Review: DBS yuu Card

Here’s The MileLion’s review of the DBS yuu Card, which shows that even “aunty cards” can be pretty darn exciting.

When it first launched in late 2022, this was a convoluted mess, with a confusing system of tiered rebates, headline earn rates that couldn’t actually be achieved in real life, and way too much PCK.

But to DBS’s credit, they read the room and made the necessary changes. In April 2023, the earning structure was dramatically simplified to offer an incredible (and actually-achievable) 18% rebate. yuu then launched a partnership with KrisFlyer in September 2024 which enabled cardholders to turn that 18% rebate into a whopping 10 mpd instead. 

Fast forward to October 2025, and the third iteration of the card has arrived. This update further increases the bonus cap, though it also adds some extra cognitive load in the form of a higher minimum spend, and the need to transact with at least four merchants per month.

In fairness though, this is still a hugely rewarding card, which can earn enough miles for a First Class flight to Dubai each year. How many aunty cards can claim that?

DBS yuu Card
🦁 MileLion Verdict
☑ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It
What do these ratings mean?
The DBS yuu Card offers an unbeatable 18% rebate or 10 mpd for yuu merchant spending, but it does require a bit of micromanagement to get right.
👍 The good	👎 The bad
18% rebates or 10 mpd at yuu merchants and SimplyGo Separate bonus caps for AMEX and Visa Instant, fee-free conversions to KrisFlyer Earns points on every cent of spending	Minimum spend of S$800 required for bonuses Must spend at 4x yuu merchants each month to trigger bonuses Must stick within the yuu ecosystem to get maximum value
💳 Full List of Credit Card Reviews

Overview: DBS yuu Card

Let’s start this review by looking at the key features of the DBS yuu Card:

Apply (AMEX)
Apply (Visa)
Link your card to the yuu app with code TMCYRWM5 for 2,000 bonus yuu Points
Income Req.	S$30,000 p.a.	Points Validity	2 years
Annual Fee	S$196.20 (First Year Free)	Min. Transfer	200 yuu Points (56 miles)
Miles with Annual Fee	N/A	Transfer Partners	1
FCY Fee	3% (AMEX) 3.25% (Visa)	Transfer Fee	Free
Local Earn	0.14 mpd	Points Pool?	Yes
FCY Earn	0.14 mpd	Lounge Access?	No
Special Earn	10 mpd at yuu merchants & SimplyGo	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The DBS yuu Card comes in two flavours: American Express, and Visa. The earn rates and benefits of the two are almost identical, but there are some key differences.

• AMEX has a lower FCY fee of 3% versus 3.25% for Visa (not that you should be using either card for overseas spending, mind you)
• AMEX occasionally gets to participate in AMEX Offers such as Shop Small
• AMEX does not earn 18% rebates/10 mpd at Charge+ or Mandai Wildlife Group
• AMEX is not accepted at 7-Eleven

There’s nothing stopping you from applying for both cards. In fact, you might want to do this if you’re a big spender, since each card has its own bonus cap.

How much must I earn to qualify for a DBS yuu Card?

The DBS yuu Card has a minimum income requirement of S$30,000 per year.

If you don’t meet the minimum income requirement, you can place a S$10,000 fixed deposit with DBS and get a secured version of the card. Visit any DBS branch for further information.

How much is the DBS yuu Card’s annual fee?

The DBS yuu Card has an annual fee of S$196.20 for the principal cardholder, and a S$98.10 fee for each supplementary card.

The first year’s fee is waived. While DBS does not publish a specific minimum spend to waive the second and subsequent year’s fees, based on my personal experience it’s not too difficult to do.

What welcome offers are available?

The DBS yuu Card is currently offering the following welcome offers.

Card	New	Existing
DBS yuu AMEX Apply	S$300 + S$80 Esso vouchers Code: YUU380	S$80 Esso vouchers No code
DBS yuu Visa Apply	S$300 + S$80 Esso vouchers Code: YUU380	S$80 Esso vouchers No code
Esso vouchers are awarded in the form of 20 x S$4 off min. S$60 petrol purchase

New customers are defined as those who do not:

• currently hold a principal DBS or POSB credit card, and
• have not cancelled a principal DBS or POSB credit card in the past 12 months

All other applicants are considered existing customers. 

New customers who spend at least S$800 within the first 60 days of card approval will receive S$300 cashback.

Both new and existing customers will receive S$80 worth of Esso fuel discount vouchers, comprised of 20 x S$4 off with a minimum spend of S$60 on petrol. You do not need to spend anything on the DBS yuu Card to receive this gift.

