Optimizing Spending & Maximizing Savings

[auntiegeri]

Wedding 101: Tips for choosing hotel for wedding banquet

ZY and I decided pretty quickly on our eventual banquet location after viewing 10 hotels in 2 weekends. Here are some tips for budget brides to take note! 

Where to start?

Here are some things you should decide on, so that its easier for shortlisting of hotels:

Is there a preferred date? If its an auspicious date, you will need to book way in advance.

Budget? This is a good reference point to see the costs of various locations. Should also decide restaurant or hotel? We eventually decided on hotel since it comes with the full package, with decor etc, and was reasonably priced. 

Start working on your guest list and have a rough estimate of number of tables. This will help to limit the options. 

Viewing of hotels:

Once you have shortlisted a list of hotels, next step is to visit the hotel to see if the ballroom is something you both like (high ceilling? shape?). It is good to attend wedding shows as they are usually promotions running, food tasting, and you can see how the venue is like with the various themes. List of wedding shows is populated here. If there are no upcoming shows, another way is to reach out directly to the hotel to arrange a viewing. 

Looking at individual packages: 

Besides liking the ballroom, 2 other key deciding factors for us were: 

Menu items 

What the package included. Most packages were similar, and ZY and I did up this spreadsheet to compare offerings. 

Things you could potentially negotiate for include: 

Min number of tables required

Room for tea ceremony 

Free flow wine / beer instead of specific quantity

Waiver of corkage for duty-free corkage

2N stay instead of 1N stay for the couple + upgrade of room

In-room dining credit 

More carpark coupons instead of the default 30%

Payment 

Once you have signed the package, most hotels will require a deposit of $5,000. What i’ll recommend is to apply for the AMEX True Cashback Card, since you get to enjoy enjoy 3% Cashback on up to a total of S$5,000 spend for the first 6 months plus a fee waiver for the first year. 

After that, i will recommend to pay the banquet in instalments with the UOB One card (3.33% - 5% rebate / month depending if you spend $500 or $2,000 each month). I have slammed it before here, but with this huge wedding expense, it is easy to ensure monthly payment of a certain sum. However, do note that you need to have at least 5 transactions each month. 

The good thing about these cards is that they do not exclude hotel banquet transactions for cash rebates. 

Personally, i prefer accruing cash rebate to miles since its immediate and i can decide what to spend on, other than just for SQ air tickets (more thoughts here). However, if you travel a fair bit for work and just need a small amount of miles to redeem that business ticket, you can read this and this to evaluate which cards you should use to accrue the most miles. 

All in all, look at the total bill you gotta spend, and allocate carefully to specific cards to maximize the value you get, whether its cash or miles. Make sure you also apply for the relevant cards while shopping for hotels so they can come in time! Have fun! 

[auntiegeri]

Tips for Bangkok

Sawadee ka! Bangkok/ Grungthep (BKK) is like a second home to me, and I thought I share some tips from my experiences!

exchange rate: $1=24B

1. Get connected!

I would recommend getting a SIM card since it will probably be cheaper, and less troublesome than a wifi device. It is not essential to get from Changi Recommends because you can get a better deal from Don Meaung/ Suvarnabhumi Airports, and there will be personnel there to help you set-up. You can expect to pay ~199B-299B for a 1.5GB-2.5GB allowance over 7 days. Providers include AIS, Dtac, and True. Will recommend AIS since it offers the most data for the same price (299B).

*I provided a range of prices because it might differ slightly based on where you get from. For example, I got my AIS card for 199B/2GB from Suvarnabhumi, and I know the Don Meaung side shops (near to the taxi stand) sell cheaper sim cards as well.

2. Transport Options

(i) To/Fro airport

If you land in Suvarnabhumi, you will have the option to take the Airport Rail Link, which brings you to Pratunam in 6-7 stops (cost: ~40B).

For less hassle and if your hotel is not near Phaya Thai/ Ratchaprarop stations, you  can choose to take a taxi and it will cost 300-350B (including tolls of 75B). Remember to go by meter, and choose to go by highway to avoid the jams! Don Meaung should be about the same price.

I would not recommend taking Grab/Uber as they are priced at a fixed rate - ~425B.

(ii) Within the city

I would recommend checking Uber/Grab for offers because when i was there, both providers were running a 50B discount on rides taken from 10am - 3pm. This resulted in a ~32B ride (35 min) from Pratunam to Chatuchak (see Uber receipt above).

Even without the discounts, I would recommend taking for the following benefits, (i) no need to haggle on price, and (ii) no issue on communicating on location since everything is on the GPS. However, there are also downsides, (i) waits can go up to 15min because of the jam in BKK and (ii) you need to be very clear where the pick up is at (we usually choose hotel lobbies), because there might be a language barrier should the driver call you to confirm.

If you can’t get an Uber/Grab, the next best bet is definitely a taxi since they are very reasonably priced, sometimes even cheaper than the train if you are in a big group!

pdf here

During peak hours though, you might be better off taking the BTS, and i did a map highlighting the main areas that i usually visit. Did not include attractions like Wat Pho, Grand Palace but they are all situated along the Chao Phraya River. You can read more here.

Tuk Tuks are my least favorite because they tend to be very dangerous, and an absolute tourist trap! They always over-charge (100B for a short ride??) but can probably just take once for the experience.

3. Where to stay?

For the shopaholics, I would recommend staying at the Pratunam area (~$25-$40/pax/night). It will be convenient to visit Pratunam market (wholesale market in the morning), Platinum malls, some night markets (including the new NEON market) and Amari Watergate to tailor clothes. 

I would recommend the following hotels: Hotel Vista Express (right within Pratunam market), Lemontea hotel (abit further in but comfortable, clean and great service), as well as Centara Watergate Pavilion (more high-end, picture of chilling area below). 

The downside to staying in Pratunam is the pretty long walk (~10-15min) to the nearest BTS (Siam) so you might end up taking taxis everywhere. An alternative is to stay in the Siam Square area but I found it pretty challenging to find a hotel within my budget. If you have the budget (~$70/pax/night), might want to consider Novotel Siam Square (heard great reviews). 

If you are not big on shopping, I suggest staying beside any BTS to go place to place more conveniently. For big groups (6 pax), I found this pretty nice Airbnb near Phloen Chit (5 min walk). What I like about it is there are 3 toilets for 3 rooms, near a pretty central BTS and reasonably priced (~$45/pax/night). For new Airbnb users, can use my link to get $25 off your 1st booking (min spend: $100). 

For people keen on sightseeing, I would recommend staying at Chong Nonsi area - 2 stops away from Sapan Taksin to take the boat rides to Wat Pho, Grand Palace, Chinatown etc. There are also great restaurants there like LEK seafood and Feaung Nara.  E brought me to this sake bar that I really liked as well. Would recommend staying at the Trinity Silom Hotel.

4. Where to go?

See above for the map but wanted to highlight some not-so-known areas. 

For shopping: I usually recommend friends to Union Mall (Phahon Yothin MRT), 2 stops away from Chatuchak (JJ) market. It is a good place to go after JJ when it gets too hot because they have large variety of food, clothes (might be nicer than Platinum?) and beauty services (including nails, waxing etc - highest level!). You can also walk to the neighbouring mall - Central Plaza Ladprao.  

Another place would be Sampeng market to buy things wholesale (necklaces, earrings, belts, towels, bags, stationeries etc) CHEAP. Best to go with a group of friends so that you can meet the minimum quantity required. 

To tailor make men’s wear, I would recommend Newman exclusive @ Amari Watergate. Pretty good service and quality of materials. 

For services: For massage places, I would recommend Siam Relax (picture below). Went there a few times and found the massage really good! It is also conveniently located, right opposite Siam Paragon. Its the same soi/street as the restaurant, Som Tam Nua. For waxing, I would recommend DADAWAX at Union Mall - good service and reasonably priced! 

