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2025 Edition: Best Credit Cards for Public Transport (SimplyGo)

Who wants to use an EZ-Link card when there's miles up for grabs? Here's the credit cards you should be using for bus/MRT rides.

Ever since the debut of SimplyGo in 2017 (then known as ABT, or Account-Based Ticketing), passengers have been able to pay for bus or MRT rides with a credit card, making it possible to earn rewards for the daily commute.

Public transport is unlikely to be a significant chunk of your monthly expenditure, but every little bit helps. A regular recurring expense, charged to the right credit card, can reap rewards over time. 

๐Ÿ’ณ Whatโ€™s the Best Card forโ€ฆ
โ“ Overall Guide
โœˆ๏ธ Air Tickets
๐ŸŒŽ Amaze  ๐Ÿ›๏ธ Atome
๐Ÿ’ฐ CardUp ๐Ÿš— Car Rental ๐Ÿ’— Charity
๐Ÿฝ๏ธ Dining ๐Ÿซ Education โšก EV Charging
๐Ÿฅก Food Delivery ๐Ÿจ Hotels โ˜‚๏ธ Insurance
๐Ÿ“ฑ Kris+ โš•๏ธ Medical ๐Ÿ–๏ธ Overseas
๐Ÿ’Š Pharmacies โ›ฝ Petrol ๐Ÿš Public Transport
๐Ÿ›’ Supermarkets ๐Ÿšฐ Utilities ๐Ÿ’’ Weddings

How are you paying for public transport?

There are three ways to go about using your credit card for public transport, but be warned: only one of them will earn rewards!

โŒ Top-up at General Ticketing Machines/ Add Value Machines

GTMs accept credit cards, but you wonโ€™t earn any points | Photo: SG Trains

EZ-Link cards can be topped up with credit cards at General Ticketing Machines (GTMs) or Add Value Machines (AVMs) located inside MRT stations, ever since 2016. However, you will not earn any credit card points for transactions at these machines, so avoid them as much as possible.

โŒ Top-up via EZ-Link app

Transacting on the EZ-Link app wonโ€™t earn any rewards either

EZ-Link cards can also be topped up via the EZ-Link app, either on an ad-hoc basis or via Auto Top-Up. 

Again, this isnโ€™t the right path to take. While it was possible in the past to earn 2 mpd on Auto Top-Up (then called EZ-Reload) with the HSBC Revolution or up to 1.4 mpd with the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite, both have been nerfed.

โœ” Pay via SimplyGo

Tap. Go. Earn miles.

The only way to earn miles on your public transport rides is also the simplest. All you need to do is tap your credit card (or credit card linked to a mobile wallet) at the gantry.

All contactless-enabled credit cards can be used at bus and MRT gantries, with no need to register the card beforehand (although registration does allow you to track your fares and usage online or via the SimplyGo app).

What MCC do SimplyGo transactions code as?

SimplyGo transactions code as MCC 4111 Transportation- Suburban and Local Commuter Passenger, including Ferries, and will appear on your bank statement as BUS/MRT.

In case youโ€™re uncertain about the MCC, there are three ways of looking it up before making a purchase:

Method Ease of Use Reliability
โ“HeyMax โ—โ—โ— โ—
๐Ÿ“ฑ Instarem app โ—โ— โ—โ—
๐Ÿค– DBS digibot โ—
โ—โ—โ—
Note: โ€œEase of useโ€ and โ€œreliabilityโ€ are all relative. HeyMax already provides a solid baseline for reliability, and the DBS digibot is still simple enough to use, despite requiring more steps than the other two methods.

What credit cards earn rewards for SimplyGo?

Hereโ€™s a summary of which banks earn rewards on SimplyGo transactions.

๐Ÿš† SimplyGo Transactions
Bank Awards Points?
โœ•
โœ“
โœ•
โœ“
โœ“
โœ“
โœ•*
โœ“
โœ“
*For OCBC 90ยฐN and OCBC VOYAGE Cards. The OCBC Rewards Card will earn 0.4 mpd on SimplyGo (so thereโ€™s really no reason to use it)

American Express has recently added support for SimplyGo, but itโ€™s turned out to be a bit of a nothingburger because itโ€™s also added these transactions to its rewards exclusion list. That said, you can still earn rewards with DBS or UOB-issued American Express cards.

