I’m a bit slow to learn about this, but by way of a PSA: GrabPay has added government services to its ever-growing exclusions list since 25 February 2022.
This means you’ll no longer earn GrabRewards points for things like renewing passports, paying for HDB season parking, or road tax. It’s a bummer, because GrabPay was one of the only options left on the market for earning rewards on these transactions
No more GrabRewards points for government services
From 25 February 2022, Grab has added the following MCCs to its exclusion list:
- MCC 9399 – Government Services (Not Elsewhere Classified)
- MCC 9402 – Postal Services-Government Only
- MCC 9405 – Intra-Government Purchases-Government Only
This covers pretty much every government agency you can think of: HDB, ICA, NEA, URA etc. SingPost will also fall within the ambit.
With the latest changes, here’s the full list of GrabRewards exclusions.
| โ GrabPay Rewards Exclusions | |
|
|
You can still earn up to 3% cashback
Even though you’ll no longer earn GrabRewards points for government services, GrabPay can still help you earn up to 3% cashback.
All you need to do is use one of the credit cards below to top-up your GrabPay balance, then pay with the GrabPay Mastercard or GrabPay via AXS (if you’re using AXS, remember to select credit card rather than debit card when paying, notwithstanding the fact the GrabPay Mastercard is a debit card).
| ๐ณ Cards for GrabPay Top-Ups | ||
| Card | Earn Rate | Remarks |
 AMEX SIA Business CardApply |
1.8 mpd | Only for owners of SMEs |
 AMEX True Cashback CardApply |
3% cashback (capped at S$5K spend in first 6 months) 1.5% otherwise |
No cap |
 UOB Absolute Cashback CardApply |
1.7% cashback | No cap |
New AMEX customers who apply for an American Express True Cashback Card can choose one of the following gifts with S$500 spend in the first month of approval:
- ErgoTune Classic (worth S$399)
- Apple AirPods Pro (worth S$379)
- S$160 cash
| ๐ณ Definition: New AMEX Customer |
| Those who do not hold an existing personal American Express card, and have not cancelled any American Express card in the last 12 months. Corporate cards and AMEX cards issued by DBS, Citibank and UOB do not count. |
Alternatively, new UOB customers who apply for a UOB Absolute Cashback Card will get S$30 cash via PayNow upon approval, with no minimum spend required.
| ๐ณ Definition: New UOB Customer |
| Those who do not hold an existing principal UOB card, and have not cancelled any UOB cards in the last 6 months. |
Conclusion
GrabPay has added government services to its rewards exclusion list, which means you won’t be able to double dip on GrabRewards and credit card points/rebates when making such transactions.
On the bright side, it’s still possible to earn up to 3% cashback on these bills when using the right credit card to top up GrabPay.
What about CPF top ups or IRAS bill via QR?
Grab does not allow you to pay Government Service with QR code. So IRAS/CPF is not possible.
Or more accurately, “not anymore”. They need it recently.
Wah got scammed by you. I applied the amex cards coz you kept saying top up grab then top up cpf…
Things don’t last forever. As soon as the situation changed, updates were made to the articles and pushed to telegram: https://t.me/milelionroars/2828
Do try paying closer attention!
Your cpf top up article is still up and being recommended with the misleading headline on many posts including this one
And if u bothered to read the article you’d see right at the top it’s no longer possible. Learn to read, noob
Do you always go back and read articles that you have already read? You must have a lot of free time. In the first place the entire article should have been deleted because the entire premise is invalid. And failing which he should have at least updated the title.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that if the headline didn’t change the premise is still valid.
The level of entitlement…. LOL!
Aaron isn’t doing this out of the goodness of his heart. He gets very real benefits from someone using his link. It’s slightly immoral to keep something that’s no longer valid up just to continue to benefit from the referrals.
@scam no worries bro! you give me your number next time any change i call you asap! full 24/7 service for u!
Your argument doesn’t even make sense. If you only read the headline, how would you know the Amex true CB card is involved? You’d have to click into the article to find that out, and the first thing you’d see is that it no longer works.
You failed to do your due diligence. Don’t blame others.
Did you even read what I wrote? I read the article when he first posted it. How am I supposed to know he updated the contents without updating the title?
@ scam the first thing anyone who clicks on the article will see is that the trick no longer works.
It’s amazing the mental gymnastics people will go through to blame anyone but themselves.
You are lucky Aaron doesn’t consider legal action against you.
noob
Absolute joke of a comment. Your lack of intelligence is showing. So what were you “scammed” of? 5 minutes of your precious time?
So you wasted some time applying for AMEX cards. Big deal!!
What about how much you saved and gained extra from Aaron’s tips and guides. Don’t be entitled.
I applied the AMEX card to top up CPF. Without the CPF top up option I can’t hit the required spending bobo
Just spend more on other things or channel all spending to the AMEX card
That’s more of a “you” problem.
You can still pay to IRAS with GrabPay via AXS, albeit in multiples of $500 as that’s the maximum AXS will accept. A small inconvenience in return for the cashback, especially if you’re paying a lot of taxes.
Oh TIL, thanks for the tip. Did you mean the AXS machine or the app though? Have never used it before.
Either is fine. If you want to pay the entire sum at once, it’s best to do it at home on the PC or mobile app. Don’t want to hold up the queue if there are multiple $500 transactions to be done ๐ .
Otherwise you can pay off month by month before the Giro deduction date. Just make sure you pay off the full amount in a year!
AXS has been accepting transactions above $500 for a long time already.
Encountered this before the PSA when I renewed my season parking. Ah well, it was great while it lasted. Fingers crossed that they don’t exclude utilities and telcos next.
So are Amex cards now the next best thing for government services? Notice it’s an option for ICA, etc.
Yeah if amex is accepted, go ahead.
Recently made a big payment (near $5K) via Grabpay to a wedding venue for the final payment of my wedding package. Didn’t get a single reward point because they say this is under PERSONAL SERVICES. Next day, paid for a personal grooming service ($250) with the same card – got rewards points. Just incredible – the lack of transparency
that’s how grab make money
so sad
Hi Aaron, is there any credit card that can earn miles/ points for government services like Singpost stamps, searches, etc? Thank you