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• Best Cashback Credit Cards to Help You Save Money on Every Swipe

Best Cashback Credit Cards to Help You Save Money on Every Swipe

Get paid each time you spend with your credit card—isn’t that enticing enough to get a cash back credit card? But there’s more to credit cards with cashback than just swiping and earning rebates. Understanding how they work allows you to find the one that suits your spending habits and can maximize your spendings. Get started with this guide.

What is a Cashback Credit Card?

A cashback credit card, also known as a rebate credit card, is a type of rewards card that earns you cash rebates for every purchase.

These cards make your life simpler because unlike other rewards credit cards, you know exactly how much you’ll be paid back without dealing with complicated point systems.

Apart from its convenience and simplistic rewards system, credit cards with cashback can help you save money, cover some of your expenses, and even build a good credit history.

Cashback credit cards in the Philippines vary not only in their rebate rates but also the ways to earn and redeem some cash back.

Best Credit Cards with Cashback in PH

BPI Amore Visa

• Cashback rate (per PHP 1,000 spend at partner merchants in Ayala Malls):
  • Dining: 4%
  • Clothing: 3%
  • Other: 1%
• Annual fee: PHP 2,050
• Interest rate: 3.50%
• Minimum monthly income requirement: PHP 15,000

If you’re looking for more affordable credit cards with cashback and you frequent Ayala Malls, then you should apply for a BPI Amore Visa card. Aside from the rebates and the low income requirement, you’ll also enjoy exclusive Ayala Mall perks.

Read More: Credit Card Promos for Online Shopping and Dining in 2020

Citi Cash Back Card

• Cashback rate:
  • Groceries: Up to 6%
  • Meralco bill payments: Up to 2%
  • All other purchases: 0.20%
• Maximum monthly rebate: PHP 1,000
• Annual fee: PHP 3,500 (free for the first year)
• Interest rate: 3.50%
• Minimum monthly income requirement:
  • For first-time cardholders: PHP 20,833.33
  • For existing cardholders: PHP 15,000

Save as much as PHP 12,000 when you use a Citibank Cash Back Credit Card for your grocery runs. Aside from the obvious upside of earning up to 6% cashback, you’ll also save on annual fees on your first year.

EastWest EveryDay Titanium Mastercard

• Cashback rate:
  • Grocery: Up to 5%
  • Fuel: Up to 5%
  • Drugstore: Up to 5%
• Maximum monthly rebate: PHP 1,000
• Annual fee: PHP 2,800
• Interest rate: 3.5%
• Minimum monthly income requirement: PHP 40,000

If you’re looking to save more during the new normal, then a rebate credit card like EastWest EveryDay Titanium Mastercard will help. With its helpful 5% rebate on essential purchases, you’ll need all the help you can get from soaring prices of goods^[1].

Read more: The New Normal: What to Expect After the Lockdown

HSBC Gold Visa Cash Back

• Cashback rate:
  • Dining: 5%
  • Department store: 1%
  • Overseas: 1%
  • Fuel: Up to 6%
  • Others: 0.5%
• Maximum monthly rebate: PHP 1,200
• Annual fee: PHP 2,500 (free for the first year)
• Interest rate: 3.5%
• Minimum monthly income requirement: PHP 16,667

The next time you go out for a quick grub, you’ll be glad to have an HSBC Gold Visa Cash Back in your pocket. Earn 5% cashback on dining expenses and 0.5% on other purchases. Plus, get a PHP 2,500 cash rebate when you apply today until December 31, 2020.

Maybank Platinum Visa

• Cashback rate: 1% on overseas purchases
• Maximum monthly rebate: PHP 1,000
• Annual fee: PHP 3,500
• Interest rate: 3%
• Minimum monthly income requirement: PHP 50,000

You can also save on overseas purchases when you use a Maybank Platinum Visa abroad. 1% cashback on all purchases isn’t something to scoff at, especially if you travel to other countries frequently. It’s a cashback credit card made for travelers.

Security Bank Complete Cashback Mastercard

• Cashback rate:
  • Groceries: 5%
  • Fuel: 4%
  • Utilities: 3%
  • Dining: 2%
  • Shopping: 1%
• Maximum monthly rebate: PHP 1,000
• Annual fee: PHP 3,000 (free for the first year)
• Interest rate: 3.50%
• Minimum monthly income requirement: PHP 30,000

If you’re looking to save more on essentials and you happen to have a car, then a Security Bank Complete Cashback Mastercard is the right card for you. Security Bank Cashback Credit Card earns you 4% cashback on fuel expenses. That alone is a sweet deal for every car owner.

Shell Citi Card

• Cashback rate:
  • Shell fuel: Up to 5%
  • Auto Sweep RFID and Easy Trip tollway load: Up to 5%
  • Car-related expenses: Up to 5%
• Maximum annual rebate: PHP 10,000
• Annual fee: PHP 2,500
• Interest rate: 3.5%
• Minimum monthly income requirement:
  • For first-time cardholders: PHP 20,833.33
  • For existing cardholders: PHP 15,000

Here’s a cashback credit card every motorist will love. With every swipe of a Shell Citi Card, you’ll save more on fuel expenses and other car-related purchases. Since fuel prices are expected to increase in the new normal^[2], a few savings wouldn’t hurt.