For food: Its difficult to say because there are so many choices in BKK but my must-gos include Platinum Food Court (favourites include the Pad Thai, fatty pork rice and noodles), BarBQue Plaza (must order the garlic rice) and MK. I usually look for new places to eat from Aroimakmak. 

Must-eat snacks include Moo Ping (pork satay, best found along the streets), Chatuchak coconut ice cream (Kampaeng Phet Exit 2), and Siam Pandan (picture below). 

5. What to buy back?

As gifts, I usually recommend cloth items (bags, pouches, aprons, tissue box cases) from Naraya because its affordably priced and very distinctively Thai. Another good thing to get is Thai snacks!  

Featuring 1. Pork Floss crackers (so addictive!) 2. Tao Kae Noi Seaweed (think this big bag is the nicest out of all the choices), and 3. Roasted coconut chips (so yummy!). These are my favourites to buy, and all can be found in Big C (near Pratunam). 

[auntiegeri]

7 tips to maximize spending

Thought i share some tips to maximize spending / value derived. Mainly enabled with amazing tech start-ups!

1. Credit card spending

As the year comes to an end, you might rack out some major expenses (gifts, traveling etc). Will be good to check online for any christmas offer (on your credit cards) before you make that purchase! For example:

DBS: Min spending: $250 in 1 receipt, instant guaranteed gifts including cash credits, vouchers etc. Limited to 1,000 registrations daily (till 31 Dec). 

SCB: Min spending: $150 in 1 receipt, 35K gifts including cashback and Courts vouchers. Limited to 1st 100,000 people who register here (till 31 Dec).

ANZ:  Min spending of $100 in 1 receipt, cashback of $1-$20, depending on what time the SMS reaches the bank. First 10 qualifying SMSes with 00 as the last 2 digits on the timestamp will be eligible for $188 of cashback. Limited to 500 SMSes each day. SMS on the same day to 77288: CASH <space> Last 4 digit of ANZ Credit Card number <space> APPR Code / Online Transaction ID

2. Burpple x Chope

Burpple and Chope finally collaborated and it makes absolute sense -discover new places on Burpple, then reserve on Chope! Do take note of the following: 

Think i have mentioned it a gazillion times but with 1,000 Chope $, you get to redeem $30 voucher for participating restaurants (full list here). Super worth it! Also saves time since you need not queue. Sign up here if you still don’t have Chope! 

3. Shopback (new function!) 

While exploring Shopback recently, I noticed that they have this new function - Super Cashback! For example, fancy 3 scoops of Andersons for $6? Its actually $9.90 on Groupon, but Shopback is offering a $3.90 cashback on top of that. Remember to use the code: XMAS for another 5% off! 

Also good to check Shopback for offers that you might have missed out. For example, Althea (Korea skin products) is offering a 16% discount on their bestsellers for 2016 (code: 2016best). 

Sign up here if you still don’t have Shopback ($5 off)! 

4. Transport discounts

Grab and Uber have been both pretty aggressive, launching different offers each week and its quite hard to keep up (sometimes the promos are not updated on the app). I subscribe to Cheaponana’s newsletter because they would summarize each week if there are offers (example here).

Also, would like to highlight to existing drivers to consider signing up for Grabhitch. This video explains pretty clearly the difference between Grabshare and Grabhitch. 

Essentially, Grabshare is like a mirror of Uberpool, meant for commercial Grabcar drivers. Drivers can take up to 2 customers, and riders can request and get a car fairly quickly. In comparison, Grabhitch drivers are driven by non-commercial drivers, who does not mind picking another person up on the way. For drivers, you set your destinations, and then the app shows you riders who have set their trips beforehand. You can look through and accept accordingly. Payment would be transferred to your “Grab wallet” should the rider chooses Grabpay and you can transfer it out to your account. No fees involved (code below).  Super easy to sign up - takes about 2-3 days. 

5. Overseas Routers offers 

I usually recommend getting a wifi router overseas vs a SIM card to reduce the hassle of having to keep your SG SIM card. Do take note of the codes from Changi Recommends (see below): 

You might want to check-out Klook before you book though - a platform to book travel-related services (incl tours, wifi devices). For example, as ZY and I are heading to Taipei again in Feb ($180 tix 2 ways w Jetstar!), I noticed that it was only $3 a day, and you can pick up/drop off the device in Taiwan itself (saves the hassle). Also, there was an $5 discount code so it was $10 for 5 days of rental (vs $25 w Changirecommends). 

Sign up here if you still don’t have Klook ($5 off)! 

6. Head to taobao/ezbuy instead of Carousell (esp for pre-orders)

It was previously very difficult to shop on Taobao because of the language issue, and complications regarding shipping. Various forwarding services came into the picture, but I was not keen to pay the additional agent fees / exchange losses involved with them. Then came ezbuy.. 

ezbuy is a forwarder that provides the PRIME service (limited to items with PRIME), offering users a $2.99 shipping fee (regardless of weight). To get PRIME, you either pay $9.90/month for a 1st month trial, or $99 for 1 year. If your items are not too heavy, you can then collect it yourself from the various MRTs/neighbourhood pick-ups - super worth it and convenient! 

You can either browse through what other people have bought on Prime , or search directly on Taobao and input on ezbuy to see if its eligible for Prime.

You will notice that many items on Carousell can be found on Taobao, for example: 

Carousell- $29.9/set for 3m*2m 

Ezbuy (exact item)- ~$14 including the agent fee + $2.99 shipping (assuming your prime membership is spread across many purchases, or if you have free prime during the offers on 11.11/12.12). 

A good way to search for your items is using the taobao china website, where you can search by images (click the small camera icon!). 

Sign up here if you still don’t have ezbuy ($5 off)!

7. Power of Facebook Groups

I realised that Facebook is really good to gather communities of common interest. SW recently invited me to this group - Budget Brides and it has been pretty useful to read views of other people regarding the banquet, make-up artists, photoshoots etc. It is also a platform where brides can buy / sell items and the items move pretty quickly since its targeted marketing! Tip here is to definitely consider Facebook as an alternative selling platform vs Carousell. 

Happy Holidays! 

[auntiegeri]

Whats next after BOC SmartSaver?

I first talked about Bank of China (BOC) Smart Saver in June, as another viable account to set-up and maintain. It was a risk-free way to earn up to 3.55% on your savings. However, BOC recently changed its T&Cs, and you now get a lower interest rate. What now? Is there something else that is better? 

1. Changes made to BOC (effective 1st Dec 2016)

Essentially, the base interest rates remained.. 

<$5,000              0.25% >$5,000              0.275% >$20,000            0.35% >$50,000            0.40%

while the bonus interest rates changed (details here). 

Previously, assuming you have >$50K, should you (i) spend at least $500 on BOC credit cards, (ii) deposit >$2,000 salary, and (iii) pay 3 bills, you stand to receive 3.55% on your savings. However, now should you do the same, you would receive 2.35%.

Should you (i) spend at least $1,500 on BOC credit cards (+0.8%), (ii) deposit at least $6,000 worth of salary (+0.4%) and (iii) pay 3 bills of min $30 each, you then stand to receive 3.55%. There is also +0.6% extra savings bonus on your savings above $60,000. 

Is it worth it then to change your credit card spending?

If we break down the changes, 

The bills component did not change, and 

There’s nothing you can do regarding salary, so assuming you earn <$6,000, 

Is it worth increasing $1K spending to get a total of 3.15%?

I don’t think so.

There’s really only one competitive BOC credit card - the Family card, with 7% rebate on online dining etc (min spending of $500). There is no additional cash rebate for online spending so, for e-commerce, the rebate is 0.5%. The BOC Shop card is not a viable option to supplement the Family card, with its changes implemented in April. Do note that cash rebates on online spending is no longer at 6%, but:

To conclude, you might get very little out of your credit card spending, as compared to other better credit cards like SCB Singpost’s (7% on online spending, with min $600 spending). It might also be difficult to hit such a high credit card spending here, if you also have another account (e.g. OCBC 360) to manage, which requires min $500 spending for +0.5%. 

