An EZ-Link card (often searched as an ezlink card) costs $10 in 2026, and only $5 of that is yours to spend. The other $5 is a non-refundable card fee you never get back. That single fact reframes the whole question: in a year when you can tap any contactless Visa or Mastercard at the gantry for the exact same fare, paying $5 for plastic only makes sense if the card buys you something the bank card cannot. This guide walks through what an EZ-Link card actually costs, why the old EZ-Link app shut down and everything moved to SimplyGo, what EZ-Reload auto top-up really charges, and the one payment switch that turns your daily commute into cashback.
A standard EZ-Link card sold at MRT station ticket offices and 7-Eleven stores is priced at $10. Of that, $5 is loaded as stored value you can spend on fares straight away, and $5 is the card cost itself, which SimplyGo states is non-refundable. So the effective price of owning the card is $5, before you have taken a single ride.
There is a cheaper entry point. A subsidised SimplyGo EZ-Link card sells for $6, made up of a $3 non-refundable card cost and $3 in travel value. Either way, you cannot avoid paying for the plastic, which is the gap that contactless bank-card payment closes entirely.
Once you own a card you can hold up to $500 in stored value on it. Each EZ-Link card has a five-year lifespan from the date it was encoded, and charms or wearables issued from April 2024 onwards carry the same five-year validity. If your card expires with money still on it, you can claim a refund, but cards left unused for more than two years past expiry have a refund service charge of $1 per month deducted from the balance.
| Item | Amount | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|
| Standard EZ-Link card price | $10 | $5 value yes, $5 card fee no |
| Subsidised SimplyGo EZ-Link card | $6 | $3 value yes, $3 card cost no |
| Maximum stored value | $500 | Yes (deferred refund) |
| Card lifespan | 5 years from encoding | Value refundable on expiry |
| Dormant-card service charge | $1 / month after 2 years expired | Deducted from balance |
The standalone EZ-Link mobile app was phased out at the end of 2025 and is no longer functional in 2026. TransitLink and EZ-Link were folded into SimplyGo, the account-based ticketing system run by the Land Transport Authority, so every card task now happens inside the SimplyGo app. That includes checking your balance, viewing transaction history, topping up, and applying for auto top-up.
Your existing EZ-Link card still works at every gantry and bus reader without any change. What changed is the software around it. To manage the card on your phone you pair the physical card by tapping it against your device using NFC, and you verify your identity through Singpass MyInfo when you register an account.
If you only ever top up at a station kiosk or 7-Eleven and never look at an app, nothing about your routine breaks. The merger matters most for people who relied on the old app for auto top-up, balance alerts, or instant card blocking, all of which now live in one place.
There are two flavours of EZ-Link card in circulation, and they behave differently at the gate. A classic EZ-Link card stores value on the chip and shows your fare and remaining balance on the reader after you tap. A SimplyGo EZ-Link card runs on account-based ticketing, so the reader does not display the fare or balance at all. You check those figures later in the app, which is the single most common complaint from commuters who switched without expecting it.
The classic card also still works for motoring charges such as ERP and carpark payment when slotted into an in-vehicle unit. A SimplyGo EZ-Link card cannot be used for those motoring deductions, and retail acceptance at shops is more limited. A SimplyGo card also needs a minimum balance of $3 before it will let you start a journey.
Neither card changes the fare. Bus and train fares are identical whether you tap a classic card, a SimplyGo card, or a contactless bank card. If you want to see exactly what each leg of your journey costs, our breakdown of Singapore bus and MRT fares lays out the distance bands, and the guide to free and discounted MRT rides covers the off-peak and pre-peak schemes that can cut what you pay.
| Feature | Classic EZ-Link | SimplyGo EZ-Link | Contactless bank card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card cost | $5 fee (in $10 card) | $3-$5 card cost | $0 |
| Fare shown at reader | Yes | No (check app) | No (check app) |
| Auto top-up fee | $0.25 per top-up (EZ-Reload by Card) | No convenience fee | Not applicable |
| Earns credit-card cashback/miles | Usually excluded | Usually excluded | Yes, if card qualifies |
| Works for ERP / carpark | Yes | No | No |
EZ-Reload is the old name for auto top-up, the service that adds value to your card automatically when the balance runs low so you never get stopped at the gate. How much it costs depends on which version you sign up for.