With that in mind, you can use the following cards to earn the most miles on SimplyGo. For the avoidance of doubt, you will earn the same miles regardless of whether you tap the physical card to pay at the gantry, or use the digitised version on your mobile wallet. 

๐Ÿš† Best Cards For SimplyGo
(Specialised Spending Cards)
Card Earn Rate Remarks
StanChart Smart Card
Apply
Up to 9.28 mpd Min. S$1.5K per s. month; 7.42 mpd with min. S$800 per s. month, 0.46 mpd otherwise
UOB Ladyโ€™s Solitaire
Apply
4 mpd Max S$2K per c. month, choose Transport as bonus category
UOB Ladyโ€™s Card
Apply
4 mpd Max S$1K per c. month, choose Transport as bonus category
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card
Apply
3 mpd* With min. S$800 SIA Group spend in m. year^
*Reduced to 2.4 mpd from 1 June 25
^Min. S$1,000 SIA Group spend for membership years ending 1 November 25 onwards

The StanChart Smart Card offers an impressive earn rate of 9.28 mpd, without any cap, but the catch here is the minimum spend. Unless you can somehow spend at least S$1,500 in a month on fast food, streaming, public transport and EV charging, youโ€™ll have to make up the difference with non-bonus spend that is rewarded at a much lower rate of just 0.46 mpd. 

A lower tier of 7.42 mpd is available with a minimum spend of S$800, but even that is a significant amount of spending to hit on bonus categories alone. 

Otherwise, the UOB Ladyโ€™s Cards offer 4 mpd, provided youโ€™ve chosen Transport as your quarterly bonus category. But Iโ€™m of the opinion that Transport is a poor choice of categories, unless you also spend enough each month on taxis, ridehailing and petrol to max out the bonus cap โ€” all of which will divert spend from public transport anyway.

The KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card is another good option with an uncapped 3 mpd on public transport, provided you spend at least S$800 in a membership year with Singapore Airlines, Scoot and KrisShop. Do note that this earn rate will be cut to 2.4 mpd from 1 June 2025, and the minimum spend hiked to S$1,000 for card membership years ending from November 2025 onwards. 

If none of these work for you, then the remaining options are general spending cards with lower earn rates.

๐Ÿš† Best Cards For SimplyGo
(General Spending Cards)
Card Earn Rate Remarks
StanChart Beyond Card
Apply
PB/PP: 2 mpd
Regular: 1.5 mpd
 
Chocolate Visa Card
Apply
2 mpd
Max S$1K per c. month
DBS Insignia
Apply
1.6 mpd  
UOB Reserve
Apply
1.6 mpd  
DBS Vantage Card
Apply
1.5 mpd  
UOB PRVI Miles Card
Apply
1.4 mpd AMEX, Mastercard and Visa 
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card
Apply
1.4 mpd  
StanChart Visa Infinite
Apply
1.4 mpd Min. S$2K spend per s. month, otherwise 1 mpd
DBS Altitude Card
Apply
1.3 mpd AMEX and Visa 
HSBC TravelOne Card
Apply
1.2 mpd  
Maybank Visa Infinite
Apply
1.2 mpd  
StanChart Journey Card
Apply
1.2 mpd  
Options earning less than 1.2 mpd are not shown

A few important things to note:

  • The UOB Preferred Platinum Visa and UOB Visa Signature will only earn 0.4 mpd on SimplyGo transactions, even though theyโ€™re technically contactless
  • The HSBC Revolution will only earn 0.4 mpd on SimplyGo, because MCC 4111 is not included under its Transport bonus category
  • While the StanChart Journey Card awards 3 mpd for MCC 4111, these transactions must be made online, which SimplyGo is not
โš ๏ธ What about UOBโ€™s S$5 minimum spend?

Because of UOBโ€™s points rounding policy, you need to spend a minimum of S$5 to earn any miles on UOB cards- spend S$4.99 and you walk away empty-handed.

