Earning miles on utility bills gets harder each year, as more and more banks exclude this category from earning rewards.
- 2018: Citi
- 2019: Bank of China, DBS
- 2020: HSBC
- 2021: American Express
- 2022: UOB
- 2024: Standard Chartered, UOB Reserve/Visa Infinite Metal Card
- 2025: Maybank
*I can’t find exactly when OCBC excluded utilities, but trust me, they’re excluded!
Long story short, utility bills now sit alongside charitable donations and prepaid top-ups as categories with near-universal exclusion. It’s actually easier to earn miles for insurance!
This is going to be a very short article…
What MCC do utilities bills code as?
There are two ways an electricity retailer can bill you:
- Direct
- via SP Group
If the electricity retailer bills you directly, you’ll receive two utilities bills: one from your electricity retailer, and one from SP Group (for water and waste).
If the electricity retailer bills you via SP Group, you’ll receive one utility bill that covers electricity, water, and waste.
Regardless of whether you pay direct or via SP Group, the transaction will code as MCC 4900 (Utilities: Electric, Gas, Heating Oil, Sanitary, Water).
If you’re uncertain about the MCC, there are three ways of looking it up before making a transaction:
| Method | Ease of Use | Reliability |
| ❓HeyMax | ●●● | ● |
| 📱 Instarem app | ●● | ●● |
| 🤖 DBS digibot | ● |
●●● |
| “Ease of use” and “reliability” 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. | ||
And because I get so many questions about this, I should probably state that telco bills are not utilities. I get that the phone company can be seen as a utility, but it’s nothing of the sort. Those code under MCC 4814, and are generally eligible for rewards (provided you make one-off payments and don’t set your card as the recurring payment method).
What cards should I use for utilities payments?
| Card Issuer | Awards Miles for Utilities? |
 |
✕ |
 |
✕ |
 |
✓ |
 |
✕ |
 |
✕ |
 |
✕ |
 |
✕ |
 |
✕ |
 |
✕ |
 |
✕ |
As of 2025, the only card issuer which still awards miles for utilities payments is Chocolate Finance (I told you this would be a short article!).
| Card | Earn Rate |
 Chocolate Visa CardApply |
1 mpd (capped at 100 miles/month) |
The Chocolate Visa Card awards 1 Max Mile per S$1 spent on utility bills. However, this is subject to a cap of just 100 Max Miles per month, which is shared with all other so-called bill payment categories.
| MCC | Category |
| MCC 4900–4999 |
Utilities |
| MCC 6300–6399 |
Insurance |
| MCC 6513, 6531 |
Real Estate and Property Management |
| MCC 7311–7399 |
Business Services |
| MCC 8011–8099 |
Medical Services, Health Practitioners, Hospitals, Dentists |
| MCC 9311–9399 |
Government Services |
| For the avoidance of doubt, the 100 miles cap is shared among all categories | |
Bill payment services
If you want to earn miles on your utilities bill, then a more realistic option is using a bill payment platform.
These platforms allow you to earn miles when paying utilities and other bills with your credit card, in exchange for a small admin fee.
| Provider | Fee |
 |
2.25% 1.79% fee for first payment of up to S$5K with code MILELION |
 |
2.6% |
Do note that CardUp does not support payments to SP Group. Also, SC EasyBill does not support utility bills.
Whether it’s “worth it” to buy miles at this price all boils down to how much you value a mile, but to provide some illustrations:
- A DBS Vantage Cardholder could pay utilities via CardUp with a 2.35% fee (for recurring payments) and earn 1.5 mpd, equivalent to 1.53 cents per mile
- A Citi Prestige Cardholder could pay utilities via Citi PayAll with a 2.1% fee (temporarily reduced with the current promotion) and earn 1.3 mpd, equivalent to 1.62 cents per mile
Whether it’s “worth it” to buy miles at this price all boils down to how much you value a mile. The gold standard is of course to earn miles for free, though if banks keep cracking down, this may be the only option left.
What about cashback?
Since there’s hardly any miles options to speak of, I might as well pad this article out by talking about some cashback options.
