Back in March 2024, Amaze introduced a 1% fee on SGD-denominated transactions exceeding S$1,000 per calendar month. This was a way of nudging customers to use their cards for better rates on overseas spending, rather than for offline-to-online transactions within Singapore.
While no fee is ever welcome, this change was largely met with indifference, as most users pairing Amaze with Citi Rewards already kept their monthly spending within S$1,000 to avoid exceeding the 4 mpd cap. The fee posed a bigger issue for KrisFlyer UOB Cardmembers, but that concern became irrelevant when UOB later excluded Amaze altogether.
Unfortunately, Amaze has now announced a series of changes that take effect from 10 March 2025, the most significant being that the 1% fee will soon apply to all SGD transactions, starting from the very first dollar spent.
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Other key changes worth highlighting:
- InstaPoints will no longer be awarded for card-linked transactions
- InstaPoints will no longer be redeemable for cashback
- InstaPoints will be redeemable for KrisFlyer miles (at a truly dismal rate of 1,200 points= 400 miles)
- Amaze wallet spending limits will be increased
- Amaze wallet balances will be transferrable to a bank account
Letโs dive in and analyse the changes.
1% fee for all SGD transactions
Currently, Amaze imposes a 1% domestic fee (with a minimum fee of S$0.50) for card-linked SGD transactions in excess of S$1,000 per calendar month.
- The 1% domestic fee only applies to the portion of spending which exceeds S$1,000. For example, someone who spends S$1,500 in a month will pay a domestic fee of S$5 (1% of S$500)
- Amaze users can track their cumulative SGD spending in the app, and alerts will be sent via email and push notifications when the S$1,000 threshold is approaching
From 10 March 2025, this 1% fee (with a minimum fee of S$0.50) will apply to all card-linked SGD transactions, from the very first S$1. In other words, if you were pairing the Amaze with Citi Rewards and spending S$1,000 per month to max out its 4 mpd cap, youโd pay a fee of S$10.
To the extent that you could earn 4 mpd on the same transaction with another card, thereโs little reason to pay a 1% fee (unless you really want to earn Citi points), but assuming thatโs not possible, then a 1% fee for 4 mpd isnโt the worst deal in the world (though the cost per mile is higher than it appears, since you should only consider the incremental miles youโre earning).
Amaze will also be removing its 1% MCC fee on e-wallet top-ups (MCC 6540) and transit payments (MCC 4111), but itโs really a case of replacing one fee with another. Youโll still have to pay a 1% fee on these transactions, to the extent theyโre charged in SGD.
No more InstaPoints for card-linked transactions
| Current | From 10 March 2025 | |
| Amaze Wallet | 0.5 IPs per S$1 FCY |
0.5 IPs per S$1 SGD FCY |
| Linked Card | 0.5 IPs per S$1 FCY |
N/A |
| Cap | 500 IP per month | No cap |
Amaze Cardholders currently earn 0.5 InstaPoints per S$1 on FCY transactions, whether funded by the Amaze wallet or a linked card. This is capped at just 500 InstaPoints per month (S$5), following a big nerf back in June 2024.
From 10 March 2025, InstaPoints will no longer be awarded on linked card spend. Instead, 0.5 InstaPoints per S$1 will be awarded on both SGD or FCY transactions funded by the Amaze wallet. The monthly earning cap will also be removed.
Removal of cashback redemption option for InstaPoints
InstaPoints can currently be redeemed for cashback at the following rates. Do note that the ratio between InstaPoints and cashback is only linear from 2,000 InstaPoints onwards; redemptions of 1,000 InstaPoints have an inferior conversion rate.
| InstaPoints | Cashback |
| 1,000 | S$5 |
| 2,000 | S$20 |
| 10,000 | S$100 |
| 50,000 | S$500 |
| โ ๏ธ The Instarem app has a frustrating UX issue (possibly intentional!) that hides redemption options requiring more points than you currently have. As a result, some users redeem their points as soon as they reach 1,000, not realizing they could get better value by saving up a bit more. | |
From 10 March 2025, cashback redemption options will be removed. Instead, InstaPoints can be converted to KrisFlyer miles at a rate of 1,200 points = 400 miles.
