn’t allow for installment payments via CardUp.

Also note that unlike the tax payment facilities offered by banks where funds are transferred to your account and you make the payment, CardUp makes payment directly to IRAS on your behalf.

CardUp transactions generally count towards sign-up bonus spending for most credit cards, but you’ll want to double check your T&Cs for specific exclusions. For example, the SCB X Card’s 100,000 miles sign-up bonus (since expired) excluded CardUp transactions.

Conclusion

A 1.75% fee allows you to buy miles for some of the lowest prices in the market, so be sure to schedule your payments before 26 October 2020. 

For more information on earning miles on income tax, be sure to have a read of The Milelion’s full guide here.