The Millennial Frog

Category: Credit Card

  • DBS Altitude Card

    Even though the name suggests the DBS Altitude Card to be a travel focused card, the mediocre earn rates along with the removal of bonus categories leaves much to be desired.

    Key Features:

    *Insert an infographic of DBS Altitude Card*

    +Introduction

    When the DBS Altitude Card was first introduced, it was designed as a travel card. Previously, cardholders could earn 3 mpd on up to S$5,000 of air tickets and hotel bookings per month. Although there was a cap, this was better than the alternatives as cardholders are not restricted to just booking on OTA portals.

    However, when this was removed in August 2023, the DBS Altitude Card became just another general spending card with the only hint of travel related perks being the 2 free priority pass lounge visits for the Visa version of the card and the slightly higher miles per dollar on overseas spend.

    Before we jump into the nitty gritty of the DBS Altitude Card, you have to know that the DBS Altitude Card comes in the Visa and the AMEX version. While the benefits are similar, there are subtle differences between the two which will be shared across in the review below.

    +Eligibility Requirements

    -Qualification by Salary

    Minimum Annual Salary Requirements
    Singapore Citizens and PRS$30,000
    ForeignersS$40,000

    The minimum salary requirements for the DBS Altitude Card is the minimum required by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and hence, is non-negotiable.

    -Qualification by Fixed Deposit

    If you are unable to meet the salary requirements, DBS provides individuals between the age of 21 and 75 with the option to get a secured card by maintaining a SGD Fixed Deposit Account with a minimum of S$10,000 placement. If you have further questions, you may wish to head to any DBS branch to check with the DBS staff.

    +Fees

    +Annual Fee

    1st YearSubsequent years
    Principal CardFreeS$196.20
    Supplementary CardFreeS$98.10

    The DBS Altitude Card has an annual fee of S$196.20 for the principal card and an annual fee of S$98.10 for the supplementary card. Similar to most entry level cards, the first year annual fee is waived.

    In subsequent years, the annual fee can be waived with a minimum of S$25,000 in retail spend charged to your card.

    -Applying for Fee waiver

    If you do not qualify for the automatic fee waiver, you may apply for a fee waiver once the annual fee has been charged to your card. Application for fee waiver can be done via the DBS digitbot (available on both DBS mobile app and DBS website) or phone banking.

    DBS Website

    1. To access the digibot on DBS website, click on the message icon with the “May I help you?” speech bubble at the bottom right of the webpage
    2. Type Fee Waiver into chat
    3. Click on “Fee Waiver” followed by “Authenticate me”
    4. Complete the authentication process using either iBanking Login or Card & Pin
    5. Select Credit Cards Fee Waiver
    6. Select the Type of Fee Waiver you wish to apply for
    7. Select the Credit Card to be waived
    8. Review and confirm the details and click on confirm

    DBS Mobile App

    1. Log in into DBS Digibank app
    2. Tap on the question mark icon at the top right of the application
    3. Scroll all the way down and tap on the “Ask Digibot” option
    4. Type Fee Waiver into chat
    5. Tap on “Fee Waiver” > “Proceed” > “Credit Card Fee Waiver” > “Annual Fee” > Select Credit Card
    6. Review details and tap on confirm

    Phone Banking

    1. Dial 1800 111 1111 (from Singapore) or (+65) 6327 2265 (from Overseas)
    2. Press 1 for English > Enter your NRIC > Authenticate through SMS OTP > Press 1 for Fee waiver request > Press 1 for Credit Card Fee Waiver

    +Foreign Currency Transaction Fees

    CardForeign Currency Transaction Fees
    DBS Altitude Visa Signature Card3.25%
    DBS Altitude Amex Express Card3%

    The DBS Altitude Card charges a foreign currency transaction fee of 3.25% for the Visa version and 3% for the Amex version. This comprises the conversion factor levied by Visa/Amex and the administrative fee charged by DBS.

    *Insert Table of Foreign Currency Transaction Fees*

    +Rewards program

    SGD TransactionsForeign Currency Transactions
    DBS Points3.25 DBS point per S$5 spent5.5 DBS point per S$5 spent 
    Effective Miles Per Dollar1.3 mpd2.2 mpd

    With every DBS point being worth 2 airline miles, the earn rate for SGD transactions is 1.3 mpd and 2.2 mpd for foreign currency transactions. While it is not amazing by any stretch, these are above average earn rates in the market of general spending cards although it is certainly not the best.

    *Insert Table of General Spending Card*

    +Rewards Program Information

    DBS points for transactions on the DBS Altitude Card are credited when the transaction posts.

    While it could be mistaken that DBS points are credited in S$5 spending block due to the terms and conditions, the actual policy is more generous.

    Here’s how the DBS points are calculated when they are credited.

    SGD TransactionsDivide the transaction amount by 5 and multiply by 3.25, then round down to nearest whole number
    Foreign Currency TransactionsDivide the transaction amount by 5 and multiply by 5.5, the round down to the nearest whole number

    The way DBS points are calculated means that you are getting 1 mile every ~S$1.54 for local transactions and 1 mile every ~S$0.91 for foreign currency transactions. Hence, the minimum transaction size to earn miles are S$1.54 for local transaction and S$0.91 for foreign currency transaction.

    -> Validity of DBS points

    DBS points earned on the DBS Altitude Card never expire which is both a good and bad thing.

    The good thing is that you are able to accumulate miles at a leisure pace given the lack of expiry.

    The bad news is when redeeming DBS points for miles, the DBS points earned on the DBS Altitude Card will never be fully cleared given DBS points with earlier expiry dates will be consumed first. This will not be an issue if you are keeping your DBS Altitude Card indefinitely but if you are not making any transactions on your card, you may run the risk of getting rejected for an annual fee waiver and be put into a situation where you are forced to cancel the card.

    Transfer Partners

    DBS points are pooled for the purpose of redemption and the points with the earliest expiry dates will be consumed first. You are able to convert all your DBS points across all cards at one shot and be able to pay just a single conversion fee. For example, if you have 13,000 DBS points on your DBS Altitude Visa Card and 12,000 DBS points on your DBS Women’s World Mastercard, you are redeem all 25,000 DBS points by paying just a single conversion fee.

    DBS points can be transferred to Singapore Airlines, Cathay, Qantas & AirAsia frequent flyer programs with the ratio in the table below.

    Transfer ProgramRate (UNI$ : Partner Programme)
    Krisflyer (Singapore Airlines)5,000 : 10,000
    Asia Miles (Cathay)5,000 : 10,000
    Qantas Frequent Flyer5,000 : 10,000
    AirAsia500 : 1,500

    Disregarding the AirAsia option (because converting to AirAsia is a waste), you are able to transfer DBS points in blocks of 5,000 at a rate of 1:2. Each transfer will cost the cardholder S$27.25 irregardless of the amount of DBS points being transferred.

    DBS also offers an “auto conversion programme” for Krisflyer transfers if you own a DBS Insigna, DBS Black Treasures Elite or DBS Altitude card. This cost cardholders S$43.60 per membership year and DBS points will be automatically converted to Krisflyer miles every quarter in blocks of 500. Unless you have a reason to convert DBS points more than twice in a year, the auto conversion programme is not worth it. Additionally, the 3 year expiry clock for Krisflyer miles starts ticking once the DBS points are transferred.

    DBS states that processing time for miles transfer are as follows:

    • First-time Transfer: up to 10 working days
    • Subsequent Transfers:
      Krisflyer Miles, Qantas Points and Air Asia Points: Up to 5 working days
      Asia Miles: Up to 7 working days

    -Krispay

    If you ever find yourself needing Krisflyer miles immediately, Krispay allows you to transfer DBS points to Krisflyer miles in a 2 step process at a rate of 100 DBS points to 170 Krisflyer miles.

    1. Transfer UNI$ to Krispay miles
    2. Transfer Krispay miles to Krisflyer miles (must be done within 7 days or else they would be stuck as Krispay miles)

    While the pros of this method is the instantaneous transfer and lack of fees, the lowered conversion ratio of 1 DBS points to 1.7 Krisflyer miles compared to the 2 Krisflyer miles you get for the normal rewards program signifies a 15% haircut which is often not worth it. However, the small block of 100 DBS points would be useful for orphan balances if you are looking to cancel your card.

    Priority Pass (Visa Exclusive)

    Principal card owners of the DBS Altitude Visa Cardholders are given complimentary Priority Pass Digital Membership with 2 free lounge visits every membership year. The membership year is dependent on when you apply for your Priority Pass Digital Membersip. For example, if you applied for your Priority Pass Digital Membership on 01 Apr, the membership year will be from 01Apr to 31Mar the following year. Renewal of the Priority Pass Digital Membership is automatic after the initial registration, contingent on renewal of the membership year of the DBS Altitude Visa Card.

