How to get a Credit Card you do not qualify for in Singapore - Secured Credit Cards

There are no lack of elite credit cards in the Singapore market but let's face it - the regular one for the masses are the ones with the best benefits in terms of mile accrual. Of course there are some exceptions (i.e. using a Centurion Card on EXTRA Partners) but most of the best cards for mile accrual in Singapore are credit cards that most working Singaporean adult can qualify for. With that being said, there may be instances where people cannot qualify for the credit card they want and there may be many different reasons like bad credit score or insufficient annual income. One way around this is to apply for a secured credit card instead as this will provide you access to a card you really want (even if you do not meet the general criteria for it!).

Photo Credit: Black Sea Estates

The most common aspirational credit card for young adults is a Visa Infinite branded one - these cards generally require an annual income of at least S$120,000. While most banks do not publicise a secured credit card option - a lot of them do when you contact them directly. For instance, CIMB offers the CIMB Visa Infinite credit card if you maintain a CIMB SGD Fixed Deposit of at least S$50,000 - your credit limit on the CIMB Visa Infinite credit card will therefore be S$50,000 as well. Click here for an example of how a secured credit card application form looks like from CIMB. 

Bank	Fixed Deposit Amount
Maybank	N/A
Standard Chartered	N/A
Bank of China	$25,000
HSBC	$30,000
CIMB	$50,000

The above table represents the amount of fixed deposit (or term deposit) required in order to get a Visa Infinite card from the respective banks (thanks Timothy for sharing!) - please feel free to contribute to this table and I will be sure to update it accordingly. 

Photo Credit: HSBC

Some banks actually publicly list the criteria for a secured card option - HSBC will offer you the HSBC Visa Infinite credit card to applicants who are unable to meet the S$120,000 income requirement with a S$30,000 fixed deposit minimum.