UOB YOLO Card
UOB recently made a splash with their latest credit card offering that has got the internet abuzz, the UOB YOLO Card. No prizes for guessing what YOLO means – “You Only Live Once”.
The card is purportedly targeting the millennials, which according to the bank, “will form the backbone of the future economy as they will become the largest segment of the local workforce”. Criticism for its name and concept went wild online as some felt that the name “YOLO” is sending out the message that card-holders should spend and live as they like, even if it’s on credit.
What we think is that any publicity is good publicity, and other than just harping on the name itself, why don’t we give the practical benefits of the card a look?
Cash Rebates
The UOB YOLO card belongs in the category of cash rebates, and at first glance, many could be attracted to the 8% cash rebate for weekend dining and entertainment. That’s pretty attractive, given that it effectively waives off the GST charges on your weekend dinner date. Weekday dining, entertainment, online fashion and travel spend will be eligible for a 3% rebate. Of course, as with other cashback cards, a minimum monthly spending of $600 applies. There is also a limit of $60 rebates earned per month, coming up to $720 for the whole year.
Those who are familiar with the credit card offerings in Singapore will be able to spot that the YOLO card is typically targeting the clients who are attracted to OCBC’s 365 Credit card. The card offers a 6% cash rebates on weekend and similarly requires a minimum spend of $600 a month. However, OCBC allows a higher cashback amount of $80 a month.
Oh, and don’t neglect the fine prints, the UOB YOLO card offers an 8% rebate only up till 1 October 2016, after which it will be revised to 6%.
In terms of the individual categories, the OCBC 365 card has a more holistic offering, with 3% rebates on grocery spends at supermarkets, 3% on recurring telco bills and a 5% cashback at all petrol service stations.
Special Features
A special feature of the UOB YOLO card includes a simple switch of how traditional credit cards display their 16-digit card numbers so that it allows users to “read the card number more easily”. Instead of the usual horizontal number display, your 16-digit card number will be displayed in shorter lines of 4 numbers each on the top right corner of the card. We guess that’s the bank’s take on injecting some User Experience(UX) into their cards to allow for easier online or phone transactions.
The bank also recently launched their new UOB Mighty Mobile App that allows customers to bank, dine and pay on the go. Using your phone to tap and pay(only available on Android) will give you a 3% rebate as well.
Other Privileges
Other privileges are quite comparable across both cards, with each bank offering their own selected merchants and partners with discounts for card holders. Some of these offered by the UOB YOLO card that are more attractive are highlighted below:
- Cathay Cineplex: 1-for-1 Movie Ticket & up to 10% rebate
- Overeasy: 1-for-1 burgers between 12 to 2 pm from Monday to Friday
- KYO: Complimentary entry for card holders on Wed, Friday and Sat+1 guest
- FoodPanda: 25% off for new foodpanda customers
- Shin Minori: 1-for-1 a la carte buffet lunch
- Shopback: Get $8 Cashback Bonus when you sign-up for a ShopBack account with your UOB Card. Enjoy up to 30% Cashback on top of discounts at over 500 online merchants
Overall, the UOB YOLO card is a legit cashback card, still giving you good rebates if you can meet the minimum spend of $600 a month. But we find it hard to find a tipping point that will win over cardholders of other cashback cards to sign up with UOB’s latest credit card darling.
