DBS Chromo Card: Mighty morphin flexible rewards

Meet Alexis! She has just started her first big girl job. She loves spending time with her friends, prioritising self-care and seizing her long weekends for travel. She also maximises her spending by choosing a credit card that rewards her lifestyle every month.

Thus begins the somewhat condescending sales pitch for the DBS Chromo Card, raising my suspicions that somewhere on Kalshi, a punter has just won big betting on the first mention of “big girl job” on the DBS website.

The DBS Chromo Card — which looks like something straight out of a My First Credit Card playset — is the latest youth-focused credit card to launch on the market.

Reserved exclusively for those aged 21-29, this penta-toned card offers a five-year annual fee waiver, no foreign currency (FCY) transaction fees (but also no rewards for FCY spend), and the ability to request a new card colour every month for a nominal fee — no, really.

It also allows cardholders to choose between earning miles or cashback, but like most hybrid reward cards, one of those options usually sucks. The sucky option here, unfortunately, is miles, with an underwhelming 1.3 mpd on all local spend.

5% cashback on a wide range of everyday categories is a much more compelling proposition, especially since it’s an actually achievable figure, and not some marketing hogwash like the Trust Freedom Card’s “15% cashback”.

Overview: DBS Chromo Card

DBS Chromo Card
Apply
Min. Income	S$30,000 p.a.	Points Validity	No expiry
Annual Fee	S$196.20 (5 year waiver)	Min. Transfer	5,000 DBS Points (10,000 miles)
FCY Fee	None	Transfer Partners	4
Earn Rates (Miles Mode)	1.3 mpd SGD only	Transfer Fee	S$27.25
Earn Rates (Cashback Mode)	5% cashback on 2 categories SGD only	Points Pool?	Yes
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

Income & age requirement

The DBS Chromo Card has a minimum income requirement of S$30,000 per year, the MAS-mandated minimum.

But that’s not the main barrier to entry.

The real restriction is that the DBS Chromo Card is only available to applicants aged 21-29 years old. You can apply as long as you haven’t crossed your 30th birthday (so 29 years and 364 days would be the cutoff).

The card can still be retained even after you turn 30, but the earn rates will change significantly — more on that later.

Annual fee

The DBS Chromo Card has an annual fee of S$196.20, which is waived for the first five years.

I would imagine that fee waivers should be relatively easy to get even after that, but hey, that’s a problem for 2031.

No supplementary cards

It’s a fairly minor thing, but it’s worth noting that the DBS Chromo Card does not allow you to add supplementary cards.

No FCY transaction fee

The DBS Chromo Card has no foreign currency (FCY) transaction fees. All FCY transactions will be converted into SGD at the prevailing Visa rate, with no further mark-up.

This makes it the first DBS credit card with such a feature, but here’s the catch: you don’t earn any rewards on FCY spend.

It’s hard to see why you should settle for this. Even if your goal was to minimise the cost of overseas transactions, you could still enjoy zero FCY fees while earning 1.5% cashback with the Mari Credit Card or 3% stockback with the Trust Freedom Card.

Earn cashback or miles

The DBS Chromo Card earns cashback by default, but cardholders have the ability to switch between earning miles or cashback via the DBS digibank app.

Cardholders can switch their reward preference for the previous month’s eligible spend by the 10th day of the following month. For example, your setting as of 10 October 2026 will determine how transactions from 1-30 September 2026 are treated.

This is great, because it allows you to spend first, decide later. If you didn’t manage to meet the minimum spend for bonus cashback in a given month, you can simply switch to miles mode by the 10th of the following month.

A maximum of one switch can be made per calendar month.

Cashback mode: Up to 5% cashback

In cashback mode, the DBS Chromo Card earns:

• 1% base cashback, with no minimum spend
• 4% bonus cashback on two bonus categories, with a minimum spend of S$500 per calendar month

There are two cashback caps to note here:

• Bonus cashback is capped at S$30 per category, per calendar month
• Base + bonus cashback is capped at S$150 per calendar month

What this basically means is that the cap will be hit if you spend S$750 in each of the two bonus categories, and a maximum of S$9,000 overall on the card.

A total of six bonus categories are available, but what’s interesting is that you don’t need to select specific bonus categories. Instead, the DBS Chromo Card will automatically select the two with the highest eligible spending each month.

The detailed list of MCCs can be found below.