- AMEX True Cashback Card: 1.5% cashback
- OCBC 365 Credit Card: 3% cashback on recurring electricity bills (subject to min. spend and cap)
- UOB Absolute Cashback Card: 0.3% cashback
- UOB EVOL Card: Set card as default mode of payment for SP Utilities bills on SP app to convert 1% of bill amount into My Green Credits
- UOB One Card: Earn cashback and clock spend for UOB One account interest
Alternatively, you might consider using your utility bills to clock the minimum spend required for Citi Prestige limo rides. While the transactions themselves won’t earn any points, the spending will still count towards the S$12,000 minimum.
Conclusion
With Maybank excluding utilities on 1 December 2025, it’s now virtually impossible to earn free miles on this category. Only Chocolate Finance still offers rewards, and even then, with a cap.
If you really want to nonetheless, you’ll have to pay a fee with a platform like CardUp or Citi PayAll. This might be a case where cashback cards are the better place to look!
https://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/cards/card-services/dbs-recurring-bill-payment
I use dbs altitude to pay for my utilities bill
they no longer award points for utilities- see the fine print: DBS Points will not be awarded for transactions made on DBS Esso Card, DBS Live Fresh Card, DBS Takashimaya Card, POSB Everyday Card and SAFRA DBS Card. DBS Points will not be awarded for Community Chest, iSwitch, MSIG, Prudential, SP Group and Town Councils recurring bill payment unless otherwise specified.
That’s sneaky! I never knew this. When did DBS amend the small print without informing customers?!
mAXS Pay+Earn: Looks like you’ll be needing it, that is if you are willing to pay 2.5% fee (2.03 cpm).
Any idea when did they start doing this? I checked the fine print last time and made sure that I will earn points when I signed up. That’s around more than a year ago. Didn’t monitor after that.
no idea. you might want to contact them and ask
Amex tcb still got cashback for utilities right?
yes correct. updated the post.
Love the way you peppered the introduction with the electrical terminologies. Nice work. Keep it up! 🙂
KFA and KFB also has a separate bonus 3mpd offer for SP services, giving you 4.2/4.1mpd. This is a separate offer from the iswitch and senoko energy offer, with a cap of 600 KF bonus miles ($200 spending)
(h/t Victor Lau on your fb page)
CRV can also be used for online payment to get 4mpd, no?
darn! when did that happen.
Do UOB prvi cards earn 1.4mpd on a regular basis paying via web/app?
Or is that only for the metal vi?
Is there an error on the promo due date for Prvi Amex? I believe the promo ended in June.
fixed it, thanks ian.
Hi, any updates to this list?
I’m using my UOB VS for 4mpd (contactless payment at SP office over the counter) for my SP bills.
does UOB Visa Signature still give 4mpd now ?
Amex has these offers every now and then, where you “save” that offer into your card, you get rebates of $1-2 or something like that after each utilities bill is paid using that card.
Sembcorp power do not accept amex
Given that you can buy miles at 0.8 cents/mile. Everyone should use UOB Absolute, 1.7% is more than 2 miles per dollar
Brilliant article and once again, very helpful. Thanks Aaron!
Hi Aaron, thanks for writing all these ‘Best card for….’ articles. They truly are helpful. Just want to check if the UOB AMEX still offers 1.7% cashback. Should be 0.3% yes?
Yes it should be. Will update that!
Hi. See utilities can be paid via Citi PayAll. How do you pay a SP group in this way. I looked at my SP bill and there are no bank details to make the payment which need to be input on Citi PayAll? Anyone done this.
Doh! Just figured it out.
I should have selected electrical bills but picked utility bills.
thanks for this! i had the same issue previously. cheers
Thanks for sharing the resolution!
Card up seems to exclude SP services.
Time to update this article
Might it make sense to just use the UOB Absolute Cashback Card directly instead of through GrabPay? 1.7% cashback is better than the 0.3%. Not like you can use the Grab points for much now.
Yes, if amex is accepted by all means
Along the same lines, I don’t believe there are anymore credit cards that earn points for Town Council S&CC?