Implications to me 

So, with the changes, BOC would bring me 1.55% vs 2.55% (my salary is credited with OCBC 360) while my OCBC 360 brings me 2.25% (meeting all 3 criteria). 

2. Alternatives to consider

(i) UOB One

Considering that BOC now brings me 1% less, I looked at other alternatives, including UOB which i talked about previously . I realised that its actually not that bad. Details to the UOB One account: 

^Maximum effective interest rate (EIR) on the One Account is 1.60% for savings of $50,000, provided you (i) spend >$500 on UOB credit cards. Maximum EIR is 2.43% for for savings of $50,000, provided you (i) spend >$500 on UOB credit cards and ii) deposit at least $2,000 worth of salary, OR (iii) pay 3 bills. 

This is great, because of the OR option. This allows you to still credit your salary with OCBC, meet 2 of UOB’s criteria and get maximum interest from both banks. However, do note that UOB One is limited to $50K for bonus interest (vs $60K for both BOC and OCBC).

Should you choose to move from BOC to UOB (changes you need to make)

Do note that you now need to pay 3 bills monthly via GIRO instead of having the flexibility to pay on your own via the BOC platform. 

You will need to identify suitable UOB cards to apply for, and replace whatever BOC cards you have. The credit cards eligible for the One Account bonus interest are (i) UOB One Card, (ii) UOB YOLO, and (iii) UOB Lady’s card.

a) The UOB One card is fairly straight-forward, with a blanket (regardless of categories) 3.33% rebate (for $500 and $1,000 spending / month), and 5% rebate (for $2,000 spending / month). However, to maximise the benefits, you will need to be disciplined and cut off spending once you hit the necessary tier since the rebate is capped. Reason being, should you spend $500, $600, $1,000 for 3 consecutive months (an example), you will only get $50 for that quarter (~2.38%). 

b) The YOLO card is a relatively new UOB product, with tiered rebates. Some caveats though: 

8% rebate is up till 31 Dec 2016. It is 6% thereafter. 

Min spending of $600/month, and cash rebate is capped at $60. 

Definition of online travel is limited to Airbnb, Agoda, Airasia, Cathay Pacific, Expedia, Hotels.com, Jetstar, SQ, Scoot, Tigerair and UOB Travel. 

This card seems very similar to the OCBC 365. I will probably go with this for the high dining and online rebates (my top 2 spending). For those who do not spend so much within these categories, the One card would be a better bet. 

c) The UOB Ladies’ card provides 5X Uni$ for every $5 spent on shopping and taxi rides (min spend of $3,000). Or else, its 1 Uni$ for every $5 spent. Considering that you need 4,000 Uni$ for $100 rebate, its about 2.5% rebate (if you can get 5X Uni$). Miles conversion might be a better option (read more here), but both categories are not too relevant for me.

(ii) POSB

There’s the new POSB Cashback programme, which gives you cashback according to how much you commit to the various categories. I’m not going to examine in detail since I cannot meet min 3 out of the 5 necessary categories (having committed my salary elsewhere, not investing or insuring with POSB):

You can read a positive analysis here, and a negative one here. 

Conclusion / Limitations

All that said, the difference between BOC and UOB (assuming no salary is credited) is really ~0.88%, which some people might argue that it is not worth the effort to move. Also, there are various limitations to this post: 

- I assumed that all criteria can be met (e.g. having 6 bills, able to meet the necessary credit card payment, earning more than $2K) which might not be the case for everyone.

- For simplicity sake, I assumed the maximum interest accrued based on the maximum savings available, which also might not be true. Hence, I think the final decision still depends on case by case, and hopefully this post helps in some way with at least the broad principles, and links provided. 

[auntiegeri]

3D2N Ho Chi Minh/Mui Ne for <$300!

Recently returned from Vietnam, and I decided to share my itinerary and some tips here for reference.

Decided to go to Ho Chi Minh (HCM) for a short weekend getaway (sat - mon) since the tickets were really affordable ($94 on tigerair for 2 ways, inclusive of taxes etc). In total for this trip, we spent slightly less than $300. Breakdown of expenses: 

– Flight: $94 (TigerAir, without check-in luggage) – Accommodation: $36 (2N at Bich Duyen Hotel, 1N at Diem Lien Hotel) – Expenses (Meals + Transportation): ~$160 - Total: ~$290

*Our conversion was $1 = 16.2KVND

1. Get a sim card!

I usually prefer to get a wifi egg when I travel, but for Vietnam its $8/day (from Changi recommends), and with only a fair usage of 500mb/day. In comparison, you get a data simcard with Vinaphone at the airport for 100K VND = ~$6 for 5gb, which is more than enough for both of us over 3 days. 

You can get to the shop by turning to the left once you exit the sliding doors (last shop and still within the airport itself). 

The sim card was very useful for us to navigate as we walked to most places, and for us to get Grab/Uber! They are definitely more fuss-free, safe and cheaper compared to taxis (many potential scams). Comparing Grab and Uber, we preferred Grab since it was fixed price, and this was especially useful for HCM where jams were common. We even took Grab from the airport itself to our hotel, since the pick-up point was easy to locate, and open to private cars. 

Use my code (8D08DC) for $8 off if you are still not on Grab!

2. Choice of Accommodation 

I am a huge Airbnb fan but for HCM City where there was a lack of digital infrastructure (i.e. ability to book bus/train/tour tickets online), I decided to go with hotels that were able to help me with that. 

For Ho Chi Minh, we stayed in Bich Duyen Hotel. The hotel is located in District 1 (backpackers’ district) so it was very centrally located! The front desk also helped us book the Cu Chi Tunnel tours and our train tickets to Mui Ne prior to our arrival (via email correspondences). 

For Mui Ne, we stayed in Diem Lien Hotel. As we were not sleeping for the night, and we just needed a place for short naps and shower before our midnight bus, i just wanted somewhere clean.

This met our needs since it was clean and conveniently located, right beside our tour operator (Mr Binh).

3. Choice of Transport

For HCM - Mui Ne, you can decide whether to take a train, bus or taxi. More information here.

There are no train stations at Mui Ne, so you will have to take to either Binh Thuan (40km away) station, or Phan Thiet (20km away) station. For Phan Thiet, there is only 1 train a day, at 650AM. It cost ~267K = $16.50 (might be more expensive since the hotel helped us book). We had to take a taxi from our hotel to the train station and it was 63K = $3.90. From Phan Thiet, we found taxis too expensive (~80K to $100K), so we took the red bus instead. We bought the tickets (35K = $2.20) on the train. The bus parked behind all the taxis, and we just told him we wanted to stop at Canary Resort (right beside our hotel). It took ~45 min. 

Total duration from hotel to hotel (hotel - train station - train - bus to hotel), including waiting time: ~6 hours. Total price: $22.60

As there is only 1 train back from Phan Thiet to HCM everyday, around ~1pm, we had to take a midnight sleeper from Mui Ne. We took a taxi from our hotel to Thesinhtourist office (40K VND = $2.40), before waiting for 2.5 hours for the bus (it was super late). 

I was initially very worried because of the horror stories read online (dirty with cockroaches around, noisy, security etc), but it turned out to be a pretty ok experience! The almost flat “bed” was clean and we had a pretty good rest throughout, reaching HCM at 0530AM. Just remember to bring your socks (cold) and eye mask (street lights)! From Thesinhtourist office, we could walk back to our hotel (Bich Duyen again). 

Total duration from hotel to hotel (hotel - bus station - bus - walk to hotel), including waiting time: ~6.5 hours. Total price: $17.80. 

The time duration is actually pretty much the same , with the bus being a cheaper option. We might have been lucky with the overnight bus since there were no jams. Similar to our approach, I recommend going there in the day on the train to see some views, and take an overnight bus back so you save time. 

