Instarem has announced an upcoming devaluation to Amaze Card’s earn rates, which will see transactions made via a linked debit or credit card earning 0.5 InstaPoints per S$1, half as much as before.
This takes effect from 1 August 2023, per an email sent to customers last night:
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Starting 1st August 2023, amaze card-linked transactions will earn 0.5 InstaPoints instead of 1 InstaPoint for every 1 SGD spent in foreign currency. However, there is no change to InstaPoints earned on amaze transactions linked to your wallet. Continue earning InstaPoints on all eligible FX spends and redeem the points as cashback or money transfer discounts on our app! -Instarem |
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Revised Amaze Card earn rates
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| Apply Here |
| Use code 7HK2A2 for 225 bonus InstaPoints |
Here’s how the earn rates on the Amaze Card will change from 1 August 2023 onwards.
| Till 31 Jul 23 | From 1 Aug 23 | |
| Paired with Amaze Wallet | 1 InstaPoint per S$1 spent in FCY | |
| Paired with debit or credit card | 1 InstaPoint per S$1 spent in FCY | 0.5 InstaPoints per S$1 spent in FCY |
Amaze Card transactions with a debit or credit card as the funding source will see a 50% cut in points, from 1 InstaPoint per S$1 to 0.5 InstaPoints per S$1.
As before:
- InstaPoints will only be earned on foreign currency transactions of at least S$10 (except exclusion categories)
- The maximum InstaPoints that can be earned per transaction remains capped at 500
- 2,000 InstaPoints can be converted into S$20 cashback
This effectively cuts the Amaze Card’s rebate on FCY spend to 0.5%, which while better than nothing, is obviously a downgrade.
The earn rate for Amaze Card transactions funded by the Amaze Wallet remains untouched, and it’s no big secret that Instarem’s endgame is to drive people towards heavier Amaze Wallet usage. In recent times we’ve seen both the carrot and stick deployed; the carrot in the form of 4X InstaPoints for Amaze Wallet spend, the stick in the form of a 2% charge for GrabPay and e-wallet top-ups (which incentivises customers to keep funds inside the wallet instead of cashing out) and now this.
Should you continue using Amaze?
Amaze’s latest nerf narrows the gap with bank-issued credit cards, but doesn’t exactly change my decision matrix.
For foreign currency spending
With regards to foreign currency spending, my rule of thumb is to use Amaze so long as the following equation holds:
Amaze spread vs. Mastercard (A) – InstaPoint rebates (B) < Bank FCY fee (C)
When I last visited (A) in March 2023, the figure was about 1.5%; I understand it’s closer to 1.8% now (the spread will differ depending on currency and day of the week).
| ❓ Why Mastercard rates? |
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Remember, you can’t compare Amaze rates to YouTrip/Revolut/mid-market rates unless you’re OK with foregoing credit card rewards! If you’ve decided that you don’t mind buying miles on foreign currency transactions (through the implicit fees), then the right basis of comparison are the Mastercard rates you’d otherwise have to pay by using a bank-issued credit card directly. |
(B) has been cut from “up to 1%” to “up to 0.5%”. Why “up to”? Because Amaze caps you at 500 InstaPoints per transaction. If you spend more than S$500 (pre-nerf) or S$1,000 (post-nerf), your effective rebate will fall below the 1/0.5% mark.
As for (C), the FCY fee that banks charge for Mastercard transactions is roughly 3.25%.
| 💳 FCY Fees by Issuer and Card Network | ||
| Issuer | ↓ Visa & Mastercard | AMEX |
| Standard Chartered | 3.5% | N/A |
| Citibank | 3.25% | 3.3% |
| DBS | 3.25% | 3% |
| HSBC | 3.25% | N/A |
| Maybank | 3.25% | N/A |
| OCBC | 3.25% | N/A |
| UOB | 3.25% | 3.25% |
| BOC | 3% | N/A |
| CIMB | 3% | N/A |
| American Express | N/A | 2.95% |
So, putting it all together: 1.8% – 0.5% < 3.25%.
tl;dr: the math still checks out, and as long as banks don’t exclude Amaze from earning credit card rewards (which in my mind is a bigger threat than Amaze’s death by a thousand cuts), I’m not changing my overseas spending strategy.
For SGD spending
With regards to local spending, the equation is much simpler.
Here, the goal isn’t to save on FCY transaction fees. Rather, Amaze functions more like a tool that:
- Turns offline transactions into online ones, enabling you to earn 4 mpd almost everywhere with the Citi Rewards Card (excluding travel-related categories and Citi’s standard exclusion list)
- Circumvents the UOB$ problem by allowing you to earn normal rewards at UOB$ merchants with UOB cards
So long as it continues to perform these functions, there’s no reason to jump ship.
Conclusion
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| Apply Here |
| Use code 7HK2A2 for 225 bonus InstaPoints |
| 💳 tl;dr: Amaze Card |
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From 1 August 2023, Instarem will cut the earn rate for card-linked Amaze Card transactions to 0.5 InstaPoints per S$1, which reduces the effective cashback to no more than 0.5%. Earn rates for Amaze Card transactions funded by the Amaze Wallet remain at 1 InstaPoint per S$1.
While Amaze continues to be my go-to solution for overseas spending, it’s clear the party is steadily winding down. Drain the punch bowl while you can!
