We’re examining the best credit card tips to help you save what you might already be spending on your student life.

Read this: Students are also entitled to credit cards! Sure, most of your expenses are spent on groceries, fashion, entertainment, transportation, and telecommunications bills. But why shouldn’t students be able to reap the benefits and savings on these expenses?

Some banks in Singapore offer credit cards specially designed for students. Unlike regular credit cards, student credit cards have no minimum income, low annual fees, and a low credit limit (usually $ 500).

To apply successfully, you must be an enrolled student or NSF awaiting entry into a tertiary institution. There are a handful of pocket-friendly cards available for those who decide to jump into the business world right away, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

Here’s a roundup of the best student credit cards in 2021.

Best for total cashback: Maybank eVibes Card

Best for eating: Citibank Clear Card

Best for unlimited cashback: CIMB AWSM

Best for disciplined spending: SCB Manhattan $ 500 Card

Best entertainment: DBS Live Fresh Student Card

Best credit card for students in Singapore
Best for Best student credit cards Services
Total cashback Maybank eVibes card 1 percent cashback on all expenses
eat Citibank Clear Card Citi Rewards points to offset purchases
Unlimited cashback CIMB AWSM No annual fee, 1 percent cashback
Disciplined spending SCB MANHATTAN $ 500 card 0.25 percent cashback
entertainment DBS Live Fresh student card Up to 5 percent cashback

Best for total cashback: Maybank eVibes

The Maybank eVibes Card receives top marks from college students and NSFs between 18 and 30 years of age.

The biggest draw is the 1 percent cash discount on everything you buy, with no minimum spend or cashback cap. Plus, you’ll get deals and discounts on the best parts of student life: travel, dining, entertainment, and online shopping.

Other perks that students and NSFs enjoy include discounts on Agoda bookings and the tap-and-go convenience of Samsung Pay. The typical annual credit card fee is replaced with a quarterly service charge of $ 5. This can be waived if you use the card at least every three months.

Best for eating: Citibank Clear Card

If you spend your lectures dreaming about where and what to eat afterwards, the Citibank Clear Card might be for you.

Students earn 1X Rewards Points for every US dollar spent, which can be redeemed to pay for or offset a purchase. With the Citibank Clear Card you have access to Citibank’s unique World Privileges program, in which you can enjoy exclusive meals in selected restaurants. Outside of World Privileges, you can also find seasonal promotions for online shopping, e-commerce, and grocery delivery services.

ALSO READ: Best Credit Card Hacks for Your Buy Now, Pay Later Service Choices

There is no minimum spend or cap on your Rewards point earnings per month. There is also an annual fee of $ 29.96, but you will receive an exemption for the first year.

The disadvantage of this card is that it excludes several major expense categories from receiving rewards. For example, bill payments and school fees at educational institutions and in daily traffic are not eligible for points. Finally, you must be at least 18 years old to apply and no minimum income is required.

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Best for unlimited cashback: CIMB AWSM

A great cashback option for students trying to save on spending is the CIMB AWSM card.

The abbreviation for “Awesome” means that CIMB AWSM cardholders can enjoy unlimited cash discounts of 1 percent on restaurants, entertainment, online shopping and “all things” telecommunications with no minimum spend required. You read that right – there is no limit to how much cashback you can earn!

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However, before jumping on the card for as much cashback as possible, if you’re having trouble paying your bills, do some research on how it will affect your creditworthiness.

Because it is a CIMB credit card, a great feature is that it is available for life with no annual fee. Students can also access CIMB deals and discounts on travel, dining and regional promotions in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The downside to this card is that there are no discounts on groceries, gasoline, and offline retail spending. If you’d prefer a card that gives you a flat 1 percent cashback rate on all expenses, check out an alternative like the Maybank eVibes Card.

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Best for disciplined spending: Standard Chartered MANHATTAN $ 500

If you think you can’t trust a credit card but you need it to save or prevent emergencies, getting the MANHATTAN $ 500 card from Standard Chartered should be a textbook.

As the name suggests, your monthly spending is strictly capped at $ 500 – you can be almost certain that you won’t get into a rabbit hole of overspending. Cardholders get an easy 0.25 percent cashback on all expenses and are ideal for students and low-income working adults. It comes with a modest annual fee of $ 32.10 that can be waived for the first year.

While it’s a great card for earning cashback on whatever you spend, the 0.25 percent cashback rate is honestly on the low side. And with a monthly cap of $ 500, you get a maximum of $ 1.25 per month in cashback. For comparison: the CIMB AWSM card brings 1 percent cashback for food, entertainment, online shopping and telecommunications expenses.

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Best entertainment: DBS Live Fresh Student Card

Ask a student about their best “mugging” companions and you’ll hear answers about Spotify, Netflix, and fast food. Coincidentally (or not) the DBS Live Fresh Student Card grants a high cashback of 5 percent on Spotify, Netflix, McDonald’s and more. Note that this 5% is retailer-specific and not category-specific.

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Speaking of 5 percent cashback, you can also get the same cash discounts from eco-friendly retailers. These include eco-friendly restaurants, eco-friendly retailers, and eco-friendly transportation services. Some well-known names in the categories are Noka, Scoop Wholefoods, and BlueSG.

All other expenses outside of the listed qualified DBS dealers will earn you 0.3 percent, including your daily commute through SimplyGo. The latter is a great convenience as you don’t have to contend with queues at the EZ-Link top-up machines. The precious time saved could really be used to watch the next Netflix episode preparing for this mid-term quiz.

Despite the high cashback rate compared to other cards, there is a little catch: the maximum cashback you can earn is capped at $ 15 for qualified traders, $ 15 for sustainable expenses, and $ 20 for all other expenses. That means a cashback cap of $ 50 per month, which isn’t bad for a student-grade credit card.

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This article was first published on SingSaver.com.sg.