Ramadan 2019: the best bank offers to help your money go further

Whether it is online shopping or dining out, there are numerous deals available to UAE residents to help their dirhams stretch further this Ramadan.

Even banks run promotions during the month of fasting to ensure customers hit debt repayments on time or can buy a car with a low interest rate and still have enough money left over to fund Eid spending.

Here is a selection of some of the best offers to boost your spending power during the holy month:

Payment holiday with ADIB

Monthly debt repayments due on personal finance can be postponed during Ramadan at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank at no extra charge.

Eligible customers will be contacted by SMS, with the postponement made automatically. Customers that still want to make the debt payment on time are free to opt out. The offer is valid on any personal finance instalments due before May 31.

Beware: only delay the payment if you cannot afford it - missing a month lengthens the time it takes to repay the debt.

Prizes and a payment holiday at Emirates Islamic

The Islamic bank has a number of Ramadan offers that run until June 6.

Savings: customers with holdings in the bank's Kunooz Savings Account have more chances to win this Ramadan with two Tesla cars and five additional daily prizes of Dh3,000, doubling the total number of daily prizes to 10. To qualify for the Kunooz prizes, customers must maintain a minimum balance of Dh3,000. For every Dh5,000 saved in an account, customers receive one chance for the monthly grand prize. Customers receive one chance for the daily cash prizes for every Dh1,000 saved.

Credit cards: Emirates Islamic Skywards Cardholders can earn five Skywards Miles on every US dollar spent on hotel bookings made through the ExtraMiles app during Ramadan.

Remittances: those sending money overseas or to their home country are eligible to win Dh500 every day.

Personal finance: the bank has an auto finance offer starting from a flat rate of 2.19 per cent with the option to take up to 120 days to pay the first instalment. The financial institution is also offering zero processing fees on home finance deals signed during the holy month and those looking to borrow money can secure a payment holiday of up to four months.

Beware: know the difference between a flat or reducing rate on personal finance to ensure you secure the best deal. While flat rates calculate the interest on an entire loan without factoring in what has been paid off, reducing rates calculate the interest on the loan's outstanding balance every year.

Dining out and car loans at HSBC

Dining out: the bank is offering a number of Entertainer buy-one-get-one free deals and HSBC dining discounts on iftars this Ramadan. For example, HSBC cardholders can secure a 25 per cent discount on an iftar buffet at Cascades restaurant in Fairmont Dubai.

Car loan: HSBC is also offering a special car loan rate to tie in with the holy month: a flat rate of 2.49 per cent (equivalent to a reducing rate of 4.6 per cent per annum) for new customers that borrow a minimum of Dh100,000. Car buyers borrow up to Dh918,000 without having to open an account at the bank.

The dining discounts run until the end of Ramadan and the car loan offer ends on June 5.

Beware: after June 5, the car loan rate will revert back to the standard rates which start from 2.99 per cent (flat).

Dining and hotel deals with RAKbank

Debit and credit cardholders can cash in with a series of offers on any spending during the holy month. This includes a RAKfoodie deal, offering buy-one-get-one free deals on various dining outlets in Dubai.

There is also up to 30 per cent off bookings at certain hotels such as Mövenpick, Sheraton JBR and Raffles. In addition, RAKbank Mastercard holders can take advantage of savings on holiday packages, hotels and booking flights from partners such as HolidayMe, MMI travel, Cozmo travel and more. The offers run until June 8.

Beware: spending to secure a cheaper deal is pointless if you later pay interest on that outlay because you cannot clear your credit card balance at the end of the month.

0% car loan and free Careem rides at Emirates NBD

Emirates NBD has multiple Ramadan offers on shopping, dining out and personal finance this month.

Car loan: apply for an Emirates NBD car loan this holy month and you could be one of 30 people to win a bespoke number plate. The bank also offers a 0 per cent payment plan for any cars bought on an Emirates NBD credit card and it has a series of loan offers set up directly with dealerships. These include a 0 per cent rate with BMW-AGMC on three-year loans and a low rate for years four and five. Other 0 per cent deals are available on Porsche at Al Nabooda Automobiles, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Volvo with Al Futtaim Motors and Renault with Arabian Automobiles.

Credit and debit card spending: among the many offers on Emirates NBD credit and debit cards are free rides with Careem if you use the promo code DNBD50, with up to four rides capped at Dh50 per ride. The offer is valid between 6pm and 10pm every day until June 6.

Personal loan: apply for a personal loan of up to Dh2 million by May 31 and receive finance starting from a flat rate of 2.59 per cent per annum (the reducing rate equivalent is 4.89 per cent). The first instalment is due after 75 days and applications made via online or mobile banking receive a Dh500 voucher.

Home loan: the bank is also offering home loans starting at a 2.82 per cent flat rate for five years. As per the law, financing is available for up to 75 per cent of the property's value with loan tenors of 25 years. The deal expires on May 31.

Beware: only take on debt obligations you can afford to repay. Debt comes with administration fees and late payment charges are applied if you miss an instalment.

Debt payment holiday at Finance House

Personal finance customers can skip their debt repayment this month, thanks to the financial institution’s offer to postpone their payment during the holy month free of charge. To take advantage, eligible customers must send an SMS to 2326. If approved, they will be sent a confirmation that the payment has been postponed by a month. The offer expires at the end of Ramadan.

Beware: never delay a payment if you can afford to make it on time.

Spending deals and a car loan offer at FAB

First Abu Dhabi Bank has a series of offers on card spending, dining out and personal finance this holy month.

Car loan: FAB customers can buy a new Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep with a 0 per cent finance rate. The offers comes with a five-year or 100,000 kilometre warranty thrown in (whichever comes first) as well as a free service package and roadside assistance.

Dining out: the bank has discounts of up to 30 per cent in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the northern emirates during the holy month as well as buy-one-get-one free offers. For example, enjoy 15 per cent off your iftar bill at Rangoli and Choices at Yas Island Rotana.

Beware: a car is a depreciating asset so choose a vehicle that fits your budget to ensure you can meet the monthly repayments. There's no point driving a luxury model if you are on a budget income.

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Which honey takes your fancy?

Al Ghaf Honey

The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year

Sidr Honey

The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest

Samar Honey

The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Results

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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE

Join parent networks
Look beyond school fees
Keep an open mind

The biog

Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha

Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Holiday destination: Sri Lanka

First car: VW Golf

Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters

Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail

Results

Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent

Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent

Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent

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How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed

Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.

Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.

The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.

One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.

That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.