Credit Card Hack! Earning Miles When Paying For Medical/ Hospital Bills

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This is a relatively short post, and just to share a very useful credit card hack I learnt from another blogger/YouTuber Sethisfy.  Some of you may have already known about this hack, but to me, it is something I just got to know, and it is very beneficial to me!

For individuals with chronic conditions, regular visits to polyclinics and or government hospitals may be required for consultations and checkups.  Following every visit, there may also be large quantities of medication to collect.  For Singaporeans and Permanent Residence, despite high subsidies by the Singapore government, the medical bills still add up to a considerable amount in the long term.  As I did not do intensive digging and research in this aspect, before April 2023, I have always thought that all bills from government hospitals and polyclinics, like insurance premiums, are excluded from cashback or miles rewards of credit cards.

So, it definitely came as a pleasant surprise to me, when I came across Sethisfy's blog and learnt that some credit cards do include hospital and polyclinic bills in their rewards program under merchant category code 8062.  However, I do not own any credit cards listed that rewards expenses paid to hospital and polyclinic (and no, in the near term, I have no intention to get a new credit card as currently I am just consolidating all my expenses to my HSBC Revolution card and DBS Altitude card to earn points for miles), but in his blog, I learnt a hack which will benefit me.  The hack is to simply pay my polyclinic bills via Health Hub instead of paying directly at the polyclinic.  

Health Hub is a website/app where individuals can log in using Singpass to view your laboratory test results, medicine to take and upcoming appointments at various hospitals and polyclinics in Singapore.  Through the blog, I learnt that payment via Health Hub using DBS Altitude Visa Card will be classified under merchant category code 8099, which is not excluded by many credit cards.  

As such, from today onwards, I will be making all payments for my polyclinic bills via Health Hub to earn 1.2 miles per dollar.  As these bills are mandatory to upkeep my current health, I just got to make the best out of these charges, and earning miles is definitely a plus point out of the undesirable state.  However do note that the bill will only be reflected in Health Hub website/app earliest one working day after your visit to the hospital or polyclinic.  This means that after you completed your consultation and after collecting all your medication from the pharmacy, you can leave the hospital or polyclinic, and make the payment the following day.  In the event you forget, an sms will be sent to your registered phone number to remind you to make payment.  If you require an appointment 3 to 6 months later for follow-up review for your chronic condition, the service staff from the hospital or polyclinic will call you to arrange a suitable appointment slot for the next review.

That's it, just sharing a hack that I just learnt.  Hope that this can benefit everyone who have the need to make such payments either for yourself or for any family members.  Any additional perks are always welcomed!  Most importantly, wishing everyone great health!  As the saying goes, health is wealth.  Barista FIRE, here I come...!

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