Ways to use Your Grabpay Credits

Now that Grab has banned people from using Grab credits to top up into Multi-Currency Prepaid Cards, people are now looking for other ways to utilise their Grabpay credits; this is especially so for those who still plan to utilise the UOB x Grab rebate or were caught out with the sudden ban by Grab and are stuck with large amount of credits. Below are some ways utilising your Grabpay Mastercard (GPMC) to use up the credits:

Use GPMC with Lazada

The GPMC card can be linked with your lazada account to fund purchases on Lazada, this allows you to "shop the universes" happily while earning outsized cash rebates via the method of topping up your grabpay credits using the UOB one card. In my view, this method is better than Citi Lazada Card which gives a 4.4 mile per dollar.

Use GPMC with Shopee

The GPMC card can be linked with your Shopee account to fund your purchases at Shopee. This means should you have upcoming big ticket items to be purchased, you can use your GPMC to make the purchase (provided you have the credits).

Pay any Big Ticket Item or Recurring Bill Online 

Because many of us do not have the GPMC physical card yet, this means the GPMC is only useful for online shopping. However do not fret, many things can now be bought online and is cheaper than those at physical stores. Hence, if you have plans to switch for a new handphone/laptop, perhaps this is the time to browse online and buy them online using your GPMC.

In addition, you can also link your GPMC to pay recurring bills such as teleco (I have linked my Circles life billing to my GPMC)

So there you have it- some ways to utilise your Grabpay credits. The above should help you to sustain the next few months of topping up into grab to optimally enjoy the grab cashback in your current billing quarter with UOB one card. 

Updates to the Grabpay Hack - AXS Mobile App payment no longer avaliable

By now, readers will know that Grabpay and Grabpay Mastercard (GPMC) has stopped its link to AXS mobile app payment. This has rendered a significant amount of bills including that of income tax to be no longer payable by Grabpay, as what I highlighted in my last post. This has invalidated the "Singtel Dash" and "AXS Mobile App" method

With that here are some alternative forms, that is still viable with GPMC

Payment of Utilities and Phone Bills, Allows the continued topping up into Singtel Dash

The current method you can use is have an online account with your phone or utility subscriber and pay the bills online. GPMC can be used to pay the bills. I have tried it with paying my Singtel bill and it works. In addition, I am able to accumulate Grab reward points as well. This also means Singtel dash can be topped up.

Payment of School Fees/Hospital Bills/Income Taxes

As mentioned Grab has closed the door shut especially for AXS where we can no longer pay via Grabpay or GPMC. However, a way forward to continue paying this bill is to make the payment at Cardup. Cardup is a platform which converts bills into payment that can be paid by credit cards. However take note Cardup charges a 3.3% fee in this conversion. So the 8% rebate which is previously enjoyed is now cut down to only about 5%. This is a viable method albeit you get lesser rebates.

<This is not a sponsored post for Cardup etc>

How much can we save with the New Grabpay Mastercard?

Earlier this week, Grab officially announced its GrabPay Mastercard. It is available to all Grab users.

What is Grabpay Mastercard (GPMC)?

The GrabPay Card is a prepaid Mastercard debut card that is funded by your Grabpay Balance. The digital card is free and is immediately available once you apply on your Grabpay App; while application for the physical card is currently free until 31 January 2020, after which a fee may apply. A s$10 replacement fee is applicable if you lose your physical card.

How it can help us save?

I am a huge user of Grabpay. The main reason is because I can earn outsized cash rebate of at least 5% when used in tandem with UOB One Card. UOB one card has a tie up with Grab in which if you spend $500 per month with UOB One card in 3 consecutive months in a quarter, you get an additional 5% rebate for grab transactions such as Grab Top ups. It translates to 8-10% cash rebate per month. So what will I advise readers to do?

Answer:Complete 5 x $100 Grab top up transactions from your UOB one card into Grabpay Credits within each credit card Statement Month. This means we will confirm get 8% cash rebate every month

Now you will wonder what would I do with $500 being locked up in Grabpay every month?

You Can Literally Pay Almost Anything with Grabpay App 

Yes almost everything can now be paid with Grabpay credits!

With the introduction of GPMC, it means we can top up Grab credits into our Youtrip card and Revolut Card. Youtrip cards are physical prepaid Mastercard, while Revolut are physical prepaid Visa card. This means even before grab launches its physical card, I am now able to go physical shopping with Grabpay credits. 

Below is my infographic on what we can spend on with Grabpay:

As you can see, almost every aspect of our lives can now be funded by Grabpay; and we are getting at least 8% cash rebate on it

Conclusion

I am already doing the above, such as paying AXS bills with GrabPay or topping up my Youtrip card and actively using it. For this month, I will be saving $80 on my expenditure. Just imagine how much we can save per year. My personal estimate is the possibility of $1,000-$1,500 per year using this method.

