Tabby Card (Free plan)

A virtual Visa credit card from Tabby, issued by Emirates NBD, used through Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay, with a limit of up to AED 15,000 and up to 40 days to repay without fees; the Free plan earns no cashback, while the Plus plan at AED 49 a month pays 5% on 3 categories you choose, up to AED 200 a month in total.

Free plan: no card fee, no annual fee and no monthly fee. Plus plan (Tabby+): AED 49 a month, which Perkly counts as AED 588 a year; Tabby states no VAT on it, and Perkly treats AED 49 as the full price. The subscription can be cancelled at any time. Splitting a purchase outside the Tabby Card Network over up to 12 instalments can cost up to 22% of the purchase value, rolling over part of a statement costs up to 12% of the amount rolled over, and total fees on a transaction never exceed 30% of its value. Tabby's Key Facts Statement also lists collection charges of AED 60, AED 100 or AED 200 on overdue payments, depending on how long they are overdue, and a credit card repayment processing fee of up to 1%.

The card cannot be used in shops outside the UAE, and online purchases from international merchants go through in AED only. Tabby publishes no foreign transaction fee; Perkly records a 1.15% Visa scheme charge as a default estimate, not a Tabby figure.

The Free plan earns no cashback at all; cashback needs the AED 49 a month Plus plan. Plus cashback is at most AED 200 a month, so the plan pays for itself only with about AED 980 a month of spending in your 3 categories. It is a virtual card only: no physical card, no cash withdrawals, and no in-store use outside the UAE.