CIMB Visa Signature: All you need to know

CIMB Bank offers a Visa Signature credit card with attractive cashback promotions and offers. It can be a good option for those that can meet it’s spending minimums as you can take advantage of bonus cashback features. But if it is a globally useful and cheap account with low fees that you are looking for, this can actually end up being quite expensive.

Instead, why not check out the Wise multi-currency account which is on average 7x cheaper than Singapore banks? It is flexible to use around the world in local currencies and offers free cash withdrawals up to S$ 350 per month.

How does the CIMB Visa Signature work?

CIMB bank has a couple of credit cards that offer cashback rewards, with the CIMB Visa Signature being one of them. It works like a traditional credit card, that provides you a credit line that you can purchase against using the card. Then every month you receive a statement to be paid. If you can’t pay back the full amount, you will be hit with an interest rate on your balance.

The CIMB Visa Signature Card doesn’t provide anything new or different versus other credit cards to make travel easier or cheaper for you. While it does not have an annual fee, it still has a steep interest rate and high fees for cash advances and international transactions.

If you want a cheaper way to travel internationally or shop online at global retailers, check out Wise’s multi-currency card that can save you money versus a credit card.

Who is eligible for the CIMB Visa Signature?

The CIMB Visa Signature card is available to Singapore citizens and PRs. If you are a foreign citizen or expat, unfortunately, you would not be able to apply.

For eligible applicants, there is an annual income requirement and an age minimum of 21 yrs old for the principal cardholder. For Singapore citizens and PR, the annual income minimum is S$ 30,000. However, if you are 55 years old or older the annual income requirement is S$ 15,000. If you aren’t able to make the minimum income amount, you can provide a Fixed Deposit of S$ 10,000 to use as collateral.²

To apply, you will need to provide a copy of your NRIC document, payslips or income tax statements. You can apply for the card through the CIMB website or through a local branch.

What can I do with the CIMB Visa Signature?

You can use the CIMB Visa Signature card for purchases large and small, wherever Visa is accepted. While the card may not be cheap, it does offer cashback on purchases you make when you use the card, inside or outside Singapore. And it offers other perks like travel insurance and concierge. But take a look closely at the perks as they have certain restrictions and requirements.

CIMB Visa Signature cashback/ rewards

One of the most attractive features of the CIMB Visa Signature card is the ability to get cashback on your purchases.

Citi advertises 10% cashback on purchases like groceries, beauty and wellness, online shopping and more, but you only get the 10% if you spend a minimum of S$ 800 each statement month. And the purchases that you make is within that same month. Otherwise, if you don’t spend S$ 800 on the card every statement month, you only get 0.2% cashback on retail purchases. There is no minimum spend or cap on the 0.2% cashback.

To be clear, if you do meet the minimum spending amount to get the higher cashback, it is the standard 0.2% cashback + 9.8% bonus to make a total of 10% cashback. If you are able to take advantage of this, you can also get 10% cashback on veterinary services, pet stores and travel purchases like cruises.³

CIMB Visa Signature travel insurance

If you charge your entire travel fare to the CIMB Visa Signature card, you will automatically get travel insurance coverage. It can be up to S$ 300,000 and covers situations like loss of baggage, flight delays and more.⁴

CIMB Visa Signature concierge services

As a cardholder, you also have access to Visa Signature concierge. The concierge can help you book reservations, make travel plans or pick out gifts. They can be reached by phone at 800 448 1450 or by email at concierge@visasignature-asia.com.⁵

Overseas spend with the CIMB Visa Signature

With cashback options, travel insurance, and concierge services, it can appear that this card provides a good deal for international travel. But actually it can be quite expensive to make purchases globally. First, any purchases you make using the card have an automatic fee of 3%. That goes for everything from gelato to holiday home rentals.

Then each of those purchases is converted from their foreign currency to USD, then from USD to Singapore dollars. And these two conversions happen at the exchange rate set by Visa, which is typically higher than the bank to bank mid-market exchange rate. This way, it is a hidden fee and Visa and the banks can get a cut of every conversion. So if you add up all the charges and hidden exchange rate fees, your work trip or holidays suddenly start costing you more than you realize.

But travel does not need to mean you lose money to credit card companies. Instead, the Wise multi-currency account makes it as cheap as possible for you to spend globally.

Get your Wise borderless card - a multi-currency account that is on average 7 times cheaper than banks

There is no need to pay high rates and fees when you travel and shop online. With Wise’s borderless card, you can load your account with 40+ global currencies and you only need to pay one low conversion fee per transaction. This even goes for purchases on international sites like Qoo10, Amazon, Alibaba, and others.

You will always get the mid-market exchange rate when you use your card or convert S$ to another currency- it is the same rate that you see on Google. So no hidden fees, spending minimums or weak exchange rates here. Which means more money in your wallet to spend on what really matters. So check out the Wise borderless account today and see how much you can save.