Given that most people wonโ€™t be spending that amount on public transport rides per transaction (or even per day), the question then becomes how you could possibly earn anything out of this.

The answer lies in the fine print:

  • For AMEX and Visa cards, fare charges are accumulated daily, but UNI$ are calculated based on the accumulated spend on SimplyGo Transactions per calendar month, and awarded to Cardmembers on the 7th calendar day of the following month
  • For Mastercard, your accumulated fares are posted to your credit card account every 5 days or S$15, whichever comes first.

So except in extreme circumstances, youโ€™ll definitely earn some miles on your rides.

Conclusion

While you wonโ€™t be redeeming a First or Business Class ticket on MRT and bus rides alone, every mile counts. By choosing the right credit card (and payment method), you can turn an otherwise unrewarding expense into a steady trickle of miles or points over time.

Just remember: topping up your EZ-Link card wonโ€™t earn rewards, but tapping your credit card or mobile wallet via SimplyGo will-  provided you donโ€™t use AMEX, Citi or OCBC cards.

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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Adam

Now that the UOB PRVI offer has lapsed, Iโ€™m using the Zipster card for public transport. The transactions on this card code as online transactions, so I get 4 mpd on the WWMC or CRV

Ccy

Thatโ€™s interesting, but I canโ€™t find any way to apply for the zipster card.

Last edited 4 years ago by Ccy
Joshosaurus Rex

Interesting! Whatโ€™s the MCC for Zipster postpaid payments?

If I opt for postpayment, they will collect the entire months worth and charge on one transaction, which may be more efficient than my current UOB Krisflyer $5 block miles earnings.

Kelvin

Itโ€™s the same as 4111. But these are online transaction hence can earn 4mpd. MCC doesnโ€™t really matter

Email them to buy the card..

Last edited 4 years ago by Kelvin
XXX

May I know what card is good for ERP and carpark? Any ideas on how to earn miles? Appreciate if this topic can be covered too.

TesQ

Thank you for this post! Wondering why you did not include the UOB PP Visa though?

Rachel

Because the UOB PPV only earns 0.4mpd for SimplyGo

wiz

Is UNI$ award for public transport based on monthly spend? Else if it is per trip basis, I am wondering if it is possible for 4 mpd using lady card, as UNI$ is awarded based on $5 block and each trip on public transport is unlikely to be more than $5.

wiz

I am very sorry, you have actually answered and I have completely missed it. Please ignore my comments.

Bent

Hi Aaron, OCBC clarified that OCBC N90 does award base points.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/credit-cards-line-credit-facilities-243/ocbc-ocbc-90%B0n-card-8-miles-%24-6101219-26.html

MCC 4111 is not in their blacklist

Bent

I see, thanks for the clarification! I do see MCC 4111 blacklisted in the Jun T&C:
https://www.ocbc.com/iwov-resources/sg/ocbc/personal/pdf/cards/tnc-ocbc-90n-card-programme.pdf

Sean

Ah! I had always thought Citi premier visa did

Syok

How about the new HSBC Revo?

Kelvin
Syok

thank you, i appreciate your input, but you really can use a better manner to tell me, why must be so challenging?

Last edited 4 years ago by Syok
Terence

Why you expect to be spoonfed and still expect to be spoonfed politely. you emperor is it? all hail emperor karen!

Justin

Replying a comment from 11 months ago. Maybe you are the one that needs to read carefully.

Syok

Actually I am a blind man, so I really donโ€™t โ€œseeโ€, but do you have to be so mean?

Last edited 4 years ago by Syok
Kelvin

Iโ€™m teaching you how to find answer instead of not reading article & waiting for spoon-feed answer.

Jack

Halo, you yourself never read article. People provided info and you blamed other people ?

Guest

alternatively, i will use dash for public transport thru apple pay, since it can be topped up via Singtel with up to $200/mo and the telco bill can be paid by WWMC/CRV/CRMC for 4mpd.

Clare

hi, does this still work?

