Good and bad: GrabRewards changing points earning structure from 22 March

Grab has announced an upcoming change to the GrabRewards program, which takes effect from 22 March 2021. 

While GrabRewards members currently earn 2-4 points per S$1 depending on their tier, this will soon change to 1-6 points per S$1. This penalizes those who use credit or debit cards with GrabPay, while benefiting those who use their GrabPay wallet balance. 

Half the points for credit/debit card payments; 50% more points for GrabPay

Here’s the current GrabRewards earning structure:

From 22 March 2021, you’ll earn points as follows:

To summarize:

• GrabPay Wallet users earn 50% more points per S$1
• Credit/ debit card users earn 50% fewer points per S$1
• There is no change for cash users, who will continue to earn no points

As a simple example, suppose I’m a GrabRewards Platinum and order S$10 worth of GrabFood, paying with my credit card. I’d normally earn 40 points on this transaction (plus whatever I get from my credit card), but from 22 March 2021, I’ll earn just 20 points. However, if I top-up my GrabPay balance and use the Grab Wallet to pay, I’ll earn 60 points from 22 March 2021. 

It’s clear that Grab wants to incentivize users to top-up and maintain a GrabPay wallet balance, as opposed to using GrabPay as a “pass-through” for their credit or debit card. Instead of offering costly top-up bonuses (e.g top-up S$10 and get S$11), it’s much cheaper to dangle points as a carrot instead. We’ve seen them offer small points bonuses for top-ups in the past, and this is somewhat along the same lines. 

Which cards earn points for GrabRewards top-ups?

If you want to continue using your credit card, the question then becomes: which ones still earn points for GrabPay top-ups? 

Answer: Not a lot. 

	Earn Rate (per S$1)	Remarks
AMEX True Cashback	1.5% cashback
AMEX SIA Business Card	1.8 HighFlyer points (0.9 mpd)
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend	1 mpd	Capped at 5,000 miles until 10 May 2021. Registration required. More information here.
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card	1 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer PPS Card	1 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Solitaire PPS Card	1 mpd
AMEX Centurion	0.63 mpd	Capped at 3,125 miles until 10 May 2021. Registration required. More information here.
AMEX Platinum Charge	0.63 mpd
AMEX Platinum Reserve	0.56 mpd	Capped at 2,778 miles until 10 May 2021. Registration required. More information here.
AMEX Platinum Credit Card	0.56 mpd
AMEX Rewards Card	0.56 mpd

The Maybank Horizon Visa Signature supposedly earns 3.2 mpd for top-ups too, but I haven’t personally tested it. 

Conclusion

Grab users who pay with credit and debit cards will earn 50% fewer points from 22 March 2021, while those who use their Grab Wallet balance will earn 50% more points. 

A GrabRewards point is worth roughly 0.2 cents each, so the change doesn’t really affect the equation for me. I’ve always seen GrabRewards points as a “nice to earn”, rather than something that fundamentally shifts my purchasing decision.