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5 Unexpected Functions Of Your Credit Cards That You Never Knew About

Credit cards offer users a world of convenience. You don’t have to carry with you a wad of cash wherever you go. You can pay for your meals at restaurants and earn discounts, points and cash rebate at the same time.

In recent years, the technology embedded in credit cards has evolved. Credit cards can now do a lot more than just paying for services at stores, or buying products online.

Here are 5 unexpected things you could do with your credit cards today.

# 1 Use Your Credit Card Even When You Leave It At Home

Some people have tons of credit cards. The reason is simple. Each bank offers its own unique promotion for credit cards. To maximise all the benefits being offered, you need to have multiple credit cards.

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In the past, people used to carry around credit card holders to keep all their cards.

These days, you can have all your credit cards at your fingertips. Simply preload them onto your smartphone either through Apple Pay or Samsung Pay. Now you have them on your phone even when you don’t bring your credit card out with you.

The best part is that this method of usage is much safer. Both Apple Pay and Samsung Pay require thumbprint authentication for payment, while you just need to sign off for payment with a traditional credit card.

# 2 Use Your Credit Card As An ATM Card

If you are one of those who hate carrying many cards in your wallet, consider getting a credit card that doubles up as an ATM card.

An example would be the POSB Everyday Card. The card not only gives you useful cash rebates at places like Sheng Siong (5% cash rebate) and Watsons (3% cash rebate), but can also act as your de facto ATM card.

That means that there is no longer any need for you to carry a separate ATM card around.

Read More: Why I Stopped Withdrawing Money From The ATM

# 3 Use It As An Ez-Link Card

There are some credit cards these days that can act as an Ez-Link card. These include the POSB Everyday Card and the OCBC Frank card.

If you have either of these cards, that means you do not need a separate Ez-Link card when you take the public transport.

For car drivers, do note that you can also use these cards to pay for parking fees at the carpark gantry. Simply tap the card at the gantry exit and the amount will be charged accordingly. You no longer have to worry about your cashcard not having enough money.

# 4 Convert Purchases Into Instalment

We are not huge fans of paying via instalments. That is because it sometimes gives people the impression that they can spend more than they truly can afford.

That said, there might be months when cash flow is tight, and when you have already made purchases that you are struggling to pay off in full when the bill comes.

In such instances, it would be better for you to convert your purchases into a 0% interest-free instalment plan than to delay payment and rack up higher interest cost. Some credit cards such as the POSB Everyday Card allows you to do that.

# 5 Online Price Guarantee

Are you a big online shopper who loves spending hours searching for the best deal on the Internet?

The Standard Chartered SingPost Platinum offers a very interesting proposition for online shoppers. It allows users to claim for a 50% refund of the price difference if a user who purchased an item online using the card is able to find the same item offered online at a lower price within 30 days.

For example, assume we buy a coffee machine online for $300. A week later, we find the exact same coffee machine sold online by another retailer at $250. We would be able to claim for 50% ($25) of the price difference ($50).

Editor’s Note: A reader commented that a minimum of $50 difference between the two items is required for the claim. That is correct. A minimum of $50 price difference is required for the refund. Claim is capped up to $250 per item and up to $1,000 per customer. Click here for the full Online Price Guarantee Terms and Conditions.

Of course, it would still be better if we had found the cheaper deal, to begin with. Still, the card offers some form of guarantee since we would be able to get back 50% of the difference.

Read More: Why You Should Never Let Merchants Double Swipe Your Credit Card

DollarsAndSense Readers Can Enjoy A $30 Voucher (NTUC/Golden Village)

From between now and 31 July 2016, DollarsandSense.sg will be running a joint promotion with SingSaver.com.sg.

Readers who apply for any of these 4 cashback credit cards

  1. POSB Everyday,

  2. Citi Cashback,

  3. ANZ Optimum World, or

  4. Standard Chartered SingPost

on SingSaver.com.sg, will enjoy a choice of either a $30 NTUC Voucher or a $30 Golden Village Voucher.

These vouchers are on top of any other starter perks given by the credit card companies. So if you apply for the POSB Everyday Card, you get $30 NTUC/GV vouchers on top of the $100 Takashimaya Gift Voucher. So why say no to freebies.

You can sign up for any of these 4 cards with this link. Remember, to use the PROMO Code DASEC201607, to claim your vouchers on this promo page once you applied for the card!

 

DollarsAndSense.sg is a website that aims to provide interesting, bite-sized financial articles which are relevant to the average Singaporean. Subscribe to our free e-newsletter to receive exclusive content not available on our website. Follow us as well on Instagram @DNSsingapore to get your daily dose of finance knowledge through photos.

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