During his 2-week paternity leave, Heartland Boy relied heavily on online grocers and food delivery companies to save time (and his sanity). He became a “coupon man” as he shamelessly googled for promo codes to reduce his expenses. In what was a very time-consuming process, he had to manually key in every promo code to check its validity. Therefore, when Rate introduced him to RateX, his first reaction was, “gosh, why didn’t we meet a month earlier?”
What is RateX?
RateX is an internet browser extension offered by Rate, a Singapore-based fintech company. (Yay, support local start-ups!) RateX helps online shoppers save through promo codes, lowest currency conversions and cashback. Users have to first download and install it to Google Chrome or Firefox- the only 2 supported desktop browsers at this juncture. Once the browser extension is installed, the user will realise that he or she has suddenly gained a smart shopping assistant!
How Does RateX Work?
Once you have landed on a website (for instance Amazon), RateX will show the number of coupons available.
At the checkout page, there is an option for online shoppers to apply these digital coupons. If the shopper chooses to apply these promo codes, RateX’s algorithm will try ALL of them (in a single click) to maximise the chances of success. This is the 1st utility of RateX- telling you all the possible promo codes publicly available.
On international online shopping sites such as Amazon, Hotels.com, Groupon etc. (selected merchants only) where overseas purchases are made, it will be possible to pay with RateX.
If payment in RateX is applied, you will cart out in SGD. RateX will show the exchange rate used, total amount to pay and the total amount you have saved. You can proceed to pay with your credit card or the in-house RateX wallet (note that Xfers have to made to top up the value of the wallet).
If you click the ‘i’ button, you can even compare the different banks’ FX rates too. By using RateX, you avoid poor bank exchange rates as you apply the wholesale rate provided by RateX. This is the 2nd utility of RateX.
Finally, RateX passes a percentage of final purchase amount back to consumers in the form of Clovers. All online shoppers need to do is to click “Activate Clovers” on merchant websites.
Clovers can be exchanged for cash, gift cards, miles and even cryptocurrencies! The value of 100 Clovers is equivalent to S$1 and this can be redeemed at your Account Dashboard. Essentially, Clovers is a cashback scheme that net online shoppers even more savings! This is the 3rd and final utility of using RateX.
What Heartland Boy Likes About RateX
Having tried the product, this is Heartland Boy’s review of RateX.
1. Auto-Apply All Possible Promo Discount Codes
Heartland Boy likes that the promo codes can be applied to over a few hundred websites. They can also be auto-applied with a single click at the checkout page. Even if the publicly available vouchers may not work all the time (for instance, a coupon may only be valid for first time customers), Heartland Boy takes comfort that he has at least tried. Afterall, RateX is a free tool and it costs nothing to try!
Since installing RateX, Heartland Boy has stopped going to websites such as CupoNation and SGDTips. He can truly focus his energies on getting the cheapest deals for Olympia’s diapers and formula milk.
2.Yet Another Way To Earn Cashback
With over hundreds of merchants on board, there is a very good chance that Heartland Boy can accumulate sufficient Clovers for redemption in no time. While it took a while for Heartland Boy to get familiarized with the term “Clovers”, he honestly does not care as long as he is earning cashback from his online expenses. Note that while Clovers do not expire, an inactive account of more than 1 year will see them get wiped out.
Note that when Heartland Boy pairs this with either his SCB Unlimited Cashback Credit Card or his HSBC Advance Credit Card, he gets to enjoy a double cashback boost!
3. No More Punitive Foreign Exchange Rates
With RateX, Heartland Boy could avoid punitive foreign exchange rates and transaction fees often levied by banks for foreign currency purchases. Paying in SGD meant that Heartland Boy could avoid those “hidden fees” as whatever is reflected in checkout will be the exact amount on his credit card statement at the end of the month.
However, do note that in paying SGD, you may miss out on the higher-tier benefits that banks often dishes out for foreign currency spend. For instance, a Citibank PremierMiles Visa Card holder will get 2.4 Citi miles per dollar for foreign spend compared to 1.2 Citi miles per dollar for local spend. That is because RateX transactions are made in Singapore and in local currency. Therefore bonus miles in the foreign spending category will not apply.
Sign Up And Receive 600 Clovers (S$6)
Here is an affiliate link whereby you can sign up for RateX and receive 600 clovers (S$6). Note that this is only available for new users who have verified their sign-ups subsequently. With RateX, you can channel all your energies on getting the best online deals and leave the rest of the worries to them!
Disclaimer: Note that this article contains some affiliate links that allow Heartland Boy to earn a small fee for every successful referral. This article is written in collaboration with RateX but the opinions expressed here are entirely his own.
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