Review: OCBC 90°N Card

With its mega launch bonuses fading into distant memory, the OCBC 90°N Card badly needs a spark- and I don't just mean the built-in LED.

Here’s The MileLion’s review of the OCBC 90°N Card, the card that makes you wish the standard QWERTY keyboard had a dedicated ° key.

OCBC was a relatively late entrant into the miles space, and when the bank finally unveiled a miles card in 2015, it decided to go premium with the OCBC VOYAGE Card. It took a further four years before the mass-market OCBC 90°N Mastercard launched in August 2019, followed by the OCBC 90°N Visa in October 2021.

While both 90°N Cards used to be distinct products with different earn rates and benefits, they were harmonised in early 2023 and are now a single product issued across two networks. And sadly, despite launching with huge sign-up offers (an uncapped 4 mpd on overseas spending, anyone?), they’ve not been able to maintain the same sort of momentum ever since. 

OCBC 90°N Card
🦁 MileLion Verdict
☐ Take It
☑Take It Or Leave It
☐ Leave It

What do these ratings mean?
With its mega launch bonuses fading into distant memory, the OCBC 90°N Card badly needs a spark- and I don’t just mean the built-in LED.
👍 The good👎 The bad
  • Above-average earn rates for a general spending card
  • Choice of nine airline and hotel transfer partners
  • Most transfers processed instantly or within one day
  • 90°N Miles never expire
  • S$5 earning blocks lead to lost miles from rounding
  • No bonus spending categories
  • Underwhelming transfer ratios for most partners except KrisFlyer
  • No lounge access
  • No points pooling with non-90°N cards
💳 Full List of Credit Card Reviews

Overview: OCBC 90°N Card

Let’s start this review by looking at the key features of the OCBC 90°N Card.

Apply (Mastercard)
Apply (Visa)
Income Req.S$30,000 p.a.Points ValidityNo expiry
Annual FeeS$54
(FYF)
Min.
Transfer
1,000 90°N Miles
(1,000 miles)
Miles with
Annual Fee
N/ATransfer
Partners
  • SIA
  • Air France-KLM
  • British Airways
  • Cathay
  • Etihad
  • United
  • Accor
  • IHG
  • Marriott
FCY Fee3.25%Transfer FeeS$25
Local Earn1.3 mpdPoints Pool?Yes
FCY Earn2.1 mpd
Lounge Access?No
Special Earn7 mpd on AgodaAirport Limo?No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The OCBC 90°N Card is offered on both the Mastercard and Visa network. Historically, there were big differences between the two versions; the Visa had lower general spend rates, but enjoyed a bonus (insofar as 1.5 mpd can be called a bonus) on groceries, online food delivery and shopping. The Mastercard has higher general spend rates, but lacked a bonus category.

That’s no longer the case from early 2023, with the two cards now offering exactly the same value proposition. I suppose the main advantage of the Mastercard would be that it can be paired with Amaze for lower-cost overseas transactions, but apart from that there’s no big reason to choose one over the other.

While initially issued on traditional horizontal cardstock, the 90°N Cards have now transitioned to the new portrait-style design that’s becoming increasingly common (portrait-style design supposedly allows for a smoother user experience, as it mimics how customers typically handle their cards when they tap to pay or dip the card into a chip reader).

And while we’re talking design, it would be amiss not to mention the so-unnecessary-yet-sort-of-cool LED light embedded in the °, that lights up upon making a contactless transaction.

I mean, come on, you have to applaud that on some level.

How much must I earn to qualify for an OCBC 90°N Card?

The OCBC 90°N Card has an annual income requirement of S$30,000 p.a., the MAS-mandated minimum to hold a credit card in Singapore. 

If you earn below this threshold, it may be possible to get a secured version of the card with a S$10,000 fixed deposit. Contact OCBC customer service for further details. 

How much is the OCBC 90°N Card’s annual fee?

 Principal CardSupp. Card
First YearFreeFree
SubsequentS$54S$54

The OCBC 90°N Card has a S$54 annual fee, which is waived for the first year for both principal and supplementary cards.

