Disclaimer: My bias towards CardUp is real, especially given how it has been a fail-proof solution for me for the last 6+ years. But here’s how the other options currently stack up anyway, and how you can decide for yourself.
Since my recent article on how you can use CardUp to earn miles while paying your income tax to IRAS (that would otherwise not have earned you any rewards), a few of you have reached out to me to ask if the bank payment facilities – Citi PayAll, SC EasyBill, UOB Payment Facility – would be better.
The good news is, CardUp probably knows this as well, which might explain why they’ve launched promo codes to reduce the admin fee rates. But they’re not the only one, as the various banks have also run time-sensitive promo codes to try as they each fight for you to pay your taxes through them.
So…as a consumer, what should you choose?
Here’s the latest on current rates (after promo):
| Cardup | Citi PayAll | SC EasyBill | UOB Payment Facility | |
| Admin Fee | 1.75% (Visa) 1.8% (AMEX – new) 1.9% (AMEX – existing) 1.99% (MasterCard) | 2.6% (previously 2.2%) | Up to 1.9% (slight reduction from 1.99%) | 1.9% – 2.3% (varies by cards) (formerly 1.7% – 2.2% for one-off, or 2.8% – 4.7% for monthly instalments) |
| Downsides | Promo rates last until Aug 2024. Cannot use AMEX cards. | Minimum spend of S$8,000 applies. | No option for recurring payments i.e. you have to pay your entire income tax in full at once. | Promo rates end the earliest i.e. on 30 June 2023. One-off only i.e. you have to pay in full. Charges and rewards (mpd) varies between UOB cards (check here). |
The biggest trade-off with using your bank payment facility is that they either require you to make your tax payment in full, or impose a minimum spend. But if that isn’t a problem for you, then here’s how you might want to decide:
If you’re a UOB cardholder, using the UOB Payment Facility might be best for unlimited miles, albeit at a 2% admin fee. But if you’re using the UOB PRVI Miles, then CardUp will be a better choice as you’ll pay lower fees (1.75% vs. 2.3%) and earn a higher 1.4 mpd rather than just 1 mpd.
If you’re a Standard Chartered cardholder who can pay off your entire income tax in full at once, then the SC EasyBill might serve you better.
If you’re a Citibank cardholder, you can get 2 mpd when you choose to pay via Citi PayAll for your tax transactions, and 1.6 mpd on all Citi PayAll non-tax transactions. The downside? Both offers require a minimum spend of S$5,000 on non-tax transactions on a single card, which is bad news for you guys who are just hoping to pay their taxes and nothing else.
If you’re a HSBC cardholder, you’d be silly to use your HSBC card now that HSBC has discontinued its Income Tax Payment Programme, and specifically excludes CardUp payments from earning rewards.
Of course, if none of the above bank payment facility options suit you, then you may want to use CardUp instead…which is what I personally do.
If you’re wondering why I’ve not included iPayMy in this list, that’s because they’re almost similar to CardUp (which I personally use) and currently charge a higher fee for income tax payments made this year, even after the promo rates. Also, the card I use for income tax payments is a UOB card, which specifically excludes iPayMy so I cannot earn rewards and have not been able to use it there.
Use CardUp if you need recurring payments
If you’re paying your income tax in monthly instalments, CardUp is the best choice among all of the above options, because you can set up recurring payments every month and still enjoy the promotional rates (unless you’re using a MasterCard):
| Visa | MasterCard | |
| Promo code | BBTAX24 | MCTAX24 |
| Fee charge | 1.75% | 1.99% |
| Payment type | One-off and recurring | One-off and recurring |
| Expiry date | Must be scheduled before 31 August 2024 | Must be scheduled before 31 August 2024 |
You also have a lot more flexibility when it comes to which credit card you can use with the service, rather than being limited to the bank’s own cards. With the exception of HSBC cards, you can use cards from literally every other issuer on CardUp – although you may want to be smart about which card you use by checking here first.
Which credit card should you use on CardUp?
Personally, I’ve used my UOB PRVI Miles with CardUp since 2017 because it has been earning me a sweet 1.4 mpd throughout all these years. There’s no competition, especially when the same card only gets me 1 mpd if I were to go through the bank’s payment facility instead.
For most of us, 1.4 mpd is the sweet spot with many cards offering that earn rate on CardUp, including but not limited to:
- UOB PRVI Miles
- UOB Visa Infinite Metal
- Standard Chartered Visa Infinite (on local spend >S$2k a month)
Otherwise, the 1.2 mpd category also has the widest range of mass-market cards that can be paired with CardUp:
- Citi PremierMiles
- DBS Altitude
- Maybank Visa Infinite
- Krisflyer UOB
If you’re privileged enough to own a by-invite-only high-end card like the DBS Vantage, DBS Insignia, Citi ULTIMA or UOB Reserve, then you can potentially earn a higher 1.6 mpd on your CardUp payments.
If this is your first time using CardUp, use the code BUDGETBABE to save S$30 off your first transaction with no minimum spend required. This allows you to earn free miles on a payment of up to S$1,154 (based on CardUp’s regular admin fee of 2.6%).
Or use BBTAX24 to get the lowest 1.75% fees for your income tax payments.
Of course, unless your payment on CardUp is exceptionally high, none of the promo codes can fight with the S$30 savings you’ll get if and when you use BUDGETBABE instead.
But if your CardUp payment is anything more than $3,500, then you’ll be better off using either of the above promo codes – depending on whether you hold a Visa / MasterCard card.
Like this hack? Remember to share it with your loved ones so they can stop shortchanging themselves of miles they could have otherwise earned! 😉
Save on your CardUp payments when you use my affiliate promo codes BBTAX24 (for your income tax) or BUDGETBABE (for every other payment types).
With love,
Budget Babe