4. Choice of Tours

We took 3 tours this time - 1 to Cu Chi Tunnels (arranged by hotel, reviews here, and here), 1 in Mui Ne, and 1 walking tour in HCM. 

For Mui Ne, I arranged with Mr Binh on a half-day (starts at 2pm) Mui Ne tour to visit the Fairy stream and sand dunes. We took a jeep tour, and it cost 450K VND/pax (vs 330K VND/pax for motorcycle) = ~$28. There are definitely cheaper tours but Mr Binh was pretty good with his explanations, and brought us to less crowded areas for better photos. We even had a good meal with him after the tour together with his friends, enjoying some Vietnamese food (perk of staying right beside his office!). Contact him through his Facebook here. 

On our last day, we took a free walking tour with Hum (meeting point: Ben Thanh Market, walking distance away from our hotel). She brought us to various landmarks, including the People’s Committee Building, the Basilica and shared more about Vietnam and HCM’s history. Definitely recommend this tour vs all the other tours listed on TripAdvisor which are honestly extremely overpriced. 

Thats all I have, and overall verdict of HCM City is positive, as we have learnt quite a bit about Vietnam, and met some very nice people. This is however not your typical relaxation, eat/shop holidays like Bangkok and Taiwan, since it gets quite stressed at times with the MANIAC TRAFFIC. Will definitely want to visit again for the amazing Bun Thit Nuong, massage and also explore other parts of Vietnam (Da Lat, Hoi An etc)!

You can find my full itinerary here. 

[auntiegeri]

[Update] Must-have Deal Apps!

I blogged a year ago about 8 must-have deal apps, and this is an update on the remaining apps and some new ones.

What remained: Entertainer, Sugar, Perx, Airfrov

Will only talk about Chug, Chope, Shopback and My Singtel since I have already blogged extensively about Ryde here

1. Chug

Recently got to know about this app from SG Asia City and it’s amazing for people who love their alcohol! Essentially you pay $14.90 each month, and get 1 free cocktail/beer (pre-selected) every single day at participating bars! Just note that the app refreshes at 5am each day (can repeat bars). 

I tried 2 bars so far - Mr Punch Public House and Freehouse and they were excellent! I guess the bars are guessing that you will order other drinks/food beyond that 1 (free) drink. Strongly recommend Freehouse for their craft beers and Truffle Mushroom Fries, yummy and no GST/service! 

The app just launched a few months ago, so they only have 15 venues (growing), mainly within the CBD area. What I love about the app is the ease to use (just 1 swipe), fair price (~price of 1 drink) and legit good bars! They currently offer the 1st month free so go download and redeem all the free drinks~ 

2. Chope

Previously blogged about Chope’s membership programme, where you can claim for vouchers. For each reservation completed, you get 100 Chope dollars, and the conversion rate is pretty good - 1,000 Chope dollars for $30 voucher at 40 participating merchants. Strongly recommend FOC Restaurant (amazing Spanish food). 

With the app, it is more convenient to check for offers (i.e. Chope exclusives), and to check if the restaurant you are heading to can be reserved through Chope. Use the promo code CDG200 to get an extra 200 Chope dollars each time you make a booking from now till 31 August. 

3. Shopback

Shopback launched its app earlier in July and it makes mobile shopping so much easier now. If you are still not on Shopback, i blogged about it here, and please use my referral link! 

Pretty sad that Redmart and Ezbuy are no longer on Shopback but the budget airlines (Jetstar, Airasia and Tigerair) are now on board (1% cash rebate).

4. Singtel

Recently made the switch to Singtel, and I love their app that helps me track my data and calls according to my plan. Easy to check that I’m on track, and make sure that Pokemon Go doesn’t take up too much data. 

Also good that they show the rewards that Singtel users are entitled to (free Yakun steamed bread previously).

Ok thats all I have, let me know if there are other apps I should download! 

[auntiegeri]

Save $ on overseas transfers

My sister recently went to Canada for exchange and she needed me to transfer the deposit to her landlord in Canada. I searched online and realised I could do this fairly easy over ibanking. However, I found a start-up (Transferwise) who could do it at a lower price! 

Transferwise is an Estonian-based P2P bank transfer unicorn (valued at $1.1B and raised $117M in VC money). Illustration below shows how it works, and this outlines the steps to complete a transfer. 

Compared to a bank transaction, the currency never leaves the borders and as a result, users save on transaction fees, as well as bank exchange fees. 

I was initially quite skeptical about the service even with amazing media coverage like on Forbes but decided to give it a go anyway. What I liked about Transferwise was:

1. Cheaper (validated)

On Transferwise, I paid a total of $1,302.37 (including a transaction fee of $6.50) for 1250CAD. The exchange rate is based on the existing mid-market rate. 

The transaction fees are determined based on the amount transacted and countries (full list of fees here). There was a refund because of the difference in spot rate during conversion, resulting in the refund. 

In contrast to OCBC, they charge $25 of extra charges (commission + cable) for the amount I wanted to transfer. 

Based on the exchange rate then (screenshot below), 1SGD would bring me 0.949487CAD. For 1250CAD, it would hence cost me $1,316,50, bringing the total cost to $1,341.50 (including $25 of charges). 

Cost savings of ~$39 (3%) just using Transferwise! 

2. Safe and secured

Transferwise was awarded a MAS license earlier this month, and is now one of the 76 approved remittance providers (whole list here). 

Also, for transactions in Singapore, Transferwise requires new users to head down personally to their office (currently situated in a co-working space, justco@raffles quay - just 2 min walk from exit I Raffles Place MRT) for them to validate your IC and address. Its a small hassle, but its the same for banks on your first interaction. Very simple and quick process, about 10 minutes!

3. Easy-to-use and great customer service

If you look at the user interface above, its super easy to use, and Transferwise provides an update on the stages of the transfer - whether they have received your payment (via bank transfers) etc. I was also very surprised at the rate of replies from customer service - within 1-2 hours from my last 4 emails. 

A small thing i think can be improved though, is a more SGD-centric platform. 

For some reason, a lot of the info is shown as GBP.

Overall my personal verdict is definitely great and useful since I foresee a lot more transfers to Canada. If you’d like to try, click here and you will get your free transfer free (up to 3000 GBP)! 

[auntiegeri]

Tips and Itinerary for Kaohsiung

Decided to do a series of posts with some tips on my short trips out of Singapore! Going to start with Kaohsiung, Taiwan!

1. Choice of Airline

It takes only 4h 15m to Kaohsiung (KH), so we decided on a budget flight. Scoot, Tiger and AirAsia fly to KH but AirAsia requires a stopover at KL so it lengthens the journey significantly. We eventually settled for Scoot because we managed to score tickets for ~$210 each. This price included baggage back, as well as the $20 cc processing fee.

If the tix were at the same base price, Tiger would have been cheaper since they allow payment via AXS ($5), so do make sure you compare the prices taking in consideration the additional charges. Summary below:

Source: Money$mart

Another tip is to sign up for the budget airlines’ newsletter to be informed about airfare deals. 

2. Choice of Accommodation

We stayed at 5 different places - 2 Airbnb at KH, 1 Hotel and 1 Minsu at Kenting, and 1 Minsu at Xiaoliuqiu for this trip. Outlined the different attractions on KH’s MRT map for easy ref: 

We decided to stay around Formosa Boulevard on our 1st night to explore Cijin Island/Pier 2/ Liu He Night Market. We went with this Airbnb (use my link for $28 off), which was small, but clean and comfortable. There is a washing machine at the balcony! We paid only $22/pax, and the apartment was located ~5 min away from Liuhe night market where all the drugstores (Watsons etc) were located at as well. 

For our last night at KH, we went with this Airbnb @ Ecological District as we planned to explore RuiFeng/Dragon Tiger Pagodas. This was more pricey at $36/pax, but so much more spacious and the breakfast was delicious! 

