UOB Bank has announced that it is rebranding its UOB YOLO credit card to UOB EVOL credit card, complete with updated benefits and card face design. Set to take effect starting from 1 April 2023, it will allow cardholders to earn up to 8% cashback for selected categories of transactions.

Specifically, the new UOB EVOL card will let you earn 8% cashback on selected merchant partners that sell sustainable products, as well as 5% cashback on online (including e-wallet reloads), entertainment, and contactless parking transactions. The list of sustainable merchant partners is currently limited to L’occitane, Kiehls, Innisfree, M.A.C (makeup), Origins, and The Body Shop – but may be updated from time to time.

The maximum monthly cashback that can be earned, meanwhile, is tiered as per the following based on your minimum cumulative spend each month:

• RM30 monthly cashback cap: Minimum cumulative spend RM1,000 to RM1,999.99
• RM50 monthly cashback cap: Minimum cumulative spend RM2,000 or more

Cardholders should also note that there is a sub-limit of RM15 on the cashback amount that you can earn for e-wallet reloads. As for the annual fee, it is maintained at RM90 (waived with one retail transaction made every month).

In comparison, the existing UOB YOLO card currently allows cardholders to earn 5% cashback on online, dining, and contactless transactions – capped at RM30 per month with a minimum monthly spend requirement of RM600. Provided on a first-come first-serve basis, the cashback reward for UOB YOLO is also subject to the bank’s monthly cashback allocation for UOB YOLO’s cashback reward programme, which is currently set at RM200,000 (this allocation will be removed for the new UOB EVOL card).

Here’s a comparison of the features and perks between the existing UOB YOLO and the new UOB EVOL card:

	UOB YOLO (existing, available until 31 March)	UOB EVOL (new, from 1 April onwards)
Cashback rate	5% cashback on online (including e-wallet reloads), dining, and contactless transactions	– 8% on selected sustainable partners – 5% on online (including e-wallet reloads), entertainment, and contactless parking transactions
Monthly cashback cap per customer	RM30 (sub-cap of RM15 for e-wallet reloads)	– Tier 1: RM30 – Tier 2: RM50 *sub-cap of RM15 for e-wallet reloads apply for both tiers
Minimum monthly spend requirement	RM600	– Tier 1: RM1,000 to RM1,999.99 – Tier 2: ≥RM2,000
Monthly cashback allocation	RM200,000	Unlimited
Annual fee	RM90 (waived with1 retail transaction made per statement month)	RM90 (waived with1 retail transaction made per statement month)

In terms of effective cashback rate, the UOB YOLO card has an effective cashback rate of exactly 5% – as advertised. Meanwhile, the effective cashback rate of the UOB EVOL card is as indicated below:

Minimum monthly spend	Maximum monthly cashback	Effective cashback rate
RM1,000 to RM1,999.99	RM30	1.5% to 3%
≥RM2,000	RM50	2.5%

Overall, this rebranding of the UOB YOLO to UOB EVOL is more than a simple refresh – this is essentially a brand new credit card that replaces an old one – there’s a different set of cashback categories, minimum spend requirements, and even the removal of the monthly cashback allocation. As such, it is a prudent idea to review the upcoming changes and see if the new card benefits fits your spending needs.

Existing UOB YOLO cardholders will automatically enjoy the new UOB EVOL card benefits from 1 April 2023.

Lastly, UOB has yet to review the new card face for UOB EVOL, but it may just follow the design of the UOB EVOL card currently disbursed in Singapore. For context, UOB Bank had also rebranded its UOB YOLO card to UOB EVOL in Singapore last year. However, the perks offered are fairly different from the benefits of the card provided in Malaysia.

(Source: UOB [1, 2])

• TAGS:
• Credit Card Revisions
• UOB Bank
• UOB EVOL
• UOB YOLO
• UOB YOLO Visa