8 Free and Simple Ways to Become a Smarter Consumer in 2020 - Save More Money and Earn More Miles!

There is a huge difference between being smart with your money and being thrifty but unfortunately, many people seem to have a misconception that they are the same. While there will be various offers and promotions that you will be able to take advantage of throughout the new year, here are eight very simple (and free!) ways that you can get more bang for your buck in 2020. Now this article is supposed to be a brief introduction into simple things you can do to earn more points, more miles and more cashback in 2020 so I will not go into each one of them into extreme detail but you will be able to find more information on the site if you are interested.

1. Earn Cashback with ShopBack when Shopping Online (Including Booking Flights and Hotels!)

Everyone should sign-up for a free ShopBack account - it will take up less than 3 minutes of your time and it will reward you for shopping online and for dining out (but more on this later). Seriously, if you make any transaction online (like shopping for clothes, booking hotels, buying movie tickets, etc.), a ShopBack account will give you bonus cashback (on top of what your credit cards earn) for every single eligible transaction that you make with no cap and more importantly, at no additional cost to you.

Sign-up Here and Get S$5 Bonus: ShopBack

2. Earn Bonus Cashback with ShopBack GO when Dining Out or Shopping

Once you have registered for a free ShopBack account, you will be able to link your credit cards (Visa and Mastercard only) on ShopBack GO. ShopBack allows you to earn significant cashback on all eligible online transactions while ShopBack GO (which utilises the same mobile app) allows you to earn cashback on all eligible offline transactions. Once you have linked your card on ShopBack GO, bonus cashback will be awarded automatically (and usually instantaneously) when you make payment at the restaurant. The bonus cashback will pool with your ShopBack account balance and you will be able to transfer the money out into a local bank account or PayPal once it hits a minimum of S$10 (which is extremely easy). Once again, this is something that you set-up once and do not have to worry for the rest of the year - cashback is automatically tracked at any participating merchants so make sure you link all the credit cards that you typically use at restaurants and at physical merchants.

Link Your Credit Cards on ShopBack GO Here: ShopBack GO

Photo Credit: ShopBack GO

3. Get Cash Vouchers (or Miles!) with Chope when Making Restaurant Reservations

There is nothing more disappointing than being turned away (or having to stand in line) at a restaurant because they are full. Chope allows you to make restaurant reservations for free and earn Chope-Dollars (which you can then redeem for things like KrisFlyer Miles and dining vouchers) for each fulfilled reservation.New members will earn 100 Chope-Dollars with each fulfilled reservation but if you manage to hit the top-tier status, you will earn 175 Chope-Dollars (75% more!) with each reservation instead. For reference, here are what your Chope-Dollars can get you:

• 1,000 Chope-Dollars = S$30 ChopeDeals Voucher Code 

• 1,200 Chope-Dollars = 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles 

Each month, Chope also partners up with selected restaurants to offer you 300 bonus Chope-Dollars at each one of these locations - this means to say that a Platinum member will be able to get 475 Chope-Dollars from just visiting one of these restaurants! There are also various Chope Exclusives which you can take advantage of to enjoy special 1-for-1 deals and exclusive offers.

Sign-up Here and earn S$10 Restaurant Voucher: Chope

4. Get Cash with Quandoo when Making Restaurant Reservations

While Chope is typically my go-to app for all restaurant reservations in Singapore, I have been switching some of my dining reservations to Quandoo even though the user interface is less impressive. The reason for this is very simple - users can get at least S$4 cashback (up to S$9 on special days!) when they make a booking on Quandoo via ShopBack. What this means is instead of going directly to Quandooimmediately, open up your ShopBack app (or website, if you are using a laptop), click on Quandoo on ShopBack, and then continue to make a restaurant reservation on it. Once you show up for your reservation, the cashbonus on ShopBack will be confirmed and you will also earn loyalty points on Quandoo - so make sure you sign-up for a free Quandoo account!

The highest cash bonus that I have seen for Quandoo on ShopBack is S$9 per fulfilled reservation and generally speaking, Quandoo members will be able to earn 100 loyalty points (approximately S$1.50 cash value) for each one that they attend. Quandoo loyalty points can be converted into cash (which will be deposited into your bank account) at the following rates:

• 1,000 Points = S$15

• 5,000 Points = S$75

• 10,000 Points = S$150

Sign-up Here: Quandoo

5. Save 50% on Dining with Eatigo when Dining Off-peak

Here's another option for dining - Eatigo allows you to save up to 50% off your total dining bill when you visit a restaurant during its off-peak hours. Now this is not to say that you will be required to visit a cafe at 11:00 PM at night or a French restaurant in the morning but a lot of these discounts can be unlocked by simply going an hour earlier or later. In fact, there is usually a base discount of 10-20% for peak hours anyway so you are definitely in a better position when making a reservation on Eatigo. To sweeten the deal further, some of these restaurants are also participating restaurants in ShopBack GO so you will actually be able to double-dip into these offers - get up to 50% off dining bill as well as bonus cashback!

Get up to 50% off Here: Eatigo

6. Enjoy Complimentary Airport Lounge Access with Credit Card(s)

If traveling better is one of your new year's resolution this year, you should look into getting a credit card that gives you free airport lounge access. There are plenty of credit cards in Singapore that will give you complimentary airport lounge access where you will be able to enjoy free food and drinks (including alcohol!) before your flight - it is also a nice and private spot for you to wait for your flight (instead of sitting at the boarding gate with everyone else). I have previously summarised a list of credit cards (as well as its income requirements) that will get you into an airport lounge for free so definitely look into one of those! If you are a frequent traveller and tend to spend quite a bit on luxury products, The Platinum Card from American Express allows you and a supplementary cardholder to enjoy unlimited access (+1 guest) to all Priority Pass lounges globally.

Access Airport Lounges for Free Here: Credit Cards with Airport Lounge Access

7. Fly First Class and Business Class for Free with the Right Credit Card(s)

Putting all your spends to the right credit cards can also have a positive impact on your traveling experience. I have been lucky enough to travel in First Class and Business Class extensively over the years from simply charging all the right expenses to the right credit cards - using miles for free flights in premium cabin is truly rewarding (especially if you drink!) and it comes with a relatively-low opportunity cost. If you wish to get in the game quickly, there are credit cards in Singapore that will give you 4 miles per dollar and this is generally the maximum rate that you can earn miles from credit cards in Singapore. The only exception that I know of is The Platinum Card from American Express which gives you 7.81 miles per dollar for the first S$16,000 spent across all American Express Platinum EXTRA Partners (and then 3.91 miles per dollar with no cap after that).

Earn Miles Quickly with These Credit Cards: 4 Miles per Dollar Cards in Singapore

8. Follow The Shutterwhale on Telegram for Updates

While this website is a hobby for me (and I still hold a day job), I try my best to make it current, and to share attractive deals that I find interest in. One of the easiest way to get updates from The Shutterwhale is via my dedicated Telegram Channel - posts from the website will be syndicated to this channel and I will also post time-sensitive deals here whenever it is appropriate. Once again, this is at absolutely no cost to you and you will be able to learn about the latest deals and tricks via the broadcast channel.

Stay Updated with the Latest Deals, Tips and Reviews: The Shutterwhale Telegram Channel