2025/26 Edition: The Maybank Manchester United Card gamble

At the end of the last English Premier League season, Maybank had a conundrum on its hands: how could it realign the Maybank Manchester United Card with the club’s newfound ethos?

After all, with Ruben Amorim’s men winning just 11 out of 38 games, earning a meagre 42 points and finishing in 15th place — their lowest league position in decades — it was clear that the team was embarking in a bold new direction.

I mean, how else can you explain such great acts of charity we witnessed over the course of the campaign, like when Diogo Dalot decided it would be unsporting to tap the ball into an open net, and opted instead to donate it to the underprivileged orphan seated in Row Z? Or the steadfast support of Rasmus Hojlund even after he was diagnosed with terminal goalzheimers? Or when Manchester United made it to the final of the Europa League, if only to show they could, before surrendering so tamely in a match The Guardian described as “a bout between a blind bear and a pair of three-legged badgers”?

It was plainly obvious that a new philosophy had taken hold at Old Trafford, one less obsessed with winning at all costs, and more dedicated to ensuring that everyone has fun and forms new friendships along the way. But how do you square that with a cobrand card that only rewards something as crass as *gasp* winning?

Why, you shift the goalposts of course, and that’s why the 2025/26 season introduces a kinder, gentler Maybank Manchester United Card, with an all-new rewards system that recognises the grit and pluckiness of grinding out a draw on a cold mid-week night at Rustbelt-upon-Bleakminster F.C.

Overview: Maybank Manchester United Card

Apply
Income Req.	S$30,000 p.a.	Points Validity	12-15 months
Annual Fee	S$87.20 (2 year waiver)	Min. Transfer (KF)	10,000 miles
Miles with Annual Fee	None	Transfer Partners	4
FCY Fee	3.25%	Transfer Fee	S$27.25
Local Earn	1.12mpd	Points Pool?	Yes
FCY Earn	1.12mpd	Lounge Access?	No
Special Earn	1.6 mpd (Man Utd draw) 2.8 mpd (Man Utd win)	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

It’s a whole new ball game this season for the Maybank Manchester United Card, with a new card face, revised earn rates, and a refreshed rewards mechanic which reminds us that life is not just a relentless zero-sum game.

Gone is the previous hybrid system of miles and cashback, replaced instead by a four-tiered scheme.

• If Manchester United wins an EPL game, cardholders earn 2.8 mpd on all SGD and FCY spend that day, capped at S$2,000 per win
• If Manchester United draws an EPL game, cardholders earn 1.6 mpd on all SGD and FCY spend that day, capped at S$2,000 per draw, and one draw per calendar month
• If Manchester United lose an EPL game, or on non-match days, cardholders earn an uncapped 1.12 mpd on all SGD and FCY spend

However, if you’re spending on the following categories (which Maybank dubs “Selected Categories”), then special rules apply.

• Spending on Selected Categories in SGD will earn an uncapped 0.4 mpd.
• Spending on Selected Categories in FCY will earn 1.12 mpd on a regular basis, 1.6 mpd when Manchester United draw, and 2.8 mpd when Manchester United win, with the latter two scenarios subject to the aforementioned S$2,000 spending cap and one draw per month

Here’s an illustration of how the Maybank Manchester United Card’s bonus mechanism works:

• Manchester United play an EPL match on Sunday, 20 August 2025 (UK time) and win
• The first S$2,000 charged to the Maybank Manchester United Card on Sunday, 20 August 2025 from 12.00 a.m to 11.59 p.m (Singapore time) receives a bonus 1.68 mpd (total 2.8 mpd)

And therein lies the gamble at the heart of the card. Because the UK is 7-8 hours behind Singapore, and most EPL matches take place in the mid to late afternoon, it’s rare that you’ll be able to confirm a result in advance of spending.

How’s the fixture list for this season?

Here’s the complete list of Manchester United’s EPL fixtures for the 2025/26 season (do remember that the fixture list is only provisional, and is subject to change). I’ve put a ✅ next to the matches which will conclude before the end of day in Singapore, based on a 90-minute match with a 15-minute break.

Based on the current schedule, 11 out of 38 games (the same number Man Utd won last season; what are the odds?!) will conclude before midnight in Singapore.

True, some of them will end at 11.45 p.m, but no one’s saying you need to wait until the final whistle. If all signs point to a Manchester United win (e.g. the opposing team has been struck by blindness, leprosy, and also an asteroid), then why not go ahead and order those celebratory prawn sandwiches early? Or why not pay for overseas school fees (or goalkeeping lessons for Andre Onana), hospital bills (paging Luke Shaw), utilities, rent or phone bills?

What’s that, you say? Other Maybank cards, like the XL, Horizon, and World Mastercard would earn you the same or better, without having to rely on the vagaries of a Manchester United performance?

Sure, but where’s the fun in that? Do you really want to go through life with every outcome already foreknown? Are you really that averse to excitement and adventure? Is it truly worth trading the giddy thrill of watching your miles rise and fall with the scoreline, just for the cold, boring comfort of consistent earnings? 

I think you know what the answer is.

But fine. To satisfy the weak of faith, I plugged the fixtures list into ChatGPT, and the all-knowing AI has ordained the following.

Assuming no more than one draw a month, a cardholder who spends S$2,000 per match day will earn:

• Wins: S$2,000 x 2.8 mpd x 15 = 84,000 miles
• Draws: S$2,000 x 1.6 mpd x 9 = 28,800 miles
• Losses : S$2,000 x 1.12 mpd x 14 = 31,360 miles

That’s 144,160 miles (enough for round-trip Premium Economy flight to Manchester) with a total spend of S$76,000, or an average earn rate of 1.9 mpd. 

Beat that, AMEX Centurion Card! 

How have previous seasons been?

The Maybank Manchester United Card debuted during the 2012/13 season, when Manchester United swept to the title by winning 28 out of 38 matches, an astounding win ratio of 74%. 

However, that also happened to be the swansong season for Sir Alex Ferguson, and the post-Fergie years have been…less single-mindedly fixated with winning. 

Conclusion

With another EPL season kicking off, it’s time once again for the Maybank Manchester United Card faithful to put their money where their mouth is, and strap in for another rollercoaster of misplaced passes, defensive calamities, and most importantly, moral victories. 

Sure, other Maybank cards might offer better, more consistent rewards, but are you really a fan if your miles account doesn’t reflect the team’s fortunes?