    You may register via this link (Priority Pass & DBS | Priority Pass).

    +Summary 

    Compared to the past, DBS Altitude card has certainly lost its glamour. It currently fills the purpose of being a general spending card and even then, the earn rates on the DBS Altitude card is dwarfed by other general spending cards in the market. The only redemption point is the 2 free visit to Priority pass lounges offered on the Visa version.

    So would you include the DBS Altitude card in your arsenal of cards?

  • DBS Woman’s World Card

    Unlike what the name of the card may suggest, the DBS Woman’s World Card is available to all genders and is the ticket to unlocking 4 mpd on online spending.

    Key Features:

    *Insert an infographic of DBS Woman’s World Card*

    +Introduction

    Don’t let the name fool you. The Woman’s World Card does not discriminate by gender and is open for all to apply. With the increasingly digital world where transactions are increasingly conducted online, the Woman’s World Card has seen its popularity sore.

    Under the DBS Woman’s Credit Card branding, there are 2 different cards and the difference can be found below:

    Name of Card*Insert Picture*DBS Woman’s Card*Insert Picture*DBS Woman’s World Card
    DBS points on online purchases5 DBS points per $5 spent (2 mpd)10 DBS points per $5 spent (4 mpd)
    Cap on bonus pointsS$1,000S$1,500


    With our focus on miles accumulation, the DBS Woman’s World Card with its 4 mpd earning rate will be the primary card reviewed in this article given that most of its’ competitors are also offering 4 mpd. However, information for the DBS Woman’s Card will still be shown in the respective tables for those who are considering that option (which honestly you shouldn’t as explained in the “Qualifaction by Salary” section).

    +Eligibility Requirements

    -Qualification by Salary

    DBS Woman’s CardDBS Woman’s World Card
    Minimum IncomeSingpaporeans & PRs: S$30,000Foreigners: S$40,000S$80,000

    While the DBS Woman’s World Card has a rather high minimum income requirement, any minimum income requirement above S$30,000 for Singaporeans & PRs and S$40,000 for Foreigners is arbitrary. As a data point, I got my DBS Woman’s World Card with an annual income below S$80,000. In fact, I got approved for the DBS Woman’s World Card just a month after starting my very first job after graduating from university.

    Hence, even as a first DBS card, it is much better to get the DBS Woman’s World Card. If you get rejected, you can also consider 4 mpd alternatives from other banks and build up credit history before reattempting the application.

    In my humble opinion, the 2 mpd offered by the DBS Woman’s Card is insufficient to justify adding it into the card collection when there are other 4 mpd alternatives.

    -Qualification by Fixed Deposit

    If you are unable to meet the salary requirements, DBS provides individuals between the age of 21 and 75 with the option to get a secured card by maintaining a SGD Fixed Deposit Account with a minimum of S$10,000 placement. This applies for both the DBS Woman’s Card and DBS Woman’s World Card so why not just get the latter since it is superior in both the bonus cap and earn rate. If you have further questions, you may wish to head to any DBS branch to check with the DBS staff.

    +Annual Fees

    Annual FeeDBS Woman’s CardDBS Woman’s World Card
    Principal Card1st Year: FreeSubsequent Year: S$163.501st Year: FreeSubsequent Year: S$196.20
    Minimum Spending for automatic fee waiverS$15,000S$25,000
    Supplementary CardS$81.75S$98.10

    Like most entry level credit cards, the DBS Woman’s World Card offers a first year fee waiver. To have automatic fee waiver after the first year, you would have to charge at least S$25,000 in the preceding year. If you do the math, a S$1,500 cap on the bonus points would mean that you would only be spending S$18,000 in a year on the card if you are hitting the cap exactly on the dot every month.

    But don’t worry, you can still apply for a fee waiver if you do not hit the minimum spending requirement. From my experience, fee waivers are pretty easy to get.

    -Applying for Fee waiver

    If you do not qualify for the automatic fee waiver, you may apply for a fee waiver once the annual fee has been charged to your card. Application for fee waiver can be done via the DBS digitbot (available on both DBS mobile app and DBS website) or phone banking.

    DBS Website

    1. To access the digibot on DBS website, click on the message icon with the “May I help you?” speech bubble at the bottom right of the webpage
    2. Type Fee Waiver into chat
    3. Click on “Fee Waiver” followed by “Authenticate me”
    4. Complete the authentication process using either iBanking Login or Card & Pin
    5. Select Credit Cards Fee Waiver
    6. Select the Type of Fee Waiver you wish to apply for
    7. Select the Credit Card to be waived
    8. Review and confirm the details and click on confirm

    DBS Mobile App

    1. Log in into DBS Digibank app
    2. Tap on the question mark icon at the top right of the application
    3. Scroll all the way down and tap on the “Ask Digibot” option
    4. Type Fee Waiver into chat
    5. Tap on “Fee Waiver” > “Proceed” > “Credit Card Fee Waiver” > “Annual Fee” > Select Credit Card
    6. Review details and tap on confirm

    Phone Banking

    1. Dial 1800 111 1111 (from Singapore) or (+65) 6327 2265 (from Overseas)
    2. Press 1 for English > Enter your NRIC > Authenticate through SMS OTP > Press 1 for Fee waiver request > Press 1 for Credit Card Fee Waiver

    +Foreign Currency Transaction Fees

    The DBS Woman’s World Card charges a maximum foreign currency transaction fee of 3.25% which comprises the conversion factor levied by Mastercard and the administrative fee charged by DBS.

    *Insert Table of Foreign Currency Transaction Fees*

    +Rewards Program

    All Spending in Singapore dollars (except those in exclusion list)All Spending in Foreign Currency (except those in exclusion list)Online purchases
    1x DBS point per S$5 spent (0.4 mpd)3x DBS point per S$5 spent (1.2 mpd)10x DBS point per S$5 spent (4 mpd)

    -> Basic Earn Rate

    The DBS Woman’s World Card rewards cardholders with 1x DBS points per S$5 spent. Given the exchange rate of 1 DBS point = 2 airline miles, the basic earn rate of DBS Woman’s World Card is 0.4 mpd. 

    ->Foreign Currency Spending

    The DBS Woman’s World Card rewards cardholders with 3x DBS points per S$5 spent (1.2 mpd).

    ->Online Purchases

    The DBS Woman’s World Card rewards cardholders with 10x DBS points per S$5 spent on online purchases. For avoidance of doubt, the bonus points are awarded on both spending in Singapore dollars and foreign currency spending. This is capped at S$1,500 per calendar month. Unlike most other cards which uses posting date to calculate the bonus cap, the DBS Woman’s World Card uses the transaction date to calculate the bonus cap.

    From personal experience, transactions done on the 1st of the month may have a transaction date of the previous month. Hence, to err on the side of caution, it is advisable to hold off spending on the 1st few days of every month on the DBS Woman’s World Card.

    The DBS Woman’s World Card adopts a blacklist approach when awarding bonus points which means that as long as the mode of payment is online and the transaction is not explicitly excluded in the T&Cs, the transaction is deemed to be an online transaction. This is pretty useful when it comes to MCCs which are frequently not included in the bonus categories of other 4 mpd cards such as buying furniture online on IKEA’s website and paying medical bills on HealthHub.

    Unlike the Citi Rewards Mastercard, the DBS Woman’s World Card rewards bonus points on in-app spending via Apple Pay or Google Pay. This makes the DBS Woman’s World Card a good option for spending on Kris+ and other in-app purchases.

    +Rewards Program Information

    The DBS Woman’s World Card credits the DBS points in 2 tranches:

    SGD TransactionsForeign Currency Transactions
    Base DBS points(When transaction posts)1x DBS point per S$5 spent 3x DBS points per S$5 spent
    Bonus DBS points (By end of following calendar month)9x DBS point per S$5 spent 7x DBS points per S$5 spent

    At first glance, it looks like DBS points are awarded on a S$5 block similar to how UOB does it. However, DBS points are calculated more generously as rounding happens on the calculated DBS points rather than on the transaction amount. You can find the calculation in the below table.

    Reward CalculationSGD TransactionsForeign Currency Transactions
    Base DBS pointsDivide the transaction amount by 5. Round down to the nearest numberDivide the transaction amount by 5 then multiply by 3. Round down to the nearest number
    Bonus DBS pointsDivide the transaction amount by 5 then multiply by 9. Round down to the nearest numberDivide the transaction amount by 5 then multiply by 7. Round down to the nearest number

    From the above table, we can see that while SGD transactions below S$5 are not eligible for base DBS points, as long as the transaction is over S$0.56, it is eligible for bonus DBS points.