For Kenting, we decided to redeem my 1 free night (w Hotels.com) @ Gloria Manor (pictures below). It was one of the best hotels we stayed in Taiwan so far. It was very beautiful with great views since it is situated within a National Park. Breakfast and dinner provided were also delicious.

Even though Shopback provides a higher cashback for Expedia (8%) than Hotels.com (6%),  Hotels.com provides 1 free night for every 10 nights you stay. This is in comparison to Expedia which provides 2 points/$, and a $25 voucher for 3,500 points accrued. Hence, for Gloria Manor, we only had to pay the taxes & fees since the room itself was free (see below). 

If you don’t have a credit card that provides additional cash rebate on top of what Shopback offers, you can utilize discount codes that various banks provide (usually up to 10%) instead. You can find the codes here and here. Do take note that Shopback doesn’t provide cashback for usage of third-party discount codes (e.g. Banks), and the codes might have restrictions (min 2N etc). 

For Xiaoliuqiu (XLQ), I had a hard time selecting an accommodation due to limited reviews online. We found a list of Minsu here, and took a chance with Yucheng, as it was right beside the Lobster Cave so pretty near the Baisha Port where we will arrive/leave from Dong Gang. 

Strongly recommend Yucheng because there were tours planned out, and staff very kind and helpful. Would also say XLQ is a must-visit if you love nature even though few people talk about it online! Its peaceful, beautiful and definitely must go snorkelling! 

3. Choice of Transport 

We decided to self-drive for the Kenting leg, due to lack of reliable public transport and to visit the sights at our own pace. Do take note that it is lefthand drive for Taiwan, and you will need to apply for an international license here, valid for a year ($20). 

For the drive, I would recommend Carplus. We picked our car at the Airport to avoid the city jam, and returned the car at the Main Station which allowed us to take a bus to Dong Gang. The car was pretty new, and staff were honest in terms of deducting whatever additional fuel that we have pumped from our final cost, as well as provided a few additional hours free of charge. 

Both ZY and I cannot ride scooters and were very worried for XLQ. However, Yucheng arranged for us to get on 2 electric bikes which worked just fine and was our transportation tool the whole trip at XLQ.  

For KH, besides the trains, I will also recommend checking out Uber especially if you are going to inaccessible places (e.g. Dragon Tiger Pavilions). As Uber was pretty new to KH (since Feb 16), they were running discounts that made it very cheap. 

4. Choice of Connectivity Tool

For this trip, we rented our device from Changi Recommends, which costs $5/day (unlimited). This is a list of existing promotions: 

Do remember to check here for the data limitations (e.g. only 400MB/day for Europe which is not a good deal). Alternatively, you can also rent devices from Yourwifi. 

Another option will be to get a foreign simcard from Chung Hwa Telecom which will be more affordable (NT$500=~$21 for 7 days of unlimited wifi). We did not go with this due to uncertainty of reliability especially since we needed to tether across devices. 

You can refer to my itinerary here for more details! 

[auntiegeri]

Why collecting miles is not for everyone

ST featured this article a month ago, and talked about how some people managed to rack enough miles from credit card (cc) spending to redeem for air tickets. Here are some reasons why I think this strategy of air mile collection is not for everyone. 

1. Value of a mile 

When we look at cc spending, we can get cash rebates, miles or rewards. Hence, it is important to know how much a mile is worth to compare it against say cash rebate. I like to refer to this article that analyzed the worth of a mile and its dependent on the distance and class of travel. 

As I will never claim miles for short-haul flights with cheaper alternatives via budget, I am going to use the long-haul economy as an example, where 1 mile is worth ~1.11 cents.  

The implication to this is, say you want to buy something online, you can apply for a SCB Singpost card that offers a 7% rebate per $1= 7 cents. An alternative is an air mile card, and to get an equivalent 7 cents, you will need to find a card that gives you min 6.36 miles for that same $1 spent. Illustration below:

That pretty much wipes out all the cards you see in the ST article. Even though this is not entirely true since some cc annual payment fee provides you with some miles (e.g. $192.60 for Dbs Altitude/ 10,000 miles = ~52 miles/$), you are actually spending $ to get miles (with no product or service in return), and this only happens only annually. 

2. The hassle of mile conversion

Collection of miles is not like cash back where it's automatically deducted from your next bill. You will need to convert points and this incurs a charge. Besides the charge, some redemption is done in blocks. 

The implication to this is, say you only accumulated 4,000 points by the end of 1 year and the card's annual fee is due. As miles cards usually don't allow a fee waiver, and you will not want to waste your 4,000 points, you get stuck and will just pay the fee. 

3. The problem of redemption (of flights) 

For collection of KF miles, you can redeem SQ flights, or flights within the StarAlliance family (see below). 

The problem about this is it limits you to a number of airlines vs using cash to purchase any flight you want. Hence, you might save some $ since you have miles, but your travel partners might end up paying for more vs via a cheaper flight provider. 

Also, there is no simple way to redeem your KF miles on other airlines (e.g. United). We tried this recently and had to do it via phone, going back and forth on the dates because most dates were not available. This is because airlines only allocate a small % of seats to mile redemption (vs cash) so you will need to book very early. 

4. General suitability 

The reason why miles are worth more for long-haul biz class tickets vs long-haul economy tickets is because of the tax involved (around the same for both classes). Illustration below is for tickets to SF in September:

Even though it makes more sense to redeem for biz class tickets then, will you ever accumulate 136,000 miles? How likely are you able to take a long holiday? Will you even want to sit business? If you don’t, even though you are getting more value through mile redemption, you are better off just converting your spending to real cash where you can decide what to spend on. 

Also, if you are like me who have savings accounts (OCBC 360 and BOC SmartSaver) with bonus interests tied to cc spending, its difficult to focus spending on miles card since OCBC and BOC have no good miles card. See here for my review on OCBC Titanium. 

However, with all that said, having a miles card might make sense if: 

1. You travel very frequently for work

These miles are technically given free to you since there is no spending involved. To not put the miles to waste, you can spend effort channeling some spending to more miles to reach your target for a specific destination. 

2. You would like to experience Airport Lounges

For KF lounges, you can only use it if you are traveling on Biz class (and above) or have the KF Gold card (for Star Alliance flights), i.e. even if you have KF gold, you cannot be there if you are flying Scoot. However, there are other lounges you can use if you have the right cc. Example:

Pretty good to have some food/drinks before a budget flight! 

3. As a catch-all

Tying back to my first point, if you already have some miles for work to start with, you can do a mix of collecting cash rebates and miles. There are some good cards for cash rebates for dining and online, limited to $x/month. Hence, for other purchases with min cash rebate (~0.3-0.5%), you might be better off collecting miles (e.g. with ANZ Travel Visa, it provides 1.4 miles/$ spent). Another situation is when you have a large purchase (e.g. say spending $2.5K on air ticket), which will give you a max of $60 cash rebate should you use the SCB Singpost card. Instead, its better to use a DBS Altitude and receive 7,500 miles (3 miles/$ for online flight and hotel transactions)

Just my 2 cents and let me know if you have other comments!

[auntiegeri]

$60 for $160 vouchers at Yunnan Gardens.. wait, what?

I tend to only buy Groupon vouchers for restaurants that I have tried before, or heard friends talk about it. Recently, I bought vouchers for Bene Spaghetti and Yoshimaru Ramen (HV) and they were great! As I’m subscribed to Groupon’s newsletter, I saw that Yunnan Gardens and Carpenter & Cook both offered vouchers.. but what I didn’t expect was how cheap it would be. 

Reasons why it was so cheap: 

1. Upsized cashback (8%) from Shopback. I have blogged intensively about Shopback, so really, if you still have not signed up, click here for $5 bonus. I strongly recommend downloading the plug-in to make sure you don’t miss out on any offers.

2.  Discount on the vouchers. I realised that Groupon does targeted advertising, so for my account I was offered 12% discount, while ZY was offered 25%. Probably because ZY shops a lot lesser on Groupon. 

