The latest KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card sign up bonus is…not ideal

The KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card has cut the sign up bonus for all customers to just 3,000 miles, up to 75% less than what it used to be.

If you were interested in applying for the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card, I hope you got your application in by 14 July.

That’s because UOB’s changed the sign up offers for both new and existing UOB cardholders, and not for the better.

Welcome miles cut by up to 9,000

Under the previous promotion, new-to-bank and existing UOB customers could get 12,000 and 5,000 KrisFlyer miles respectively. New-to-bank customers needed to spend S$2,000 in the first 60 days, existing customers needed to spend just S$5.

The revised promotion, which runs from now till 31 October 2019, sees the miles for new-to-bank and existing customers cut to just 3,000. 

Up till 14 July 201915 July-31 Oct 2019
New-to-bank12,000 miles or 5,000 miles + return ticket to Bangkok/Lombok/Penang3,000 miles + $150 cash credit 
Existing5,000 miles3,000 miles

These 3,000 miles will be automatically deposited into the cardholder’s KrisFlyer account the month after a single transaction of at least S$5 is made. There is no cap on the number of eligible customers who can receive this.

But what about that $150 cash?

If you’re a new-to-bank customer, you’re also eligible to receive a $150 cash credit when you spend a minimum of S$1,500 within 30 days of approval. On the surface, that sounds like it softens the blow. Sure, you earn 9,000 fewer miles, but that $150 cash makes up for it, right?

Not quite. UOB’s reverted to type with this sign up offer, capping it at the first 1,000 qualifying customers. 

That wouldn’t be so bad if the 1,000 cap was reserved just for KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card applicants, but it’s a shared pool with all other UOB cards!

The icing on the cake? The cap started running from 1 June 2019. This means KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card applicants (who became eligible from 15 July) are at least 45 days late to the party.

So…it’s limited to 1,000 people, the 1,000 cap is shared with all other UOB cards and I’m 45 days late. Don’t get me wrong- I’d love to get $150 back on $1,500 of spending. I just don’t have the confidence of being among the first 1,000 anymore.

Here’s the T&Cs of the offer, if you’re interested.

There are better sign up bonuses available

If you’re looking for a cobrand card, consider signing up for one of the AMEX KrisFlyer cards. Milelion readers enjoy an additional 5,000-7,500 miles on top of the regular sign up bonus when they apply through the links below.

[credit_card_shortcode cc_id=”21776″]

[credit_card_shortcode cc_id=”21828″]

Other options include the Citi PremierMiles Visa card. New-to-bank cardholders can get 11,000 bonus miles, on top of base miles, when they spend S$7,500 within 3 months of approval and pay the S$192.60 annual fee.

DBS has also extended its sign up bonus for the Altitude card, with new-to-bank customers eligible for a bonus of 10,000 miles when they spend S$6,000 in the first 3 months, on top of base miles. Altitude AMEX cardholders will also earn 50% more miles during this period, capped at 10,000 miles.

For the full list of sign up bonuses available, be sure to check out this page. 

Conclusion

It’s really a shame, because the KrisFlyer UOB credit card used to have a fantastic sign up bonus. But opportunities come and go, and if you’re on the fence as to whether to apply for this card, I’d advise you to wait for a better offer to come by.

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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James

Applied on the 10th and approved on 17th. UOB refused to honor the 5,000 miles for 1st card holder. Will raise a complaint with MAS

Girlfriend

You go girl!

bb

i have the same problem! will send complaint

PPP

I had the same experience as well (3000 instead of 5000 miles credited even though card approval was on 5 Jul). Can anyone share whether they got this successfully resolved? UOB is seriously the most frustrating bank to deal with after BOC in my experience.

Too many miles

The T&Cs at the time were:- 3000 deposited after spend of $5 and the remaining 2000 credited in October. I dont think anyone has the 5000 yet.

Milly

I have called UOB and checked with them.. They have clarified that this promo is opened to any card sign up between 1 Jun to 31 Oct., then each person will have 30 days from the approval date to clock your $1500 spend. the first 1000 people who used the least number of days will get the $150 cash credit.

Phew… i thought i was cheated of 45 days .. luckily not.. still got chance..

CREDIT CARD SIGN UP BONUSES

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