In my view such a juicy cashback rebate is not sustainable in the long run. Eventually it will likely be nerfed. So to readers, use this opportunity to enjoy the outsized savings. Soon we may have to return to our old credit cards hacks to achieve Cashback savings and Airmiles.

<Non-sponsored Post, just a shout out because it's a very good deal>

Utilising Grabpay Fully to earn Miles/rebates (Grabpay- Dash - Online Purchase)

As many will be aware, Grab has tied up with a few financial providers such as UOB and AMEX to give upsized cash or airmiles bonus when topping up into Grabpay (UOB/Grab gives extra 5% cashback on all grab related transaction if you meet 3 consecutive month of $500 monthly expenditure; while AMEX gives 3.1 Airmiles per dollar for the first $200 Grab transaction each month , i.e top up)

With such good lobangs, it questions how then can we maximise Grabpay like using it to do online purchases or groceries. I found one such avenues- Singtel Dash.

It works for only Singtel Subscribers

It works for only Singtel Subscribers because it utilises topping up one's own Singtel Dash Account from your Singtel Mobile Bill. Here's how it works:

1) Click on "Top Up" (boxed red) on Singtel Dash App Home Page and you will be prompted to this window.

2) Top Up Using "Singtel Bill" (boxed red).

3) Select your top up amount.

4) In your SingTel Dash Account, you will have a virtual visa account card. Click on it to see your personal Visa Card and its CVV. After which you can use the details to do online purchases such as buying from Lazada/Shopee or other online purchases. For grocery shopping, just look for supermarkets which accept Singtel Dash payment scanning the QR code. As of now, they are NTUC Fairprice, Sheng Siong and Watsons

At the end of the month, your Singtel Bill will be charged the amount you have top up. Pay your Singtel Mobile Bill through the AXS mobile app which allows payment through Grabpay. The method process has been written by the DollarsandSense Team. 

Payment of Singtel Bills are found under the "Bills"--> "General" --> "Singtel" in the AXS mobile app.

Limitations

Do take note Singtel Dash only allows the maximum topping up of $200 per month. So you can use this method of indirectly using grabpay to buy online purchase or grocery for an amount of $200.

However what you can do if you have a big ticket online purchase coming up which allows Visa cards, is to start topping up $200 each month over a few months to prepare for that purchase.

Tuan Sing Holdings: Transisting Towards a Singapore Commercial Developer

Currently Tuan Sing Holdings is a conglomerate operating in three business areas:

1. Hotel Property

The company owns hotel assets in Australia in Hyatt regency Perth ad Grand Hyatt Melbourne. Both are freehold assets. However, performances has been relatively muted with the company barely breaking even. This segment is not a major profit contributor to the group

2. Property Development

Tuan Sing is increasingly becoming active in this region with the recent completion of its Grade A Singapore Office at 18 Robinson Road which is a freehold land. Similarly, the group is now  redeveloping Sime Darby Centre which is a part freehold and part 999 years lease. Furthermore, Tuan Sing recently secured a low 2.80% interest on its bonds, which means its loans will be at a low interest rate.

18 Robinson Road recently started operations in 2019 and has started its leases with tenants and retail shops. Therefore, I am expecting increase in revenue recognised by the company and cashflow from rentals starting from Q4 2019. This will be further improved by the completion of Sime Darby centre in 2020. 

Next, the company is currently developing small niche high end projects such as Kandis Walk, these will be additional cashflow generated in the short run from its residential development projects. 

Tuan Sing's property development arm is likely to be cash flow accretive for a long period of time 

3. Industrial Services

Tuan Sing Holdings owns Stake in SP corporation and Gul Technologies. Profits have been relatively stable but they do not move much beyond the 1 million mark for the group.

Overall, Tuan Sing's business arm of 1) and 3) do not make much to the bottom-line. However, these two segments have been cashflow accretive and been sustaining the company's 0.6 cents dividends.

Expecting More Dividends from Tuan Sing

18 Robinson Road is a Grade A commercial office and retail development in Singapore's city centre. Following the occupancy rate of Grade A spaces, one can reasonably expect 18 Robinson to be 90% leased for both commercial and its retail spaces. The building has approximately 80,000 in square feet of commercial space for lease and about 30,000 square feet of retail.

Ignoring rental yields from its car park space and assuming current commercial rental rate of $11.30 per square foot, retail rental of $5.73 per square feet and 90% occupancy rate, one can expect $11.59 Million in annual revenue for Tuan Sing

From Capitaland Commercial Trust financial results, approximately 70% of revenue flows in as operating cashflow due to cash expenses etc, therefore one can expect 18 Robinson to yield $8.11 Million in annual cashflow

Currently Tuan Sing has 1,186 million shares in circulation, this means 18 Robinson Road is able to add another 0.68 cents in cashflow and in turn, dividends. The company currently has a sustainable dividend policy of 0.6 cents. Hence, it is quite possible for them to maintain a future dividends of 1.2 cents.

