Maybank has recently launched two new credit cards to the Singapore market: the Maybank XL Rewards Card offering 4 mpd on a wide range of spend capped at S$1,000 per month, and the Maybank XL Cashback Card offering 5% cashback, though both come with a controversial catch – you must be under 40 to apply.
Since our readers are almost all miles addicts, we’ll take a close look at the Maybank XL Rewards Card in this article, which brings a competitive earn rate to the market on an impressively wide range of spend categories at a time other cards are scaling back their top-level rewards accruals.
Maybank XL Rewards Card: Key features
- Annual fee: S$87.20 (waived for the first two years)
- Earn rate: 10X TREATS Points (4 mpd) on eligible categories
- Monthly cap: S$1,000 spend (equivalent to 10,000 TREATS Points, or 4,000 miles)
- Minimum spend: S$500 per month, to unlock bonus rates
- Age requirement: 21-39 years old on application
Earning categories – comprehensive coverage
The XL Rewards Card earns 4 mpd across five broad categories that cover most daily spending, as outlined below.
| Dining Restaurants and caterers, fast food outlets, food delivery services, bakeries |
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| Eligible MCCs | Example Merchants | ||||
| 5811 | 5812 | 5814 | 5462 |
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| Shopping Online marketplaces, department stores and discount stores, clothing and apparel stores, sporting goods stores |
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| Eligible MCCs | Example Merchants | ||||
| 5262 5399 5655 5941 |
5310 5621 5661 |
5311 5631 5691 |
5331 5651 5699 |
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| Travel Airlines and flight bookings, travel agencies and OTAs, hotels and lodging |
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| Eligible MCCs | Example Merchants | ||||
| 3000-3299 4311 7011 |
3300-3308 4722 |
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| Play Bars and entertainment venues, streaming services, cinemas and theatres, gaming and arcade venues |
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| Eligible MCCs | Example Merchants | ||||
| 4899 7993 |
5813 7994 |
5815 |
7832 |
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| FCY Spend | |||||
| Eligible MCCs | Example Merchants | ||||
| All, subject to usual card exclusions | All overseas spend and online foreign currency transactions earn 4 mpd, regardless of merchant category |
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The FCY ‘catch-all’ benefit
One of the key advantages of Maybank’s cards is their relatively short list of exclusion categories, compared to the restrictive policies adopted by most banks.
For example, transactions for education, hospitals and utilities continue to accrue rewards – spending that is usually carved out elsewhere. When charged in foreign currency, these payments will earn you 4 mpd with the XL Rewards Card, for the first S$1,000 monthly spend.
(Photo: Mika Baumeister)
A good option, if you meet the minimum spend
With the S$1,000 monthly cap, cardholders can earn up to 48,000 miles annually – a solid return that positions this card competitively against recent market entrants and existing options that have witnessed cap cuts in recent months.
Importantly though, the 4 mpd rate only applies after meeting a S$500 monthly minimum spend across bonus and non-bonus categories.
Fall short, even by spending S$499, and you’ll earn just 0.4 mpd (base rate) for everything – a brutal clawback that definitely means this isn’t a card to ‘almost use’!
Do make sure you’ll hit S$500+ in total spend with this card (ideally all in bonus categories) to ensure you’ll trigger the 4 mpd bonus rate on up to S$1,000 of spend – otherwise leave it ‘sock drawered’ that month (zero spend).
Thankfully the card’s wide range of 4 mpd spend categories means that if you were still short of the minimum towards the end of the month some everyday spend like Deliveroo or foodpanda orders, or a restaurant bill, might be enough to suffice.
Pair with Amaze card for reduced FCY fees
Another option with the Maybank XL Rewards Card – since it’s a Mastercard – is to pair it with a free Amaze card by Instarem.
While this isn’t of any use for SGD spend – since Amaze will add a 1% fee (minimum $0.50) while your Maybank XL Rewards Card charges nothing extra – a benefit comes into play for FCY transactions.
Overseas (non-SGD) spend using the Amaze card remains fee-free – a no brainer because relatively competitive exchange rates and a lower FCY fee are offered.
Overseas, and for online FCY spend, you can therefore use the Amaze card paired with your XL Rewards Card to reduce the 3.25% FCY fee to around 2%, and still earn 4 mpd for the transaction, provided it’s still within your monthly S$1,000 bonus spend cap.
At 4 mpd, the reduced ~2% Amaze fee is equivalent to ‘buying’ miles at around 0.5 cents each rather than over 0.8 cents at the regular 3.25% fee – an excellent trade if you value KrisFlyer miles at 1.5 cents or more.