As much as I welcome another option to earn KrisFlyer miles, the value on offer is appalling. 1,200 InstaPoints, under the current system, is worth S$12. Giving up S$12 for 400 miles is like paying 3 cents per mile, a truly dismal rate that no one should consider. Only that you wonโt have a choice anymore, since Amaze is removing the cashback option altogether!
Given my valuation of 1.5 cents per mile, itโs as if Amaze is nerfing the value of an InstaPoint to just 0.5 cents, making the effective rebate on wallet-funded transactions just 0.25%!
Amaze wallet spending limits increased
| Current | From 10 March 2025 | |
| Wallet Limit | S$3,000 | S$15,000 |
| Annual Spend Limit | S$30,000 | S$75,000 |
The Amaze wallet currently has maximum cap of S$3,000, and an annual spend limit of S$30,000.
From 10 March 2025, this will be increased to S$15,000 and S$75,000 respectively.
Itโs interesting that Amaze hasnโt been able to increase its limits to match Revolut or YouTrip, which allow customers to hold S$20,000 in their wallets and spend S$100,000 annually. I imagine that was something they were hoping to do, but perhaps werenโt allowed to by MAS.
Another new feature is that Amaze wallet balances will be able to be transferred out to a bank account. Therefore, if you have InstaPoints now, Iโd advise you to convert them into cashback, then transfer it out once the option becomes available.
Conclusion
Big changes are coming to Amaze from 10 March 2025, including a 1% fee on all SGD transactions from the very first dollar, the removal of InstaPoints to cashback redemptions, and an increase in Amaze wallet limits.
It seems to me that Instarem, realising the days of earning credit card rewards with Amaze are probably numbered, has started the pivot to becoming a more Revolut/YouTrip-type solution. Assuming its rates are on par with those alternatives, then the ability to earn some additional KrisFlyer miles from your spend, even at a miserly rate, is still an added advantage.
For those of us who arenโt interested in multi-currency debit cards, however, these changes further reduce the options for day-to-day Amaze use. Iโd still use it for my overseas travels, at least within the S$1,000 cap of the Citi Rewards, but otherwise Iโm back to traditional overseas spending cards like the UOB Visa Signature or Maybank World Mastercard.
Amaze has this logic where the minimum Amaze transaction fee for SGD Expenses beyond $1000 is 1% OR 50c per transaction, whichever is higher.
Any idea if that holds true when the rule changes to 1% on all SGD transactions?
Imagine buying a $1 apple at a supermarket for breakfast and paying 50 cents on top of that for Amaze feesโฆ
Yes itโs still the same. Their latest email confirmed that
I can imagine that Amaze found out their returns are shrinking and need to increase revenue for their investors. It was good when it lasted.
Yeah canโt complain. Since launch Iโve made $$$ from Amaze and I just cashed out $20 in Instapoints. Guess the Amaze card will soon go the way of the Grabpay card โ dead and buried.
So for those who mainly use Amaze + Citi Rewards, what would be a good alternative for local spendings
UOB Visa Signature + Preferred Platinum
except those give no points if amount below 5 dollars.
Then use VS for aggregated $5 blocks, but must hit $1,000 per statement month. Shouldnโt be an issue if Amaze + CR also incurs the same amount per SM.
I believe the 1% or min.$0.50 charge per transaction will apply from 1st dollar now. In that case, if the transaction is less than S$50, it would almost be pointless to use Amaze+Citi Rewards now.
Itโs not just a 1% fee though. They are charging a min of 50 cents. This means that itโs more than 1% for any transaction thatโs above $50.
