2025 Edition: Best Credit Cards for Pharmacies

Pharmacies are an important category of everyday spend for a lot of people, whether it’s antihistamines, or wellness items which may or may not vibrate.

While there are credit cards that earn as much as 10 mpd on this category, the best card boils down to which particular chain you’re patronising, and whether you’re spending online or offline.

How do pharmacies code?

Most pharmacy transactions code as MCC 5912 Pharmacies or Drug Stores. This covers the vast majority of stand-alone pharmacies you’re likely to encounter, such as Guardian, Unity, or Watsons.

However, purchases from SingHealth Pharmacy or NHG Pharmacy code as MCC 9399 (Government Services), which is ineligible for rewards with almost all cards. One possible workaround is to pay via HealthHub, which codes as the rewards-eligible MCC 8099 (Medical Services Not Elsewhere Classified) — though read this post before spending! — but that’s not possible for regular retail purchases.

Similarly, if you buy from hospital-based pharmacies, your transaction may be coded as MCC 8062 (Hospitals), which also usually doesn’t qualify for rewards.

For a complete picture, I recommend reading this article alongside the one linked below.

2025 Edition: Best Credit Cards for Medical Expenses

In case you’re uncertain about the MCC, there are three ways of looking it up before making a purchase:

What’s the best card to use?

I’m going to divide this into two scenarios: offline and online purchases, because not everyone’s cool enough to waltz up to the cashier with a bottle of Rogaine and a box of extra petite condoms (or as I call it, Friday night).

Offline

💊  Best Cards for Pharmacies (Offline)
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
DBS yuu Card Apply	10 mpd	Guardian only. Min. S$600, max S$600 spend per c. month Review
OCBC Rewards Card Apply	6 mpd	Watsons only. 4 mpd for Guardian and Unity. Max S$1.1K per c. month Review
HSBC Revolution Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.5K per c. month* Review
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month. Must choose Beauty & Wellness as bonus category Review
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd	Max S$750 per c. month. Must choose Beauty & Wellness as bonus category Review
UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Apply	4 mpd^	Max S$1.1K per c. month  Review
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd^	Min S$1K, max S$1.2K per s. month Review
C. Month= Calendar Month | S. Month= Statement Month *Until 31 October 2025, after which no more bonuses for offline spend, and bonus cap reverts to S$1,000 per calendar month ^Must tap phone to pay (Preferred Platinum Visa) or tap phone/physical card (Visa Signature)

Online

💊  Best Cards for Pharmacies (Online)
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
DBS yuu Card Apply	10 mpd	Guardian only. Min. S$600, max S$600 spend per c. month Review
OCBC Rewards Card Apply	6 mpd	Watsons only. 4 mpd for Guardian and Unity. Max S$1.1K per c. month Review
Citi Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	Max $1K per s. month Review
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month Review
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.5K per c. month* Review
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month. Must choose Beauty & Wellness as bonus category Review
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd	Max S$750 per c. month. Must choose Beauty & Wellness as bonus category Review
UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.1K per c. month  Review
KrisFlyer UOB Card Apply	2.4 mpd	No cap. Min S$1K spend on SIA Group in m. year Review
C. Month= Calendar Month | S. Month= Statement Month | M. Year= Membership Year *Until 31 October 2025, after which bonus cap reverts to S$1,000 per month

Be sure to read the explanatory notes below.

DBS yuu Card

The DBS yuu Card will earn 10 mpd at Guardian, whether offline or online. However, if you purchase online, you’ll need to link your yuu ID to your payment to earn the full number of points. Don’t forget this step!

OCBC Rewards Card

The OCBC Rewards Card’s bonus whitelist does not feature MCC 5912. Instead, it specifically includes Guardian, Unity and Watsons, and while that should cover most of the brick-and-mortar segment in Singapore, it’s not quite all-encompassing.

Incidentally, OCBC has informed me that the Watsons bonus applies whether you’re buying in Singapore or overseas. If you’re doing the latter, the transaction description must start with Watsons, so avoid using any e-wallets which may change the description (e.g. Amaze).

Be careful with apps!

If you’re making a purchase through the Guardian or Watsons app, these purchases code as MCC 5499 and not MCC 5912. 

Stick to a card that offers bonuses for general online spending, such as the Citi Rewards or DBS Woman’s World Card. 

HeyMax workaround

In the unlikely event you don’t have any of the cards mentioned above, there’s one more possibility: the Maybank XL Rewards Card, paired with HeyMax.

Sign up here
Airalo Amazon Best Denki Courts Deliveroo Foodpanda Giant Grab IKEA Klook Lazada Muji	Natureland NTUC FairPrice Oddle Eats Pelago Pupsik Ryde Shein Shell Sheng Siong Sephora TADA TANGS ZALORA
All voucher purchases code as MCC 5311 (Department Stores)

All HeyMax gift card purchases code as MCC 5311, which is a whitelisted bonus category for the Maybank XL Rewards Card. Therefore, you could purchase NTUC FairPrice gift cards, redeem them at Unity pharmacies, and earn 4 mpd. 

You’ll also earn some additional Max Miles from your purchase, though the current rate is a rather negligible 0.1 mpd. 

Conclusion

There’s no shortage of cards that earn bonus miles at pharmacies, but you do need to be careful as the ideal card will depend on whether you’re buying online or offline, as well as whether you’re at a stand-alone pharmacy, or one which is part of a hospital.

Given that pharmacies are a whitelist category for several cards, I feel it’s a bit of a waste to use the more flexible caps of the DBS Woman’s World Card or UOB Preferred Platinum Visa here, unless of course you’re not in danger of busting those in the first place.