Anonymous

what about HSBC revolution card? does it earn 4mpd for SimplyGo too?

dkdk

While grab MC do not give points for top-up, you can use grab mc for simply-go as well. They will give points now (afaik, they stopped giving points for a while but now it is back again). However, the points will only be given about a week after the transaction so it is not easy to track.

That being said, 1.7% Cashback for top-up then grab point for transport

PS. I tried it after reading somewhere on forum that the point is back and tested. It was working as of jun 7.

Last edited 3 years ago by dkdk
Ben

Hi, just stumbled upon your article. Thanks for the summary. Just curious, does Citi SMRT Credit Card get points for SimplyGo?

Jack

5% rebate for total spend above 500

Migas

Tldr: revolut. Nothing beats revolut currently

Adam

Agreed. Getting 20% cashback takes some of the sting away from the bus fare hike.

Billy Bean

What about the DBS credit card $5 rounding? Do they also accumulate on a monthly basis like UOB?

Euphorius

Anyone might know what is the MCC for top-ups via EZ-Link App? I charged it DBS credit cards and it showed up as โ€œTransportationโ€ using the DBS digibank chatbot.

Raddy

Car sharing services like GetGo and BlueSG has MCC of 7512. Does this earn reward points?

Raddy

Did a search myself. For Citi Rewards, its not eligible

Josephine

If I use my Citi Rewards or UOB Ladyโ€™s Card to top-up my Grab wallet, and use Grab card to tap through the gantries, will I still earn 4mpd PLUS Grab points? Thanks in advance!

Dennis

Does DBS Altitude still award DBS points for public transportation? I donโ€™t see the line under the promotion & benefits on their page anymore.

Miles

I just starting using UOB PRVI and each trip posts as an individual transaction of less than $5 with no uni$ earned. Has this changes since this article? I will try DBS Altitude next week and see if I get any miles that way.

Joshua

Does vantage earn 1.5mpd for simplygo spending?

Jess

Hiโ€ฆ ur posts are helpful โ€ฆ Will there be a updated version ? Seems now Citi cards are earning rewards for simplygoโ€ฆ can help to share comparison?

Last edited 1 year ago by Jess
Russell Lau

can i check why doesnt citibank award miles for transport? since it is not part of the exclusion list they stated.

https://www.citibank.com.sg/credit-cards/pdf/rewards-exclusion-list.pdf

Randius

You may wanna take a look at page 3 of the exclusion list, which states several merchant descriptions/keywords that exclude them from awarding points. I think that pretty much covered all public transportations.

WoTheKA

is DBS altitude 1.3mpd now? Thank you

Lincoln

UOB One Card โ€“ max 10% Cashback on SimplyGo transactions.
https://www.uob.com.sg/assets/pdfs/one_card_full_tnc.pdf

Last edited 11 months ago by Lincoln
James

I thought SC Journey was 3mpd for SimplyGo instead of 1.2?

Tina

Hi Aaron, how about UOB visa signature? Does it earn 4mpd on simplygo since itโ€™s counted as contactless

Yoshi

Hi Aaron, please add the UOB One credit card and review it if itโ€™s a good credit card.

Han

For DBS Altitude, there seems to be a min $5 spend to get any milesโ€ฆ

Avery

Thanks for pointing out. I did not realise i was missing out until i saw your reply. Some days my transport only costs $1.50 because I walk instead, so I thought I was saving money โ€” but I didnโ€™t realise I was actually losing out on earning miles.

https://milelion.com/2024/07/28/review-dbs-altitude-card/
โ€œNotice how the transaction is not rounded down to the nearest S$5; instead, itโ€™s divided by 5 straight away. This means the minimum spend to earn points is not S$5, but rather: SGD spend: S$1.54โ€

l1n9

โ€œKrisFlyer UOB Credit Card, which earns an uncapped 3 mpd on public transport rides.โ€ We need to spend a minimum $5 to earn 3 mpd? A bus/mrt ride usually cost less than $5 per ride, do we still earn 3mpd for each ride?

l1n9

I called UOB, they said that Simplygo transactions earn 1.2mpd not 3mpd. However, not sure if we need to spend minimum $5 spend to earn miles since we do not earn bonus miles on Simplygo transactions.

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