Cashback Credit Card

A free-for-life Liv (Emirates NBD) card paying cashback on all spending at a rate set by your total monthly spending, 0.75% below AED 5,000, 1.5% from AED 5,000 and 2% from AED 10,000, applied to the whole month's spending and capped at AED 750 a month or at a share of your credit limit that Liv sets, whichever is lower; government payments, utilities, telecom and bill payments, travel services (airlines, travel agents, cruises) and transport (tolls, taxis, railways, ferries) earn 0.1%.

No annual fee and no joining fee; free for life.

Spending abroad costs about 3.14% all in: Liv's 1.99% on all transactions outside the UAE plus about 1.15% for Mastercard, which Liv says is charged in addition. Spending abroad earns the same tier rate as spending in the UAE, except airlines, travel agents, cruises and transport such as taxis, railways and ferries, which earn 0.1% wherever you are.

The 1.5% and 2% pay on the whole month's spending only if that month's total reaches AED 5,000 or AED 10,000; below AED 5,000 the card earns 0.75%, and the 0.1% categories, which include airlines, travel agents, taxis and tolls, stay at 0.1% at every tier. Airlines, travel agents, cruises, tolls, taxis, railways and ferries earn only 0.1%, as do government payments, utilities, telecom and bill payments.