Should you bother getting a general spending card?

Credit cards can be broadly divided into two types: general spending and specialised spending.

General spending cards — like the Citi PremierMiles Card or DBS Altitude Visa — earn a flat rate of 1.2-1.6 mpd on all transactions, regardless of category.

Specialised spending cards — like the Citi Rewards Card or HSBC Revolution Card — earn up to 4 mpd on certain transactions, but 0.4 mpd on everything else (or beyond the bonus cap, if any).

Given the gulf in earn rates, you’d think that any savvy miles chaser would be using specialised spending cards wherever possible, and avoiding general spending cards like the plague.

Not quite. Even though general spending cards shouldn’t be your first port of call, there are still important roles for them to play.

When you shouldn’t use a general spending card

Before we talk about scenarios where general spending cards can be useful, let’s first address one where they aren’t.

If you don’t know the MCC

I’ve often heard it said that general spending cards should be fallback options in situations where you don’t know the MCC, and don’t want to take a chance.

After all, specialised spending cards are high risk, high reward. Suppose you’re in a hotel restaurant and don’t know whether it codes as a hotel, or a restaurant. You could pick a specialised spending card and earn 4 mpd if you guess right, but if you guess wrong, you’ll only get 0.4 mpd. Some people would prefer to take the guaranteed 1.2-1.6 mpd offered by a general spending card instead.

But MCC uncertainty has become a thing of the past, thanks to HeyMax, DBS digibot and the Instarem app, all of which allow you to discover the MCC before spending.

Therefore, not knowing the MCC should no longer be an excuse to use a general spending card.

When you should use a general spending card

If there’s a welcome bonus

While general spending cards shouldn’t be your first choice for day-to-day spend, they can be lucrative in the initial period after approval, when welcome bonuses are up for grabs.

With the welcome bonus in the picture, general spending cards will easily out-earn their specialised spending counterparts. For example, here are the five cards with the highest payoff ratios (bonus miles divided by minimum spend), as at the time of writing.

💳 Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses (sorted by payoff ratio)
	Spend (AF)	Miles^	Payoff
StanChart Journey Apply Ends 30 Jun 25	S$800 (S$196)	30K + S$180 NTB	37.5
Citi Premier Miles Apply Ends 31 Jul 25	S$800 (S$196)	30K NTB	37.5
DBS Altitude Card Apply Ends 31 Aug 25	S$800 (S$196)	28K NTB	35
HSBC T1 Card Apply Ends 30 Jun 25	S$1K (S$196)	33.6K NTB 21.6K ETB	33.6 NTB 21.6 ETB
Citi Prestige Apply Ends 30 Jun 25	S$2K (S$545)	50K NTB ETB	25

Note how the payoff ratios range from 25-37.5 mpd, much higher than the 4 mpd you would earn with a specialised spending card. Of course, once the minimum spend has been met you should switch back to specialised spending cards for better rates.

For a rundown of the latest sign-up bonuses, refer to this page.

If that category isn’t covered by a specialised spending card

If there’s a particular transaction that isn’t covered by a specialised spending card, then of course general spending cards are a better option.

But do such scenarios really exist anymore? If they do, they’re exceedingly rare, because of how many specialised spending cards reward modes of payments (e.g. online, contactless) rather than specific MCCs.

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.1K per c. month, must use mobile payments Review
UOB Visa Signature  Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$1K, max S$2K per s. month, must use contactless payments Review
Citi Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	For all online spend except travel, max S$1K per s. month Review
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	On all online spend, max S$1.5K per c. month Review

With the cards above, you should be able to earn 4 mpd on up to S$5,610 of spend per month, regardless of what MCC it comes under (common exclusions like education and insurance aside).

If you’ve maxed out the bonuses on specialised spending cards

At the risk of stating the obvious: if you’ve maxed out the bonus caps on your specialised spending cards, then it’s obviously better to switch to a general spending card than to continue spending at the post-bonus rate of 0.4 mpd. 

If you’re spending with CardUp

CardUp transactions are not eligible to earn 4 mpd with any specialised spending card, and therefore general spending cards are the better option.

In this case, the way to minimise the cost per mile is by using the highest-earning general spending card you have. To illustrate, here’s how the cost per mile changes based on a 2.25% admin fee, and earn rates from 1-2 mpd. 

Refer to the post below for more scenarios and cost per mile calculations.

What’s the best card to use for CardUp?

If it’s a big ticket transaction

Suppose you have a big ticket purchase that costs S$10,000, and you cannot split it across multiple cards or via BNPL services.

This amount would exceed the monthly bonus cap on any specialised spending card, and therefore your options are to:

• Use a general spending card and earn 1.2-1.6 mpd on the entire transaction
• Use a specialised spending card and earn 4 mpd on a portion of the transaction, and 0.4 mpd on the remainder

Assuming your general spending option is the UOB PRVI Miles Card, here are some scenarios.

For example, suppose I had an online transaction to make, and could choose between the DBS Woman’s World Card or the UOB PRVI Miles Card.

