Singapore as a financial hub is brimming with credit cards. A 2013 survey by HSBC showed that Singaporeans owned the largest number of credit cards in Asia, with an average of 3.3 cards per person.

All types of credit cards are available in Singapore. There are ones designed to save money on spending (“cash back” or “cash rebate” cards); there are ones designed to save cost on travel (rewarding card members with air miles, complimentary travel insurance and access to VIP airport lounges). Then there are student credit cards that are designed for tertiary students and young working adults who make an annual income of S$18,000 and above (but less than S$30,000).

There are quite a few student cards in the market, with DBS Live Fresh Student Card, Citibank Clear Card, MANHATTAN $500 Card (by Standard Chartered), Maybank eVibes Card, and BOC F1RST Card (by Bank of China) being the most notable ones. All student cards come with a S$500 credit limit, but each card offers different benefits.

Let me walk you through the privileges you can get with each card first. Take note that the number of benefits listed under each card doesn’t mean that card gives you more benefits. I’ve included BOC F1RST Card here as well, though cards by Bank of China might not be that popular compared to those by local and international banks. Nonetheless, you can take a look at the benefits and make your own decision.

DBS Live Fresh Student Card

DBS

• 3 DBS rewards points for every S$5 spent on online purchases, travel bookings and overseas spending, and Visa payWave transactions.

• 3 DBS rewards points for every S$5 that you top up to the card when it is used as an EZ-Link card. The card is already enrolled in the EZ-Road service. To top up, the only thing you need to do is tap it on a ticketing machine, and then the default amount of S$40 will be automatically debited to this card. When the value runs low, it will be topped up automatically the next time you tap it. For each top-up, you will earn 24 rewards points (3 rewards points for every S$5);

• 1 DBS rewards point for every S$5 spent on other purchases.

• DBS Indulge privileges, which consist of over 1,000 deals including dining, shopping, travel, entertainment and other categories.

The main feature of this card is that you earn rewards points on your spending. DBS rewards program covers a broad range of things, such as dining and shopping vouchers, movie tickets, gifts, air miles and many others. The downside is that DBS rewards points are only valid for about one year. Though this card gives you several ways to earn 3 times rewards points, with a credit limit of S$500, there’s only so much for you to earn every month. That will make it difficult for you to redeem rewards. For example, a Golden Village ticket requires 750 points to redeem. Even if you earn all your points in a fast way, you will still need to spend S$1,250 to accumulate that many points (750/3=250; 250*5=1,250).

Citibank Clear Card

Citibank

• 1 Citi Dollar (Citibank rewards points) for every S$1 spent. Don’t go calculate whether Citi Dollars are worth more than DBS rewards points. They are worth about the same value in real dollar terms. Citibank’s rewards program is quite comprehensive too, offering all kinds of deals and discounts for shopping, dining, entertainment, movie tickets and many other things. But even if you earn 500 Citi Dollars a month, which is the maximum you can earn on a monthly basis by the way, it will be a long way for you to redeem any item. The lowest priced item in the catalog – a Breeks Signature brownie with ice cream voucher – costs 1,100 Citi Dollars. A Swensen’s S$5 voucher or a Polar Puff and Cakes S$5 voucher comes at 1,490 Citi Dollars; A Golden Village Movie Pass for 2 persons are worth 4,230 Citi Dollars; and 1 pair of movie tickets to Shaw Theaters require 4,730 Citi Dollars.

• Dining privileges, including discounts at Kuro Restaurant & Bar, Skyve Wine Bistro, Velvet Underground, Zouk Club, Zouk Wine Bar, and some other dining locations. There’s also a section of dining rewards called “Gourmet Pleasures”, which include deals for Asian and Western food from quite a number of merchants across the island.

• Up to 14% savings on fuel purchases at Esso and Shell.

• Up to 10% instant Citi Rebate at over 700 locations in Singapore, including Cold Storage, Giant, Guardian, Burger King, Starbucks, Cedele and many popular merchants. Citi Rebate is a separate rewards program on top of the Citi Dollar rewards program.

• Citi Globeshopper benefits, which include 5% cash back on your shipping cost, consolidation of multiple items for shipping and free insurance coverage for Borderlinx shipment valued over US$200.

The main feature of this card covers rewards points, dining and shopping privileges. This part is quite similar to DBS Live Fresh Student Card, but the Citi Rebate is a bonus. Unlike Citi Dollars or other forms of rewards points from other banks, there’s no expiry date for Citi Rebate. 1 Citi Rebate is equivalent to S$1 and there’s no cap on how much you can earn. When you visit a participating Citi Rebate merchant, depending on how much rebate the merchant offers, you can earn 1% – 10%  Citi Rebate on your purchase. You can then use them to offset the next purchase when you visit any other Citi Rebate merchant.

MANHATTAN $500 Card

Standard Chartered Bank

• 0.25% cash back on spending. If you spend S$100 in a month, the bank will wipe off 25 cents off that month’s bill; and if you spend S$500 in a month, you’ll save S$1.25.

• 10% – 15% dining discounts at SaladStop! (valid until 31 May 2016), California Pizza Kitchen (valid until 31 December 2015), and Peach Garden Chinese Restaurant (valid until 31 December 2015).

This is basically what you get. There are no rewards points for you to earn. Instead, you earn cash back on all your purchases. As the calculations shown above, you can earn a maximum of S$1.25 cash back every month.

Maybank eVibes Card

Maybank

• 1% cash rebate on all spending. Cash rebate works the same way as cash back. If you spend S$500 a month, you’ll get S$5 off your credit card bill.

• Movie treat at Shaw Theaters: For $24, you can get one pair of regular 2D movie tickets, one large-sized drink and one large-sized popcorn. Usual prices for the same package are: S$25.60 for a weekday show; S$27.60 for a sneak preview; and S$32.60 for a weekend show.

• Discount on food ordered at Foodpanda.com: 25% off the first order and 10% discount on subsequent orders, valid until December 31 2015.

• Cash credit for referrals. This is not exactly a privilege, but in case you have friends to introduce this card to, you’ll get rewarded for referrals: S$10 cash credit for 1 approved account; S$40 cash credit for 3 approved accounts; and S$70 cash credit for 5 approved accounts.

The biggest benefit of this card is cash rebate. Perhaps 1% doesn’t sound a lot of savings. But if you get a few dollars of savings at the end of the month, you can at least treat yourself a few cups of coffee. (I’m not talking about Starbucks or Coffee Bean).

BOC F1RST Card

Bank of China

• 0.5% cash rebate on all spending. 
  

• Movie treat at Shaw Theaters: When you buy a ticket at a Shaw Theater cinema, you’ll get another ticket for the same show for free (valid until 31 December 2015). Depending on how you look at it, you may get more savings – if you don’t need the large combo to go along with the movie.

• 1-for-1 deal for Ben’s Cookies and Marble Slab Creamery, limited to the first 100 free cookies per month and the first 100 free scoops per month respectively. Deals are valid until 31 December 2015.

• Up to 20% discount on purchases in a wide range of categories, including online shopping, dining, retail, beauty and others.

This card combines the benefits of cash rebate and shopping/dining discounts. The 0.5% cash rebate is probably too little though, even for a student card that comes with S$500 credit limit. Even if you spend to that limit, the maximum savings is S$2.5 per month. On the other hand, the savings on movie tickets is a generous offer. A weekday show ticket costs S$8.5 and a weekend show tickets costs S$12. The savings on a ticket is more than 1% cash rebate on S$500 (S$5).