Editorial

It was only a couple of months back when I reported about UOB One Account’s lower interest rates in May 2020. However, as rates continued their steady decline since then, we have seen the other competitors lowering their rates respectively for the likes of DBS Multiplier and OCBC 360. UOB is actually one of the last to announce for the UOB One Account, with a new (and lower) set of rates that will become effective starting 1st of August 2020.

Lower Interest Rates for UOB One Account Starting 1st August 2020

There is no change to the qualifying conditions. You need to spend at least S$ 500 per month on a UOB credit card (for example: UOB One Card, UOB Yolo Card, UOB Lady’s Card) to earn the lower interest rate tier. To earn the higher interest rate tier, you will have to spend the said amount on your UOB credit card AND credit your salary to the account or make 3 GIRO payments per month. The good thing about the GIRO criterion is that you do not have to fulfill a minimum amount for each GIRO transaction.

This is the 2nd time UOB revised the interest rates of the UOB One Account in 2020 alone. The revised effective interest rate starting 1st August 2020 is now at 1.20% p.a. assuming you max out the S$75,000 account balance on your UOB One Account. This is lower than the 1.796% p.a. during the May 2020 adjustment.  Base interest rate is still 0.05% p.a. if you do not meet any of the stated conditions for the month.

When is UOB One Account interest paid?

Do note that UOB One Account interest is paid in two installments each month. The base interest is paid on the first of the month while the bonus interest is usually credited on the second day of the month.

Comparison between UOB One Account vs OCBC 360 and DBS Multiplier

In my view, there is still a special place for the UOB One Account given that the salary crediting criterion can be substituted. This bodes well with folks who would have exceeded the cap in the other accounts for example (OCBC 360 is 70k while DBS Multiplier is 100k) and need another place to park excess funds.

Even for those who don’t exceed the cap of the competing products, the UOB One Account still makes for a good primary savings account. Assuming you have S$75,000 lying around and are able to make at least 3 GIRO transactions and spend S$500 on your UOB credit card, you are better off with the UOB One Account than the OCBC 360 which pays the same 1.20% p.a. interest but only up to S$70,000 (provided you do not fulfill the Wealth or Grow criteria). For the DBS Multiplier, provided you make the same type of transactions and you do not keep investments, insurance or home loans with them, you will have to make at least S$15,000 in total transactions each month just to hit the 1.20% p.a. interest tier. 

Conclusion

As mentioned previously, the current state of the UOB One Account is still competitive compared to its peers despite the lower interest rates. However, since interest rates of these bonus savings account products have fallen quite a bit over the past few months, and are now even lower than the prevailing housing loan interest, it does seem that some depositors may choose to park their funds elsewhere (i.e. retail or wholesale bonds or stocks) to achieve higher returns.

Given the rapid lowering of interest rates in recent months, it is perhaps inevitable that banks have once again changed their interest rates for CASA (current account & savings account) products. Among those banks offering the “contingent high interest rate” CASA products, UOB is probably the first to make the change this quarter with the announced revision for its popular UOB One Account.

Update: UOB has made another revision effective August 2020. You can check out the details of that update here

Lower Interest Rates for UOB One Account Effective 1st May 2020

The qualifying conditions remain the same. You need to spend at least S$ 500 per month on a UOB credit card (for example: UOB One Card, UOB Yolo Card, UOB Lady’s Card) to earn the lower interest rate tier. To earn the higher interest rate tier, you will have to spend the said amount on your UOB credit card AND credit your salary to the account or make 3 GIRO payments per month.

UOB spells out the revised interest rates clearly. From about 2.44% p.a. previously, the effective interest rate is now around 1.796% p.a. assuming you max out the S$75,000 account balance on your UOB One Account. 

What to do now?

Despite the drop in interest rates for the UOB One Account, it still serves a purpose. This is considering that other “contingent high interest rate” CASA products have revised their mechanics previously, even before taking into account the current market environment. Many of the UOB One Account’s competitors are even less desirable now (case in point – the revised Citi Maxigain and even the OCBC 360 which is revising rates in July).

The good thing about the UOB One Account despite the lowered interest rate is that you are still not required to credit your salary there. You can easily replace this criteria through the “make 3 GIRO debit transactions” rule. The 3 GIRO debit transactions can be easily fulfilled by setting up GIRO on your UOB credit cards. If you have 3 UOB credit cards, that already qualifies as 3 GIRO transactions. Note that there is no minimum $ amount for the GIRO payment to qualify. I then use the UOB One Card to fulfill the minimum S$500 spend required on the credit card side. I find their cash rebate of up to 5% (for S$2,000 monthly spend) quite attractive even for a miles chaser like me.

Apply for the UOB One Card here

Conclusion

Given the current renewed low interest rate environment, even my suggestion above might not hold for long if other banks also change their rates for their respective savings products. Apart from this, there is of course, no one-size-fits-all solution. Given the multitude of permutations out there, identifying the ideal savings account depends on one’s financial circumstance, spending habits, etc. as well.

Bangkok is one of the most popular cities to visit in Southeast Asia. The cultural experience, cuisine as well as shopping opportunities are simply phenomenal that most folks don’t know where to begin. If it is your first time to visit the Thai capital, there are certain things you need to be mindful of when deciding how and when to fly there.

Here’s a short checklist to help you get started in terms of arranging your flights:

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Sky Premium is an exclusive membership programme officially launched on 23rd August 2018. Think of it as a luxurious version of the typical discount or privilege programme. With Sky Premium, members can access around 200 establishments spread across categories like travel, wine and dine, shopping and wellness. Through the online portal, members can enjoy unique perks and there is even an option to buy products from Sky Premium’s online store. Membership in this programme costs S$1,200 per year with the actual membership card coming with 1 gram of 24k gold.

Merchants under Sky Premium’s Travel pillar include Banyan Tree Group, Antarctica XXI and White Sharks Project. Under the Wine & Dine, merchants include BAM!, The Lighthouse and Peach Blossom.

Specific examples of privileges include:

• Complimentary platinum membership to Emporium Shokuhin
• At BAM! restaurant, members have access to the best table in the house with personal greetings from the head chef, free exclusive drink and amuse bouche for each guest dining
• At Spa Infinity, members get to enjoy beauty and wellness services at members-exclusive prices

Aside from the website, members can access the perks and privileges of Sky Premium anywhere using their mobile phones through the app. There will also be a monthly newsletter with the latest happenings, promotions as well as new merchants being added to the programme.

Members can also clinch invites to exclusive, closed-door events. These include masterclasses and prestigious members’ parties like cruise-ship soirees, fashion shows and more. Other than this, there is also the ability to earn points through bookings and reservations generated through the Sky Premium platform.

Editor’s Note: Singapore has quite a number of consumer-oriented membership programmes that have become successful over the years and Sky Premium is perhaps the most prominent one so far that specifically targets the well-heeled. Some of the food and dining privileges look interesting but the website provides scant details so far of the travel-related benefits. It would be good to know what these are eventually. Then again, one would probably have to be among the privileged few to find out.