I don’t often write about cashback cards, but American Express has launched an exclusive offer for Milelion readers that’s well worth looking at.
From now till 31 January 2021, American Express customers who get approved for an AMEX True Cashback Card through The Milelion can get up to S$270 CapitaVouchers, plus 3% cashback on up to S$5,000 of spending in the first 6 months.
This creates an opportunity to get S$285 back on S$500 of spending; none too shabby indeed.
Milelion Exclusive: AMEX True Cashback Offer
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| Apply Here | ||
| Income Req. | Annual Fee | Cashback Rate |
| S$30,000 | S$171.20 (first year free) | 1.5%* |
| *3% for the first 6 months, capped at S$5,000 | ||
New American Express customers who apply for an AMEX True Cashback Card through The Milelion by 31 January 2021 and get approved by 14 February 2021 will receive S$250 CapitaVouchers when they spend S$500 in the first month (existing customers get S$40 CapitaVouchers).
| โ American Express defines new customers as those who do not hold any principal AMEX card now or in the past 12 months. Corporate/business cards and those issued by DBS/ Citibank/ UOB do not count. |
On top of this, both new and existing customers get S$20 CapitaVouchers when they apply through SingPass MyInfo.
| New Customer | Existing Customer | |
| Spend S$500 in first month | S$250 voucher | S$40 voucher |
| Apply via MyInfo | S$20 voucher | S$20 voucher |
| Total | S$270 voucher | S$60 voucher |
AMEX True Cashback Card members will earn 3% cashback on up to S$5,000 spent in the first 6 months of membership, which means your S$500 spend would generate:
- S$270 CapitaVouchers (apply via MyInfo)
- S$15 cashback (3% of S$500)
That’s a S$285 return on $500 of spending- a 57% rebate!
The T&C can be found here.
Why do you need an AMEX True Cashback Card?
Why would any miles collector need a cashback card?
It’s quite simple: rewards category exclusions. Unfortunately, banks have tightened their T&Cs over the past couple of years, and now it’s virtually impossible to earn rewards points for the following transactions:
- Charitable donations
- Education
- Government transactions
- Insurance
- Utilities
American Express still offers rewards for charitable donations, education and government transactions, and the AMEX True Cashback Card in particular still offers cashback for insurance and utilities.
But what if AMEX isn’t accepted by the merchant? Here’s the other perk: the AMEX True Cashback Card is one of the last cards that offers rewards for GrabPay top-ups.
For example, you could top up your GrabPay balance with the AMEX True Cashback Card and use the GrabPay Mastercard to pay your insurance bill, effectively shaving 1.5% off the premium. Likewise, you could use the GrabPay Mastercard to pay a government agency or educational institution, saving 1.5% in the process.
There are almost no rewards exclusions for the AMEX True Cashback Card, which makes it a very useful “catch-all” solution when other cards don’t earn points/cashback.
Conclusion
While the AMEX True Cashback Card wouldn’t be my first port of call for spending, it’s undeniably got its share of use cases, which will only grow as other banks tighten rewards exclusion categories (the fact that it still earns cashback on GrabPay top-ups makes it a rare breed indeed).
Remember to submit your application by 31 January 2021 if you want to enjoy the bonus CapitaVouchers.
Can I topup GrabPay to qualifyfor the $500 spending requirement? Thanks.
Yes.
I was informed by the CSO during the Welcome call that GrabPay topup is not considered as eligible spend for the $500 requirement to qualify for the $250 vouchers.
you were informed wrongly then.
100% counts
I am currently holding AMEX Krisflyer Card, am i considered as new customer?
Nope
Hi if I have a supp card, am I considered a new customer?
Does the SCB Unlimited cash back work similarly with Grabpay top-ups incidentally ? Their current T&Cs does not seem to explicitly call this out as an exclusion
Well not explicitly GrabPay top ups, but the T&Cs exclude prepaid card (of which GrabPay is classified as right now) top ups.
Hi. I would like to check how would we know that we will eligible for the new customer promotion after applying for the card.
Hi, I (and my wife) signed up because of this piece. However, after I got my Amex card and successfully topped up my GPMC, AXS does not allow me to pay my property tax / season parking… ?
axs has stopped taking grabpay for a while already.
Hi Aaron,
Could you then clarify how would one ..
“Likewise, you could use the GrabPay Mastercard to pay a government agency or educational institution, saving 1.5% in the process.”
aka.Taxes, season parking etc.y
for whichever ones take credit card payments. most of them will take visa/mc only.
Season parking can be paid with GMPC at HDB website. Road tax can be paid at onemotoring, property tax will have to be paid with cardup/ipaymy but the fees will be more than the cashback so it is not worth it.
Thank you @Yiwei! This is helpful but seems like the funds I transferred thinking P.Tax payments are possible will now have to be slowly used for other purposes instead. The tax bill is huge aka fat balance in my GPMC now. I also received a call from AMEX congratulating me for signing up but with a lower welcome value as some have mentioned. I asked for clarifications and mentioned this promotion. After some checks, the CSO confirmed that I am indeed under the 250+20 promo. Hopefully this will not turn into a mess. Both me and my wife already made… Read more »
i’ve spoke with AMEX about these calls that are going out. they will retrain their CSOs accordingly.
AMEX called me to say, “welcome” and also told me I was only qualified for a $150 voucher and $20 for using myinfo. Anyone else got the lower promotion?
Same. Amex just called and said the perks were $160 voucher and $20 for using myinfo. Aaron, do you mind checking what’s going on? Thank you!
Just read the signup link and this was written there.
https://www.americanexpress.com/sg/campaigns/milelion-tcc.html
Receive up to S$180 CapitaVouchers:
that’s because they updated the landing page to show the BAU offer, now that 31 jan is over.
did you apply on/before 31 jan?
Before 31 Jan 2021
Approved on 28 Jan 2021. How can we rectify this? Thanks.
then you will get $250 + $20 as stated in the article. if you want, you can send me your app ref number via the contact us function, so i can follow up with amex and find out why CSOs are providing this misinformation.
Message you through Contact Us for your follow up. Thanks.
the offer ended 31 jan. did you apply on or before this date?
hi, if i applied on 31 jan and card received on 2 feb, activation email received on 5 feb, am i eligible for $250 + $20?
it is based on approval date, you need to find out when your card was approved.
Hi Aaron,
I had called amex to verify the promotion. I had signed up cashback card through link provided after I cancelled last year.
After calling in twice to check, I was told that the promotion with milelion was $160 for new card owners instead of $270.
In addition, to be entitled for the promotion, the duration for cancellation of previous amex card and the reapplication needs to be more than 12 months apart.
Hence. I was not entitled to the promotion but still able to get the 3% welcome bonus.
Just share for info.
i don’t know about the cancellation and reapplication part (because i don’t know your exact cancellation date), but the milelion promotion is $250 + $20, end of story. If AMEX CSOs inform you otherwise, they are mistaken. I’ve raised the matter with AMEX and they have told me that CSOs have been briefed to give the correct information, but tl;dr, if you applied on/before 31 jan and meet all the criteria, you will get your $250 + $20.
here’s T&Cs for your ref: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m5t5hyr4b7i793x/affiliates-milelion-tccflashsale.pdf?dl=0
Hi Aaron, no worries. I’m chill about the outcome. Just want to share part of the tnc.
Thank you for getting this deal for your readers. Appreciate it.
thanks! you can PM me your app ref number via contact us and I can enquire about your specific application to get a definite answer.