    ->Validity of DBS points

    The DBS points earned by the DBS Woman’s World Card has a validity of between 1 year and 1 year 3 months. The expiry of DBS points accrued by DBS Woman’s World Card only happens on the last day of each periodic quarter. Hence, DBS points earned at the start of the quarter have an extra 3 months validity as compared to those earned on the last day of the quarter.

    For clarity, you may refer to the below table on the expiry dates of the DBS points earned in the different periods.

    DBS points earned period

    Jan-Mar25: 31 Mar 26

    Apr-Jun25: 30 Jun 26

    Jul-Sep25: 30 Sep 26

    Oct-Dec25: 31 Dec 26

    Given the relatively short expiry period of DBS points, it is advisable to regularly check the expiry date of your points and transfer them out before they expire.

    Additionally, before you cancel your card, do remember to transfer your points out of the card as you will be forfeiting all remaining points on the card upon the cancellation of the card.

    Transfer Partners

    DBS points are pooled for the purpose of redemption and the points with the earliest expiry dates will be consumed first. You are able to convert all your DBS points across all cards at one shot and be able to pay just a single conversion fee.

    DBS points can be transferred to Singapore Airlines, Cathay, Qantas & AirAsia frequent flyer programs with the ratio in the table below.

    Transfer ProgramRate (UNI$ : Partner Programme)
    Krisflyer (Singapore Airlines)5,000 : 10,000
    Asia Miles (Cathay)5,000 : 10,000
    Qantas Frequent Flyer5,000 : 10,000
    AirAsia500 : 1,500

    Disregarding the AirAsia option (because converting to AirAsia is a waste), you are able to transfer DBS points in blocks of 5,000 at a rate of 1:2. Each transfer will cost the cardholder S$27.25 irregardless of the amount of DBS points being transferred.

    DBS also offers an “auto conversion programme” for Krisflyer transfers if you own a DBS Insigna, DBS Black Treasures Elite or DBS Altitude card. This cost cardholders S$43.60 per membership year and DBS points will be automatically converted to Krisflyer miles every quarter in blocks of 500. Unless you have a reason to convert DBS points more than twice in a year, the auto conversion programme is not worth it. Additionally, the 3 year expiry clock for Krisflyer miles starts ticking once the DBS points are transferred.

    DBS states that processing time for miles transfer are as follows:

    • First-time Transfer: up to 10 working days
    • Subsequent Transfers:
      Krisflyer Miles, Qantas Points and Air Asia Points: Up to 5 working days
      Asia Miles: Up to 7 working days

    -Krispay

    If you ever find yourself needing Krisflyer miles immediately, Krispay allows you to transfer DBS points to Krisflyer miles in a 2 step process at a rate of 100 DBS points to 170 Krisflyer miles.

    1. Transfer UNI$ to Krispay miles
    2. Transfer Krispay miles to Krisflyer miles (must be done within 7 days or else they would be stuck as Krispay miles)

    While the pros of this method is the instantaneous transfer and lack of fees, the lowered conversion ratio of 1 DBS points to 1.7 Krisflyer miles compared to the 2 Krisflyer miles you get for the normal rewards program signifies a 15% haircut which is often not worth it. However, the small block of 100 DBS points would be useful for orphan balances if you are looking to cancel your card.

    +Summary

    With the versatility of the DBS Woman’s World Card when it comes to online spending, the DBS Woman’s World Card should be a top pick to consider if you are a large online spender. Hitting the S$1,500 bonus cap every month entails a 72,000 miles per year reward and this is one of the lowest effort cards you can have. All you need to remember is to charge your online spending onto the DBS Woman’s World Card and barring the transaction falling foul of the exclusion list, you will be entitled to 4 mpd.

  • UOB Lady’s Card

    If you are a miles chaser who is currently using the UOB one account as your high yield savings account, the UOB Lady’s Card is your only option to clock 4 mpd while accumulating spending to unlock your bonus interest.

    Key Features:
    *Insert an infographic of UOB Lady’s Card*

    +Introduction

    Before we jump into the review of the UOB Lady’s Card, there are some facts that we have to clear up. Under the UOB Lady’s Card branding, there are actually 4 different cards.

    UOB Lady’s Debit Card

    *Insert picture of UOB Lady’s Debit Card*

    The UOB Lady’s Debit card is the debit card version of the UOB Lady’s card. Given this is a debit card and there is honestly nothing going for it in terms of perks, this card would not be covered in this article.

    UOB Lady’s Card

    *Insert picture of UOB Lady’s Card*

    The UOB Lady’s Card is the one everyone is most familiar with and is positioned as a card for the mass market. The card has a standard annual fee of S$196.20, and allows you to have one preferred rewards category with a cap of S$1,000 per month.

    UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card

    *Insert picture of UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card*

    The UOB Lady’s Solitaire card is the more premium version of the UOB Lady’s Card which is targeted at affluent professionals. The difference between the Solitaire version is the higher annual fee of S$414.20, option to have two preferred rewards categories and a cap of S$2,000 per month

    UOB Lady’s Metal Solitaire Card

    *Insert picture of the UOB Lady’s Metal Solitaire Card*

    The UOB Lady’s Metal Solitaire Card is an invite only card that is a tier higher than the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card. To the average mile chaser, the rewards are exactly the same as the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card as cardholders have the option to have two preferred rewards categories with a cap of S$2,000.

    The difference comes in the annual fee as the UOB Lady’s Metal Solitaire Card has an annual fee of S$598.99. The higher annual fees also come with perks such as 6 complimentary lounge visits and 1 complimentary airport limousine ride. Given there are substantial differences between UOB Lady’s Metal Solitaire Card and the UOB Lady’s Card & UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card, we have created a separate article which you can find here.

    +Eligibility Requirements

    -Qualification by Salary

    Minimum Salary RequirementsUOB Lady’s CardUOB Lady’s Solitaire Card
    Singapore Citizens and PRS$30,000S$120,000
    ForeignersS$40,000S$120,000

    Before we jump into salary requirements, there is one clarification that we have to make. Other than the UOB Lady’s Debit Card, all other UOB Lady’s Card variants are open to both genders. Given the perks of the card, there should be no shame in holding the UOB Lady’s Card even if you are a male. Some sacrifices are bound to be made and not to worry, many of your male counterparts are on the same boat.

    The UOB Lady’s Card is the entry level card of the series. The minimum salary requirements of S$30,000 for Singapore citizens and PR and S$40,000 for foreigners are no different from the minimum set by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

    The UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card is the middle tier of the series and is targeted towards affluent professionals with an annual income of S$120,000 or more. While it is a known fact that any salary requirements above S$120,000 is arbitrary, UOB is rather strict on the salary requirement for the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card. UOB requires cardholders to show proof of income although if you are a priority banking customer, they may choose to exercise some flexibility. There is no harm in trying, especially since even if you get rejected, you will be offered the UOB Lady’s Card.

    -Qualification through collateral

    If you are unable to meet the salary requirements, UOB provides individuals with the option to get a secured card by placing a fixed deposit collateral with them and the required amount can be found in the table below.

    Fixed Deposit Collateral Requirements
    UOB Lady’s CardS$10,000
    UOB Lady’s Solitaire CardS$30,000

    +Fees

    +Annual Fees

    *Insert Picture of UOB Lady’s Card*

    1st YearSubsequent years
    Principal CardFreeS$196.20
    1st Supplementary CardFreeFree
    Subsequent Supplementary CardS$98.10S$98.10

    *Insert picture of UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card*

    1st YearSubsequent years
    Principal CardFreeS$414.20
    1st & 2nd Supplementary CardFreeFree
    Subsequent Supplementary CardS$196.20S$196.20

    The UOB Lady’s Card has an annual fee of S$196.20 which is waived in the first year. The first supplementary card comes at no additional cost but the subsequent supplementary card will set you back S$98.10 per year.

    The UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card has an annual fee of S$414.20 which is waived in the first year. The first 2 supplementary cards come with no additional cost but any subsequent supplementary card beyond the 2 will set you back S$196.20 per year.

    -Waiver of Annual Fee

    While annual fees can be waived off & are relatively easy to get for both UOB Lady’s Card and UOB Lady’s Solitaire card, UOB has been notorious with deducting UNI$ to cover the annual fee.

    The annual fee can present itself in 3 different ways:

    1. If you have sufficient UNI$ (Full Waiver)
      -> Fully in UNI$
    2. If you have more than half the sufficient UNI$ (Half Waiver)
      -> Half in UNI$ & Half in cash
    3. If you have less than half the sufficient UNI$ (No Waiver)
      -> Fully in cash

    The exact amount can be found in the table below.

