Well, that escalated quickly.
It’s been just six days since applications opened for the X Card and its 100,000 miles sign up bonus, but SCB is already deciding to call time early on the offer. The end date has been moved up to tomorrow (31 July 2019), one month ahead of the original deadline.
Although the T&C on the X Card’s website have not been updated (they still reference the old 31 August 2019 deadline)…
…the X Card’s landing page prominently displays the new 31 July 2019 deadline.
Until the X Card’s T&Cs are updated, we won’t know whether the 31 July 2019 cutoff date is for applications or approvals. Based on the verbiage of the original T&Cs, I’m inclined to think it’s “approvals”, but your guess is as good as mine.
| Update: Having spoken to various SCB CSOs, I’ve gathered that if youย apply by 31 July and get approved by 31 August 2019,ย you will still be eligible for the 100,000 miles sign up bonus |
Here’s what I’d recommend if you’re uncertain
- If you apply now and get approved before midnight on 31 July 2019, you’re safe
- If you apply now, but your approval comes after midnight on 31 July 2019, you should contact SCB customer service and get them to confirm with youย in writingย whether or not you’re eligible for the 100,000 miles sign up bonus. If you’re not, do not activate the card. Tell them you want to cancel it, and you won’t be charged the annual fee
The good news is that SCB is clearing its application backlog pretty fast, and most (but not all) people who apply through SingPass MyInfo get instant approval/rejection decisions (I’ve been rejected three times already, for what it’s worth). If you’re thinking of applying now, you should definitely opt for MyInfo.
Conclusion
If you’ve been meaning to apply for the X Card but haven’t done so for whatever reason, you need to pull the trigger now.ย Say what you will about the mediocrity of the X Card’s other benefits, but a 100,000 miles sign up bonus is something we’ve never seen in Singapore, and I doubt we’ll see again for a long time.
SCB of course has the right to pull the promotion early, but the hasty manner in which it’s doing so feels very knee-jerk, like someone epically miscalculated their sums. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that a 100,000 miles sign up offer is going to be bothย extremely well received and extremely expensive to fulfill- so wouldn’t it be better to start with a very short deadline and then extend it if needed? This would create a sense of urgency, and help the bank cap its total expenditure.
So I really don’t get SCB’s approach here. It’s not good expectations management, and it makes the whole launch campaign feel a bit fudged- from the “priority waitlist” that wasn’t, to the sudden termination of the X Card’s biggest draw. Oh, to be a fly on the wall at SCB right now…
Do join the SCB X Card discussion group on Telegram to discuss this and other X Card related matters.
adding to the list of guffaws, they reject the milelion’s application lol
Aaron, I have always been a silent reader. But I think i should make it a point to thank you so much for all your input in all aspects. Which I find really useful and appreciate it. In the past I was always pretty chill w earning miles without trying so hard. Now I find myself trying ways to chase after miles. the devaluation of the miles is pretty evident which I have seen happened 2 times and alot harder to claim for tickets. So the 100k bonus from this card is definitely very helpful. Actually I will appreciate if… Read more »
advice is to navigate the site and read some of the popular articles. your qns are very basic and answered extensively already.. don’t be lazy.
you could start by reading about sign up bonuses and what card to use when. this will help with optimization
Another one of those cheapskate people treating Aaron as a butler/concierge. There’s a case to be made in fact that this site has unfairly rewarded spoonfeeders at the expense of those who, before this and other similar sites came up in the last few years, actually bothered to trawl and read each and everyone of the cards’ and promos’ T&Cs. Instead, now we find cheapskate people who need TLC 24/7 instead of T&C.
go back to being a silent reader thanks
Hello everyone. Applied on launch day (not via MyInfo). Received email saying application received. Until now, still have not receive approval nor rejection. Given the today deadline, do you think I should try to apply again using MyInfo? Or should I just wait?
So from August 1st onwards they have a $700 card in their portfolio which excels at, uhm, nothing?
Can someone explain their rationale?
While I’m sure most of the Milelion readers are savvy enough to match the most suitable card to the expense, I’ve also seen high-earning colleagues at my workplace dump all their expenses, even those that you can earn 3-4mpd on (F&B, Paywave, online spend/bookings etc) on general spend cards such as DBS Altitude. Pretty sure this is not specific to my office and there is ostensibly a decent number of big spenders going about their daily life without optimising their points earn simply because they do not have the time to keep up constantly. Perhaps SCB are banking on their… Read more »
Indeed not isolated instance. One of the senior management staff in my organization (who earns more than 1 million a year) uses a Citi Premiermiles Visa for all his expenses (which include, amongst other things, Pateks and multiple cars).