Cardholders can opt to “upgrade” their annual fee by paying an extra S$1,080, for which they’ll receive 50,000 miles (awarded as 90°N Miles). This represents a price of 2.27 cents per mile (50,000/(S$54 + S$1,080), which frankly speaking is way too expensive. You can buy miles for less than half that price through bill payment services like CardUp and Citi PayAll, so don’t waste your time here!

Annual fee waivers are possible, and in my experience, fairly easy to obtain even with minimal card spend.

How many miles do I earn?

🇸🇬 SGD Spend🌎 FCY Spend➕ Bonus Spend
1.3 mpd2.1 mpd7 mpd on Agoda

SGD/FCY Spend

OCBC 90°N Cardholders earn:

  • 6.5 90°N Miles for every S$5 spent in Singapore Dollars
  • 10.5 90°N Miles for every S$5 spent in foreign currency (FCY)

1 90°N Mile is worth 1 KrisFlyer mile, so that’s an equivalent earn rate of 1.3 mpd for local spend, and 2.1 mpd for FCY spend.

💵 Cash rebate option
You also have the option of converting 90°N Miles into cash rebates at a rate of 1,000 90°N Miles= S$10, which means this could be a 1.3/2.1% cashback card if you so desire.

While this is marginally better than most general spending cards at the S$30,000 income level, OCBC’s nasty rounding policy means you might be earning less than you think on smaller transactions (more on that below).

💳 Earn Rates for General Spending Cards
(income req.: S$30K)
CardsLocal SpendFCY Spend
UOB PRVI Miles 1.4 mpd  2.4 mpd 
HSBC TravelOne Card 1.2 mpd  2.4 mpd 
OCBC 90°N Card 1.3 mpd  2.1 mpd 
Citi PremierMiles 1.2 mpd  2 mpd 
DBS Altitude 1.2 mpd  2 mpd 
StanChart Journey 1.2 mpd  2 mpd 
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend 1.2 mpd  2 mpd* 
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card 1.1 mpd  2 mpd* 
BOC Elite Miles 1 mpd  2 mpd 
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card 1.2 mpd  1.2 mpd 
*In June and Dec only, otherwise 1.1 mpd

All overseas transactions are subject to a 3.25% fee, so using your OCBC 90°N Mastercard overseas represents buying miles at 1.55 cents each.

Bonus Spend

Agoda x OCBC

OCBC 90°N Cardholders can earn up to 7 mpd for Agoda hotel bookings made by 30 November 2023 and stayed by 31 December 2023:

  • 7 90°N Miles per S$1 spent in foreign currency
  • 6 90°N Miles per S$1 spent in Singapore dollars

Bonus 90°N Miles will be credited to your account within two months of departure from the hotel. 

Do note that bookings made through bank x OTA tie-ups like this can sometimes be more expensive than bookings made through the OTA site directly. I would strongly urge you to do comparison shopping to make sure you’re not paying over the odds.

When are 90°N Miles credited?

90°N Miles are credited when your transaction posts, which generally takes 1-3 working days. 

How are 90°N Miles calculated?

Here’s how you can work out the 90°N Miles earned on your OCBC 90°N Card.

Local SpendRound down trxn. to nearest S$5, divide by 5, multiply by 6.5. Round to the nearest whole number
FCY Spend
Round down trxn. to nearest S$5, divide by 5, multiply by 10.5. Round to the nearest whole number

Unfortunately, OCBC has joined UOB in adopting a punitive rounding policy that sees all transactions rounded down to the nearest S$5 before points are awarded. That means a S$14.90 transaction earns the same number of miles as a S$10 transaction, and a S$4.99 transaction earns no miles at all!

You basically need to spend at least S$5 to earn any points at all on the OCBC 90°N Card.