I am expecting another round of dividend increase when Sime Darby centre comes online. As both of these properties are freehold status and not 99 year leases like most of other REITs, these cashflow is perpetual in nature and only subjected to property market conditions.

Change in American Express Referral Conditions For Amex KrisFlyer Cards

To all readers, the previous content of my post which I blogged about how one could spend $50 to achieve 10,000 krisflyer miles is no longer valid because AMEX has changed their referral T&C from 10 October 2019. 

New Condition

So for those who had signed up from 10 October 2019, your Krisflyer accumulation miles are as follows:

a) Your first charge to the Krisflyer card will yield you 5,000 KrisFlyer Miles (provided this is the first time you own and have charged to an American Express cobrand Card)

b) However if you wish to accumulate the next 5,000 Krisflyer miles, you will need to spend $1,000 within the first 3 months of the date of the card approval.

This will help you earn 10,000 Krisflyer Miles in total. Please take note. Should you just wish to get part a), just charge a small amount to earn the 5,000 Krisflyer miles if you are a new cardholder to Amex. 

However, for those interested in accumulating for the $1,000 spend. I will strongly recommend using the top up of grabpay method over the span of 2-3 months. Do note your first $200 in grab top up is applicable for 3.1x Krisflyer miles on top of the bonus miles.

Hence the first $1,000 expenditure achieved by you is still worthwhile under the following method:

1st Calendar Month (e.g. 1 Nov 2019) - Top up $500 Into grabpay via your new signed up Amex Card

First $200- 630 Krisflyer Miles ($200 x 3.1)

Next $300 - 330 Kris Flyer Miles ($200 x 1.1)

2nd Calendar Month (e.g. 1 Dec 2019) - Top up $500 Into grabpay via Amex Card

First $200- 630 Krisflyer Miles ($200 x 3.1)

Next $300 - 330 Kris Flyer Miles ($200 x 1.1)

Total Points as of 2nd Month = 1,920 Kris Flyer Miles

Add $1,000 Spend =  5,000 Kris Flyer Miles

Total Airmiles Earned = 6,920 KrisFlyer Miles

Hence for $1,000 spent, you will accumulate 6,920 Air Miles (which works out to 6.9 Miles per $1 spent.

While it is weaker than the previous offer I stated where you could only spend $50 to earn the full 10k miles, the current deal is still decent in which you ear 6.9 miles per $1 up to $1,000

What To Spend on Grabpay

As mentioned by my now outdated post, the answer is to use Grabpay to pay for AXS bills via its mobile app such as income tax bills and utility. I have linked a very well-written article by Dollars and Sense which covers how AXS mobile app can now be paid using Grabpay [Link Here]

Earn 10,000 KrisFlyer Miles for Spending Just $1000 on American Express KrisFlyer Card

To all readers, the previous content of my post which I blogged about how one could spend $50 to achieve 10,000 krisflyer miles is no longer valid because AMEX has changed their referral T&C from 10 October 2019. 

New Condition

So for those who had signed up from 10 October 2019, your Krisflyer accumulation miles are as follows:

a) Your first charge to the Krisflyer card will yield you 5,000 KrisFlyer Miles (provided this is the first time you own and have charged to an American Express cobrand Card)

b) However if you wish to accumulate the next 5,000 Krisflyer miles, you will need to spend $1,000 within the first 3 months of the date of the card approval.

This will help you earn 10,000 Krisflyer Miles in total. Please take note.

However, for those interested in accumulating for the $1,000 spend. I will strongly recommend using the top up of grabpay method over the span of 2-3 months. While your first $200 in grab top up is applicable for 3.1x Krisflyer miles, the totality of the $1,000 expenditure is still worthwhile.

Below is my advised calculation

1st Calendar Month (e.g. 1 Nov 2019) - Top up $500 Into grabpay via your new signed up Amex Card

First $200- 630 Krisflyer Miles ($200 x 3.1)

Next $300 - 330 Kris Flyer Miles ($200 x 1.1)

2nd Calendar Month (e.g. 1 Dec 2019) - Top up $500 Into grabpay via Amex Card

First $200- 630 Krisflyer Miles ($200 x 3.1)

Next $300 - 330 Kris Flyer Miles ($200 x 1.1)

Total Points as of 2nd Month = 1,920 Kris Flyer Miles

Add $1,000 Spend =  5,000 Kris Flyer Miles

Total Airmiles Earned = 6,920 KrisFlyer Miles

Hence for $1,000 spent, you will accumulate 6,920 Air Miles (which works out to 6.9 Miles per $1 spent.

While it is weaker than the previous offer I stated where you could only spend $50 to earn the full 10k miles, the current deal is still decent in which you ear 6.9 miles per $1 up to $1,000

What To Spend on Grabpay

As mentioned by my now outdated post, the answer is to use Grabpay to pay for AXS bills online such as income tax bills and utility. I have linked a very well article by Dollars and Sense which covers how AXS mobile app can now be paid using Grabpay [Link Here]