With many banks now excluding rewards for hospital payments, there’s a common misconception that earning miles on medical-related transactions is no longer possible.
Thankfully, that’s simply not the case. Not all medical issues result in a hospital visit—there are plenty of other scenarios, such as health screenings, telemedicine, or in-person consultations with dentists, doctors, physiotherapists, opticians, and podiatrists (no, homeopathy doesn’t count).
In this post, I’ll cover the best cards to use for both hospital and non-hospital medical expenses.
How do medical expenses code?
Medical expenses can code under a wide range of MCCs, depending on the type of practice you’re visiting.
| 👨⚕️ Medical-related MCCs | ||
| MCC | Description | Examples |
| 8011 | Doctors- Not Elsewhere Classified | Healthway Medical, Q&M Medical, Raffles Medical |
| 8021 | Dentists and Orthodontists | Elements Dental, Parkway Dental, Unity Denticare |
| 8031 | Osteopathic Physicians | City Osteopathy Physiotherapy, The Osteopathic Centre |
| 8041 | Chiropractors | Chiropractic First, Spinal Rehab Centre |
| 8042 | Optometrists and Ophthalmologists | Asia Retina, Tsecc |
| 8043 | Opticians, Optical Goods and Eyeglasses | KJ Optometrists, Northern Optician, New China Opticians |
| 8044 | Optical Goods and Eyeglasses | Nanyang Optical, Paris Miki, W Optics |
| 8049 | Chiropodists, Podiatrists | Footworks Podiatry Clinic, East Coast Podiatry |
| 8050 | Nursing and Personal Care Facilities | Charis Manor Nursing Home, LC Nursing Home, Orange Valley |
| 8062 | Hospitals | Raffles Hospital, SGH, all Polyclinics |
| 8071 | Dental and Medical Labs | Ma Kuang, NewPath Diagnostics Lab |
| 8099 | Health Practitioners, Medical Services Not Elsewhere Classified | Doctor Anywhere, Eu Yan Sang TCM Clinic, HealthHub |
As you can see, hospitals are just one of many possible medical-related MCCs. That’s a good thing, mind you, because even though many banks have nerfed rewards for hospitals, they continue to offer them for other healthcare expenses.
To pre-empt a commonly-asked question: No, I cannot tell you how clinic X located within hospital Y will code. But you can easily find the MCC for yourself before spending anything with these three methods.
| 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. | ||
Given the uncertainty involved, and the potential size of some of these transactions, it’s always worth taking a few minutes to check.
Best credit cards for hospitals
Let’s start with hospitals first, because banks see it as a separate category from other medical transactions.
Here’s how the MOH organises hospitals in Singapore:
| Acute | Community | |
| Public |
1. Alexandra 2. Changi General 3. Khoo Teck Puat 4. KK Women’s and Children’s 5. NUH 6. Ng Teng Fong 7. Sengkang General 8. Singapore General 9. Tan Tock Seng 10. Woodlands Hospital |
1. Bright Vision 2. Jurong Community 3. Outram Community 4. Sengkang Community 5. Yishun Community |
| Not-for-Profit | 1. Mount Alvernia | 1. AMK- Thye Hua Kwan Hospital 2. Ren Ci Community 3. St Andrew’s Community 4. St Luke’s |
| Private | 1. Crawfurd 2. Farrer Park 3. Gleneagles 4. Mount Elizabeth 5. Mount Elizabeth Novena 6. Parkway East 7. Raffles Hospital 8. Thomson Medical Centre |
| ❓ What’s a restructured hospital? | ||
|
You may also come across the term “restructured hospital”. This is basically a public hospital. Per the MOH: “The Government has restructured all its acute hospitals and specialty centres to be run as private companies wholly owned by the government. This is to enable the public hospitals to have the management autonomy and flexibility to respond more promptly to the needs of the patients.” |
All polyclinics and the following specialist centres also code as public hospitals.
|
|
Why does the classification matter? Because it affects the hospital’s MDR, or Merchant Discount Rate (the fee paid to accept credit card payments). In general, public hospitals pay lower MDRs, while private hospitals pay higher. Therefore, while some banks have excluded hospitals altogether, others have taken the less drastic step of only excluding public ones.