The DBS Woman’s World Card will earn 4 mpd on the first S$1,500 (S$1,000 from 1 August 2025), and 0.4 mpd subsequently. The UOB PRVI Miles Card will earn 1.4 mpd throughout. The DBS Woman’s World Card is the superior option up to S$5,400, after which the UOB PRVI Miles Card becomes the better option.

In an ideal world, card-splitting would be possible, but if it isn’t then general spending cards become the better option the higher the transaction amount. 

If you want airport lounge access

If you’re looking for complimentary lounge access, there’s only one specialised spending card that offers it: the invite-only UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card.

Apart from that, all other lounge memberships are offered by general spending cards only.

Credit Cards with Lounge Access

Card	Lounge Network	Free Visits (Per Year)
		Principal	Supp.
Income Requirement S$30K
Diners Club Cards	Priority Pass	1*	N/A
Citi PremierMiles Card Apply	Priority Pass	2* Share	N/A
DBS Altitude Visa Apply	Priority Pass	2 Share	N/A
StanChart Journey Card Apply	Priority Pass	2 Share	N/A
HSBC TravelOne Card Apply	DragonPass	4* Share	N/A
UOB PRVI Miles Card Apply	Priority Pass	4*	N/A
Income Requirement ≥S$120K
CIMB Visa Infinite Apply	DragonPass	3	N/A
BOC Visa Infinite Apply	Plaza Premium	4# Share	N/A
Maybank Visa Infinite Apply	Priority Pass	4	N/A
StanChart Visa Infinite Apply	Priority Pass	6 Share	N/A
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card	DragonPass	6*	6*
DBS Vantage Apply	Priority Pass	10 Share	N/A
Citi Prestige Card Apply	Priority Pass	12 Share	N/A
OCBC VOYAGE (all versions) Apply	DragonPass	∞	2*
HSBC Visa Infinite Apply	LoungeKey	∞	∞ Max 5x supp. cards
UOB VI Metal Card Apply	DragonPass	∞ + 1 guest	N/A
AMEX Platinum Charge Apply	Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, AMEX & Centurion Lounges, and others	∞ + 1-2 guests Priority Pass visits for supp. card capped at 4x + 1 guest
StanChart Beyond Card Apply	Priority Pass	∞	∞ Max 4x supp. cards
		6x guest visits shared bet. principal and supp. cards
Income Requirement ≥S$500K
DCS Imperium Apply	DragonPass	6	N/A
DBS Insignia Apply	Priority Pass	∞	N/A
HSBC Prive Apply	Priority Pass	∞	∞ Max 3x supp. cards
Citi ULTIMA Apply	Priority Pass	∞	∞ Max 2x supp. cards
UOB Reserve Apply	Priority Pass	∞ + 1 guest	∞
AMEX Centurion Apply	Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, AMEX & Centurion Lounges, and others	∞ + 1-2 guests
Priority Banking Customers
Maybank Premier World Mastercard Apply	Plaza Premium	2* Share	N/A
OCBC Premier VI Apply	DragonPass	2	N/A
HSBC Premier Mastercard Apply	Priority Pass	4 Premier 6 Premier Elite Share	N/A
StanChart Priority Banking VI Apply	Priority Pass	2 AUM < S$200K 12 AUM ≥ S$200K Share	N/A
*Allowance follows calendar year instead of membership year #BOC Visa Infinite allowance runs from 1 November to 31 October the following year

If you want airport limo benefits

Likewise, if you want to earn complimentary airport limo rides, there’s only one specialised spending card that offers it: the invite-only UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card (and even then, just one ride per year).

All other limo benefits are only available with general spending cards.

Credit Cards with Airport Limo Benefits

Card	Qualifying Spend	Cap
Income Req. ≥S$30K
UOB PRVI Miles AMEX	S$1K (FCY) per quarter for 2 rides	2 per quarter SG
HSBC Premier Mastercard	S$12K per quarter for 1 (Premier) or 2 (Premier Elite) rides	1 (Premier) or 2 (Premier Elite) per quarter SG
Income Req. ≥S$120K
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card	None	1 per year SG Overseas
HSBC Visa Infinite	S$2K per month for 1 ride First 2 [Regular] or 4 [Premier] per year are free	24 per year Includes free rides SG
Maybank Visa Infinite	S$3K per month for 1 ride	8 per year SG
OCBC VOYAGE Card	S$12K per quarter for 2 rides	2 per quarter SG
Citi Prestige Card	S$12K per quarter for 2 rides	2 per quarter SG
DCS Imperium Card	None	4 per year SG 1 per year  Overseas
StanChart Beyond Card	None	2 per year* Priority Banking & Priority Private only SG Overseas
*StanChart advertises 10 rides per year for Priority Private Beyond Cardholders. However, this figure already includes the 8 rides that Priority Private customers normally enjoy, without having to hold the Beyond Card.

Conclusion

While general spending cards can’t hope to match the earn rates of their specialised spending counterparts, there’s still plenty of reasons why you might want to get one still. 

The key here is not using one group to the exclusion of the other, but about getting the right mix between the two: general spending cards for their sign-up bonuses, complimentary travel insurance, or credit card and airport limo benefits, and specialised spending cards for their sheer miles-earning power.

Are there any other cases where a general spending card comes in useful?