Because of this policy, the OCBC 90°N Card can be outperformed by a competitor card with a lower headline earn rate. Consider the following: 

 citi premiermiles card review
 OCBC 90°N Card
Earn rate: 1.3 mpd
Citi PremierMiles
Earn rate: 1.2 mpd
S$57 miles6 miles
S$9.997 miles11 miles
S$1520 miles18 miles
S$19.9920 miles23 miles
S$2533 miles30 miles
S$29.9933 miles35 miles
S$3546 miles42 miles
S$39.9946 miles47 miles

If you’re an Excel geek, here’s the formulas you need to calculate points: 

Local Spend=ROUND (ROUNDDOWN(X/5,0)*6.5,0)
FCY Spend
=ROUND (ROUNDDOWN(X/5,0)*10.5,0)
Where X= Amount Spent

For the full list of formulas that banks use to calculate credit card points, do refer to these articles:

What transactions aren’t eligible for 90°N Miles?

A full list of transactions that do not earn 90°N Miles can be found in the T&Cs.

I’ve highlighted a few noteworthy categories below:

  • Charitable Donations
  • Education
  • Government Services 
  • Hospitals
  • Insurance Premiums
  • Prepaid account top-ups (e.g. GrabPay, YouTrip)
  • Real Estate Agents & Managers
  • SimplyGo (Bus/MRT transactions)
  • Utilities

For avoidance of doubt, 90°N Miles will be awarded for CardUp transactions at a rate of 1.3 mpd. 

What do I need to know about 90°N Miles?

❌ Expiry↔️ Pooling✈️ Transfer Fee
No expiryYesS$25
⬆️ Min. Transfer✈️ No. of Partners⏱️ Transfer Time
1,000 90°N Miles
(1,000 miles)
9<24 hours(for KF)

Expiry

90°N Miles earned on the OCBC 90°N Card do not expire, so long as the card remains valid.

Pooling

90°N Miles earned on the Mastercard and Visa versions of the OCBC 90°N Card pool together. However, 90°N Miles cannot be pooled with OCBC$ and VOYAGE Miles.

Truth be told, I really don’t understand why OCBC needs three different rewards currencies; life would be so much easier if they just stuck to one!

Partners and Transfer Fee

For the longest time, OCBC cardholders could only transfer points to KrisFlyer. However, after numerous delays, OCBC has finally added eight new airline and hotel partners to its repertoire.

Frequent Flyer ProgrammeConversion Ratio
(90°N Miles : Miles)
krisflyer logo1,000 : 1,000
flyingblue logo1,000 : 1,000
1,000 : 1,000
ihg logo1,000 : 1,000
british airways logo1,000 : 900
etihad guest logo1,000 : 900
asia miles logo1,000 : 750
1,000 : 700
1,000 : 500

Unfortunately, the transfer ratios for the eight new partners leave a lot to be desired. 

I would at the very least have expected Asia Miles to enjoy the same conversion ratio as KrisFlyer. That’s the way it is for every other bank on the market, and it effectively eliminates Asia Miles as a viable transfer partner. After all, why on earth would you take a 25% haircut on the value of your OCBC points (and therefore your card spending rebate) when no other bank forces you to do that?

Likewise, it’s disappointing to see that there’s a 10% haircut for British Airways Executive Club and Etihad Guest, when Citibank and the HSBC TravelOne Card offer transfers to both at the same ratio as KrisFlyer. 

It’s true that United MileagePlus does enjoy a slightly better ratio via OCBC than Standard Chartered (3,500 SC points = 1,000 United miles), but we’re really talking fine margins here. Moreover, MileagePlus isn’t anywhere as useful as it used to be- while it absorbs fuel surcharges on redemptions (very handy for Lufthansa awards), the programme received a massive nerf in early June. 

As for hotel partners, the ratios for IHG and Marriott Bonvoy aren’t that appealing when you factor in the opportunity cost- you’re basically forgoing 1 KrisFlyer mile (~1.5 SG cents) for every IHG (~0.5 US cents/0.67 SG cents) or Bonvoy (~0.7 US cents/0.94 SG cents)

What about Accor? This is an easier comparison since Accor works like a cashback programme where 2,000 points = €40. This implies an opportunity cost of 1.5 SG cents per KrisFlyer mile, which is marginal, really. I would only consider it if Accor brings back one of its conversion bonuses.

As for conversion blocks:

  • Transfers to KrisFlyer must be in blocks of 1,000 90°N Miles
  • Transfers for all other programmes must be a minimum of 1,000 90°N Miles, but subsequent conversions can be in blocks of 100 90°N Miles

The OCBC 90°N Card used to offer free points conversions, but this was nerfed in February 2023 and a S$25 fee now applies across the board.