Well, other reasons too. For high earners / spenders, there is the matter of flexibility. If you always travel J and travel plans tend to be fluid, optimizing card portfolio and spend for miles would – even if you had the time – make little sense. You are either left to redeem at unfavorable value or on inconvenient dates, not to mention the need for staging or layovers. For e.g., unless one books very early, getting award space on SQ 32 / SQ 34 is not easy. You get by with SQ 2 most times if you absolutely want to… Read more »
Spot on. That high earner in my organization does not care about the miles game. For obvious reasons.
Very true. I personally travel J most of the time (and get the occasional bump up to F). There are times when I cannot commit to early bookings of tickets but the Spontaneous Escapes campaign has been helpful in me burning miles before they devalue. I don’t have the time to go find out about every promotion too so this has been a most helpful resource for me in optimizing my miles earning.
Existing SCB VI cardholder, so applied through the SC registered user section. Got the card in 3 days, and it seems just in the nick of time! Safe to assume they won’t renege on the 70,000 miles, or should I expect the worst?
if you’ve already got your card, you’re fine. i see no way they could go back on that without causing a major storm of the fecal kind.
it’s those who apply before 31 july and get approved from 1 august who may be worried.
So theyโve run out of miles to give out due to overwhelming response to their 100k promo……..
I wonder if innocent public who apply on 1 August and got their card approve on 3 Aug, spend $6k on eligible retail spent (eg aircon, bedding, fridge, etc) by 10 Aug and then fail to get the 70,000 promo miles will have a case to sue SCB in future.
SCB is going to have to manage reputation risk on this
I just submitted application online using Myinfo . It does not immediately say approved or not but that my application was submitted and they will get back to me if they require more information. Did they give a yes, no answer before?
sometimes it is instant, other times it is not.
Probably the product manager for the X card is relatively new…
Sounds like a huawei 54. Created the hype, but fearful in giving out the actual deal.
There is nothing in the card except for the bonus; most will be looking to cancel it once their bonus is in, as nothing justifies the annual fees after that.
to be fair, there is a subtle but important difference here. huawei phone= limited stocks. x card sign up bonus= limited time. if you get in before 31 july, you’ll still get your 100k miles.
not really fair to compare this to huawei 54
Damn was putting this off till I’d decided what to spend the 6k on. Better apply while taking my morning dump later…
whats the expiry date on the card? I got my card number online only
SCB has a customer service hotline. Tried asking them yet?
does this place look like the SCB credit card customer service to you?
my bad, this is the brothel your mother works at
Wow I can’t even
he asking us (or milelion Aaron) to tell him his card expiry date…
ok. well played sir.
FYI, wrote on the live chat and was told in black and white the followingโ
“X Card has to be successfully submitted by 31 July 2019, and approved by 31 August in order to qualify for the campaign period of 100,000 miles”
Whether SCB will renege on the above is another matter
Apologies upfront if this sounds like bragging. It isn’t, I swear. Just wanted to share an update on my experience with the X card and where it will be residing in the next six months. I applied and received instant approval for the card the moment it opened for applications. Received my card yesterday, which came in the box with super bright lights (I honestly do not understand why there is a need for a lighted box). The card arrived just in time for me to pay for a company expense this morning that I had to make. And the… Read more »
hello aaron! can i know if you got accepted after the 3x rejection? i am also in the same boat and have no idea what to do now!
applied for a fourth time today. just spoke to my RM on the phone, he says he’ll try and get it sorted out. let’s see
Hey Aaron, Thanks for putting up this SCB X Card update! ๐ Saw your email this morning, used your tips to use SingPass Info to submit my application and got an approval by evening, so officially an SCB X card member now, with possibly 70k miles to start with, depending on their final T&C which I hope SCB will sort out and finalize soon. Guess I’ll use my HSBC VI new card to do my CardUp since X card doesn’t accept these transactions, already scheduled my first transaction under HSBC VI via CardUp (you’re right, SCB should join this list… Read more »
Same here, so thankful to be a follower on MileLion! Thanks Aaron for the heads-up, saw your article and immediately heeded your advice to use SingPass Info for application for instant approval. All the best for your application and hope SCB will confirm their T&C soon!
Glad it worked out for you! Let’s see what magic my rm can do…
Sorry to bother, but how did you find the link to apply using SingPass Info for instand approval? Can’t seem to find it, only directs me to log into standard chartered online banking..
Click on no for standard chartered online banking, and on the next step after filling up your biodata, you will be asked to login to Myinfo using your Singpass.
However, I think by the time you read this (or post your question above for that matter) you might have already missed the boat for the application cut off – 31st July 2019.
Tried to apply using MyInfo but kept getting an error message that information was not retrieved. But I received SMS notification from MyInfo that SC did retrieve the information.
Decided to do a manual application and called into the hotline to enquire about the MyInfo issue I had and it turns out that commissioned earners cannot use MyInfo to apply, hence the system rejection (don’t understand why – maybe I should have asked for the justification).