- Premium Content It takes our newsroom weeks - if not months - to investigate and produce stories for our premium content. You can’t find them anywhere else.
Jack Ellis · · 5 min readGrab bets on convenience to boost GrabPay after changes in rewards program
Grab recently made some of the biggest changes yet to its GrabRewards loyalty program in Singapore. This comes after similar moves in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
These changes have proven controversial in some quarters. Dismayed users took to social media to air their grievances, while several personal finance sites gave a generally negative response, with some referring to the updates as a “devaluation.”
So what is it that’s got them all hot under the collar?
Under the new scheme, all GrabPay users will have to spend more than they did previously to get the same number of GrabRewards points. Users paying for Grab services in cash will no longer receive any points.
Here’s a comparison between the points tallies under the old and “revalued” GrabRewards systems (scroll table right):
Membership tier |
Old | New | |||
| Rides (GrabPay) | Rides (cash) | GrabFood | In-store purchases (GrabPay) | All GrabPay payments (including GrabPay Card) | |
| Member | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Silver | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Gold | 4.5 | 1.5 | 4.5 | 7.5 | 3 |
| Platinum | 6 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 4 |
Discount vouchers that can be redeemed for Grab services will also “cost” more GrabRewards points for all membership tiers:
| Voucher value | Previous points cost | Post-“revaluation” points cost |
| S$1 | N/A | 550 |
| S$5 | 2,200 | 2,500 |
New services, gamification
GrabPay Card
User numbers at risk?
Stay ahead in Asia’s tech landscape
This is premium content. Subscribe to read the full story.
The super app is counting on convenience to keep people using its wallet, not rewards points.
We know this is not ideal. ⌛ Sign up in 20 seconds. Cancel anytime.
Our subscriber community includes professionals from these companies:
Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.
Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.