Here’s the list of banks which still award points for hospital transactions:
| Public | Private & Non-Profit | |
 |
✕ | ✓ |
 |
✕ | ✕ |
 |
✓ | ✓ |
 ULTIMA |
✓ | ✓ |
| All other cards |
✕ | ✕ |
 |
✕ | ✕ |
 |
✕ | ✕ |
 |
✓ | ✓ |
 VOYAGE & Premier Visa Infinite |
✕ | ✓ |
| All other cards |
✕ | ✕ |
 |
✕ | ✕ |
 |
✕ | ✕ |
You can use the following cards for hospital bills, subject to the exclusions mentioned in the table above.
| Card | Earn Rate |
 Citi ULTIMA Card |
1.6 mpd |
 AMEX Solitaire PPS Credit CardApply |
1.3 mpd |
 AMEX PPS Credit CardApply |
1.3 mpd |
 OCBC VOYAGE Apply |
1.3 mpd |
 OCBC Premier Visa InfiniteApply |
1.28 mpd |
 AMEX HighFlyer CardApply |
1.2 mpd |
 AMEX KrisFlyer AscendApply |
1.2 mpd |
 Maybank Visa InfiniteApply |
1.2 mpd |
 AMEX KrisFlyer Credit CardApply |
1.1 mpd |
 Chocolate Visa CardApply |
1 mpd (capped at 100 miles/month) |
 AMEX Centurion |
0.98 mpd |
 AMEX Platinum ChargeApply |
0.78 mpd |
 AMEX Platinum ReserveApply |
0.69 mpd |
 AMEX Platinum Credit CardApply |
0.69 mpd |
| 💳 What about the UOB Reserve and UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card? |
| In October 2024, UOB officially excluded hospitals from earning points with the UOB Reserve and UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card (hospitals were removed from all other UOB cards in February 2021). However, there have been reports from cardholders that private hospitals continue to earn points nonetheless. Proceed with caution. |
The earning options here aren’t great, to be honest. Most of these are premium cards with high minimum incomes and/or annual fees, and the more accessible cards come with strings attached. For example, the Chocolate Visa Card earns 1 mpd on hospital bills, but caps this at just 100 miles per month.
All this assumes you’re paying at the hospital itself, mind you. If you’re paying the bill via AXS, you won’t earn any miles, period.
By the way, you should not assume that just because a medical practice is physically located on the grounds of a hospital, it will code as a hospital. In fact, most clinics within hospitals have their own MCCs, in which case you should refer to the section on non-hospital medical expenses.
| 🏥Overseas hospital? |
|
If you’re seeking treatment at an overseas hospital, then Maybank cards become your top choice.
|
Workarounds
If you’re visiting a public hospital or polyclinic, not all is lost. You might be able to pay your bills via the HealthHub/Health Buddy/OneNUHS app and still earn miles.
However, the situation is a lot more complicated now. Once upon a time, these reliably coded as MCC 8099, which is eligible for rewards— even 4 mpd with cards that bonus online spend. But in the second half of 2025, payments made on these platforms started coding as MCC 9399 Government Services, making them ineligible for rewards.
I’m not sure why, but this change has yet to affect the DBS Woman’s World Card. For transactions made with the DBS Woman’s World Card, the latest data points say that SGH and other bills code as MCC 8099 (though NUHS bills might be risky as they appear to be 9399).
Do note that this could change at any time, so when in doubt, test the transaction first using the DBS digibot method.
Also note that even though American Express cards do not exclude MCC 9399, HealthHub is explicitly blacklisted and will not earn rewards.