Small amount, we are talking about cents here, but it could add up to more than $10 a month
> All domestic transactions via amaze linked to a card will have a 1% fee (min 0.50 SGD)
Dear Aaron,
can you do up a summary on the best cards to use for small transactions (say below 5 dollars) now that amaze + citi is no longer viable?
Thanks for the timely article! Given that the Citi Rewards card is very much more useful when paired with the Amaze card, would you still recommend the Citi Rewards card + Amaze in this instance? Or would another credit card be better? Itโs currently my main card used for offline spending and Iโm pretty bummed by the news, although I guess paying $10 for the $1,000 doesnโt sound tooo terrible. Appreciate your thoughts!
Assuming $10 fee for $1,000, itโs 0.25 cpm.
Alternative is UOB VS (min $1,000 mobile contactless spending per statement month) and UOB PPV.
Thanks for the timely article! Given that the Citi Rewards card is very much more useful when paired with the Amaze card, would you still recommend the Citi Rewards card + Amaze in this instance? Or would another credit card be better? Itโs currently my main card used for offline spending and Iโm pretty bummed by the news, although I guess paying $10 for the $1,000 doesnโt sound tooo terrible. Appreciate your thoughts!
where is the option to close the account? I think we are coming very close to this day soon.
considering min fee of S$0.5 per txn, it makes absolutely no sense to use Amaze x Citi Rewards anymore with the day-to-day expenses and contactless payment. Pay for a $1.20 bread? You mean $1.7 with Citi Rewards + Amaze.
Given that I have been using Citi Rewards for a long time, how else can I use it for my day to day? any other options out there? IIRC ShopBack Pay paired with Citi Rewards does not work, and only limited merchants accept ShopBack Pay.
New Citi Rewards hacks will be great! It has been a good card for my spending pattern. That is if Citi do not change their points accrual T&Cs as imo this card alone, without pairing, seems quite redundant
What will be the best card for miles game now?
Despite this nerf, Amaze + CRMC is still one of the best choices for foreign currency spend. So itโs not entirely dead.
Have heard of chocolate finance card?
I never understood the attraction of amaze + citi rewards anyway. The cap is too low to get meaningful amount of points, given that points donโt pool and there is a transfer fee.
But CRโs miles are valid for 5 years and thereโs a wide range of transfer partners. In any case, most CCs have similar โlowโ caps.
Amaze as a fx card earning miles โ is it really competitive?
The elephant in the room is the chocolate visa card. 0.4 mpd over 1k.
Instarem: 0.5 (IP/$) / 1200 IP * 400 miles = 0.133 miles/$.
While MC usually has better forex, some comparison of the forex fee charged would be prudent given instaremโs competency with tinkering with fx spreads.
The Amaze card is now DEAD. It was a great card while it lasted. I have a small remaining balance in my wallet and even before this announcement, had not intended to use the card again, once that balance is exhausted. The joke will be that no doubt there will be an email from Instarem trying to say they are improving the features for us!
I got the email and donโt you know it, itโs all for our benefitโฆ
โFrom 10 March 2025, weโre making some updates to your amaze card to enhance your travel experience.โ
i laughed when i saw the โeโ word
it is confirmed to be min. 0.5c per transaction then? for small, domestic offline-to-online spenders it will definitely be a lot more than $10 in fees:( any recommendations for hacks and cards preferably miles, for people who spend less than $5 in most transactions, and (way) less than $1k per month? UOB PPV and VS will be out of option then and for non-online spenders DBS womenโs and UOB ladyโs are out too! thankyou!
The Chocolate Card. This card will basically take every one away from Amaze. There is absolutely no reason to use Amaze anymore โ either for under $5 transactions or larger ones.
True that, truly unfortunate that the days of offline-to-online conversion for low spenders are over then. Probably we are minority in SG so barely any cards cater for this.
Any recs for worthy cashback card that outweighs miles general spending card e.g. Citi premiermiles/SCB Journey out there?
