Limited registrations: DBS Power The Things You Love- 8% rebate on dining and shopping

DBS has launched a new promotion called “Power The Things You Love”, which opens for pre-registration from 23 October 2020. Registered cardholders will receive an 8% cash credit on their dining and shopping spending, which can be used for shopping, dining or staycations in 2021. 

DBS Power The Things You Love Promotion

The first step is to register for the promotion, which can be done via this link from 23 October 2020 to 31 January 2021. Registration is capped at the first 30,000 cardmembers. 

After registration, cardholders will receive a personalised spend goal (revealed on 1 November 2020- don’t panic if you don’t see anything yet) which they need to hit from 1 November 2020 to 31 January 2021. Only the spend made after registration will be considered as eligible, so don’t delay. 

A full list of the possible spend goals is shown below:

The spend goal can be met by spending across all the DBS/POSB cards under your account during the promotion period. 

All spending must be made on qualifying categories, which DBS defines as the following:

• Apparel (5600-5699)
• Electronics and Computers (5732, 5734)
• Specialty Retail (5999)
• Bars & Restaurants (5812, 5813)
• Home/Office Furnishing & Appliances (5712, 5722)
• Department Stores (5311)
• Watches & Jewelry (5094)

DBS has not provided the specific MCC ranges that qualify, but I’ve taken a stab at adding them based on this MCC guide. Don’t take it as gospel; check with DBS when in doubt. 

This spending can be made in SGD or foreign currency, offline or online. Online is generally preferred, as it’s an opportunity to earn 4 mpd with the DBS Woman’s World Card. 

How does the reward work?

An email notification with the cash credit amount will be sent to all qualified cardmembers by 15 February 2021. This can be used to offset shopping, dining and/or staycation spend made between 15 February -15 May 2021, credited 5 working days after the transaction is made.

If your transaction is less than the credit amount, the balance will be used to offset the next purchase. For example, if I qualify for Tier 4 I’ll receive a S$480 cash credit. I can spend the S$480 over as many eligible transactions as I wish- a S$300 staycation, S$100 dinner and S$80 shopping spree, for instance. 

DBS again has not provided MCC ranges for shopping, dining, and/or staycations, instead using category descriptions. I’ll attempt once more to add them below, with the same caveat as before:

• Apparel (5600-5699)
• Electronics and Computers (5732, 5734)
• Specialty Retail (5999)
• Bars & Restaurants (5812, 5813)
• Home/Office Furnishing & Appliances (5712, 5722)
• Department Stores (5311)
• Watches & Jewelry (5094)
• Hotel/Lodging (3500-3999, 7011)
• Tour Agencies (4722)

You should be able to use this for stays at any local hotel, or for buying Trip.com staycation vouchers. Likewise, there should be no issues using it for dining or shopping online at major e-commerce platforms like Qoo10 and Lazada.

DBS will periodically send you emails with the balance of the cash credit until it is fully utilized. To update your email address with DBS, click here.

Conclusion

This is a neat little promotion, provided you’re able to meet your spending goal with online transactions. Otherwise, you’d be better off using your HSBC Revolution or Citi Rewards card for offline dining and shopping respectively. 

Remember to wait till 1 November 2020 to receive your personalised spending goal.