Best credit cards for non-hospital medical expenses
When it comes to non-hospital medical expenses, we basically have a general spending situation on our hands.
You should use whichever card you’d normally use for general spending, or else a card for which you’re trying to hit the minimum spend for a welcome offer.
| Card | Earn Rate | Remarks |
 Amaze + Citi RewardsApply |
4 mpd | Max $1K per s. month. 1% admin fee applies for SGD transactions Review |
 DBS Woman’s World CardApply |
4 mpd | Max S$1K per c. month. Must be online Review |
 UOB Preferred Platinum VisaApply |
4 mpd | Max S$600 per c. month, must use mobile payments Review |
 UOB Visa Signature Apply |
4 mpd | Min S$1K, max S$1.2K per s. month on contactless & petrol Review |
The only card with an exclusion for non-hospital healthcare transactions is the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card, which excludes MCCs 8011 and 8099 effective August 2022. This means you shouldn’t use it for visits to medical clinics or telemedicine consultations.
Also, the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature is capped at earning 480 miles per month on MCCs 8011, 8021, 8031, 8041-8043, 8049, 8050, 8062, 8071 and 8099- but with an earn rate of just 0.16 mpd, I don’t see why you’d use this anyway. Also, this cap only applies to spending in SGD; FCY spend will earn 2.8 mpd provided the minimum monthly spend of S$800 is met.
Conclusion
While many banks have excluded rewards for hospital transactions, there are still options with AMEX, Maybank, and selected OCBC cards. Alternatively, there are workarounds in the form of HealthHub and Health Buddy, for those using the public health system.
Moreover, outpatient treatment usually qualifies as a rewards-eligible general spending category, allowing you to earn up to 4 mpd on your spending.
Thanks for the helpful article. Got bills to pay at SGH.
Very timely article. Have a 15-25k bill coming up for my 1st child’s birth!
Lol wish i seen this on Tuesday
Dear Aaron, Last month I tried, citirewards visa no longer provide 4mpd for grab top up. You like to double check ?
Did you happen to have exceeded your monthly cap? I just topped up grab on 16th June and was credited the points.
Don’t understand why people read your website AND still use GrabPay.
Wonder if anyone knows what is the MCC code used for National Skin Center?
Used DBS Altitude for Q&M dental this week. Confirmed points awarded.
Meaning all other clinis non hospital with MCC 8011 also will earn?
Hi, I think DBS Altitude does not award pointz for grab topups. Its stated in thd T&C
Maybe you should try it yourself…
For sharing:
I think Aaron’s article is referring to payment over counter. Nowadays you don’t really need to pay govt hospital bills over the counter and can opt to pay online instead. I just paid my mum’s SGH bills via http://epay.singhealth.com.sg/sgh. I tested the smaller bills on both my UOB Prvi and Citi Rewards (both Mastercard) and I got 1.4 miles and 4 miles respectively. Do note only VISA and Masters are accepted on this payment gateway.
Hope it helps.
Yes that’s right! Good to have your data point too
Hello Aaron and thanks for this article! To ride on this comment, does that mean that all other apps e.g. Using DBS Woman’s World for KKH bills via Health Buddy, can be approached as such too?
Update that this still works: I just found that an online payment done last month (March 2023) to Singhealth for SGH bill got 1.4 mpd on UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard.
The post metion UOB PRIVI miles card does it applies to all Visa,Master,AMEX?
Hi Aaron, great article!
Am wondering, with the upgrade in HSBC Revolution, does it give 4mpd if using contactless as MCC 8062? If so, you can update it on your article!
Any idea on private clinic? What Mcc are usually used by gp or specialist clinic?
Anyone knows?
So with my limited card, my best bet would be either 90N or premier if Amex cant be use….
citi premiermile i mean
Pls double-check Bank of China’s Family card. I called up and they said hospitals are eligible for cashback but cap at $25.
this guide is only for *miles* cards. if you’re looking for cashback, this is the wrong site for you
Aaron, can you consider adding this category to the “what card do I use for” section?