Do note that certain MCCs only qualify for specifically-named merchants.

What’s nice about the DBS Chromo Card is that you can use it purely for bonus-eligible spending.

The minimum spend to earn bonus cashback is S$500 per month, which is less than the spending cap for cashback of S$750 per category. Therefore, you could spend anywhere from S$500 to S$1,500 at an effective rate of 5% cashback.

Contrast this to the shenanigans of the Trust Freedom Card, which advertises 15% cashback, but sets the minimum spend and caps at levels that require you to spend on non-bonus categories at 1%, thereby dragging down the weighted average.

DBS has provided two illustrations of how the cashback mechanism works.

Miles mode: 1.3 mpd

In miles mode, the DBS Chromo Card earns 1.3 mpd (in the form of 3.25 DBS Points per S$5) with no minimum spend and no cap. DBS Points earned on the Chromo Card never expire. 

This puts it on par with the DBS Altitude Card, at least where local spending and points validity is concerned. However, where FCY spending is concerned, the DBS Altitude Card offers 2.2 mpd with a 3.25% FCY fee, versus no rewards and no FCY fee for the DBS Chromo Card.

There’s really no reason to use the DBS Chromo Card as a miles card — unless you realise you’re going to miss the minimum spend for the month and prefer 1.3 mpd over 1% cashback — so this flexibility is kind of a worthless feature.

When are rewards credited?

With the DBS Chromo Card, cashback and miles aren’t credited when the transaction posts.

Instead, base cashback and miles will be credited within 30 days following the end of the calendar month. 

Bonus cashback on the top two spend categories will be credited within 60 days following the end of the calendar month.

What counts towards minimum spend?

The minimum spend consists of all local and foreign currency transactions (even though the latter don’t earn rewards), except for ineligible transactions such as charitable donations, education, hospitals, insurance premiums, government services, prepaid top-ups and utility bills.

The full list of exclusions can be found in the T&Cs at point 11.

Like all DBS credit cards, minimum spend is tracked by transaction date, not posting date. A transaction made on 30 June which posts on 2 July will count towards June’s minimum spend and bonus cap.

How does the DBS Chromo Card change after 30?

You can only apply for the DBS Chromo Card if you’re aged below 30, but you can still keep the card after turning 30.

However, the rewards structure will change from the fourth month after your 30th birthday. For example, if your 30th birthday is 30 January 2028, the benefit change date will be 1 May 2028.

At this point, the DBS Chromo Card becomes a simple 1.3 mpd or 1.7% cashback card, with no minimum spend or caps. The zero FCY fee benefit continues, but you still don’t earn rewards for FCY spending.

A 1.7% cashback rate is actually very decent, particularly since the DBS Chromo Card is a Visa. The only other card at the 1.7% cashback level — temporarily upsized to 2% until 31 January 2027 — is the UOB Absolute Cashback Card, which faces limited acceptance as an AMEX. The DCS Ultimate Cashback Mastercard does offer 2% cashback, though it is capped at S$200 per month.

💳 General Spending Cashback Cards (Without Min. Spends)
	Annual Fee	SGD Spend
DCS Ultimate Cashback Apply	S$130.80* (1st Year Free)	2% Cashback capped at S$200 per c. month
UOB Absolute Cashback Apply	S$196.20 (1st Year Free)	2%^ Ends 31 Jan 27
DBS Chromo Card Apply	S$196.20 (5 Years Free)	1.7%
BOC Visa Infinite Apply	S$381.50 (1st Year Free)	1.6%
Citi Cash Back+ Card Apply	S$196.20 (1st Year Free)	1.6%
OCBC Infinity Cashback Apply	S$196.20 (1st Year Free)	1.6%
ICBC Chinese Zodiac Card Apply	S$150 (3 Years Free)	1.6%
Maybank FC Barcelona Card Apply	S$130.80 (2 Years Free)	1.6%
AMEX True Cashback Card Apply	S$174.40 (1st Year Free)	1.5%
Mari Credit Card Apply via app with code 7KZX22QY	None	1.5%
SC Simply Cash Card Apply	S$196.20 (1st Year Free)	1.5%
Trust Freedom Card Apply via app with code2GQEAM81	None	1.5%
*Billed as S$10.90 per month ^Limited-time promotion for in-person contactless spend, valid until 31 January 2027. 1.7% for online spending

Change your card colour every month!