Thankyou!(:
Hi All! Actually is it really that bad? Sure there is that 1% transaction fees but if we look at it in totality, I see 2 scenarios happening: Scenario 1 (Savvy miles user like all of us here on Milelion >.<). Limit min spending to $50: โ Max incurred transaction cost: $10 โ Mpd: 4,000/1010 = 3.96 Scenario 2 (average 60 transactions per month) โ Max incurred cost: 60 x $0.50 = $30 -Mpd: 4,000/1030= 3.88 Could it have been better without 1%? Absolutely! Is it really THAT BAD? Not really? Yes we are paying for the transaction charges. Yesโฆ Read more ยป
Correct me if Iโm wrong: 1. It is 1% with a minimum of 50c. Unless your txn is always $50, the max incurred cost will be more than $10. 2. This is only true if your spending is always $1000 per SM and ALL of those are converted to miles/points. Even if you regularly hit $1k a month, with rounding downs, you wonโt get 4000 miles. Though if you hit at least $1k every month I think there are better cards out there for guaranteed 4mpd (e.g. UOB VS, if you want to be stuck to SIA and Cathay Pacificโฆ Read more ยป
Great insights and thatโs why Iโm interested to know if there re any โholesโ in my thought process. 1. Totally agree. And thatโs why I came up with scenario 2. Scenario 1 is IF we only use the card when txns are above $50. By limiting to that, our max cost, assuming we keep everything to within 1k, will be around $10. That said, I understand your point that it will not be always exactly 1k. Although having said that, I donโt think itโll be too far off from 4mpd. 2. UOB VS or UOB PPV are fantastic options (andโฆ Read more ยป
ngl I was contemplating to sign up for UOB PPV and/or Chocolate card after I saw that email from Amaze! Not gna qualify for VSโ 4mpd anyway. However I then calculated my current mpd earning and the expected one with the same set of spending after Amaze charges, I will potentially be getting 0.15-0.2 mpd reduction (and still way above 3mpd too!), which is not bad for my case. Could be more? Maybe. Cos: 1. As you said UOB has $5 blocks, the actual mpd for both PPV and Amaze+CRMC after 10 March may end up to be the same.โฆ Read more ยป
Without a surcharge the cost of local miles is 0 cents each. This is true for any card (unless you pay interest/late/annual or any other fees). The surcharge means you are now paying for local miles which would otherwise be free. Up to you how you value that.
Hi Xianyi Allow me to modify the numbers a bit to point out a fallacy. If the transaction fee was 10% instead of 1%, and you made a $1000 transaction, you would pay $1100 overall and gain 4000 miles. Is that actually 4000/1100=3.63 miles per dollar? The value you get out of the 4000 miles will never be equal to the extra $100 you had to pay. The actual calculation here is perceived value of 4000 miles (lets say $40) deducted by the extra fee ($10 for your calculation) still nets you $30, making it approximately 3mpd. When paying theโฆ Read more ยป
Thanks for your comments. Clearly Iโm still a long ways away from getting to this level of thought process. Ultimately my point isโฆ I wonโt unnecessarily deem this card as useless considering I can still get more miles than say a 1.4mpd card. Would 4mpd without 1% charge been great? Absolutely. But we all knew that there would come a day where the sun wonโt shine anymore. Itโs coming soon no doubt. For now, unless itโs clear the denominations are in $5 blocks, i probably would still use this combi but thatโs just me!
I agree with you, this card is not useless yet. I currently use this and UOB PPV for my daily usage. My perceived value for 4000 miles is about $40 so based on the 1% fee, that drops to $30 (3mpd). I will try to use this card only for transactions above $50. Regarding UOBโs $5 blocks, here is my simplified calculation โ the max loss is 16 miles per transaction ($4 x 4mpd) no matter what the transaction amount is within the max limits of the card. I use $4 instead of $4.99 since CRMC and most other cardsโฆ Read more ยป