UOB One Account nerfing interest rates to 1.9% p.a. from December 2025

The UOB One Account is often regarded as the best bank account for miles chasers, because unlike other “hurdle accounts” that require spending on cashback cards, buying overpriced investment or insurance products, or taking out a mortgage, its mechanism is refreshingly straightforward.

Customers can currently earn up to 2.5% p.a. on a maximum balance of S$150,000 by simply meeting two requirements:

• Crediting a monthly salary of at least S$1,600
• Spending at least S$500 per month on selected UOB cards

The list of eligible cards includes two popular miles-earning options— the UOB Lady’s Card and UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card— and the S$500 spending requirement easily fits within their monthly bonus cap.

Unfortunately, the UOB One Account has seen a steady decline in interest rates over 2025, with cuts in May and September 2025. But UOB isn’t done for the year yet, because from 1 December 2025, the maximum effective interest will be cut again to 1.9% p.a.

UOB One Account cuts interest rates from December 2025

Current interest rates

The UOB One Account currently offers customers up to 2.5% p.a. on a maximum balance of S$150,000.

Revised interest rates

From 1 December 2025, UOB will be revising the interest rates on the UOB One Account as follows.

If you’re a customer meeting the card spend and salary credit requirements, the maximum effective interest you can earn on the first S$150,000 will decrease from 2.5% p.a. to 1.9% p.a.

If you’re a customer meeting the card spend and GIRO requirements, there is no change. The maximum effective interest you can earn on the first S$125,000 stays the same at 1.4% p.a.

What’s not changing?

For what it’s worth, UOB is keeping the One Account simple by not changing any of the activities required to unlock bonus interest:

• Min. card spend of S$500 per calendar month, and
• At least 3 GIRO debit transactions or credit salary of at least S$1,600 per month (with the transaction reference code “SALA” / “PAYNOW SALA”)

The list of eligible UOB cards remains the same.

No prizes for guessing that most miles chasers will meet the minimum spend with either the UOB Lady’s Card or UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card, as the S$500 requirement is well within the monthly bonus cap of S$1,000 (Lady’s Card) or S$1,500 (Lady’s Solitaire Card- split into S$750 per bonus category).

Reminder: 6% rebate for tax payments

During the May interest rate nerf, UOB softened the blow with a new promotion that offers a 6% rebate on GIRO income tax payments made between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026.

This promotion continues unchanged, and as before, the rebate cap depends on the monthly average balance (MAB) in your UOB One Account.

To earn this rebate, customers will need to complete the following three steps:

1. Register your mobile number for PayNow on UOB TMRW
2. Activate Money Lock on UOB TMRW (minimum S$1 lock amount)
3. Apply for GIRO Monthly Tax Payment Plan through IRAS portal, selecting UOB One Account for deduction

No further actions are required if you’ve already performed the above three activities prior to 1 April 2025. 

To illustrate, a customer who has a MAB of S$150,000 and completes the steps above will receive a 6% rebate (capped at S$50) on each month’s GIRO deduction. This is equivalent to an S$833 monthly tax bill.

Assuming you max out this promotion, the extra cash works out to an incremental 0.4% p.a. in interest. This, of course, assumes that you keep at least S$150,000 in your UOB One Account and have a personal income tax bill of at least ~S$10,000. 

Alternatives for miles chasers

If you’re pursuing a miles collection strategy and don’t want to take up a mortgage or buy insurance or investment products, here’s a quick rundown of the alternatives on the market: 

Account	Max. Interest*	Cap
Maybank SaveUp	1.17% p.a.	S$75K
DBS Multiplier	1.8-2.2% p.a.	S$50K
BOC SmartSaver	1.6% p.a.	S$100K
OCBC 360	2.45% p.a.	S$100K
UOB One	2.5% p.a. Till 30 Nov 25 1.9% p.a. From 1 Dec 25	S$150K
*Assumptions: Max out salary credit and bill payment bonuses, where applicable, and spending only on miles-earning cards.

It probably shouldn’t be a surprise that the other options aren’t exactly great either.

While you could theoretically earn up to 2.45% p.a. with the OCBC 360 account, 0.5% of that comes from the Save category, which requires you to increase your ADB (average daily balance) by at least S$500 monthly. This is difficult to finesse, particularly if you’re using the OCBC 360 as your daily driver, and it’s highly unlikely you would be able to earn 2.45% p.a. on the entire S$100,000 balance.

Likewise, the DBS Multiplier requires a total credit card spend of at least S$30,000 to unlock its 2.2% p.a. rate, and at least S$15,000 to unlock its 1.9% p.a. rate (assuming you don’t have a home loan, insurance or investment). Besides, the bonus interest is capped at S$50,000, if you just do salary crediting and card spend.

So the UOB One Account will probably remain the best option for miles chasers, as the qualification criteria remain relatively straightforward.

Conclusion

From 1 December 2025, the UOB One Account will cut its interest rates from 2.5% p.a. to 1.9% p.a. on a maximum account balance of S$150,000.

This is no doubt bad news for miles chasers, as the UOB Lady’s Card + UOB One Account combo was a great way of getting the best of both miles and interest, but it’s on par with what we’re seeing in the broader market.

Miles chasers: any change to your banking strategy?