Great for Big Savers - UOB One Account
A holler out to all big savers: There is One account for you
I have decided to do something about my UOB Campus account finally! I have graduated long ago and this account does not gives any interest but I still keep it because it is linked to my CDP account. I looked for an account that has higher rates and UOB One Account seems suitable. I was surprised that it only took 5 minutes to breeze past the set up. I don't even have to go down to the bank, the picture of my IC and signature could be uploaded through their website.
What are the requirements to get high interest?
Main criteria 1 - Minimum spending of $500 every month
This is an account that takes minimum spending very seriously. It is the main criteria to get any bonus interests at all. I can barely spend $500 every month but the good news is, all transactions on your UOB One card including recurring payments or installments are eligible.
Additional criteria 2 - Credit your monthly salary of at least $2000 or Pay 3 Giro bills
The good thing about this is that it is an either-or condition and I found it quite easy to pay 3 bills with UOB One Account. Some recurring bills that could be paid with Giro are:
- Insurance charges
- Electricity bills
- Mobile phone and internet bills
- Season parking fees
- Conservancy and maintenance fees
- Personal and property taxes
- All credit cards bills, even other bank's credit cards
- Car loans (My personal favourite so you can hit the minimum spending too)
How is it compared to the competition?
As you can see from the requirements, they are pretty similar to the OCBC 360 account, which I have shared previously. Let's do a head-on comparison between them:
What are the interests like?
The most important thing about the UOB One is that their interest is tiered, where the effective rate applied will depend on the balance you have in the account. I have compiled the interest you will get based on account balance, assuming that both the main and additional criteria are fulfilled:
I can only hit the maximum of 2.25% in OCBC 360 as the 1% increment balance is negligible in my case. The graph below will explain the varying interest rates between the two accounts, hover your mouse over the lines to get the percentage difference:
I have decided to do something about my UOB Campus account finally! I have graduated long ago and this account does not gives any interest but I still keep it because it is linked to my CDP account. I looked for an account that has higher rates and UOB One Account seems suitable. I was surprised that it only took 5 minutes to breeze past the set up. I don't even have to go down to the bank, the picture of my IC and signature could be uploaded through their website.
What are the requirements to get high interest?
Main criteria 1 - Minimum spending of $500 every month
This is an account that takes minimum spending very seriously. It is the main criteria to get any bonus interests at all. I can barely spend $500 every month but the good news is, all transactions on your UOB One card including recurring payments or installments are eligible.
Additional criteria 2 - Credit your monthly salary of at least $2000 or Pay 3 Giro bills
The good thing about this is that it is an either-or condition and I found it quite easy to pay 3 bills with UOB One Account. Some recurring bills that could be paid with Giro are:
- Insurance charges
- Electricity bills
- Mobile phone and internet bills
- Season parking fees
- Conservancy and maintenance fees
- Personal and property taxes
- All credit cards bills, even other bank's credit cards
- Car loans (My personal favourite so you can hit the minimum spending too)
How is it compared to the competition?
As you can see from the requirements, they are pretty similar to the OCBC 360 account, which I have shared previously. Let's do a head-on comparison between them:
| UOB One | OCBC 360 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Minimum Spending | $500 | $500 |
| 2. Number of Giro | 3 | 3 |
| 3. Min. Salary | $2000 | $2000 |
| Bonus interest | Must fulfil 1 + additional interest with 2 or 3 |
Fulfil any criteria to get additional interest |
| Bonus interest cap | 50k | 60k |
| Minimum interest | 0.05% | 0.05% |
| Minimum daily balance | $500
or be charged $2 |
$3,000
or be charged $2 |
| Age requirement | 18 | 18 |
| Bonus | 2 free cheque books of 15 pages | 1% on balance increment and 1% for 1 year on OCBC financial products |
What are the interests like?
The most important thing about the UOB One is that their interest is tiered, where the effective rate applied will depend on the balance you have in the account. I have compiled the interest you will get based on account balance, assuming that both the main and additional criteria are fulfilled:
| Account Balance | $10,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 | $40,000 | $50,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effective Rate | 1.5% | 1.75% | 1.83% | 2.21% | 2.43% |
| Interest Amount | $150 | $350 | $550 | $883 | $1216 |
I can only hit the maximum of 2.25% in OCBC 360 as the 1% increment balance is negligible in my case. The graph below will explain the varying interest rates between the two accounts, hover your mouse over the lines to get the percentage difference:
What this means for me?
In conclusion, UOB One account has a distinct advantage over OCBC 360 in the range of $42,000 to $54,000 in the bank account. Moreover, the UOB One card allows me to get 3.33% cash rebates on any type of spending, so it is worth while for me to consider it. And of course to all you big savers out there! The interests generated can really grow everyone's income with just a bit of initial effort on our GIRO transactions.
There's never a better time to put your savings in a bank. Let's start saving now!
Jes
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Hi Jes,
ReplyDeleteme too have this account converted from my Uob campus account many years ago.
Uob allows me to use cheque for free for many years during my uni days and I must be thankful.
However I m paying $2 a month to maintain it. Did u mention this?
Hi Rolf,
DeleteYeah, my first and only cheque book was from UOB. It's really quite useful back then.
I did state that the minimum balance is $500... if you have less than $500 in your account and have to pay them $2 every month, then that's probably not a good option for you! Anyway, this is waived till Sept 2015, are you sure you are still paying that?
I added the cashback from the One card which bumps up the "total" interest rate by quite a bit. Am I right to do it this way?
ReplyDeleteHi CP,
DeleteOf course, it's the only way to do it! With the additional 3.33%, it can actually trump OCBC 360 and 365... Now with the revised rebates of FRANK card, I think more will seriously consider UOB now... Good for you!
Thanks for dropping by! :)
The Retiree,
ReplyDeleteThe retiree has no salary, but he has investment income. Shouldn't it be acceptable if he credited $2,000 to the account every month in lieu of salary?
Hi there,
DeleteI can't speak for them but it's a good idea. You should suggest to them:)
Hi Jes, just stumbled upon your page when I was searching for opinions on UOB One account. Just wondering if the $500 minimum spending per month can only be accumulated by spending on the UOB One card only? Or can it be lumped together with the GIRO payments?
ReplyDeleteLet's say I have several giro payments deducted from the account (NOT the card) that totals to $800, but less than $500 is charged to the card.
Thanks!
Hi William,
DeleteFrom my understanding and observation, your giro payments will not be accumulated in the minimum spending. The minimum spending can only be reached by all UOB cards not just UOB One card.
One way I am doing is to pay for my telco bill through credit card. Or any other bills that can accept them. Then if I have 2 credit cards, I would pay the credit card bills by giro. In this way, you will get the spending from the credit card bills every month. For season parking, I pay it through giro so as to meet the requirement (season parking+ 2 credit cards). So you might want to consider which to pay through credit card and giro.
Hope this helps and thanks for dropping by! :)