Review: Thoughts on the Revamped DBS Multiplier Account

Just a few months ago, I declared that for anyone who 

•        Spends less than $500 on your credit card in a month and / or
•        Earns less than $2,000 a month,

the DBS Be Your Own Boss (BYOB would be the best account in the market with the highest interest rates.

Since then, 2 new contenders have popped up in the market for those chasing high interest yields - the UOB Stash and DBS Multiplier.

I reckon you can pretty much forget about the UOB Stash - read my review and suggestions for what you'll be better off with here. And while the DBS Multiplier came out inferior in my last review against OCBC 360 about three years ago (no links because that was before this blog was born), its latest changes warrant a second look.

If you missed the BYOB sign-up even though I said you should totally go for it (hey, you had 3 months, up till 31 October), please smack yourself on the head now because you've just said goodbye to a golden opportunity to earn about 4% interest. But don't fret, because I'm about to introduce to you the next-best alternative by DBS.

Some of you also complained to me that the BYOB seemed age-discriminatory against anyone older than 30. (Haha I'm not DBS leh, I don't make the rules.) So if you didn't qualify for BYOB previously, you're probably going to appreciate this:

The revamped DBS Multiplier account.

Before I go on, here's a full disclosure. This post isn't sponsored, but I wish it was HAHA. The fault is actually mine, as I was approached about a month ago to do a sponsored review for DBS Multiplier to coincide with their relaunch, but turned it down as I couldn't commit to the timeline given my kids are sitting for their GP A Level exams during this period. Nonetheless, the product does look pretty good and I've been asked by a few readers to review it, so here goes! (TLDR: not sponsored.)

How much interest can I earn on the DBS Multiplier?

With the new changes launched this week, the enhanced DBS Multiplier now allows you to get at least 1.55% by transacting as little as $2,000 a month (instead of the old version which required $7,500 in transactions to get 1.05%). Now take note of this important game-changer: the transaction amounts includes your salary! This means that if you're earning $1,900 you can simply spend $100 on your DBS credit card to hit the 1.55% interest tier right away.

The maximum interest cap has also been increased to 3.05% (from its original 2.08%), but I personally feel that isn't realistic AT ALL for most folks so I won't be talking too much about it in this review.

This combined infographic done by the folks at BigScribe sums it up pretty well.

The tiers are confusing! What should I be looking to get?

• Get 1.55% if you earn lower than $2,000 and combine with a credit card transaction (no minimum, so any amount works).
• Get 2.2% if you haven't yet opened a POSB InvestSaver account 
• If you already have an existing POSB InvestSaver account, it won't count as part of your transactions as only new sign-ups will be considered.
• Dividend interest from CDP into ANY of your existing DBS / POSB accounts (even joint accounts) will be counted
• Get 2.3% if you have / are looking at getting a home loan with them (DBS/POSB Home Loans are generally very competitive, see my last review here).

Feel free to ignore the 3.5% which I reckon is generally quite out of the reach for most of us unless you earn an eye-popping salary each month. 

Realistically, I think you'll be looking at 1.55% to 2.3% p.a. 

If you (qualify and) want anything higher, check out my review on Bank of China's SmartSaver and UOB One here.

Before you open the DBS Multiplier account, you can also read the original (sponsored) review by my friend My15HWW here.

Honestly, from the standpoint of a frugal millennial, I'd say you really should have signed up for the DBS BYOB because it would have given you almost double interest at 4%, but too bad that sign-ups are now closed. This is your next best option now. 

How can we get 3.5%? Is it even possible? 

Yes, couples might be able to hit this. For couples already banking with DBS / POSB in any of the transactions, you'd probably want to open your own individual Multiplier account as the combined total is counted, helping you to reach the higher tiers faster.

Another important point to note before you sign up:

If you're already on the POSB Cashback scheme, it probably won't make much sense for you to switch over to DBS Multiplier as the total interest will work out to be somewhat the same. Neither can you play both accounts to stack up the interest rate.

Read more T&Cs here. 

Can I use my miles card with DBS Multiplier?

Great question! If you're on the miles bandwagon, you should already have a DBS Altitude Card in your stable. (Otherwise, check out Miles Hack #3 here.) 

Now you get BOTH miles AND 2.2 - 2.3% interest for swiping that! Read The Milelion's take on it.

With love,
Budget Babe