Good reason why you should open your Groupon account if it has been awhile since you last browsed it.

For new users, do take note that there is a $10 off: 

Vouchers I would recommend: 

1. Yunnan Gardens at Galaxis: I ate here twice, and the food quality is really good! Expensive so Groupon will really help. The voucher can be used from Mon - Sat (11am - 9pm), so perfect for the family. You can also use 2 vouchers per bill, perfect. 

Using my acc: $80 voucher originally sold for $40 but with 12% disc + Shopback rebate is $32.40.

Using ZY’s acc: $80 voucher with 25% disc + Shopback is $27.60.

Total damage: $60. Assuming you use the BOC Shop! Card with a 6% cash rebate on online purchases (min spending:$500), the total will be $56.40. 

2. Carpenter & Cook at Lorong Kilat: One of my favourite cafes and can save $8. ($12 for $20 voucher) The tarts are a must-try! 

Final Comments:

1. Do read the T&Cs clearly to make sure that you have 1. ample time to claim the voucher, 2. it can be claimed on weekends if you want more flexibility, 3. number of vouchers that can be used for 1 bill. 

2. Do check out the menu and do a quick calculation to estimate how many vouchers you need to buy to maximise value. 

3. This is pretty obvious, but make sure you take note of the expiry date because the biggest reason why Groupon is so dangerous is because people always forget to use!! My tip is to use it as soon as possible. 

[auntiegeri]

Whats next after OCBC 360?

A friend recently asked me where he should put his money in, since he had hit the cap for bonus interest ($60K) for his OCBC 360 account. I don’t invest so I have no recommendation for that, and I suggested to him to set up a Bank Of China (BOC) SmartSaver account. It is really a replica of 360, offering a better interest rate. 

Lets compare both: 

OCBC 360:

Max interest you can get if you meet the 1st 3 requirements (since I have no investments) for $60K is: 2.25%.

Assuming you can save about $1,000 each month with a base of $30,000, the effective annual interest is about 2.32% (calc below).

BOC SmartSaver: 

The prevailing sales interest differs based on how much you have in your bank, 0.25% (< $5K), 0.275% (> $5K), 0.35% (> $20K), 0.4% (>$50K)

Max interest you can get if you meet the 3 requirements is: 3.55% (assuming you have min $50K).

Assuming you have $60K, if you were to move your entire savings from OCBC 360 to BOC Smart Saver, you will stand to gain $738 in 1 year, which is pretty substantial. 

However, it might be a hassle to switch accounts completely and again, you might have more than $60K savings, so my recommendation will be to maintain 2 accounts. Here are some reasons why I would recommend signing up with BOC now: 

1. Monies being protected

When ZY first told me about the SmartSaver account, I was very skeptical about Bank of China because of the perceived risk but actually: 

- BOC is the 5th largest bank in the world by market capitalization value.

- The Deposit Insurance Scheme protects depositors in the event a DI Scheme member (BOC is a member) fails by compensating insured deposits up to a maximum of S$50,000.

2. Improvements made to BOC experience

When I first went onboard BOC, it was really bad - with the banking infrastructure not properly set up. However, things are a lot better now! The Internet banking interface has improved, and since Sept 15, FAST is now offered for BOC so you can do interbank transfers very quickly. I only have 2 complaints - the log-in is still a hassle because you need your dongle everytime (+ downloading some add-on), and for internet purchases, the notification for your OTP is still in Chinese.

3. Great credit card products

As the savings account is tied to 3 bonus components - salary, 3 payments, and credit card spend, it is very important that the corresponding credit cards can bring value. When I first started with BOC, I used the BOC Shop! Card.  

Its similar to OCBC’s Frank card (before they changed) - 6% rebate for online purchases and/or department stores, min spending $500 and max cash rebate of $30. I love this for all my online shopping, used together with Shopback to maximise the cashback. However, with the new wave of changes made to BOC’s Family card,  the Family card is now even better: 

In my opinion, this card is really good because: 

- The dining rebate (7%) is actually one of the best deals out there.

- There is a 5% rebate provided for purchases in supermarkets, as well as NETS FlashPay Auto Top Up (ATU). For people who don’t know, you can actually use your ATU-enabled credit card as your Ezlink by registering here. Do take note that you should set the top-up as $50 each time, since there is a $0.50 cents (1%) charge for each top up. Net gain: 4%

- The bonus cash rebate is capped at $100 vs $30-$80 for most cards. Note: bonus rebates comes with a min spending of $500. 

- There is an additional 2% rebate for sup card on all other purchases beyond the stipulated categories. You will however need to spend a min $200 on the sup card and the rebate is capped at $20 (on top of the $100). 

I guess OCBC’s 365 was their inspiration, so putting the details below as a comparison: 

With the Shop! Card and Family card now, I would recommend focusing on a BOC credit card, instead of OCBC if you are only spending $500-$600/month, since BOC offers a higher bonus interest on savings for card spend (1.55% vs 0.5%) and has a lower threshold ($500 vs $600). If you have high online spending for a particular month, I recommend supplementing with the Singpost Stanchart card since it offers 7% online cash rebate, up to $80. 

4. Complimentary vouchers with SmartSaver account

I’m not sure if its still available but when ZY and I signed up, they gave us a few vouchers, and they were really good! Free massage at Lifespa/Carlton Hotel and facial at Amarin Spa/Marina Mandarin. Both were great experiences, and worth quite a bit. 

Last comments:

- I think OCBC and BOC are very smart in tying savings interest rate to credit card spending, because it locks consumers (at least for me) to their credit cards. Even though there are cards like POSB Everyday that runs attractive promotions (9% for weekend dining, 3% for weekday dining but min spend of $700/month), with a limited credit card spending, I will still stick to OCBC or BOC for that extra savings interest. In any case, BOC offers 7% for everyday dining, so not that bad also. 

- ST recently ran an article on people who managed to clock up loads of air miles with their credit cards but I really don't think that is suitable for everyone (including myself). Will run my thoughts in the next post. Stay tuned! 

[auntiegeri]

Tigerair - NTUC Offer

From now till 2nd June (Thursday), Tigerair is running a promotion across 36 routes for NTUC members. What I like about Tigerair is that their offers are really true to promotion! You can choose to pay via AXS (+$5 for entire booking) and not incur the exorbitant fees that budget carriers slap on when you pay using credit cards. 

Do head to the link here, and you’ll just need to input the NRIC of a NTUC plus! member. Some offers featured below: 

Specifically, I managed to find these offers that I thought were quite good for a short getaway! 

1. 3D2N to Ho Chi Minh City: $96.58

Its going to be our first time to Vietnam so not sure if 3D2N will be sufficient, but seems doable based on what I read from here, and here? This route is also good because we will only need to take 1 day leave. Banking on RYDE to get us a cheap ride to the airport in the morning. ZY and I managed to get Ryde at 3am to the airport for Kaohsiung so i remain hopeful.

2. 5D4N to Guangzhou: $143.38

Booked this for my mum and the dates I found were:

For more info on what to do, you can read this, or watch this! Enjoyed my time at GZ so def recommended!

3. 4D3N to Taipei: $149.75

ZY and I love Taipei for the good food, friendly people and awesome hot springs! Giving it a miss this time though, because it time to explore other cities~ 

Note: for the routes featured here, I excluded all the extras -  including luggage (can backpack!), insurance (purchased separately), choice of seat (really not necessary) and food. 

[auntiegeri]

Why you should switch to Singtel

I had been on Starhub ever since I started having a phone, and recently made a call to check if they provided any form of incentive for recontract. They used to offer vouchers but apparently not anymore, so I decided to make a switch to Singtel for the following reasons:  

1. It is extremely easy. Since June 2008, with the full mobile number portability taking effect, one can just switch providers without having to change their numbers. The change also took me about 2 days, hassle-free! 

