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I was chatting with a friend and ASSI guest blogger this evening about credit cards. He told me he had to spend $1,000 each month on a credit card recently in order to get a $100 rebate at the end of the quarter.
OK, I think most of you would have guessed which credit card this is. Yes, it is the UOB ONE card.
Anyway, I have the same card but I make sure I spend only a bit more than $500 a month (together with 3 monthly GIRO payments) to get higher monthly interest income of about $100 on $50,000 deposited in my UOB ONE account.
$1,200 a year and better than any fixed deposit can offer!
Of course, I also get a $50 rebate for card spending at the end of each quarter.
Back to the story.
This friend of mine is actually very frugal. I would say that he is more frugal than I am.
To spend $500 a month on his credit card is already quite a challenge. Why did he try to spend $1,000 each month not so long ago?
Apparently, there was a month that he spent more than $1,000 on the card due to the purchase of a (once in a very blue moon) big ticket item.
What he tried to do next was to spend $1,000 per month in the following two months in order to get $100 rebate at the end of the quarter instead of $50.
Pause.
Pause.
Pause.
OMG!
For $50 more in rebate, my frugal friend forced himself to spend a lot more money!
Being a frugal person, forcing himself to spend more money, I believe, gave him a lot of stress as he didn't know what to spend money on.
I wouldn't have done it. I try to avoid stress in life.
Frankly, I don't think it was worth the angst.
Also, that extra $50 rebate was probably insufficient to cover all the cost of all the stuff he bought which he didn't want or need in the first instance.
Even the smartest people do silly things once in a while.
We are only human.
UOB ONE card,
1. UOB ONE Account or OCBC 360?
2. Stupid AK learns about Y.O.L.O.
Bloggy Award
10 comments:
i make a guess......
Tell Matthew to treat himself better by spending a bit more on some months.
YOLO u know lol
Hi,
I think that it is not worthwhile to spend so much money to get the rebate. The true saving is in fact the money which was not spent.
Ben
Sad to say
Same situation
Holder of this good cashback card
Spending extra on some months to meet the tier for the quarter
Well played UOB
Bad Solace! Bad Solace! ;p
Hi Ben,
I use the UOB ONE Card to pay recurring bills and other essentials (e.g. supermarket visits). So, it makes sense for me. Get some money back and higher interest income on my savings. Of course, it might not make sense for everyone especially those who must force themselves to spend money to get the benefits. ;)
Hi Brandon,
If you need to spend just an extra $100 or so a month, then, that's not too bad. Go buy some NTUC Fairprice vouchers. I am sure they will be useful to you at a later date or you could give them away to family or friends as ang bao on special occasions.
But if you must spend a lot more a month, then, yes, it is silly. ;p
Actually that part where I buy vouchers from NTUC or Capitaland is my cheat to get around the months where I can't hit the limit. I'll tell my Mum that this month allowance I'll give part cash, part vouchers. Initially she was abit skeptical wondering if I'm signing up all those insurance, FD, ILP, etc plans so can get these vouchers FOC. I shared with her my reason soon after and she told me if an entire month allowance give her NTUC vouchers, she also don't mind as long as I manage my finances well and don't ask for NTUC vouchers back from her. :D
Hi Scopion,
I do that too! Haha. As long as we are spending on essentials, if we can get more benefits by using credit cards, it is a good idea to do so. :)
Hi AK,
Do you mean you use your UOB One card to pay for GIRO arranged recurring payments like power, telecomm?
How can this be done?
Isn't GIRO payment always linked to a bank account?
Hi aL,
The 3 GIRO payments are deducted from my UOB ONE Account, not the ONE card.
I just read that paragraph again. I was too economical with details (i.e. I was lazy).
Begging your pardon. -.-"
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