This is waived for all programmes (except KrisFlyer) until 30 October 2023. 

Transfer Times

OCBC splits its partners across two different platforms:

  • Transfers for KrisFlyer miles are done via the OCBC Rewards portal, and are usually processed within 24 hours

  • Transfers for the other programmes are done via the STACK Rewards portal, under the Points Exchange tab. Transfers should be more or less instantaneous (with the exception of Accor Live Limitless, which will take a few working days), because they’re powered by Ascenda Loyalty which has a direct API linkage with the airlines. 

Other card perks

Bonus interest with OCBC 360 account

🏦 New OCBC 360 Structure
(From 1 Nov 2022)
 First S$75KNext S$25K
Salary2.0%4.0%
Save1.2%2.4%
Spend0.6%0.6%
Wealth (Insure)1.2%2.4%
Wealth (Invest)1.2%2.4%
Base Interest0.05%
Max EIR 7.65% 
Additional Grow bonus of 2.4% p.a. available if minimum ADB at least S$200,000

OCBC 90°N Cardholders who spend at least S$500 per month on their card will be eligible for a bonus 0.6% p.a. on the first S$100,000 in an OCBC 360 Account.

Assuming you keep the full S$100,000 inside, that works out to an extra S$600 interest per year. 

Travel with OCBC portal

Travel with OCBC

OCBC 90°N Cardholders can use their 90°N Miles to pay for airfare and hotel bookings on the Travel with OCBC portal at the following rates:

💰 Value per 90°N Mile on Travel with OCBC
 AirfaresHotels
Economy0.870.87
Premium Economy1.09
Business1.45
First1.49
Valuations are accurate as of date of publishing and may be subject to change in the future

This used to be much better in the past, where you could get up to 2.88 cents per 90°N Mile on First Class fares. Unfortunately, that valuation was nerfed, and while 1.49 cents per 90°N Mile might make sense in certain circumstances, it’s not something I’d heartily endorse.

Summary Review: OCBC 90°N Card

Apply (Mastercard)
Apply (Visa)
🦁 MileLion Verdict
☐ Take It
☑Take It Or Leave It
☐ Leave It

The OCBC 90°N Card strikes me as a classic example of “good while it lasted”. The launch offers were fantastic: an uncapped 4 mpd on foreign currency spending, Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Air Asia and Jetstar bookings, 8 mpd on Airbnb, and there was a time where you could buy Business Class tickets to Europe from just S$1,000 before Travel with OCBC got nerfed!

But it’s all gone quiet ever since. While the 1.3/2.1 mpd earn rates are slightly better than the competition, the annoying S$5 earning blocks offset the advantage on smaller transactions. Likewise, non-expiring points are great, but free transfers to KrisFlyer are no longer offered, and while there’s transfer partner variety, the conversion ratios come pre-nerfed for most programmes.

If you ask me, this card badly needs a spark, and I don’t just mean the light-up LED. 

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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POL

What a stingy sign up bonus…

SK

Don’t sign up then

ithh

Good for use until 29 Feb 2020. After that, switch back to the BOC Elite Miles card.

Syok

The best looking card at entry level from OCBC ever, basically the OCBC card design is so lame, their designer deserve to be fired..

No Brainer

Not a compelling proposition overall. Better miles earning rates during the promo period, and then back to average-ness after that. The promos are key to this card – give them a longer lifespan and OCBC may have a winner on its hands. Otherwise meh as a gen spend card.
Edit for clarity.

TooEasy

Some ppl are funny right? Some brands go on sale, do ppl say “don’t buy, not worth to buy on sale. I will only buy if this brand have sale whole year long. If it’s promo for a certain period, I won’t buy. “

LOL!!!

Promo is meant to be used there and then. Don’t complain when got lobang!

milefan

this has come just in time for my overseas trip. 4 mpd with no cap ftw

chk

Since OCBC last year said I don’t qualify for Titanium in writing, I won’t get this card unless I go apply at their branch. Wonder why I am banned by OCBC from getting even their low level cards when after that letter, I can get AMEX charge and X-Card. Must have done something wrong decades ago and blacklisted.