These offers are valid for applications submitted by 31 October 2025. The T&Cs can be found here.

How many miles do I earn?

non-yuu merchant spend

DBS yuu Cardholders earn an uncapped 0.5 yuu Point for every S$1 spent (0.25% rebate/0.14 mpd) in Singapore Dollars or foreign currency at non-yuu merchants. Needless to say, you should not be using this card for non-yuu spend!

All overseas transactions on the DBS yuu Card are subject to a 3% (AMEX) and 3.25% (Visa) FCY fee respectively. But since this card only awards bonus points for local yuu merchants, there’s no reason to use it overseas.

yuu merchant & SimplyGo spend

The DBS yuu Card earns a total of 36 yuu Points per S$1 (18% rebate/10 mpd) on transactions with yuu merchants and SimplyGo, broken down as follows.

There is no minimum spend required for the Base Reward, and Bonus Reward 1.

Bonus Reward 2 requires that cardholders meet a minimum spend of S$800 per calendar month, and transact with 4x participating merchants each calendar month.

Bonus cap

Bonus Reward 1 and Bonus Reward 2 have a combined cap of 28,800 points per calendar month, equivalent to S$822.86 of spending.

In other words, the sweet spot is to spend between S$800 and S$822.86 each month.

Remember, the bonus cap applies per card. If you have a DBS yuu AMEX and DBS yuu Visa, you can earn 10 mpd on up to S$1,645.72 per calendar month, subject to meeting a minimum spend of S$800 on each card. 

The full list of yuu merchants can be found below.

4x participating merchants

Bonus Reward 2 requires that DBS yuu Cardholders spend at four different Participating Merchants per calendar month. 

For example, you could meet the requirement by spending with SimplyGo, Cold Storage, Giant and Guardian. However, if you were to spend at Cold Storage, CS Fresh and Jasons Deli, it would only count as one merchant (since they’re collectively under the “Cold Storage” heading).

Having to spend at four different merchants each month will present some cognitive load, but one of them can be SimplyGo, and if you’re using the yuu Card, you’re almost certainly spending with at least one yuu merchant already.

There is no minimum spend required per merchant, so you could just as easily buy one plastic bag at Cold Storage and Giant’s self check-out stations.

Regardless of whether you prefer rebates or miles, a reward of this magnitude is almost too good to be true, and you should enjoy it while it lasts!

Can the minimum spend include non-yuu merchants?

The S$800 minimum spend can be met by any spending that is not on DBS’s general exclusions list, such as charitable donations, education, government services and utilities (see the section below on What transactions aren’t eligible for yuu Points?).

It can also include spending at non-yuu merchants, but a better question is: why would you even want to spend at non-yuu merchants in the first place?

Non-yuu transactions only earn 0.5 yuu Point per S$1, which would drag your weighted average down like a stone. Even if you’re short of the minimum spend, it would be preferable to buy grocery vouchers and spend them the following month rather than making transactions outside the yuu ecosystem.

Transaction date or posting date?

The bonus cap and minimum spend on the DBS yuu Card is enforced based on transaction date, not posting date. For example, making a transaction on 31 January 2025 will still be counted under January 2025’s bonus cap, even though the posting will likely happen in February 2025.

Which cards track spending by transaction date vs posting date?

When are yuu Points credited?

The Base Reward is credited as follows:

• yuu merchants (1x point per S$1): Same day
• SimplyGo and non-yuu merchants (0.5x points per S$1): 60 working days after the end of each calendar month

Bonus Reward 1 & 2 will be credited within 60 working days after the end of each calendar month.

How are yuu Points calculated?

Here’s how you can work out the yuu Points earned on your DBS yuu Card.

For the avoidance of doubt, there is no rounding up or down of points, and fractional points are awarded. You can see this on your yuu app, where all earnings are shown to two decimal points.

This means a transaction as small as S$0.01 would earn yuu Points!

For the full list of formulas that banks use to calculate credit card points, do refer to these articles:

• General Spending Cards
• Specialised Spending Cards

What transactions aren’t eligible for yuu Points?

A full list of transactions that do not earn yuu Points can be found at point 9 of the T&Cs. 

I’ve highlighted a few noteworthy categories below:

• Charitable donations
• Education
• Government institutions and services
• Hospitals 
• Insurance
• Top-ups of prepaid accounts e.g. GrabPay and YouTrip
• Utilities bills

Base Rewards will also not be offered for certain items like DFI vouchers, Stage 1 milk powder and plastic bags. The full list can be found in the appendix of the T&Cs. However, you can still earn Bonus Rewards 1 & 2 on such purchases.