    Type of WaiverUOB Lady’s CardUOB Lady’s Solitaire Card
    Full WaiverUNI$6,500UNI$10,000
    Half WaiverUNI$3,250 & S$98.10UNI$5,000 & S$207.10
    No WaiverS$196.20S$414.20

    When the annual fee is charged, it is on you to request a fee waiver so it would be good to keep a lookout for your points history during each anniversary of your credit card. If you are unsure of when the anniversary of your card is, a good gauge would be to refer to the expiry month of your credit card.

    If you are granted the fee waiver, the UNI$ will be reinstated with a new 2 year validity which is beneficial for those who are looking to accumulate an even bigger UNI$ balance before converting.

    -> Ways to apply for fee waiver

    Recently, there have been documented experiences where UNI$ was not reinstated despite the annual fee getting waived. Hence, it would be advisable to keep a look out for the next few days after the approval of the fee waiver to ensure you get your UNI$ reinstated.

    If you are one of the unfortunate customers who did not receive the reinstated UNI$ after the fee waiver, you should reach out to the customer support who will likely be able to advise you further.

    -Foreign Currency Transaction fees

    A fee of 3.25% on the amount converted will be charged on the UOB Visa Signature for all foreign currency transactions. This is on top of the spread earned by the credit card company (Visa).

    *Insert comparison picture of different issuers*

    Compared to other cards on the market, the 3.25% is in line with other major credit card issuers in Singapore.

    -International Processing Fee

    A lesser known fact about SGD transactions processed outside Singapore is that it attracts a 1% international processing fee. This is a charge imposed by the credit card company (Visa) and is applicable on all transactions, including refunds. Hence, purchasing and refunding a transaction would attract a total of 2% of fees.

    This lesser known charge usually appears when transacting at international corporations and some examples include Agoda and Casetify who both process their payments in Hong Kong.

    To illustrate the fees, a S$100 transaction on Agoda would lead to your card being charged S$101. If you utilise the free cancellation perk of refundable bookings, you will be refunded only S$99. You are still on the hook for the S$2 of transaction fees in such a situation and this is not waivable as it is charged by the credit card company and not the bank.

    +Rewards Program

    All spending (except those in exclusion list)Bonus Categories 
    UNI$1 per S$5 spent (0.4 mpd)UNI$10 per S$5 spent (4 mpd)

    -> Basic Earn Rate

    The UOB Lady’s Card rewards cardholders with UNI$1 per S$5 spent on the card. Given the exchange rate is UNI$1 = 2 airline miles, the basic earn rate of the UOB Lady’s Card is 0.4 mpd.

    -> Bonus Categories

    The UOB Lady’s card allows cardholders to earn UNI$10 per S$5 spent on bonus categories which is equivalent to a rate of 4 mpd.

    While both the cards offer the same earn rate, there are significant differences between the UOB Lady’s Card and the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card which can be found in the table below.

    UOB Lady’s CardUOB Lady’s Solitaire Card
    Bonus category cap(per calendar month)S$1,000S$2,000 (shared between both bonus categories)
    Number of bonus categories12

    There are 7 bonus categories which can be chosen and the MCCs which are considered for each bonus category are provided by UOB in the terms and conditions of the card.

    CategoriesMerchant Category Codes (MCC)Description
    Beauty & Wellness5912, 5977, 7230, 7231, 7298, 7297Discount, Mass and Drug Stores, Cosmetics Stores, Barber and Beauty Shops, Health and Beauty Spa, Massage Parlors
    Dining5811, 5812, 5814, 5499Caterers, Eating places and Restaurants, Fast food restaurants and food deliveries
    Entertainment5813, 7832, 7922Bars, Taverns, Lounges and Nightclubs, Motion Picture Theaters, Theatrical, Producers and Ticket Agencies
    Family5411, 5461Grocery stores, Children and Infants wear store
    Fashion5311, 5611, 5621, 5631, 5651, 5655, 5661, 5691, 5699, 5948Department Stores, Mens and Boys Clothing and Accessories Store, Womens Ready-To Wear Stores, Womens Access and Specialty, Family Clothing Stores, Sports and Riding Apparel Stores, Shoes Stores, Mens and Womens Clothing Stores, Miscellaneous Apparel and Accessories Shops, Luggage and Leather Stores
    Transport4111, 4121, 4789, 5541, 5542Local Commuter Transport, Taxi, Cabs, Limousines and Travel Service, Service Stations and Automatic Gas Dispensers
    TravelCredit card retail transaction(s) made at major airlines and/or hotels with their main business activity classified as flights and/or hotels only. (including card not-present transactions like ecommerce/mail/phone order transactions)

    The only category that did not provide MCC ranges is the “Travel” category. While it seems to suggest that only flight and hotel bookings are included in the category, the list of examples provided by UOB includes travel agencies and cruises which suggest that they are also included.

    Merchants
    AgodaAirAsiaAirbnbANA
    Cathay PacificChan Brothers TravelEmiratesEU Holidays
    EVA AirExpediaHotels.comJetstar Airways
    Korean AirRoyal Caribbean InternationalScootSingapore Airlines
    Thai AirwaysUOB Travel PlannersKlookAnd more!

    Bonus categories can be changed every quarter (UOB Lady’s – Select Rewards). This increases the versatility of the card as you could choose the category for each quarter based on your anticipated spending.

    For example, you may be looking to book a trip for your upcoming vacation. You can change your bonus category to “Travel” and book both your flights and hotel bookings in the quarter. In the next quarter, you might be going on a shopping spree for clothes. You can then change the bonus category to “Fashion” in anticipation for the upcoming quarter.

    -UOB Lady’s Savings Account

    If you own a UOB Lady’s Savings Account, you could also earn up to an additional UNI$15 per S$5 spent on the bonus categories you have chosen. The additional UNI$ that you will get will depend on the account monthly average balance that you have in your UOB Lady’s Savings Account.

    UOB Lady’s Savings Account Monthly Average BalanceLady’s Savings Bonus UNI$ earned (per S$5 spend)Total UNI$ for every S$5 spent in a calendar month
    <S$10,000Not applicableUNI$10 / 4 mpd
    S$10,000 to S$49,999UNI$5UNI$15 / 6 mpd
    S$50,000 to S$99,999UNI$10UNI$20 / 8 mpd
    S$100,000 and aboveUNI$15UNI$25 / 10 mpd

    While the thought of having bonus earn rates sound attractive, the catch is the opportunity cost incurred by having the balance in the UOB Lady’s Savings account instead of a high yield savings account as the interest rate on balances in the UOB Lady’s Savings account is a measly 0.05%.

    +Complimentary Travel Insurance

    +Reward Program Information

    UNI$ Calculation

    The UOB Lady’s card credits the UNI$ in two tranches:

    • Base UNI$: Credited when transaction posts
    • Bonus UNI$: Credited by the end of the following calendar month (In reality, it is usually credited within the first few days of the following calendar month)

    Here’s how the UNI$ are calculated when they are credited 

    Base UNI$Round down transaction to the nearest S$5 & divide by 5
    Bonus UNI$Round down the sum of all eligible transactions in the statement month to the nearest S$5, divide by 5 and multiply by 9

    The bonus UNI$ calculation policy makes this card an attractive option for small purchases. This is especially useful for the bonus categories of dining and transport where I could potentially see cardholders using the card for multiple small purchases.

    For avoidance of doubt, any transactions below S$5 will not be eligible for any base UNI$ but will see be included in the calculation of bonus UNI$.

    ->Validity of UNI$

    The UNI$ earned by the UOB Visa Signature card has a validity of between 2 years and 2 years 3 months. 

    From UOB
    UNI$ earned shall expire 2 years from the last day of each periodic quarter in which the UNI$ was earned. Each UNI$ period is calculated commencing from January to December of each calendar year. Expired UNI$ cannot be replaced or reinstated.

    If the above doesn’t sound the most intuitive, here are some examples of what it entails:

    UNI$ earned period

    Jan-Mar25: 31 Mar 27

    Apr-Jun25: 30 Jun 27

    Jul-Sep25: 30 Sep 27

    Oct-Dec25: 31 Dec 27

    UNI$ earned on the first day of each quarter will hence have a longer validity period as compared to those earned on the last day of each quarter. However, in the grand scheme of things, it should not matter as the UNI$ validity policy means that you will likely just need to transfer your UNI$ into miles once every 2 years.

