DBS Cards add new reward exclusions from December 2025

DBS has announced some new rewards exclusions for its credit and debit cards, which will come into effect on 1 December 2025.

While the majority of these are meant to address loopholes for manufactured spending, some “legitimate” MCCs that will be affected too. 

DBS adds further reward exclusions from December 2025

From 1 December 2025, DBS will be excluding additional MCCs and transaction descriptions from earning DBS Points or cashback.

The new exclusions can be found in this document, marked with a #. I’ve summarised them below.

As I mentioned at the start, most of these new exclusions relate to quasi-cash transactions like financial institutions or stored value facilities, so DBS is basically doing some spring cleaning to close manufactured spending loopholes.

However, even if you aren’t trying anything funny, you might still get caught out if you transact at the following places. 

MCC 6513 Real Estate Agents and Managers – Rentals

If you’re paying CardUp rent with a DBS card, rental payments can code under two different MCCs

• DBS Vantage, DBS Altitude Visa: MCC 6513 (Real Estate Agents and Managers)
• DBS Altitude AMEX: MCC 7399 (Business Services Not Elsewhere Classified)

Therefore, if you’re using a DBS Vantage or DBS Altitude Visa for your recurring rental arrangement, you’ll need to swap it out for a different card before 1 December 2025. 

Non-rental payments made via CardUp code as MCC 7399, and will continue to earn rewards with DBS cards (though they do not count towards the minimum spend for welcome offers).

MCC 7349 Cleaning and Maintenance, Janitorial Services

The following merchants have been reported to code as MCC 7349:

• iCondo
• SendHelper
• Urban Company

There are data points in the Telegram Community that Helpling top-ups code as MCC 5734, and if so then it won’t be affected.

MCC 8699 Membership Organisations

The following merchants have been reported to code as MCC 8699:

• Accor Plus (now ALL Accor+ Explorer)
• Aerotel Changi Airport (surprisingly)
• Automobile Association of Singapore (e.g. payment for IDP)
• CPA Australia membership
• ICAEW membership
• NTUC membership
• NUSS membership

MCC 8999 Professional Services

The following merchants have been reported to code as MCC 8999:

• FlexiRoam
• Orangetee Advisory
• PreceptsGroup
• Seek Sophie
• Tabelog
• Thaiticketmajor

For me, this is probably the most damaging addition, because MCC 8999 is a huge catch-all. The above-mentioned merchants are just examples, and reports say that 8999 can pop up when you least expect it (e.g. hotels in Japan).

Check the MCCs!

If you want to be certain about earning your miles, the best thing to do is to check the MCC before making a transaction. 

Here are three ways you can do so:

Conclusion

From 1 December 2025, DBS will be tightening its rewards exclusions even further, while also bolstering its existing exclusions for quasi-cash and insurance transactions.

MCC 8999 is the one that you’ll really need to be careful about, given its catch-all nature, and taking a few minutes to check the MCC can help avoid costly mistakes.

(HT: @foxes)