What do I need to know about yuu Points?

Expiry

yuu Points expire two years from the date the points are awarded.

You can track the expiry of yuu Points in the yuu app, which will display how many points are expiring in the current month and following three months. 

Pooling

yuu Points earned on the AMEX and Visa cards are pooled together automatically in your yuu account.

Cancelling a DBS yuu Card has no impact on the points already in your yuu account.

Partners and transfer fee

yuu Points can be transferred to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer at the following ratio.

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (yuu Points: Miles)
	3.6:1

A minimum conversion of 200 yuu Points (56 miles) is required, but subsequent conversions can be in blocks as small as 1 mile.

All conversions are free of charge. 

Transfer times

Conversions from yuu Points to KrisFlyer miles are processed instantly. This makes it a quick and easy way of topping up a KrisFlyer account, should you spot a redemption you’re keen on.

Should you opt for rebates, or miles?

With the DBS yuu Card, you’re basically choosing between 10 mpd or 18% rebates for yuu merchant spending.

On the surface, this appears to be simple maths: the cost per mile is 1.8 cents (18/10). That’s decent, though it might be on the high side for most people’s purchasing thresholds. 

That’s not quite correct. It would be correct if you were dealing with a cashback card, where the rebate is offset against your monthly bill. But the yuu Card is not a cashback card. It’s a rewards card, where the points need to be offset against future spending.

Here’s a simple illustration. Suppose you spend S$800 on your yuu Card and earn 28,800 points. You now have a choice between:

1. Using those points to offset S$144 of spend at a yuu merchant
2. Converting those points to 8,000 KrisFlyer miles

Choosing option 1 implicitly means you forgo the opportunity to earn 1,440 miles on your next transaction at a yuu merchant (because your bill is reduced by S$144, at 10 mpd). Therefore, by choosing the S$144 offset, you’re giving up not 9,440 miles, but 6,560 miles. Based on this, the actual opportunity cost is 1.53 cents per mile.

You’ll have to decide for yourself whether that’s an acceptable price, but it’s just about my threshold where I’m equally happy to burn yuu Points as cash or convert them to miles.

Other card perks

“Super Duper” redemptions

While KrisFlyer miles or paying at yuu merchants will be the primary usage of yuu Points, don’t discount the yuu catalogue entirely.

yuu releases a limited quantity of “Super Duper” rewards, which offer outsized value for your points. Recent examples include:

• S$5 Gojek voucher for 500 points
• 7-day Sports Plus for 1,000 points
• 30-day HBO Max for 1,400 points

Some of these boost the value of a yuu Point significantly; for example, the S$5 gojek voucher represents 1 cent per point, or double the usual value. I personally find the 7-day Sports Plus packages to be great value, redeeming them during tennis tournaments I want to watch instead of buying a subscription. 

Refer to the article below for more on spending yuu Points.

What’s the best way of spending yuu Points?

Terms and Conditions

• DBS yuu Card Terms and Conditions
• yuu Rewards Club Terms and Conditions

Summary Review: DBS yuu Card

Apply (AMEX)

Apply (Visa)

Link your card to the yuu app with code TMCYRWM5 for 2,000 bonus yuu Points

🦁 MileLion Verdict

☑ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It

The DBS yuu Card offers an unbeatable 18% rebate or 10 mpd at yuu merchants, which makes it simply unthinkable to use any other card for such transactions. While you will have to hit the minimum spend each month, it should be achievable for most given the range of everyday spending categories covered: groceries, food delivery, ride-hailing etc.

Of course, the entire product is designed to draw and keep you within the yuu ecosystem, such that you default to Cold Storage for groceries, Foodpanda for food delivery, gojek for ride-hailing, Singtel for mobile connectivity, and BreadTalk for freshly-prepared soya milk. That’s a feature, not a bug, and if the reward is good enough, I think most people would be willing to change their habits. 

While it’s true that the minimum spend has been hiked by 33% from S$600 to S$800, the bonus cap has also been boosted. And with many other specialised spending cards cutting their earning capacity (e.g. DBS Woman’s World Card, UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card), any extra boost is always welcome. 

The upshot is that this card now has the potential to earn you ~8,223 miles per month, or 98,743 miles per year (double, if you max out both the AMEX and Visa). Just how long the gravy train continues is anyone’s guess. yuu, as you probably know by now, is bankrolled by Temasek, and sooner or later they’re going to switch the focus from acquisition to profitability. The party will end eventually, but until then, make hay and enjoy the ride.

So that’s my review of the DBS yuu Card. What do you think?