I missed this article, got greedy and used my citi rewards visa at national skin centre’s pharmacy. Ended up with only the base points.
eh? thought it was there already. i will check and add
Still don’t have leh, just fyi
done! you can refer to it now.
Hihi, do you mean entire cgh uses the code mcc 8062? Any grabpoints awarded to any of the mcc 9399 or mcc 8062? Any difference using the physical card or the e card?
UOB PPV has excluded 8062 wef 2021. need to update this article
actually this article already reflects that development. only the UOB Reserve and UOB VI Metal Card still earn.
I think this sentence needs to be removed “ Based on past data points, polyclinics code as 8062 and not 9399, and hence earn regular credit card rewards (most also accept Paywave, so 4 mpd with the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa is possible). ” as it causes confusion about Paywave possibly overriding the MCC exclusion.
Amaze + CRMC for 4 mpd?
Have the following info to share
Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital 8062
Mount Alvernia Hospital 8062
The Skin Specialist Clinic 8099
The Eyeclinic by Dr Cheryl Lee Clinic 8011
Barrie Tan ENT Head & Neck Surgery 8011
Hi AARON WONG, it’s time to update this list , most of the CC exclude hospital in earning list
citi miles card didnt indicate 8062 in their list though
StarMed Specialist Centre 8011
Farrer Park Hospital 8062
Bank of China Family VISA – 3% Cashback (Cap $25), min $800 Spend
”Hospital” bills means on-site transactions made at hospitals in Singapore with the assigned MCC 8062 – Hospitals. For the avoidance of doubt, all transactions made at hospitals in Singapore that do not fall within the assigned MCC 8062 will be eligible for 0.3% cash rebate.
https://pic.bankofchina.com/bocappd/singapore/201908/P020190802365794711754.pdf
Do you know if hospital bills paid via app such as OneNUHSApp fall under MCC 8062? I was told it uses a separate MCC.
Hi Aaron, is there a cap if we use Citi rewards + Amaze?
The cap is of course your Citi Rewards’ cap?
Hi Aaron, I thought Highflyer only excludes public hospitals? Can i still earn 1.8mpd if I’m going to spend at Mt. Elizabeth Novena?
correct. have made it more clear
Hey will the grab pay work around not work anymore for highflyer card since topups are nerfed?
Hi , I was informed by Citi bank that mc8099 do not earn bonus miles. Btw, I am paying using Instarem. Do I still get the bonus miles?
8099 is not excluded in TnCs
Just tried paying through HealthHub, MCC 8099 for KKH SingHealth bill
seems like Citibank has now excluded MCC 8062 from their rewards list
https://www.citibank.com.sg/global_docs/pdf/Revised_Rewards_Exclusion_List.pdf
Jan 2024 : Maybank Horizon Visa ?
For HSBC T1 card, i clarified with bank just 1-2 months back since i did not get my miles:
8062 Excluded (Pay @ Counter)
8099 Eligible (Healthhub, NUHS)
thanks i have updated the table. hsbc VI allows hospital spend but didn’t realise t1 excludes it.
If I have a large bill (in the many thousands) for a private hospital, what cards should I use purely for sign-up bonus purposes? Assuming the bill can be split among a few cards. I already have DBS, Citi and UOB cards, and am open to both miles and cash/gift bonuses. Understand that certain cards such as OCBC would not even count hospital payments as part of eligible spend.
Will be spending on private hospital as kid is popping out soon..wld appreciate any gameplan to tackle the best card use and maximise sign on bonus..
Current plan is the STC Journey card as 45k sign on bonus w 3k min spending within 2mnths. . As they still include hospital bills in that rewards system..
Any help? Thanks.
Any data point on HSBC Evol card welcome gift? Does 8062 or 8099 counted as part of the qualifying spend?