As of now only AXS Pay+Earn supports town council S&CC at 2.03 CPM for 1.2 MPD cards.
CardUp and Citi PayAll does not support town council transactions as of now.
Its on Citi PayAll, just setup today
not since amex highflyer nerfed grabpay
Sad. I’m debating whether it’s justifiable paying the 2.5% fee on AXS
So Amex Highflyer direct doesn’t yield any points for Utilities anymore?
Dead
Please update the ‘what card do I use table’ – it’s a god send!
yes, that’s a poor ohm-ission.
oh wait used that joke already.
i’m officially out of electrical puns
Shocking
If you have HSBC EGA account, you can still earn 1% in cashback from spending but no points.
Seven (!) electrical puns in one article. Outdone yourself you have good ser
Do the miles still apply for recurring transactions in SP app? (My first first guess is no)
i set an sc journey card as my recurring payment method for SP app and get miles each month.
Frankly, it’s only good option is UOB One Credit Card.
4.33% – SP Services bill
3.33% – Other Utilities bills
Alternatively, it’s GrabPay MasterCard, if u can hit the monthly Challenge.
GPMC Challenge, diff acc, diff min spend and reward points.
eg. Spend min $250, Get 3500 GrabReward Points ($7).
so = 2.8%
tested on 12 Feb 2024, SP Services bill is counted for the Challenge.
i’m using UOB 1 CC for SP Services as well. thanks for sharing on the GPMC Challenge details.
I just learnt that not all utilities are eligible spent for UOB One card. UOB CSO told me Seraya (Geneco) is not. So, be careful if you are counting on it to meet your min spend.
What about OCBC 365 card? It says it gives 3% cashback on “recurring electricity bills”. Is there a trick in the fine print?
Thanks.
I use the 365 for utilities and together with my dining expenses, it is easy to meet the 800 minimum spending. Dining on its own gives 5% rebate, and in case you have OCBC 360 account, it also gives you extra interest. The reason why the card is not listed here, i guess that’s why Milelion is called Milelion but CashbackLion.
Citypayall does not work for SP. Needs SP’s bank account name and number to setup the payment but SP will not provide this to you
Hi Aaron, what about the best card to use for charging EVs? The number of EV users are on the rise and this trend is likely to continue with new ICE car sales being restricted by 2030. Perhaps a new category for “What card to use” for EV charging could be introduced?
That said, will pairing an Amaze Card with one of the 4mpd online cards work?
I received the following T&C’s for my new UOB Reserve Card. Please note quite a few new exclusions WEF 1.10.24
https://www.uob.com.sg/assets/pdfs/uob-reserve-cvps-tcs.pdf?s_cid=grm:sg:paid:onl:cnalux:advertorial:tx:na:pr:150523-evergreen:reserve2023:na:ms-sg&vid=mindshare&pid=reserve2023
Quote from UOB Reserve card’s website
With effect from 1 October 2024, transactions with Merchant Category Codes 4900, 5965, 5993, 8062, 8699, and 8999 or transaction description “AMAZE*” will be excluded from the awarding of UNI$, cashback, and KrisFlyer miles.
Are you sure Maybank gives miles for utilities? I received 0 miles for SP payment.
I don’t understand, Citi Rewards cards get 10x points except for travel and in-app mobile purchase, so you mean paying utilities will not earn 10x bonus points?
Utilities are under Citi Rewards exclusion list. Just tried to pay my phone bill that are under MCC 4814 also prove to be no 10x bonus point awarded. 🙁
Will give CF a miss.
Try harder next time
Subtle much? But I do agree with your sentiments
I want to use citi rewards to pay my GOMO bill, but not sure if recurring payment coded as online?
The UOB ONE card offers 4.33% cashback on utility bills paid via SP group. If I use that cashback to buy miles via the UOB Payment Facility at 2.1 cents per mile, I’m getting abt 2 mpd. Yes it’s tedious but it’s technically possible. What’s your take?
wrote something on this topic previously: https://milelion.com/2024/12/10/should-you-earn-miles-with-a-cashback-card-instead/