    ->Transfer Partners & Costs

    -Airline Frequent Flyer Program

    UNI$ can be transferred to Singapore Airlines, Cathay & AirAsia frequent flyer programs with the ratio in the table below.

    Transfer ProgramRate (UNI$ : Partner Programme)
    Krisflyer (Singapore Airlines)5,000 : 10,000
    Asia Miles (Cathay)5,000 : 10,000
    AirAsia2,500 : 4,500

    There is simply no way to justify transferring UNI$ to AirAsia (If you do find a good reason, be sure to let us know). The purpose of being a miles chaser is to enjoy the premium seats of a flight and no matter how many times I refresh the AirAsia page, I cannot find anything premium about the seats.

    Disregarding the AirAsia option, you are able to transfer UNI$ in blocks of 5000 UNI$ and at a rate of 1:2. Each transfer will cost the cardholder S$25 irregardless of the amount of UNI$ being transferred. Additionally, one of the best things about UNI$ is the fact that UOB pools the points from all your cards, thereby allowing you to pay a one time transfer fee to transfer all the UNI$ that you amassed from your UOB cards.

    But don’t get too excited yet, please read on. Before you make your first UNI$ transfer, you would have to enroll into UOB’s “Frequent Flyer Conversion Program”. Per UOB’s FAQ, you should allow approximately 5 working days for the linkage between your UOB card and the frequent flyer membership to be processed. On the same page, UOB advised that it would take at least 14 working days for any conversion request from UNI$ to frequent flyer miles to be completed. In reality, my experience with the Krisflyer transfer has taken less than 48 hours. 

    Autoconversion feature

    UOB has an auto-conversion option for an annual fee of S$50 where UNI$ above 15,000 will be automatically converted to Krisflyer miles at the end of the month in blocks of 2,500 UNI$ to 5,000 Krisflyer miles.

    While an auto-conversion option seems good at first glance, the hefty fee of S$50 & first 15,000 UNI$ not getting converted is a massive deal breaker. With the UNI$ having 2 years validity, there is not much reason to be converting more than twice every year to justify paying the S$50 annual fee. In addition, not converting the first 15,000 UNI$ negates any benefits one may obtain by having the lowered conversion block of 2,500 UNI$. Cardholders may still convert the 15,000 UNI$ but they will still be subject to the same S$25 fee that others are paying. Honestly, I see much more cons than pros to this feature and I cannot fathom any reason that would justify the participation in this feature.

    -Krispay

    If you ever find yourself needing Krisflyer miles immediately, Krispay allows you to transfer UNI$ to Krisflyer miles in a 2 step process at a rate of 1,000 UNI$ to 1,700 Krisflyer miles.

    1. Transfer UNI$ to Krispay miles
    2. Transfer Krispay miles to Krisflyer miles (must be done within 7 days or else they would be stuck as Krispay miles)

    While the pros of this method is the instantaneous transfer and lack of fees, the lowered conversion ratio of 1 UNI$ to 1.7 Krisflyer miles compared to the 2 Krisflyer miles you get for the normal rewards program signifies a 15% haircut which is often not worth it. However, the small block of 1,000 UNI$ would be useful for orphan balances if you are looking to cancel your card.

    +UOB$ exception

    Prior to 1 November 2024, spending at UOB$ merchants will not award any UNI$ (both base and bonus) for the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card. Instead, cardholders will get cashback on their next purchase. As a miles card, this never made sense as one would reasonably expect cardholders to prefer getting miles over cashback.

    This all changed from 1 November 2024 as UOB credit cards are now allowed to double dip into both the UOB$ & UNI$ program, allowing cardholders to earn cashback at the same time. Although there were notable names that left the program along with the change, this is considered a major plus point for mile chasers who do not want to spend an extra second figuring out which card to use at the checkout counter as you no longer have to check if the merchant you are at is a UOB$ merchant.

    Summary

    Life is full of changes and having to plan ahead is never an easy task. The UOB Lady’s Card shines most when you are able to use the ability to tweak bonus categories to the fullest by planning your spending around the card. With 7 bonus categories, one is bound to fit your lifestyle and it should be a card that every mile chaser should consider in their arsenal.

    If you are using the UOB One account as your high yield savings account, spending on your UOB Lady’s Card will contribute to your credit card spend requirement. In fact, the UOB Lady’s Card is your only 4 mpd option.

    While some may consider being limited to just 1 or 2 categories as a deal breaker, having this card to absorb shocks in that particular category for that quarter is a useful tool to have. Going on a vacation? The UOB Lady’s Card could contribute an additional S$1,000 or S$2,000 of 4 mpd spending.

  • UOB Visa Signature

    UOB Visa Signature

    If you are unfazed by the minimum spending, the UOB Visa Signature card is a great addition to your arsenal of 4 mpd cards with a monthly cap sufficient to buy the latest iPhone (maybe not Pro though).

    Key Features:
    *Insert an infographic of UOB Visa Signature*

    +Eligibility Requirements

    -Qualification by Salary

    Minimum Salary Requirements
    Singapore Citizens and PRS$50,000
    ForeignersS$40,000

    Yes, you did not see it wrongly. This is one of the few times when the minimum salary requirements for locals are higher. It is likely a remnant of the past when it was first positioned as a card for affluent professionals.

    Thankfully, any salary requirements above S$30,000 are arbitrary and set by the bank. There have been many data points of individuals obtaining the UOB Visa Signature card within the S$30,000 to S$50,000 income range and if you happen to be in the same situation, it doesn’t hurt to give it a try.

    -Qualification by Fixed Deposit

    Alternatively, for those who do not meet the minimum annual income requirement, going down the secured credit card route by placing a S$10,000 fixed deposit with UOB to be pledged as collateral is always an option. You may enquire with the bank for more details as the policies regarding the secured credit cards differ from time to time. Given the UOB Visa Signature has a higher minimum salary requirement, they may require a higher pledged amount but only the bank can provide a definitive answer on this.

    +Fees

    +Annual Fee

    1st YearSubsequent years
    Principal CardFreeS$218
    1st Supplementary CardFreeFree
    Subsequent Supplementary CardS$109S$109

    The UOB Visa Signature card has an annual fee of S$218 which is waived off in the first year. For supplementary cards, the fee for the first card is waived in perpetuity. However, the second card will be charged at S$109 from the second year onwards.

    -Waiver of Annual Fee

    While annual fees can be waived off & are relatively easy to get, UOB has been notorious with deducting UNI$ to cover the annual fee.

    The annual fee can be charged in 3 ways:

    1. UNI$6,500 for a full waiver (UNI$ > 6,500)
    2. UNI$3,250 & S$109 for a half waiver (3,250 < UNI$ < 6,500)
    3. S$218 (UNI$ < 3,250)

    When the annual fee is charged, it is on you to request a fee waiver so it would be good to keep a lookout for your points history during each anniversary of your credit card. If you are unsure of when the anniversary of your card is, a good gauge would be to refer to the expiry month of your credit card.

    If you are granted the fee waiver, the UNI$ will be reinstated with a new 2 year validity which is beneficial for those who are looking to accumulate an even bigger UNI$ balance before converting.

    Recently, there have been documented experiences where UNI$ was not reinstated despite the annual fee getting waived. Hence, it would be advisable to keep a look out for the next few days after the approval of the fee waiver to ensure you get your UNI$ reinstated.

    If you are one of the unfortunate customers who did not receive the reinstated UNI$ after the fee waiver, you should reach out to the customer support who will likely be able to advise you further.

    -Foreign Currency Transaction fees

    A fee of 3.25% on the amount converted will be charged on the UOB Visa Signature for all foreign currency transactions. This is on top of the spread earned by the credit card company (Visa).

    *Insert comparison picture of different issuers*

    Compared to other cards on the market, the 3.25% is in line with other major credit card issuers in Singapore.

    -International Processing Fee

    A lesser known fact about SGD transactions processed outside Singapore is that it attracts a 1% international processing fee. This is a charge imposed by the credit card company (Visa) and is applicable on all transactions, including refunds. Hence, purchasing and refunding a transaction would attract a total of 2% of fees.

    This lesser known charge usually appears when transacting at international corporations and some examples include Agoda and Casetify who both process their payments in Hong Kong.

    To illustrate the fees, a S$100 transaction on Agoda would lead to your card being charged S$101. If you utilise the free cancellation perk of refundable bookings, you will be refunded only S$99. You are still on the hook for the S$2 of transaction fees in such a situation and this is not waivable as it is charged by the credit card company and not the bank.

    +Rewards Program

    ->Basic earn rates (0.4 mpd)

    The UOB Visa Signature awards UNI$1 per S$5 (0.4 mpd) spent on the card.

