In January 2024, the OCBC Rewards Card got a badly-needed shot in the arm with a new quarterly 6 mpd promotion, the first of which offered upsized rewards for cardholders who shopped at TANGS and SHEIN.
While this had rather limited use cases, the following quarter’s offer was much better, with 6 mpd at department stores, duty-free stores and Watsons, both in Singapore and overseas.
With Q3 now underway, we were expecting to see a new set of bonus merchants, but OCBC has instead decided to extend the existing set till the end of 2024 (though duty-free has been removed).
Not that I’m complaining, mind you, because this is probably the best outcome for cardholders. Having department stores as a bonus category is extremely useful even if you’d never dream of visiting Takashimaya or TANGS, as I’ll explain in a bit!
OCBC Rewards extends 6 mpd at Watsons and department stores
From 1 July to 31 December 2024, OCBC Rewards Cardholders will earn 6 mpd for transactions at Watsons, or department stores which code under the following MCCs.
| MCC | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| MCC 5311 Departmental Stores |
BHG, Metro, Takashimaya, Tangs |
No registration is required, and this offer is available to all cardholders. These bonuses are available for both local and overseas spend, whether online or offline.
The 6 mpd earn rate is split into the following components:
| Component | Monthly Cap (OCBC$) |
Monthly Cap (S$) |
| Base: 5 OCBC$ per S$5 (0.4 mpd) |
N/A | N/A |
| Regular Bonus: 45 OCBC$ per S$5 (3.6 mpd) |
10,000 OCBC$ | S$1,110* |
| Special Bonus: 25 OCBC$ per S$5 (2 mpd) |
5,000 OCBC$ | S$1,000 |
| *Really S$1,111, but remember that OCBC only awards points in blocks of S$5 |
||
The maximum bonus you can earn is capped at S$1,000 per calendar month; any spend above this will earn the usual 4 mpd (up till S$1,110).
Both principal and supplementary cardholder spend will be aggregated when awarding the bonus OCBC$, but supplementary cards do not have their own cap.
If you have a legacy OCBC Titanium Rewards Blue and Pink Card, each is treated as a separate product, so each principal card will have its own bonus cap.
When will bonus miles be credited?
The additional 25 OCBC$ per S$5 will be credited by the end of the next calendar month, following the relevant transaction posting date.
This is the same timeframe for the posting of the additional 45 OCBC$ per S$5 that is an evergreen feature of the card.
Terms and Conditions
The T&Cs of this promotion can be found here.
How to make the most of this offer
The MCC list may seem restrictive at first glance, but MCC 5311 is included, and that’s not just for department stores. HeyMax sells vouchers for merchants like Amazon, Best Denki, Courts, Deliveroo, FoodPanda, Grab, IKEA, Klook, Lazada, NTUC FairPrice, Qoo10 and more.
 |
| ๐ 1,000 Max Miles joining bonus |
| Sign up for a HeyMax account and get up to 1,000 Max Miles as a welcome bonus (redeemable for 25 airlines & hotels at a 1:1 ratio) |
| 1,000 bonus Max Miles |
All these merchants would normally code under a wide range of MCCs, but if you’re buying vouchers via HeyMax, everything defaults to MCC 5311.
Can you use Amaze?
As a Mastercard, the OCBC Rewards can be paired with Amaze, allowing you to enjoy better FCY conversion rates on overseas spending. However, this will only work for MCC-based bonuses (i.e. MCC 5309 and 5311) since Amaze doesn’t modify MCCs.
Using Amaze at an overseas Watsons would not work, because the Watsons bonus is merchant-based, and Amaze modifies the transaction description in a way such that OCBC doesn’t see it as Watsons anymore.
Overview: OCBC Rewards Card
| OCBC Rewards Card |
|||
| Apply | |||
| Income Req. | S$30,000 p.a. | Points Validity | 2 years |
| Annual Fee | S$196.20 (2 Years Free) |
Min. Transfer (KF) |
25,000 OCBC$ (10,000 miles) |
| FCY Fee | 3.25% | Transfer Fee | S$25 |
| Local Earn | 0.4 mpd | Points Pool? | Yes |
| FCY Earn | 0.4 mpd | Lounge Access? | No |
| Special Earn | 4 mpd on online and offline shopping | Airport Limo? | No |
| Cardholder Terms and Conditions | |||
The OCBC Rewards Card has a minimum income requirement of S$30,000 p.a. and offers a two-year waiver of its S$196.20 annual fee.
Cardholders can earn 4 mpd on selected online and offline shopping, capped at S$1,110 per calendar month (if you have the legacy Blue and Pink versions of the Titanium Rewards, each card has its own bonus cap).
| ๐ณ OCBC Rewards Bonus Whitelist | |
| MCC | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| MCC 5309 Duty-Free Shops |
Lotte Duty Free, King Power Duty Free, The Shilla Duty Free |
| MCC 5311 Departmental Stores |
Takashimaya, TANGS, Isetan, OG, Metro, BHG, Marks & Spencer |
| MCC 5611 Men’s and Boys’ Clothing and Accessories Stores |
Benjamin Barker, Timberland, Edit Suits, Berluti |
| MCC 5621 Women’s Ready to Wear Stores |
Zara, H&M, Mothercare |
| MCC 5631 Womenโs Accessory and Speciality Stores |
Tory Burch, Love Bonito, Pandora |
| MCC 5641 Childrenโs and Infantsโ Wear Stores |
Kiddy Palace, Mummys Market, Pupsik, Motherswork |
| MCC 5651 Family Clothing Stores |
Uniqlo, ASOS, Club 21, Burberry, Yoox |
| MCC 5655 Sports and Riding Apparel |
Nike, Lululemon, Adidas |
| MCC 5661 Shoe Stores |
Skechers, Charles & Keith, Bata, Foot Locker, Pazzion |
| MCC 5691 Menโs and Womenโs Clothing Stores |
Ezbuy, Zalora, Fartech |
| MCC 5699 Miscellaneous Apparel and Accessory Shops |
Qoo10, Cotton On, Reebonz |
| MCC 5941 Sporting Goods Stores |
Decathlon, Fila, New Balance |
| MCC 5948 Luggage or Leather Goods Stores |
Louis Vuitton, Coach, Rimowa |
| ๐ Specified Merchants | |
|
|
| ^Amazon and Mustafa Centre transactions under MCC 5411 are not eligible to earn any OCBC$ *Shopee Pay transactions under MCC 5262 are not eligible to earn any OCBC$ |
|
For a full review of this card, refer to the post below.
Conclusion
OCBC Rewards Cardholders can now enjoy 6 mpd on departmental stores and Watsons till 31 December 2024, capped at S$1,000 per month. This is a nice little booster, especially since you can easily max out the bonus by buying gift cards on HeyMax, which turns many categories like dining, food delivery, online shopping and groceries all into MCC 5311.
With this year-long offer, you’re looking at an extra 60,000 bonus OCBC$ (24,000 miles) on top of the card’s usual cap- none too shabby indeed.