On a classic EZ-Link card, EZ-Reload by Card has charged a $0.25 convenience fee on each automatic top-up. On a SimplyGo EZ-Link card, auto top-up applied through the SimplyGo app carries no convenience fee at all. Over a year of frequent top-ups, that quarter per refill adds up, and it is one of the quieter reasons to move to a SimplyGo card if you are committed to a dedicated transit card.
Auto top-up on SimplyGo lets you pick a refill amount of $20, $30, $40, or $50, and it triggers when your card balance falls below $3. You can fund it from a DBS/POSB bank account or from a Visa or Mastercard credit card issued by Citibank, HSBC, OCBC, POSB/DBS, Standard Chartered, or UOB. Setting a higher refill amount means fewer top-up events, which matters more on a classic card where each one costs $0.25.
Here is where the money decision turns. Because SimplyGo is account-based ticketing, you can tap a contactless-enabled Visa, Mastercard, or NETS card, or a phone wallet such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, directly at the gantry. There is no card to buy, no $5 fee, no top-up to manage, and the fare is exactly the same as an EZ-Link card.
The bigger win is rewards. When you tap a qualifying credit card for transit, several Singapore cashback cards treat that spend as eligible and pay you back. As of mid-2026 the UOB One Card has offered up to 15% cashback on qualifying spend including transit when you hit its monthly minimum and transaction count, OCBC has offered transit-eligible cashback on its FRANK lineup, and miles cards like the Standard Chartered Smart have rewarded transit spend at a competitive earn rate. Rates and conditions change often, so confirm the current terms on the bank's own page before you rely on them.
The catch worth knowing: stored-value EZ-Reload top-ups on a classic card are usually excluded from credit-card cashback, while tapping the card itself at the gate through SimplyGo is what counts as qualifying spend. If you want to squeeze rewards from a daily commute, see our guide to the best rewards credit cards in Singapore and the overview of the best credit cards to match a card to your spending. Whatever you tap, run the monthly number through the personal budget calculator so the transport line in your budget reflects what you really pay.
If you already meet a cashback card's monthly minimum spend and your bank treats transit as eligible, tapping that contactless card or your phone wallet is the cheapest option, because it skips the $5 card fee and pays you back on every ride. If you do not want bank transactions tied to every trip, prefer a fare display at the gate, or need to pay ERP and carpark charges, the classic EZ-Link card still earns its keep. Tourists and short-term visitors who will not chase cashback are usually fine with a basic SimplyGo EZ-Link card or simply tapping a foreign contactless card.
For students, seniors, and other concession holders the calculation is different again, since concession cards and monthly passes can beat per-trip pricing on heavy routes. We compare those in whether monthly concession passes are worth it.
A standard EZ-Link card costs $10, of which $5 is stored value you can spend and $5 is a non-refundable card fee. A subsidised SimplyGo EZ-Link card costs $6, with $3 as card cost and $3 in travel value.
No. The standalone EZ-Link app was phased out at the end of 2025, and all card management has moved to the SimplyGo app. Your physical card still works at every gantry and bus reader without any change.
On a classic EZ-Link card, EZ-Reload by Card has charged around $0.25 per automatic top-up. On a SimplyGo EZ-Link card, auto top-up set up through the SimplyGo app carries no convenience fee, which makes it the cheaper option for frequent top-ups.
Yes. Because SimplyGo is account-based ticketing, tapping a qualifying contactless credit card at the gate can earn cashback or miles, with several Singapore cards offering transit-eligible rewards. Stored-value EZ-Reload top-ups are usually excluded, so the rewards come from tapping the card itself.
Visit a SimplyGo ticket office with your NRIC or passport and the card. The remaining stored value is returned to your bank account or credit card within about 10 working days as a deferred refund. The card fee is never refundable, and dormant expired cards lose $1 per month after two years.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.