    For SimplyGo transactions, you will earn UNI$1 per S$5 (0.4 mpd) based on the accumulated spend on SimplyGo transactions per calendar month. If you are looking for a card to use for your public transportation journey, this is not the right card.

    ->Contactless Transactions (4 mpd)

    The UOB Visa Signature card allows cardholders to earn UNI$10 for every S$5 (4 mpd) spent on contactless transactions subject to a minimum local spending of S$1,000 in the statement period excluding the excluded transactions.

    Contactless spend refer to the following methods of payment:

    *Insert pictures of all available payment methods*

    Unlike the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, tapping of the physical UOB Visa Signature card counts as a contactless transaction. However, do note that SimplyGo transactions, in-app and online transactions are all not considered to be contactless spend.

    ->Petrol Spend excluding SPC & Shell Service Stations (4 mpd)

    The UOB Visa Signature award cardholders UNI$10 for every S$5 (4 mpd) spent on petrol subject to a minimum local spending of S$1,000 in the statement period excluding the excluded transactions.

    Petrol spend includes any transaction with the Merchant Category Code (MCC) 5541 and 5542.

    While SPC & Shell Service stations are officially excluded from the T&C from earning any UNI$, there are numerous examples on the Internet (including Milelion) which point towards both earning UNI$ in reality. I have yet to verify this but given the T&C, I would not risk it unless there are no other alternatives you have.

    ->Overseas Transaction (4 mpd)

    The UOB Visa Signature award card holders with UNI$10 per S$5 (4 mpd) spent on overseas transactions as long as the minimum overseas spend of S$1,000 in statement month is met.

    As long as the below conditions are met, the transaction qualifies as an overseas transaction.

    1. Transaction is in foreign currency
    2. Payment gateway is outside of Singapore
    3. Transaction is not part of excluded list

    For online transactions, condition 2 might trip cardholders up as it is not easy to determine the location of a merchant’s payment gateway.

    For offline transactions, please be careful of dynamic currency conversion (DCC) as it would result in the transaction being charged in SGD instead of foreign currency, not that you should ever opt into DCC given that it is a pretty well-known scam.

    As mentioned earlier in the fees section, all foreign currency fees transactions will be subjected to a 3.25% fees. Assuming you are earning 4 mpd on the foreign currency transactions, this is a cost of 0.8125 cents per mile. Whether this is worth it, it will be up to the individual’s valuation of a mile.

    ->Preferential earn rate cap

    The Visa Signature card has a cap of UNI$4,000 per statement month across the different bonus categories. This represents that only the first S$2,000 is eligible for the 10x UNI$ earn rate.

    If you are sharp enough, you will notice that with a minimum requirement of local/overseas spending of S$1,000 in the respective category. Hitting the minimum for both transactions would amount to S$2,000 which is the limit. Hence, the smart move would be to use the card for either purely contactless and petrol transactions or overseas transactions in every given statement month unless you are able to control your spending to be exactly S$1,000 for both local eligible transactions and overseas eligible transactions in order to maximise your earn rate.

    ->Statement Month vs Calendar Month

    Uniquely, the UOB Visa Signature uses statement month for the purpose of calculating both minimum spending and cap. To check your statement month, you can download your e-statement from your internet banking application and check the statement date. The statement date should be the last day of your statement month.

    In the below example from my UOB Statement, my statement date is on *date* and hence, my my statement period is from the *date* of every month to the *date* of the next month.

    *Insert UOB Statement*

    +Complimentary Travel Insurance

    UOB Visa Signature cardholders are eligible for complimentary travel insurance if they charge the entire fare for travel on Public Conveyance (limited to air, land or water). However, this is not an automatic process. Cardholders would have to apply to activate the complimentary travel insurance at least 5 working days before their trip. With that being said, it is still free so there is no harm in taking some time to register for it if you are eligible for it.

    The main benefits are as follows:

    1. Travel Personal Accident Insurance of up to S$500,000
      Covers accidental death or disablement whilst on public conveyance:
      S$500,000 for you
    2. Emergency Medical Assistance, Evacuation and Repatriation:
      Up to S$50,000 for you

    For the specific information on the complimentary travel insurance, you may refer to CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE (Effective Date – 1 January 2024).

    While this seems like an awesome perk at first glance, taking a second look at the UOB Visa Signature 4 mpd categories will leave you wondering how you can take advantage of both perks. If you are booking a return flight from Singapore, flight purchases will be made online and denominated in SGD. The only way I can think of getting 4 mpd is booking the flights offline at the Singapore Airlines office but that would require an additional booking fee of USD50. Hence, I would find this complimentary travel insurance barely useful.

    +Reward Program Information

    UNI$ Calculation

    The UOB Visa Signature credits the UNI$ in two tranches:

    • Base UNI$: Credited when transaction posts
    • Bonus UNI$: Credited in the following statement period

    Here’s how the UNI$ are calculated when they are credited 

    Base UNI$Round down transaction to the nearest S$5 & divide by 5
    Bonus UNI$Round down the sum of all eligible transactions in the statement month to the nearest S$5, divide by 5 and multiply by 9

    With the way the bonus UNI$ are calculated, having multiple small transactions on the card is of a smaller issue on the UOB Visa Signature as compared to the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa. While transactions below S$5 will not earn any UNI$ on the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, the transaction will still contribute to the bonus UNI$ calculation on the UOB Visa Signature.

    This is an irony considering that the UOB Visa Signature requires a minimum local/overseas spend of S$1,000 before the 4 mpd reward is unlocked. Theoretically, this should make the UOB Visa Signature better for large transactions but due to the calculation of the bonus UNI$, the vice versa is true where large transactions are preferred on the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa and smaller transactions are preferred on the UOB Visa Signature. That is assuming the minimum local/overseas spend is not an issue.

    ->Validity of UNI$

    The UNI$ earned by the UOB Visa Signature card has a validity of between 2 years and 2 years 3 months. 

    From UOB
    UNI$ earned shall expire 2 years from the last day of each periodic quarter in which the UNI$ was earned. Each UNI$ period is calculated commencing from January to December of each calendar year. Expired UNI$ cannot be replaced or reinstated.

    If the above doesn’t sound the most intuitive, here are some examples of what it entails:

    UNI$ earned period

    Jan-Mar25: 31 Mar 27

    Apr-Jun25: 30 Jun 27

    Jul-Sep25: 30 Sep 27

    Oct-Dec25: 31 Dec 27

    UNI$ earned on the first day of each quarter will hence have a longer validity period as compared to those earned on the last day of each quarter. However, in the grand scheme of things, it should not matter as the UNI$ validity policy means that you will likely just need to transfer your UNI$ into miles once every 2 years.

    ->Transfer Partners & Costs

    -Airline Frequent Flyer Program

    UNI$ can be transferred to Singapore Airlines, Cathay & AirAsia frequent flyer programs with the ratio in the table below.

    Transfer ProgramRate (UNI$ : Partner Programme)
    Krisflyer (Singapore Airlines)5,000 : 10,000
    Asia Miles (Cathay)5,000 : 10,000
    AirAsia2,500 : 4,500

    There is simply no way to justify transferring UNI$ to AirAsia (If you do find a good reason, be sure to let us know). The purpose of being a miles chaser is to enjoy the premium seats of a flight and no matter how many times I refresh the AirAsia page, I cannot find anything premium about the seats.

    Disregarding the AirAsia option, you are able to transfer UNI$ in blocks of 5000 UNI$ and at a rate of 1:2. Each transfer will cost the cardholder S$25 irregardless of the amount of UNI$ being transferred. Additionally, one of the best things about UNI$ is the fact that UOB pools the points from all your cards, thereby allowing you to pay a one time transfer fee to transfer all the UNI$ that you amassed from your UOB cards.

    But don’t get too excited yet, please read on. Before you make your first UNI$ transfer, you would have to enroll into UOB’s “Frequent Flyer Conversion Program”. Per UOB’s FAQ, you should allow approximately 5 working days for the linkage between your UOB card and the frequent flyer membership to be processed. On the same page, UOB advised that it would take at least 14 working days for any conversion request from UNI$ to frequent flyer miles to be completed. In reality, my experience with the Krisflyer transfer has taken less than 48 hours. 

    Autoconversion feature

    UOB has an auto-conversion option for an annual fee of S$50 where UNI$ above 15,000 will be automatically converted to Krisflyer miles at the end of the month in blocks of 2,500 UNI$ to 5,000 Krisflyer miles.

