The BOC Qoo10 Platinum Mastercard is an entry-level version of the BOC Qoo10 World Card. Designed for tertiary students and young working adults, the eligibility requirements are easy to meet.
And honestly, where else can you find a 10% rebate on public transport with just $200 minimum spend?
The catch: you’ll get your rebates in Qmoney, which locks you into spending on Qoo10. That begs the question: is this card really worth it? How does it compare to other entry-level cards?
We’ll analyse the BOC Qoo10 Platinum Mastercard today, covering areas like:
- Eligibility
- Annual fees, charges, and credit limit
- Cashback and benefits
- How to maximise your cashback
- What’s not to like about the card
- BOC Qoo10 Platinum Card vs World Card
- Whom this card is best for
Eligibility Requirements
| Residential Status | Singaporeans, Permanent Residents, and Foreigners with a valid visa/pass with at least 9 months’ validity |
| Age | 18 years and above |
| Annual Income Requirements | None for students / between S$18,000 and S$30,000 for working adults |
The eligibility requirements are easy enough to meet. As long as you’re in a tertiary institution with a student ID, you’re likely to qualify.
Working adults above 21 years old can also apply, provided your annual income is above S$18,000 but below S$30,000.
The income and eligibility requirements are on par with other high-rebate cards for public transport — like the DBS Live Fresh Student Card. BOC’s requirements may even be slightly easier, given the lower minimum age.
But let’s check out the other aspects of the card to see how they stack up…
Fees, Charges, and Credit Limit
| Credit Limit | S$500 |
| Annual Fees |
* Both fees waived for the first year |
| Minimum Monthly Payment | 3% of outstanding monthly balance or S$50, whichever is higher |
| Overlimit Fee | S$40 |
| Effective Interest Rate | 28.88%, with a 23-day interest free period |
| Cash Advance | 6% or S$20, whichever is higher. |
| Late Payment Charges | 5% of outstanding amount or minimum of S$100 |
| Foreign Currency Transaction Fee | Up to 3.2% |
Unfortunately, this card isn’t as low maintenance as one might hope: you’ll only get an annual fee waiver for the first year.
Compare this to the DBS Live Fresh Student Card (which gives you a 5-year annual fee waiver) and you’re basically paying $128.40 to keep the Qoo10 card for the same duration.
The fees and charges for this card are also slightly higher than others like the Maybank eVibes and Citi Clear Card.
Card Rebates and Benefits
| Cashback |
|
| Minimum Spend | S$200 per calendar month to be eligible for rebates |
| Cashback Caps |
|
1. Offers the Highest Cashback Rates for Public Transport
At 10% cashback, this is one of the better cards if you’re solely looking for rebates on public transport. The best would be the 15% rate offered by the BOC Qoo10 World Mastercard.
You can also find 10% cashback on public transport with the DBS Live Fresh Student Card, but that’s a fairly recent offer. It remains to be seen whether BOC will revise their cashback rate to make the Qoo10 Platinum Mastercard more attractive.
Otherwise, options like the Maybank Family & Friends Card offer 8% (min. spend of S$800 required) while the OCBC Frank Credit Card offers 6% (minimum spend of S$600).
2. Doubles as a Transport Card
This card is compatible with SimplyGo, so it’s easy enough to get your public transport rebate. Just tap the card at any MRT gantry or bus entrance.
3. Contactless Payments
You can link the card with any of your virtual wallets so you don’t have to carry the physical card around. As long as you have Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay, you won’t have to worry about leaving your wallet at home.
4. Low Minimum Spend Requirement
S$200 is relatively affordable for students, so hopefully you won’t burn a hole in your pocket just to qualify for cashback. The eligible spending categories are also designed for a typical student’s lifestyle — fast food, entertainment, online shopping, and so on.
How to Maximise Cashback & Benefits
Just how much cashback are you likely to get each month?
Public transport expenses are probably around the same every month, so most of your spending will go towards the other “Selected Categories.”
Here’s a rough idea of how much cashback you might get in a month:
| Category | Cashback Rates | Cashback Cap | Spending | Cashback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qoo10 Spending | 3% | S$10 | S$100 | S$3 |
| Public Transport | 10% | S$20 (shared with Selected Categories) | S$50 | S$5 |
| Selected Categories | 3% | S$20 (shared with Public Transport) | S$350 | S$10.50 |
| Total | – | S$30 | S$500 | S$18.50 |
With the S$500 credit limit, let’s say you spend S$50 on public transport and split the rest between Qoo10 purchases and “Selected Categories” like fast food, entertainment, Grab, and online shopping.
You’d probably get around S$18.50 a month (all in Qmoney, of course). That means your effective cashback rate is about 3.7% — pretty decent on a student card, provided you already shop on Qoo10.
What’s Not Great About This Card?
1. All Rebates Are in Qmoney
You’ll get cashback in the form of Qmoney. You’ll need an existing Qoo10 account for this to happen.
For people who don’t ever shop on Qoo10, this cashback system is useless. Either that, or you may have to adjust some of your spending habits to use your accrued Qmoney.
Qmoney can’t be converted into cash, transferred, or paid to any person. And keep in mind that Qoo10 is not a regulated financial institution, so getting your rebates in Qmoney comes with its own set of risks.
2. Cashback Not Applicable for Certain Transactions
Like every other card, this card specifies the type of transactions that qualify for cashback.
These are excluded from the cashback system:
- Payments to government, financial, and educational institutions or services
- Utility bill payments
- Topping up of prepaid accounts (like Grab)
BOC Qoo10 Platinum vs World Mastercard
Some of you may also qualify for the BOC Qoo10 World Mastercard and are wondering about the difference.
Here’s a brief summary of the main differences:
| BOC Qoo10 Platinum Mastercard | BOC Qoo10 World Mastercard | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Income Requirements | None | S$30,000 |
| Annual Fees | S$32.40 | S$203.30 |
| Minimum Spending | S$200 | S$800 |
| Cashback Rates |
|
|
| Monthly Cashback Cap | S$30 | S$70 |
Whom This Card Is Best For
Avid Qoo10 users who get a kick out of gaming the system for cash coupons, discounts, and rebates. This card feeds into that by giving you rebates in Qmoney. Otherwise though, you’re better off going with an option like the DBS Live Fresh Student Card. The 5-year fee waiver from DBS Live Fresh makes a huge difference: over time, the annual fees with the Qoo10 card will eat into your cashback rates. You’ll also get 5% cashback on a similar group of student-focused merchants PLUS 5% more cashback on eco-friendly services (including SBS/SMRT).