UAE and Saudi card rewards: tighter caps, lower rates, more cashback
Key takeaways
- Dated cuts to base rewards are documented at Mashreq, ADCB, DIB and SAB, while the clearest Saudi cashback activity comes from time-limited campaigns.
- Caps, spend gates and low rates on government, utility and education spend are the main tools banks use to control reward cost.
- No 2025 or 2026 report found in our sources quantifies a consumer move from points to instant cashback in either country.
Yes, in the sources reviewed, banks in both markets are tightening base rewards while using capped, time-limited cashback offers to drive spend. Dated cuts are documented at Mashreq, ADCB, Dubai Islamic Bank and SAB. No report we found measures a consumer shift from points to cashback.
The evidence is uneven. Some changes come from issuer pages or terms, others from secondary sites such as DubaiPoints and Kredit, and we say which is which. For Emirates NBD, Saudi National Bank (SNB) and Riyad Bank's ongoing programmes, a dated before-and-after change could not be verified.
This piece sets out what changed, how the main card designs compare, how the economics work, what regulators require, and what the market research does and does not say.
Key figures
- 0.15% Mashreq Cashback rate on government, utilities, education, charity, fuel, rental and telecom, cut from 0.33% effective 13 June 2026 (dubaipoints.ae)
- AED 1,000 Overall cashback cap on the FAB Cashback card, with a AED 3,000 previous-month spend requirement (2026 product page) (bankfab.com)
- 85% Electronic payments as a share of Saudi retail payments in 2025, up from 79% in 2024, as reported by SAMA (researchandmarkets.com)
- 15% Riyad Bank international credit card cashback, capped at SAR 500, 17 July to 16 August 2026 (riyadbank.com)
- 1 mile per SAR 3 SAB domestic and EEA miles earn from 11 January 2026, down from 1 mile per SAR 2.5 (sab.com)
MELA's view
The pattern across the sources is a lower base reward, a tighter cap and a louder campaign. Banks appear to protect the headline rate on dining or groceries while trimming the categories that cost them most or earn them least.
Because most evidence comes from comparison sites and market reports rather than issuer notices, programme teams should treat competitor changes as signals to verify, not as settled facts.
The absence of preference data matters. Teams that move from points to cashback, or the reverse, are doing so without published local evidence, so their own redemption and attrition data is the best test.
Questions and answers
Did Mashreq cut its cashback rates in 2026?
According to DubaiPoints in 2026, Mashreq's notice confirms government, utilities, education, charity, fuel, rental and telecom fell from 0.33% to 0.15% effective 13 June 2026. Mashreq's own page lists 0.15% but does not show the earlier rate.
What is the FAB Cashback card's monthly cap?
FAB's product page lists 5% on supermarket, fashion and dining spend, capped at AED 150 per category per month. It also states an overall cap of AED 1,000 and a AED 3,000 previous-month spend requirement to earn FAB Rewards.
How did SAB change its miles earning in 2026?
SAB's summary of changes shows domestic and EEA earning moving from 1 mile per SAR 2.5 to 1 mile per SAR 3 from 11 January 2026. International spend moved from 1 mile per SAR 1 to 1 mile per SAR 2.
How does Riyad Bank's 15% cashback offer work?
Riyad Bank's campaign page says 15% cashback on international credit card purchases from 17 July to 16 August 2026, capped at SAR 500. It needs SAR 3,000 of minimum spend and is limited to the first 4,000 customers.
Do UAE rules require banks to disclose reward terms?
The CBUAE Rulebook's disclosure standard says institutions offering any rebate, gift or incentive must disclose its terms separately, highlight restrictions and give easy access to them. The extract does not mention card rewards by name.
Has SAMA published new credit card fee rules?
SAMA announced updated credit card rules on 19 June 2025, replacing the earlier regulations from 17 September 2025, with the aim of better disclosure and lower costs. The sources do not give revised fee or interchange amounts.
Is there a survey showing customers prefer cashback to points in the UAE or Saudi Arabia?
We could not find one. The ResearchAndMarkets and 6Wresearch reports reviewed describe market growth and programme design, but the available extracts give no consumer-preference figures.