    While an auto-conversion option seems good at first glance, the hefty fee of S$50 & first 15,000 UNI$ not getting converted is a massive deal breaker. With the UNI$ having 2 years validity, there is not much reason to be converting more than twice every year to justify paying the S$50 annual fee. In addition, not converting the first 15,000 UNI$ negates any benefits one may obtain by having the lowered conversion block of 2,500 UNI$. Cardholders may still convert the 15,000 UNI$ but they will still be subject to the same S$25 fee that others are paying. Honestly, I see much more cons than pros to this feature and I cannot fathom any reason that would justify the participation in this feature.

    -Krispay

    If you ever find yourself needing Krisflyer miles immediately, Krispay allows you to transfer UNI$ to Krisflyer miles in a 2 step process at a rate of 1,000 UNI$ to 1,700 Krisflyer miles.

    1. Transfer UNI$ to Krispay miles
    2. Transfer Krispay miles to Krisflyer miles (must be done within 7 days or else they would be stuck as Krispay miles)

    While the pros of this method is the instantaneous transfer and lack of fees, the lowered conversion ratio of 1 UNI$ to 1.7 Krisflyer miles compared to the 2 Krisflyer miles you get for the normal rewards program signifies a 15% haircut which is often not worth it. However, the small block of 1,000 UNI$ would be useful for orphan balances if you are looking to cancel your card.

    +UOB$ exception

    Prior to 1 November 2024, spending at UOB$ merchants will not award any UNI$ (both base and bonus) for the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card. Instead, cardholders will get cashback on their next purchase. As a miles card, this never made sense as one would reasonably expect cardholders to prefer getting miles over cashback.

    This all changed from 1 November 2024 as UOB credit cards are now allowed to double dip into both the UOB$ & UNI$ program, allowing cardholders to earn cashback at the same time. Although there were notable names that left the program along with the change, this is considered a major plus point for mile chasers who do not want to spend an extra second figuring out which card to use at the checkout counter as you no longer have to check if the merchant you are at is a UOB$ merchant.

    +Summary

    The UOB Visa Signature card is like an older sibling to the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card. While each card has its own pros and cons, the two cards are pretty similar where the most optimal way of including them into your cards portfolio is through the use of mobile contactless spending.

    If you are regularly spending above the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa cap of S$1,100, the UOB Visa Signature should be your choice of card when filling in the spot for mobile contactless spending.

    Even for those who do not regularly bust the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa cap, this card is useful for large purchases as a single large purchase could easily be used to trigger the S$1,000 minimum spend.

    Lastly, with UOB pooling points from all cards for the purpose of rewards redemption, there is no concern of orphan miles and having the UOB Visa Signature in your card portfolio provides another option in times when you are looking to spend big.

    Appendix

    +Additional Fees

    +Exclusion List

  • UOB Preferred Platinum Visa

    UOB Preferred Platinum Visa

    With 4 mpd on mobile contactless in-store payment, online shopping and entertainment, the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa (UOB PPV) is one of the most beginner friendly cards to ease you into the miles game.

    Key Features:
    *Insert an infographic of UOB Preferred Platinum Visa*

    +Salary Requirements

    The UOB PPV is an entry level card which has an MAS mandated minimum annual income requirement of S$30,000 for Singaporeans & S$40,000 for foreigners.

    Alternatively, for those who do not meet the minimum annual income requirement, you may place a S$10,000 fixed deposit with UOB to be pledged as collateral for the secured version of the UOB PPV. However, do note that you may have to go down to your nearest UOB branch based on my experience but your mileage may vary.

    Author’s Notes: Going through the fixed deposit route, I had issues with applying for the UOB PPV as my first UOB credit card as it was not available as an option on the physical application form. However, I could subsequently apply for the UOB PPV as my second credit card through the UOB app once my application was successful.

    +Annual Fee

    1st YearSubsequent years
    Principal CardFreeS$196.20
    1st Supplementary CardFreeFree
    Subsequent Supplementary CardFreeS$98.10

    The UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card has an annual fee of S$196.20. Similar to most entry level cards, the annual fee is waived for the first year and can be waived off in subsequent years. For supplementary cards, the fee for the first card is waived in perpetuity. However, the second card will be charged at S$98.10 from the second year onwards.

    Waiver of Annual Fee

    While annual fees can be waived off & are relatively easy to get, UOB has been notorious with deducting UNI$ to cover the annual fee.

    The annual fee can be charged in 3 ways:

    1. UNI$6,500 for a full waiver (UNI$ > 6,500)
    2. UNI$3,250 & S$98.10 for a half waiver (3,250 < UNI$ < 6,500)
    3. S$196.20 (UNI$ < 3,250)

    When the annual fee is charged, it is on you to request a fee waiver so it would be good to keep a lookout for your points history during each anniversary of your credit card. If you are unsure of when the anniversary of your card is, a good gauge would be to refer to the expiry month of your credit card.

    If you are granted the fee waiver, the UNI$ will be reinstated with a new 2 year validity which is beneficial for those who are looking to accumulate an even bigger UNI$ balance before converting.

    Recently, there have been documented experiences where UNI$ was not reinstated despite the annual fee getting waived. Hence, it would be advisable to keep a look out for the next few days after the approval of the fee waiver to ensure you get your UNI$ reinstated.

    If you are one of the unfortunate customers who did not receive the reinstated UNI$ after the fee waiver, you should reach out to the customer support who will likely be able to advise you further.

    +Reward Programs

    -> Mobile Contactless Spend (4 mpd)

    The UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card allows cardholders to earn UNI$10 per S$5 (4 mpd) of mobile contactless spend. While there is no minimum spending, the bonus UNI$ is capped at UNI$2,000 per calendar month which means a cap of S$1,110 a month. Any excess spending would not be eligible for bonus UNI$ but are still eligible for the base UNI$1 per S$5 spent. This bonus UNI$ capped is shared with the other bonus category “Selected Online Transactions”.

    UOB Definition of Mobile Contactless Transaction
    Card Transactions made via Apple Pay, Google Pay, Android Pay (or such other mobile payment or mobile wallet services as UOB may from time to time approve at its sole discretion), that is effected at any Visa payWave Readers by waving the mobile device against the Visa payWave Readers. For the avoidance of doubt, Mobile Contactless Transactions exclude any Magnetic Secure Transmission Transactions, all transactions at SPC Service Stations and Shell Service Stations, UOB$ participating merchants and SimplyGo (ABT) transactions performed on public bus and train readers.

    For simplicity, as long as there is a contactless payment terminal in the store & the transaction is not part of the UOB rewards exclusion list (refer to the Appendix), you can Apple pay, Google pay or Andriod pay your way to 4 mpd. Do note that tapping the physical UOB PPV card at the contactless terminal will only earn 0.4 mpd so there is no reason for you to be carrying around the physical UOB PPV card. Once you receive the card, you should add it to your mobile wallet and store the card in a secured location at home to gather dust.

    While you could Apple pay, Google pay or Andriod pay for your bus/MRT trips, these SimplyGo transactions are not classified as mobile contactless transaction and hence, they will only earn the base rate of 0.4 mpd.

    Before 1 Nov 2024, UNI$ is not awarded on all transactions made at UOB$ participating merchants. However, it has since changed which allows cardholders to double dip into both the UOB$ & UNI$ rewards program, changing the program from being a bane to your miles journey to a boon.

    -> Selected Online Transactions (4 mpd)

    The UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card also allows cardholders to earn UNI$10 per S$5 (4 mpd) on selected online transactions. This is capped at UNI$2,000 per calendar month which is a spending of S$1,110 and the cap is shared with the other bonus category “Mobile Contactless Spend”. Similarly, any excess spending over the cap is not eligible for the bonus UNI$ but will still earn the base UNI$1 per S$5 spent.

    Based on the terms & conditions of the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card, the “Selected Online Transactions” category covers the following Merchant Category Code (MCC)

    CategoryMerchant Category Code (MCC)
    Department Stores and Retail Stores4816, 5262, 5306, 5309, 5310, 5311, 5331, 5399, 5611, 5621, 5631, 5641, 5651, 5661, 5691, 5699, 5732-5735, 5912, 5942, 5944-5949, 5964, 5966-5970, 5992, 5999
    Supermarkets, Dining and Food Delivery5811, 5812, 5814, 5333, 5411, 5441, 5462, 5499, 8012, 9751 
    Entertainment and Ticketing7278, 7832, 7841, 7922, 7991, 7996, 7998-7999 

    While it states “Selected Online Transaction”, both in-app & online transactions are eligible for the bonus UNI$. However, do note that for some merchants, the MCC of offline purchases may differ from online purchases so it is advisable for you to only use the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card for in-app & online transactions when you are 100% sure of the MCC.