Rainee

can use this card to buy lifemiles/alaskan miles?

may

isn’t prvi fx rate at 3.25%?

SL

Does buying air tickets from Expedia qualify for 8mpd too?

Hector

Yes only with participating airlines

mikey

And you must go through their dedicated landing page link http://www.expedia.com.sg/ocbc90n – guessing OCBC gets a referral fee which offsets cost of miles?

TooEasy

Remember … airlines exclusion, AND hotel exclusions!! Be careful. Hotel are heavily restricted! Basically non chain / branded are ok. Chain and branded hotels are excluded.

curious

so grab top ups will be counted in as gen spend right? not excluded right?

gg

Did you test it out?

LS

Hi,

Can we get points if we use services such as renthero to pay the rent with this card ?
Could such services be used to reach the $5000 expense threshold in 3 months ?

I can’t find the information online; appreciate if you can circulate the information 🙂

HS

Just to be clear: even all online foreign currency spend qualify for 4mpd? It appears so to me in the T&C

Almerick

Anyone applied and already received the card? I used MyInfo to apply when this article came out but til now no word 😐

NJG

I only tried to apply for one online just now using MyInfo, and as soon as I enter the first page worth of information on the OCBC website and click “next”, I get a “system error” message, even after using different browsers. After calling OCBC to check on this, all they say is “Can you try again later, pls?”. Doesn’t inspire much confidence in their IT set-up…

NJG

Update: After unsuccessfully trying for three consecutive days to apply for this card using MyInfo across multiple browsers and devices, today I decided to use the traditional method of filling in my information myself instead. And voila, the system accepted my application – though I do not know yet whether I have been successful or not. So it appears that at least for some people, OCBC cannot use MyInfo as a method to apply for cards yet.

HS

My application was approved in the same day.

J

I applied through MyInfo yesterday and no word as well – no email notification, nothing. (I had my expectations set high from the “same day approvals” remarks I guess)
I clicked to OCBC via the referal link in this article

Owen

Does this count as one of the OCBC Credit Cards for OCBC 360 account bonus?

Ken

Applied for the card through “my info” and received the electronic card within a few hours for online usage. By evening there was a courier at my door delivering the physical card-absolutely amazed with the service. I have been using the BOC elite Card for all my general foreign spends since Nov 2018 but this one definitely is a fantastic promo. The only critique I have is that they award 4mpd for Shilla & DFS@ Changi but not for online changi portal: ishop changi! Also while other OCBC credit cards offer fuel discount, there is no promo for fuel on… Read more »

LTS

What does FCY 4.0 mean?

CL

Ocbc is now saying that SQ website ticket purchases will only get the 4mpd if cardholders go to ocbc website first and click through to SQ. Otherwise, if purchases are made directly, only 1.2mpd. This doesn’t seem to be stated anywhere on the T&Cs.

CL

I just got my statement and didn’t get the bonus points for SQ bookings. Called up and the call centre lady said it’s because I didn’t click through from ocbc’s website and cited Agoda as an example of the requirement. Will call again tonight and try.

LTS

I thought as long as you pay using OCBC 90N Card to pay SQ bookings on line, one is eligible for the mpd. Can you share the link from OCBC website. I could not find the link from ocbc website.

Mile Newbie

Curios if only the Airbnb bonus only applies to accommodations? Or experiences/tours bought on Airbnb counts toward this too?

LTS

Does Grab top up qualify for miles?

Christ

any current welcome bonus / link to apply

@XL

@aaron trouble you to update article to say free conversion is no longer in existence

Jarnytha

HSBC TravelOne is so much better

Jason

Just received this message a few days back –

OCBC 90N Card: On 1 January 2024, the Annual Service Fee for the OCBC 90N Card will be revised from S$54.00 to S$196.20 for principal cards and S$54.00 to S$98.10 for supplementary cards (all fees include GST). Principal cardholders who pay the Annual Service Fee in 2024 will earn 10,000 bonus 90N Miles. For details or to contact us, go to the OCBC website > Personal Banking > Cards > OCBC 90N Card.

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