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Calling all bookworms (me, before) and book hoarders (me, now)! If you haven’t been using your SG Culture Pass credits for museums or plays, you can now splurge on books.
From 1 Mar 2026, SG Culture Pass lets you use your remaining (still untouched, isit?) credits to buy physical books. Yes, you read that right — you can get free physical books that you can display on your shelf, and maybe eventually read. There is, as always, a catch.
You can’t just rush out to grab the latest Gordon Ramsay cookbook or think of holding out for George R. R. Martin to release The Winds of Winter in 2027 (waiter, one grain of salt, please). Nope, the S$100 SG Culture Pass credits are strictly for SingLit, meaning books written by a Singaporean citizen or Permanent Resident.
That includes fiction, poetry, plays and even children’s books. Unfortunately, self-help guides, textbooks and international bestsellers are off the menu for this one.
Think of it as the government’s way of making sure our local authors get the love they deserve. Look out for the official red SG Culture Pass sticker on book covers in-store.
Also, you can’t use the S$100 SG Culture Pass credits online; you’ll need to head down to one of the 40 participating physical outlets. Fortunately, that includes big players like Popular and Books Kinokuniya, but we highly recommend showing some love to our indie gems like Book Bar on Duxton Road and Union Book Co in Bras Basah Complex.
The redemption process is as easy as using your CDC vouchers. Just log in to the official portal via Singpass, select the bookstore, and generate a QR code for the cashier to scan.
You’ve got until 31 Dec 2028 to spend your $100, so there’s plenty of time to build your local library and maybe even discover a new favourite author.