2. Monetary benefits 

This was probably one of the largest draws that made me switch. With this discount, my iPhone SE 64GB Rose Gold was only $215!

Also, I realised that the plans were more attractive! I got Combo 2 that offered 200 min outgoing and 2GB data. Listed price was $42.90 but because I was on the corporate plan, i got it for $32.20 (came with 2 years free auto roam). I topped up $5.90 for Data X2 as this came with 2 years free caller ID (total = $38.10). To compare with my existing Starhub plan that was exactly the same except it was with 3GB data (old plan that does not exist anymore), it was $49.77. 

3. Freebie

With the exclusive deal Singtel tied with Netflix, I received 3 months free Netflix subscription. Depending on the packages you sign, new/re-contract customers can receive up to 9 months free subscription. 

4. Innovativeness 

There’s the Easy Mobile which allows customers to customise their plans according to how much talktime/SMS (who still SMSes??)/data they need. Thought this will be really useful but I can only start looking at this 6 months into my contract. 

The other one is the Mobile Swop programme, where customers pay $8/month, and can swop/replace their phones should they wish to or if their phones are damaged/lost - topping up a certain amount. I didn’t take this up as I don’t really change my phone every year (too much hassle) but I can imagine friends who will benefit from this! 

Disclaimer: I’m not a big-enough influencer to get paid in anyway, so this is written really from my personal point of view.

Disclaimer 2: Did not take M1 into consideration because heard feedback that the reception is not very good. 

[auntiegeri]

How to save $ with Taobao

Taobao is amazing! Will not be talking about how to order on Taobao because many blogs already talk about it, and it is really not that difficult. Will focus on 3 things here - 1) whats the difference between using an agent vs buying direct, 2) some Taobao tips,  and 3) my favourite items purchased (most useful section in my opinion on blogs). Long post ahead!

You can read how to buy directly from Taobao from their site, or from this blog which I found extremely useful when I first started. Definitely much easier if you can read Chinese! 

1) Agent vs Buying Direct (some analysis here) 

Essentially, when you purchase directly from Taobao, they are from individual sellers. You can choose for them to send directly to Sg, but it is cheaper if you use a forwarder (e.g. 4PX) that will consolidate individual items at their Shenzhen warehouse before shipping the entire to SG. 4PX (local partner: Singpost) is the most expensive but it has never failed me (please don’t). 

I like it for a few reasons: 

When the item reaches the warehouse, they will drop you a text

They are very reliable, and since Singpost is their local partner, the shipment reaches me really quickly (7-9 days from the day i order)

They count the weight up to 2 decimal places, unlike others

It might be confusing if you don’t read Chinese, so in this case you can use a 3rd party agent (e.g. Skycart, 65daigou). You just need to copy the link of the item you want into their website, order, make payment and the agent will settle everything for you, including making sure the items are correct, correspond with sellers if items are OOS etc. With such convenience, it comes with additional costs - which is GST and agent fee (ranges from 4-8%). 

Personally, I much prefer buying directly from Taobao because: 

I want to avoid paying the additional fees mentioned above, and also get a better exchange rate (1SGD = ~4.6 Yuan on my cc vs ~4.4 Yuan on 65daigou/skycart) 

I can leverage on certain coupons that merchants give directly and also sometimes, when you write reviews they give certain cashback

I can use SHOPBACK and get up to 10% cash rebate (new users get $5 when they use my code). However, do take note that cashback is only applicable for items bought through ai.taobao.com. 

The cons however are: 

You have to go through a bit of hassle talking to sellers if your items are incorrect/faulty/slow 

If you buy from Taobao with 4PX, there is only 1 price and they use air freight, hence the high cost. For agents, you can choose a cheaper shipping cost (hence longer delivery time). Rates below are from 65daigou. 

The shipping charges on Taobao works such that the cost is front loaded in front (1st kg at 43 Yuan then 24 Yuan for subsequent kg), which means that shipping gets cheaper as you buy more. However, if you are buying only a few tems, you are better off going with a 3rd party agent since they charge per 500g. 

For Taobao beginners, I actually recommend going with Skycart because it is extremely easy to use and they are waiving all fees till 26/2 (still on beta). My only gripe then was it does not tell you the weight breakdown of items but now they do.

2) Some Taobao Tips 

a) To get some ideas what you can buy from Taobao, its good to tap on 65daigou and Skycart where they have a log of what people have bought and categorised them. Very useful! If the item is not to your liking, you can then copy the key words and search for more items until you find the one you like. 

I particularly like Skycart where they encourage buyers to hashtag #skycartishere so you can see how the item will really look.

b) Download the Taobao app 

It is really useful where you get quick updates of where your item is exactly at, can talk to sellers easily (in Chinese) and also able to search for the items you want with pictures.

c) Always read reviews! I usually will not buy an item if there are no reviews and I prefer reviews with photos since you can see how an item will look like. 

d) As Alipay charges a 3% surcharge on credit card payment, use  a credit card that provides cash rebate for online purchases (top pick: scb singpost card with 7% cash rebate, min spending for the month: $500)

For more tips, visit this site! They did a series on Taobao hacks, which I found useful. 

3) Favorite Taobao Items 

Will just share 6 in this post, and leave the rest for another post! 

a) Bedsheets (Total price for both singles with pillow covers incl shipping (1.02kg): $27

Was really a risk to buy but it paid off! Took really long to find this one because I wanted 1 with the stretchable ends, instead of being just a cloth and it was quite hard to find the size for single bed (90cm x 190cm). Most shops on Taobao will provide 100cm x 190cm or other sizes because beds in China have a range but all beds in Singapore have a standardised length of 190cm. Strongly recommend this shop because the quality is really good! 

b) Necklaces (Left necklace w shipping: $5.10)

Love the necklaces from this shop because they are usually very well made and nicely designed. 

c) Party Goods (Number Balloons , Alphabet Balloons, Heart Balloons, Fringe for DIY Photo Booth, Photo Booth props, Party Glasses, Slappers)

Didn’t track all the shipping charges since they were all super light except the slappers (1.19kg for 15) 

The balloons were all good quality, like store bought and easy to blow up with the straws provided. Def cheaper vs buying from shops! 

d) Cat Pillows (W shipping (0.7kg): $12.60 vs similar pillows from Action City at $25 - $38)

Super cute pillow which you can hug, warm your hands and get a blanket! Took my office by storm where i ordered 6 cat pillows in 1 shipment. 

e) Korean-esque Stationeries

Bought my scheduler and stickers here, very good quality, but OOS already. 

f) Macbook Items (Cover (Price ~$8, 0.46kg), Laptop bag, Screen Protector) 

The macbook cover was great and came with freebies like keyboard protector, plastic stoppers for USB slots, cloth to wipe the screen etc) 

Do let me know if this was useful and what else you would like me to blog about related to Taobao~ 

[auntiegeri]

Ryde to Save $

Learned of Ryde recently and decided to try it. It works! Very seamless, and most importantly, cheaper than UberX/Grabcar and the typical taxis. Definitely worth a try! 

When Grabhitch first launched, I tried calling for a car 3x but didn’t get any since it was still in beta and they had a short of cars. It might also be because I live in such an ulu area. In any case, I gave up and decided to try out Ryde! Similar to Grabhitch, it is for carpooling and because of LTA regulations, drivers can only take up to 2x of such rides each day. 

This was my personal experience: 

I was assigned to a Driver fairly quickly and what I liked about Ryde is: 

Its cheaper! It cost $10 for a ride from Buona Vista - Jurong vs. $14 - $18 (UberX/Grabcar) vs. $20+ (usual Taxis) 

Fuss-free sign up! Took me about 1min, just have to provide some personal details (including IC) 

The in-car experience is exactly the same as UberX/Grabcar since my driver only picked me up and no one else, on his way back home 

What I didn’t like: 

There is no indication of when the car will arrive, but this was easily solved by calling the driver

The GPS of the car is not so accurate because mine remained at the same position for the entire time

Note: I already emailed the team these feedback so hopefully things will change in time.

