The older we get, the more our financial needs change. From trying to make our savings account look better to creating a retirement fund, the way we view our finances and what we need changes.
What if we told you that your credit cards need to change too as you go through different stages of life. There’s a card for almost every stage of life; from being a student to getting married to having kids to when they leave the nest.
In this article, let’s take a look at the credit cards that you will need from the time you get married to the time your children move out on their own.
For the love birds
So you just got married. And with the honeymoon phase in full swing, you’d want to travel with each other as much as possible. Travelling together is a great way to bond and connect with each other but travelling can also be an expensive affair. Airfare and hotel bookings can really burn a hole in your pocket. But having the right type of credit card can actually help you save a ton.
Travel credit cards are great for newlywed couples because if you plan it right you can have a healthy number of miles/reward points on the card when you get married. And as soon as you are done with the celebrations, you can use these points to book flights for your honeymoon.
Citi PremierMiles Visa Credit Card is a great travel card to start with. You can earn up to 10 miles for every S$1 spent on online travel booking expenses and your points never expire, so you can accumulate them to redeem for even more holidays. The icing on the cake is that your Citi miles can be redeemed at a wide range of frequent flyer programs such as KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, Royal Orchid Plus, and Executive Club.
For the latest addition to your family
With a child on the way, savings are more important than ever before. And contrary to popular belief, credit cards can help you save. Cashback credit cards are the way to go when you’re trying to save anywhere you can. They can make regular expenses much cheaper. Groceries, utilities, dining, or fuel, there’s a cashback card for every type of expense.
Getting yourself a high interest savings account gives your savings an extra push. For instance, the OCBC 360 Account offers you additional interest of up to 3% on the first S$70,000 of your account balance. Linking this to an OCBC 365 Credit Card will not only give you additional interest on your account but the card itself will give you benefits such as 6% cashback on weekend dining, 3% cashback on weekday dining, groceries, telco bill payments, and online shopping. The card also gives a 5% cashback on fuel expenses at all stations and a 6% cashback on fuel expenses incurred at Caltex. Take note though, you need to spend a minimum of S$600 per month on the OCBC 365 Card to be eligible for the cashback, otherwise you only get a flat rate of 0.3% cashback on your expenses.
Watching them grow
As your child grows, and as your family moves into the next phase, your expenses will vary. Daily expenses will crop up more than ever and having a cashback card that caters to a wider range of expenses is a must. Your grocery needs might increase, and you’d want to go out for the occasional dinner with your children as well. Getting a cashback card that gives a higher rate of cashback for a wider range of expenses will be the need of the hour.
Credit cards that would fit the bill here would be the BOC Family Card or the HSBC Advance Card.
Not many people in Singapore consider the BOC Family Card. But only because it’s brand isn’t as strong as the local banks. The BOC Family Card gives you 7% cash rebate on dining, 5% on online purchases, supermarkets, hospital bills, and selected merchants such as Best Denki, Watsons and BIG BOX. These are just the highlights, and all you need to spend monthly is S$500. If you need a cashback card for your family, this is easily one of the best in Singapore!
The HSBC Advance Card is newly re-launched and is also another great choice. This card gives you cashback of up to 2.5% with no minimum spend and applies to all purchases. You’ll get 1% more cashback if you’re a HSBC Advance banking customer. There is a monthly cap of S$70 for non-Advance banking customers, which is fairly decent nonetheless. This card would be great for spends that don’t fall in the typical cashback categories, like insurance premiums, enrichment classes, etc.
For when the birds leave the nest
Having your kids grow up and start earning for themselves is another milestone in life. A family-oriented credit card with more focus towards daily essentials wouldn’t make such a great fit. Your monthly expenses will come down, and as such so will the amount of cashback you stand to earn. We suggest a switch back to a travel credit card again so that you can spend your downtime travelling and rewarding yourself for a job well done.
While there might be a card for whatever stage your family might be in, these credit cards should be utilised with discretion and for the purpose it is intended for. There’s no point using a travel credit card when you want cashback, a cashback card when you want air miles or running up a statement that would eat into any benefits that miles or cashback would provide you.
Also READ: Credit card safety tips while on holiday
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