    For online & in-app transactions, my preference is still sticking with DBS Woman’s World Mastercard or Citi Rewards Card due to the below 2 reasons:

    1. Saving the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card’s 4 mpd cap for Mobile Contactless Spend
    2. Ease of mind of not having to worry that the transaction falls under the correct MCC
      Author’s Notes: Despite Ticketmaster being a ticketing agency, I had experiences where transactions were coded as MCC 7929 instead of 7922, resulting in the transaction not being eligible for bonus UNI$. Hence, I would be wary of using UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card on online transactions unless I am very sure of the MCC.

    -> Other SGD Transaction

    For all other SGD transactions, they earn a base amount of UNI$1 per S$5 (0.4 mpd) spent as long as the transaction is not found in the list of transactions that are excluded from UNI$. A detailed list can be found below.

    However, with an earn rate of just 0.4 mpd, it is not recommended to use the UOB Preferred Platinum Card for transactions which do not qualify for the bonus UNI$ as there are other general spending cards which offer multiples of this base earn rate.

    +Foreign Currency Spending

    For bonus UNI$ when it comes to foreign currency spending, the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card does not differ from that of local currency spending.

    However, do note that foreign currency transactions are subjected to a 3.25% administrative fee on the amount converted. This is on top of the FX spread that you are subjected to as the transaction will first be converted to USD, before being converted to SGD. Therefore, it is not recommended to use the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa for foreign currency spending.

    +Uni$ Information

    UNI$ Calculation

    UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card credits the UNI$ in two tranches once the transaction is posted: 

    Base UNI$Round down transaction to the nearest S$5 & divide by 5
    Bonus UNI$Round down transaction to the nearest S$5, divide by 5 & multiply by 9

    As you can see from the calculation, UOB rounds down your transaction to the nearest S$5 before awarding the UNI$. Hence, a S$5 transaction will earn as much UNI$ as a S$9 transaction and any transaction below S$5 will not earn you any UNI$ at all.

    To illustrate the effect of rounding, the below graph showcases the amount of miles you will get with the different dollar spending on the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa against another card which has S$1 spending block such as the nearest competitor, the Citi Rewards card when paired with Amaze.

    *Insert graph of UOB PPV vs Citi Rewards mile vs dollar*

    On the same note, the below graph provides a visual representation of the effective mpd for different dollar spending.

    *Insert graph of effective mpd for each dollar spend*

    You will notice that as the transaction size increases, the effect of rounding has a smaller effect on the effective mpd. Hence, it is recommended to use the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card on larger purchases whenever possible or when the transaction amount will get rounded down the least.

    One of the benefits of UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card is the ability to view transaction level points breakdown on the UOB iBanking application. For more details, please refer to the section in the Appendix.

    ->Validity of UNI$

    The UNI$ earned by the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card has a validity of between 2 years and 2 years 3 months. 

    From UOB
    UNI$ earned shall expire 2 years from the last day of each periodic quarter in which the UNI$ was earned. Each UNI$ period is calculated commencing from January to December of each calendar year. Expired UNI$ cannot be replaced or reinstated.

    If the above doesn’t sound the most intuitive, here are some examples of what it entails:

    UNI$ earned period

    Jan-Mar25: 31 Mar 27

    Apr-Jun25: 30 Jun 27

    Jul-Sep25: 30 Sep 27

    Oct-Dec25: 31 Dec 27

    UNI$ earned on the first day of each quarter will hence have a longer validity period as compared to those earned on the last day of each quarter. However, in the grand scheme of things, it should not matter as the UNI$ validity policy means that you will likely just need to transfer your UNI$ into miles once every 2 years.

    ->Transfer Partners & Costs

    -Airline Frequent Flyer Program

    UNI$ can be transferred to Singapore Airlines, Cathay & AirAsia frequent flyer programs with the ratio in the table below.

    Transfer ProgramRate (UNI$ : Partner Programme)
    Krisflyer (Singapore Airlines)5,000 : 10,000
    Asia Miles (Cathay)5,000 : 10,000
    AirAsia2,500 : 4,500

    There is simply no way to justify transferring UNI$ to AirAsia (If you do find a good reason, be sure to let us know). The purpose of being a miles chaser is to enjoy the premium seats of a flight and no matter how many times I refresh the AirAsia page, I cannot find anything premium about the seats.

    Disregarding the AirAsia option, you are able to transfer UNI$ in blocks of 5000 UNI$ and at a rate of 1:2. Each transfer will cost the cardholder S$25 irregardless of the amount of UNI$ being transferred. Additionally, one of the best things about UNI$ is the fact that UOB pools the points from all your cards, thereby allowing you to pay a one time transfer fee to transfer all the UNI$ that you amassed from your UOB cards.

    But before you get too excited, please read on. Before you make your first UNI$ transfer, you would have to enroll into UOB’s “Frequent Flyer Conversion Program”. Per UOB’s FAQ, you should allow approximately 5 working days for the linkage between your UOB card and the frequent flyer membership to be processed. On the same page, UOB advised that it would take at least 14 working days for any conversion request from UNI$ to frequent flyer miles to be completed. In reality, my experience with the Krisflyer transfer has taken less than 48 hours. 

    Autoconversion feature

    UOB has an auto-conversion option for an annual fee of S$50 where UNI$ above 15,000 will be automatically converted to Krisflyer miles at the end of the month in blocks of 2,500 UNI$ to 5,000 Krisflyer miles.

    While an auto-conversion option seems good at first glance, the hefty fee of S$50 & first 15,000 UNI$ not getting converted is a massive deal breaker. With the UNI$ having 2 years validity, there is not much reason to be converting more than twice every year to justify paying the S$50 annual fee. In addition, not converting the first 15,000 UNI$ negates any benefits one may obtain by having the lowered conversion block of 2,500 UNI$. Cardholders may still convert the 15,000 UNI$ but they will still be subject to the same S$25 fee that others are paying. Honestly, I see much more cons than pros to this feature and I cannot fathom any reason that would justify the participation in this feature.

    -Krispay

    If you ever find yourself needing Krisflyer miles immediately, Krispay allows you to transfer UNI$ to Krisflyer miles in a 2 step process at a rate of 1,000 UNI$ to 1,700 Krisflyer miles.

    1. Transfer UNI$ to Krispay miles
    2. Transfer Krispay miles to Krisflyer miles (must be done within 7 days or else they would be stuck as Krispay miles)

    While the pros of this method is the instantaneous transfer and lack of fees, the lowered conversion ratio of 1 UNI$ to 1.7 Krisflyer miles compared to the 2 Krisflyer miles you get for the normal rewards program signifies a 15% haircut which is often not worth it. However, the small block of 1,000 UNI$ would be useful for orphan balances if you are looking to cancel your card.

    +UOB$ exception

    Prior to 1 November 2024, spending at UOB$ merchants will not award any UNI$ (both base and bonus) for the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card. Instead, cardholders will get cashback on their next purchase. As a miles card, this never made sense as one would reasonably expect cardholders to prefer getting miles over cashback.

    This all changed from 1 November 2024 as UOB credit cards are now allowed to double dip into both the UOB$ & UNI$ program, allowing cardholders to earn cashback at the same time. Although there were notable names that left the program along with the change, this is considered a major plus point for mile chasers who do not want to spend an extra second figuring out which card to use at the checkout counter as you no longer have to check if the merchant you are at is a UOB$ merchant.

    +Summary

    In summary, the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card is one of the best cards for new and seasoned mile chasers alike.

    New mile chasers will find themselves being eased into the miles accumulation journey as all they need to think about is whether the physical transaction falls under the exclusion list (which can be found below). The learning curve is steep but without having to think about which card to use where, this card is suitable for you to recommend to your friends or relatives who have been bugging you about teaching them to get “free” business class flights. (“Free” given taxes still have to be paid and there are opportunity cost involved)

    For seasoned mile chasers, the flexibility and blacklist approach of this card truly makes this card a gem among the other miles cards. No matter how many cards you have, you will always have a reason to use this card, making this card a must-have in your arsenal.

    With UNI$ being pooled across all UOB cards, there is no worry about having orphan miles and together with the other 4 mpd UOB miles cards (UOB Lady’s Card & UOB Visa Signature), you can get yourself a large number of Krisflyer miles every 2 years with a transfer fee of just S$25.

    +Author’s Notes

    Appendix:

    +Checking of points

    +Exclusions

    The full list of transactions that are not eligible for earning UNI$ can be found in the Terms and Conditions Governing UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card. Aside from the usual charity, utilities & quasi-cash transactions, an important point to note is that UNI$ is not awarded on SPC Service Stations and Shell Service Stations. Hence, if you are a car owner, you might want to leave your UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card at home when making your petrol run.