Some interesting facts about this start-up: 

Think they have a pretty unique business model where they don't take a %cut for each ride, but instead charge both drivers and users 1 credit for each ride. As a new rider, I have 3 free credits but credits are later sold at 5 credits for $5 or $15 for unlimited credits for 1 year. Will try out more times to assess ease of getting a car. If all’s good, think I will probably go for the Yearly plan. 

Ryde managed to partner with Aviva to provide carpooling coverage for drivers at zero additional premium (provided drivers are currently on Aviva car’s insurance). Pretty amazing! 

Go download Ryde now to try and save $ on private transport! 

[auntiegeri]

3 Ways to Maximise Cashback

Many credit cards provide cashback and my favourite would def be the OCBC 365 card (v comprehensive across many categories) and SCB Singpost card (7% cashback for online purchases). Sharing here 3 ways how you can extract the most value out of your cashback cards! 

1. Take note of Pre-registration

Some cards (sneaky) require individuals to pre-register in order to be eligible for certain cashback. SCB and ANZ are most prone to do this. I know of 3 existing offers currently: 

a) ANZ Optimum Card

To be eligible for the 5% cashback on 1 chosen category, you must indicate your preferred category by 25th of each quarter (Dec, Mar, June, Sept) or else it will be a flat 1% for all purchases. I forgot over last Christmas and tried to call in but they are very strict on this and will not be able to render any help. Will have to use some other card for dining for Q12016 now because of this. 

b) Win additional cashback with ANZ card

On top of the existing benefits that your ANZ card brings; till 14th Feb, each time you make a purchase over $100 in a single receipt, you are eligible to win cash rebate ($1-$20/for weekends). The catch is, its only for the first 500 SMSes each day, and you must remember to send the text on the day itself. 

c) SCB 15% Dining Cashback (Up to $88) 

SCB is running a really attractive promotion now, offering 15% cashback for dining spending, if you were to spend min $688 on total spend in the qualifying period (16/1 - 15/2 and 16/2 - 15/3). On top of this, you might even get to win more cashback if you were to spend min $138 (20/1 - 22/2) in a single receipt. The catch is, you have to register online or via SMS, and this is only for the first 40,000 cards registered. 

CNY <space> 16 digit credit card number to 77222

However, there are 2 not-so-good points to note. First, you will not know if you are 1 of the lucky ones until much later (notified on or by 30/4), so you might end up spending $688 and not getting any cashback. Second, to maximise the $88 cashback, you actually only need to spend ~$588, which means to say the additional $100 is an opportunity cost incurred since it could have been spent using another card to get more cashback. 

2. Be familiar with the Min spending amounts required/ Cap in rebates

Many cards require individuals to spend $x/month before the cash rebates are activated, and there are usually caps to the rebates. Examples include: OCBC 365: min ($600) cap ($80), SCB Singpost: min ($600) cap ($60), ANZ Optimum: no min spending but cap at $30/transaction. 

Having this knowledge would allow you to know which card to use when making payments. You don’t want a situation where you spend more than the cap, or a situation where you miss the min spending and end up getting nothing for that month’s spending. 

3. Know your spending patterns and Apply for the relevant cards

I know this is a bit duh but it still surprises me when people primarily deal in cash. My personal mantra is that each purchase should bring some value; either through direct cashback or miles. Credit cards and alternative payment solutions (e.g. Dash) are great tools to help enable this. 

Its really helpful to sit down and analyze where majority of your monthly spending goes to and apply for the relevant cash rebate card. Just to provide some examples, If you generally don’t spend a lot and want a fuss-free card, you might want to consider the CIMB World Mastercard, that gives 1% cash rebate for all purchases, with no cap. If you have a big ticket item coming up, you might want to consider applying for the AMEX Truecashback card, since it gives 3% cash rebate for the 1st 6 months, up to $5k. Definitely better than cash!

Do share with me other tips if you have! 

[auntiegeri]

6 Ways to Save $ in Japan

I just returned from a family free&easy trip in Japan (Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka), and here to share 6 ways I found to save money! 

1. Use Airbnb instead of a typical hotel 

Accommodation in Japan is not cheap and for my family of 5, we require 2 rooms, making it a substantial cost. What I did instead was to use Airbnb! Our Tokyo Airbnb (use my link to get $28 off for new users) is extremely recommended, at only $917 for 4N with a very convenient location. There were also other benefits, like our host picked us up from the airport at a small cost (much cheaper than taxis) and also helped us book the Universal Studios Osaka tickets (order website all in Jap). The place also came with a Wifi egg that allowed us to be connected outside. This brings me to my 2nd point: 

2. There is no need to get a portable wifi egg from Singapore 

Many websites would recommend people to get a wifi egg from Changi to remain connected at a low cost overseas but what I realised is that it is not necessary in Japan! Reason being, many Airbnb apartments offer a Wifi egg that individuals can bring out, which was what we did in Tokyo and Osaka. For Kyoto, all bus stops also have free wifi, making it super convenient.

3. Read JPrail and save on the JR Pass 

I found this website extremely useful when planning for my trip. It details the routes you need to take, and explains why it is cheaper to buy individual tickets vs the 7days JR pass if you are only taking one way Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka. Another useful website within JPrail is this, which explains how to use single long-distance ticket (e.g. you can buy a Odawara (Hakone) - Osaka ticket, making a stop-over at Kyoto, before using the same ticket to Osaka within a certain number of days). One tip i would give when choosing seats on the Shinkansen is choose the tickets nearer to the door so that you can stuff your baggages behind the seats. 

4. Check Hyperdia to confirm your routes 

Hyperdia was my daily go-to to confirm my routes before I go out everyday! It is a bit like gothere.sg but better because it tells you the exact time the train would come, which platform to go to and also compares the prices of different routes for you. Extremely helpful and helps save money + time. 

5. Find out transport deals in each city 

Is bus cheaper, or train? Single ticket or unlimited rides per day? For the cities we went, some tips below:

Tokyo: There is a 1-3 days pass for unlimited rides on all Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway lines. I compared the price of this pass vs if i were to just buy individual tickets (using Hyperdia) to decide which was a better option. For the routes planned, we went with the latter in the end. For the Suica (i.e. our ezlink) card, do note that there is a 220Y charge when you get back your 500Y deposit, so make sure the value of your card is as close to 0Y as possible when you refund (they don’t deduct from the deposit). 

Hakone: Go for the Hakone Freepass, which gives you access to all transport types within Hakone - convenient and value for money.

Kyoto: Instead of taking the train, we took bus everywhere because the attractions were all near bus stops (our hotel included), and there was a 1-day bus pass at 500Y/unlimited bus rides a day vs. 230Y per trip (regardless of distance). 

Osaka: Osaka has 2 passes which i think are useful - the Osaka Amazing pass and the Enjoy Eco card. The former gives unlimited rides on buses, trains and new trams + free entrance to attractions like the Hep5 Ferris Wheel and River Cruise, making it extremely good value but we didn’t go with this since not much time to go for attractions. We went for the 1-day Enjoy Eco card which was 600Y (on weekends) for unlimited rides on Osaka's subways, New Tram, and buses. The card also gives a 100Y discount for Osaka Castle entrance. Do take note that the Enjoy Eco card excludes rides on the JR loop line (might need to take a longer route), and you can get it easily from the ticket machine (select card). 

6. Get a Free Guide

I was trying to find some walking tours in Tokyo but don’t think its very common unlike in Europe (e.g. Sandemans). What i found instead was the Tokyo Free Guide! I was initially quite skeptical because the guide does not take tips, and is willing to bring a group of any size, but our guide Tetsuya was great! He helped me book all my connecting train to Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka at a JR office, brought us around Asakusa and also recommended a delicious Tendon place. We only paid for his train ticket and lunch to thank him, strongly recommended. 

Do share if you have other ways you know to save $ in Japan!