Thanks Aaron for the article. By the way does anyone know which card could still earn points (or even bonus points) for executive health screening at Parkway? Thanks so much!
Just tried to use the dbs digibot method to check mcc code for onenuhs app payment. It was reflected as “hospitals”, which I presume is mcc 8062?
What about vets?
Can I use SC journey card only for KK hospital bill via HealthHub to get welcome bonus offer? Does it count?
Hi, anyone knows if DBS altitude earns miles forMCCs 8011 and 8099?
I have a large hospital bill coming up for family member’s operation. Around $60K.
Such bill can be paid via healthhub?
if can be paid via healthhub, does premiermiles gives miles for payment via healthhub?
appreciate feedbacks
Hi Aaron, may i confirm if Maybank Visa Infinnite card still earns points/miles from hospital bills? as I found this article https://milelion.com/2023/04/04/maybanks-new-rewards-exclusions-education-hospitals-paypal-and-all-grab-services/
Anyone tried to use the citi rewards and amaze combo for lasik? I will be doing it at eagle eye centre. Also, I will not be able to earn miles if I go by instalment right?
Any data points or suggestions for vet clinics? I realised those were not mentioned in the above article.
those will be general spending type categories.
Got it thanks!
What about getting a new pair of spectacles at optician shop? Which card to use for 4 mpd? Citi Rewards can? Thanks
Sharing an update, I used my UOB preferred platinum on health hub for some medical bills from national skin centre. Transaction was posted today and UOB customer service confirm the MCC is 8099, however I was not awarded the bonus UNI rewards 9X. Uob customer service confirm 8099 is excluded for the bonus Uni rewards.
the uob preferred platinum visa earns 10x points for mobile contactless payments. for online payments, the 10x is based on a whitelist. there is no reason to expect to earn 10x points for online healthhub payments with ppv.
Would DBS Vantage welcome bonus be compatible with a public hospital bill payment made via HealthHub?
Payment via NUHS app is MCC 8062 now. I learnt the hard way
Thanks for the article! If I pay using the NUHS app, what cards will give miles in2025? I need a general spending card, since the bill is close to $3000.
Would the UOB PRVI miles work if paid using the app? Or the OCBC Voyage card? Or is it safer to use the Maybank card. Thanks for your advice!
Is payment using Healthhub App & healthhub.sg website yield a different MCC? I accidentally used website rather than App. Thanks.
Just used my Citi Rewards card on the Health Buddy app in early Aug 2025. No points awarded at all.
It was still awarding points as recently as May 2025.
I used a Citi Reward card to pay my SGH hospital bill using Health Buddy, but they didn’t give any points for it (:-(
Dear Aaron, recently I made Healthhub in-app bill payment using CitiRewards and I realized there was no miles earned for that transaction. Can help to confirm if this does not apply to CitiRewards card only or it affects all cards?
https://milelion.com/2025/08/10/psa-healthhub-and-health-buddy-now-coding-as-mcc-9399-on-some-cards/
refer here. dbs is still unaffected
Hi Aaron, In Aug 2025, my UOB visa signature transaction at parkway Shenton clinic did not earn any miles.
Checked with UOB, the clinic transaction MCC was 8062, which is excluded. 🙁
Does anyone know the MCC for vet clinic??
UOB reserve still reward for hospital bills
Hi Aaron, would a surgery at Vet Hospital/Specialists be applicable under the “Best credit cards for non-hospital medical expenses”? If not can you advise which cards are recommended, thanks a lot!
this is a general spending situation, so really no different from the section labelled Best credit cards for non-hospital medical expenses
So we’re limited to Ultima, Maybank VI, Amex KF and Voyage for hospital bills. Should get one of these 4 if there is regular hospital expenditure. Is Amex KF probably easiest and cheapest option? 11K hospital spend a year would net enough miles to cover the AF if it isn’t waived.