Have you ever stared at your credit card and lamented that life would be infinitely better if you only had the ability to change its colour every month?

No?

Well, the DBS Chromo Card allows you to do it anyway. Cardholders can change their card design once per month via the DBS digibank app, choosing from a veritable optical migraine of colours. There’s a S$10.90 fee for each change.

Mind you, this is the same DBS which proudly boasts of its eco-friendly credentials and efforts to reduce its environmental footprint. I’m not sure how that gels with someone replacing their card every month…

But if it’s any consolation for the polar bears, I highly doubt anyone will bother with this. It’s not like these cards are head-turners, anyway. They look like the credit card equivalent of a mood ring, or staring at paint swatches.

How does this compare to the Maybank XL Cashback Card?

It’s hard not to draw comparisons between the DBS Chromo Card and Maybank XL Cashback Card. Not only are they both age-restricted (the XL has a more generous ceiling of 40 years), but they both earn 5% cashback on similar bonus categories with a minimum spend of S$500 per month, and a very similar cashback cap.

	DBS Chromo Card	Maybank XL Cashback Card
Annual Fee	S$196.20 (Five years free)	S$87.20 (Two years free)
Age	21-30	21-40
FCY Fee	0%	3.25%
Bonus Cashback Rate	5%	5%
Min. Spend for Bonus Cashback	S$500	S$500
Monthly Cashback Cap	$75*	S$80
Bonus Eligibility	SGD only	SGD and FCY
Bonus Categories	• Dine • Entertainment • Shop • Travel • Transport • Wellness Top 2 Only	• Dine • Entertainment • Shop • Travel • FCY All
*The cashback cap is technically S$150, but I’m assuming you only spend on bonus categories. (4% bonus + 1% base) x S$750 x 2 = S$75.

The Maybank XL Cashback Card is superior in that it rewards both local and overseas spend, and earns 5% cashback across all bonus categories (instead of just two for the Chromo Card).

The advantage the DBS Chromo Card has is its “rip the parachute” option. If the end of the month is approaching, and you realise you’re not going to be able to meet the S$500 minimum spend, you can simply switch your rewards preference to miles to earn 1.3 mpd on whatever you’ve spent so far, instead of 1% cashback.

With the Maybank XL Cashback Card, spending below S$500 earns just 0.2% cashback — we’re talking less than S$1.

Welcome gift

New-to-bank customers who apply for a DBS Chromo Card by 31 October 2026 can choose between the following welcome gifts:

A minimum spend of S$500 within the first 60 days of approval is required, and customers must have a valid DBS PayLah! account by the end of the qualifying spend period. 

But unless you really want that luggage, you should probably apply for a different DBS card through SingSaver instead, where you can choose from the following:

• S$350 eCapitaVoucher
• 22,000 Max Miles
• Sony WF-1000XM6 (Earbuds)
• S$320 cash
• Dyson Cool AM07 Tower Fan

A minimum spend of S$500 within the first 30 days of approval is required, and you must use the code SINGSAVER.

Card	Min. Income	Annual Fee
DBS Altitude Visa Apply	S$30,000	S$196.20 (FYF)
DBS Altitude AMEX Apply	S$30,000	S$196.20 (FYF)
POSB Everyday Card Apply	S$30,000	S$196.20 (FYF)
DBS yuu AMEX Apply	S$30,000	S$196.20 (FYF)
DBS yuu Visa Apply	S$30,000	S$196.20 (FYF)

Then, if you really want to, you can apply for a DBS Chromo Card as an existing cardholder. 

Conclusion

Does the new DBS Chromo Card deserve a place in your wallet?

Not as a miles card. If you qualify for a DBS Chromo Card, you’re also eligible for far better miles cards, with superior earn rates and perks.

Not as a zero FCY fee card. There are other cards with zero FCY fees that don’t force you to give up rewards entirely.

As a local spending cashback card? Well, 5% cashback with a minimum spend of S$500 and an effective cashback cap of S$75 is a decent proposition, though the Maybank XL Cashback Card is probably the better choice.

In fact, I’d say the best thing about the Chromo is the flexibility to choose your reward after the month is completed, though that also means your cashback and miles take 30-60 days to arrive.

But hey, if you’ve ever wanted to change your card colour every month, that dream can finally come true.

What do you make of the DBS Chromo Card?