TREATS Points transfer partners
Maybank TREATS Points transfer to four airline partners:
| Frequent Flyer Programme | Transfer Blocks (TREATS Points Miles) |
 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer |
25,000 10,000 |
 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles |
12,500 5,000 |
 Malaysia Airlines Enrich |
12,500 5,000 |
 Air Asia BIG |
4,000 2,000 |
Our advice? Avoid Air Asia BIG Points, which are only worth about $0.0034 each (0.34 cents), or about a fifth of the value we put on KrisFlyer miles or Asia Miles.
(Photo: MainlyMiles)
A S$27.25 transfer fee applies to all conversions, with the exception of transfers to AirAsia BIG Points, which are free.
If you also hold the Maybank World Mastercard, points transfers are all free, and since Maybank pools your TREATS Points across all cards, this would also allow fee-free transfers for points earned on your XL Rewards Card too.
Maybank’s partner set is relatively weak in comparison to the likes of Amex, Citi and HSBC, as you can see in our comprehensive guide.
TREATS Points expiry
TREATS Points expire 12 – 15 months after earning, unless you achieve Rewards Infinite status (requiring S$24,000 annual spend on the XL Rewards Card, or holding a Maybank Visa Infinite / World Mastercard).
That’s one of the shortest expiries on the market in Singapore, meaning unless you transfer frequently, you risk orphaning miles. This makes the card less attractive as a solo miles card, since you won’t want to be spending more than S$12,000 per year on it, but quite acceptable as part of a Maybank portfolio with a premium card pairing for points pooling.
Remember once your points are transferred into KrisFlyer they will then have a further validity of three years from that month, while Asia Miles never expire provided you earn or redeem at least one mile in the programme every 18 months.
Welcome bonus
New-to-bank customers can benefit from Maybank’s current sign-up offer for this card:
- First 2,000 applicants: S$60 cashback after first transaction
- Subsequent applicants: S$10 cashback after first transaction
- First 15,000 applicants: Complimentary 12-month Etiqa Trip XpLorer Protect insurance
Further details and terms are available here.
The age controversy
The elephant in the room: Maybank restricts applications for the XL card to those aged 21 – 39. This unprecedented age cap for a mainstream credit card in Singapore has sparked considerable debate. Once approved, cardholders can keep the card beyond age 40, but cannot reapply if they cancel.
This policy targets younger demographics, but excludes what many would consider the prime earning years of 40 and above.
To be clear, in Singapore there is no law that prevents restricting eligibility by age for a credit card, as long as MAS rules (minimum age 21, income checks) are followed, so Maybank is doing nothing wrong here.
However, it’s quite unlike the policies that would apply in other countries.
The 21 – 39 age limit would likely be unlawful in markets like the US, UK and Australia, due to various equal opportunity and age discrimination legislation, unless the bank could demonstrate that people outside the age range represent materially different risk levels – which doesn’t seem likely.
Maybank is breaking new ground here, though perhaps not in a good way!
Pros and cons
Here’s our summary of the Maybank Rewards XL Card’s main strengths and weaknesses.
| Pros | Cons |
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A welcome addition to the market
The XL Rewards Card arrives as several competitors have reduced their monthly caps – the DBS Woman’s World Card now caps 4 mpd accrual at S$1,000 monthly spend, while the UOB Lady’s Solitaire has reduced the cap to S$1,500 in total across two categories, or S$750 across one.
This positions Maybank’s offering competitively for those seeking 4 mpd earning rates.
For existing Maybank cardholders with TREATS Points, the card offers seamless integration into the existing rewards ecosystem, with the benefit of points pooling.
Summary
The Maybank XL Rewards Card delivers solid value with its 4 mpd earning rate across several practical spending categories, including all FCY spend. The S$1,000 monthly cap, while not generous, aligns with current market trends and could prove a useful supplement to your other 4 mpd caps each month, especially given the generous category inclusions.
However, the (legal but controversial) 21 – 39 age restriction significantly limits the card’s market.
If you’re under 40, this is one of the easiest ways to lock in 4 mpd across nearly all your daily spend – particularly if you already hold other Maybank cards for TREATS Points pooling – but only if you’re disciplined enough to hit S$500+ spend each month.
For everyone else, it’s a worrying sign that banks may start carving the market by age – leaving older cardholders with fewer high-earn options, or perhaps vice-versa with future products.
If you’re aged 40 and above, you’ll need to continue to look elsewhere for your 4 mpd earning needs, something that’s becoming more challenging of late as age-limit-free cards like the DBS WWMC trim their bonus generosity.
(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)