UnionBank Platinum Mastercard

Cashback rate: 1.5% on all purchases
Maximum monthly rebate: None
Annual fee: PHP 3,000
Interest rate: 3.50%
Minimum monthly income requirement: PHP 50,000

What sets the UnionBank Platinum Mastercard apart from other credit cards with cashback in the Philippines is its limitless cash rebate program. Every swipe of this rebate credit card will earn you 1.5% cashback, regardless of spend category.

How Do Credit Cards with Cashback Work?

Using one is quite simple. When you shop using a rebate credit card, the issuing bank pays back a percentage—anywhere from 0.20% to 6%—of your monthly purchases into your credit card account.

For instance, if a cashback credit card has 1% rebate, you’ll get PHP 1 for every PHP 100 qualified purchase.

How Do I Choose the Best Credit Card with Cashback?

Now it’s time to choose the best cashback credit card out of the bunch. But before you do, it’s important to be aware of the intricacies of credit cards with cashback perks.

Doing so can help you maximize cashback credit cards. Here are some of the factors you should consider before signing up for a rebate credit card.

• Rebate Caps. Most credit cards with cashback in the Philippines put a limit on the amount you can earn every month. The maximum rebate is typically around PHP 1,000. Once you exceed that, you can start earning cash rebates again at the start of the next cycle.
• Non-Eligible Transactions. Certain types of transactions may not be eligible to earn rebates. Check the fine print for the exemptions to earning rebates from a cashback credit card.
• Required Minimum Spend. To qualify for a certain cashback rate, you have to meet the bank’s minimum spend requirement.
• Cashback Eligibility Period. Cashback rates for most rebate credit cards in the Philippines can be earned any time of the year. But some credit cards with cashback offer seasonal rebates for specific spending categories.

Read more: 20 Best Credit Cards You Need to Have in 2020

Types of Cashback Credit Cards in the Philippines

Cashback cards in the Philippines come in two types with different rebate structures: variable and fixed rates.

1. Cards with Variable Cashback Rates

These cashback credit cards offer tiered rewards, with different rates for different spending categories. There’s a higher rebate rate for certain categories. So it makes sense to choose a cashback card with the highest rebate for the category you spend most often.

For example, the cashback credit card from Citibank pays back 6% on grocery purchases, 2% on Meralco bill payments, and 0.20% on all other purchases. This makes the Citi Cash Back the best card to use for grocery shopping and paying for electricity bills.

Meanwhile, the HSBC Gold Visa Cash Back pays back a 5% rebate on dining transactions and 0.50% on all other purchases.
For those who use their card to gas up, the Security Bank Complete Cashback Mastercard offers the highest cashback rate of 4% for fuel purchases, as well as 5% on groceries.

2. Cards with a Fixed Cashback Rate

Cashback cards with a flat rate are simpler to use than those with variable rates. You earn a fixed rebate percentage on all purchases with your cashback credit card. No need to remember confusing spending categories and double-check them with the issuing bank.

Two of the cashback credit cards that allow cardholders to earn a flat rebate rate are PNB Platinum Mastercard (PHP 1 cash credit per PHP 200 purchase) and UnionBank Platinum Mastercard (1.5% cash rebate on all purchases).

Cashback Credit Card Fees

Cashback credit cards aren’t exactly cheap to own. Their annual fees range from PHP 2,500 to PHP 3,500. Most of them charge a 3.50% interest rate, which is on the highest end of credit card interest rates in the Philippines.

So when choosing a cashback credit card, make sure that the savings you’ll get from the rebates offset the high annual fee and interest rate. Consider also the other credit card fees that might cancel out your rewards.

How to Redeem Cashback or Cash Rebate?

Typically, cash credits earned from spending with cashback cards are credited to the cardholder’s account every month.
The credit card provider may or may not require redemption of cash rebates. For example, Security Bank and EastWest Bank automatically post cash credits to a credit card account, so cardholders don’t need to redeem. On the other hand, Citibank requires redeeming rebates online or via SMS.

Final Thoughts

If you want a less complicated but equally rewarding credit card, try checking out these credit cards with cashback features. While it’s not as exciting as the other options, a rebate credit card still brings value to the table with their literal money-back guarantee. Imagine getting back a percentage of your spending in today’s economy. That’s already a luxury in itself.

Sources:

• [1] Costlier food cuts deep into wallets of the poor in April (BusinessMirror)
• [2] Higher pump prices seen (PhilStar Global)

Moneymax

With a goal to help Filipinos lead healthier financial lives, Moneymax regularly publishes tips and tricks on personal finance and lifestyle, among many other topics. For more finance-related news and articles, follow Moneymax on Linkedin.