UOB PRVI Miles offering 4.4 mpd on selected overseas spend, MRT/bus rides

UOB has upsized the miles on overseas dining, shopping and accommodation plus public transport to 4.4 mpd until the end of the year. Caps apply.

UOB has launched a new promotion for the UOB PRVI Miles cards. From 18 Oct till 31 Dec 2019, cardholders will earn a total of 4.4 mpd on:

  • Overseas dining, shopping (including online shopping) and accommodation transactions, capped at S$3,000 for the entire period
  • Bus or train rides paid via SimplyGo, capped at S$80 per month (only for Visa and Mastercard)

The T&C do not directly address this, but based on past promotions I’m assuming that the caps apply on a per card basis, which is to say that if you hold both the UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard and Visa, your cap is effectively doubled.

Thankfully, unlike some of UOB’s recent promotions, spending on supplementary cards will be combined with the principal card and earn the same bonus. 

Registration is required and can be done by sending the following to 77862:

PRVI<space>Last 4 alphanumeric digits of your NRIC or Passport Number
(e.g. PRVI 222D)

Overseas spend promotion

Registered cardholders who spend on eligible overseas transactions will earn the equivalent of 4.4 mpd on their UOB PRVI Miles card, split into:

  • UNI$6 per S$5 spent on eligible overseas transactions (2.4 mpd- the base miles)
  • UNI$5 per S$5 spent on eligible overseas transactions (2 mpd- the bonus miles)

The maximum bonus miles you may earn for the entire promotion period (i.e until 31 Dec 19) is UNI$3,000 (or S$3,000 worth of spending). Bonus miles will be credited by 31 March 2020. 

Do take note that not every overseas transaction is eligible- UOB is defining this as dining, shopping (including online shopping) and accommodation. Here are the relevant MCCs for your reference

CategoryEligible MCCs
Dining5441 Candy, Nut, and Confectionery Stores
5451 Dairy Product Stores
5462 Bakeries
5499 Miscellaneous Food Stores — Convenience Stores and Specialty Markets
5812 Eating Places and Restaurants
5813 Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) — Bars, Taverns, Nightclubs,
Cocktail Lounges, and Discotheques
5814 Quick Payment Service — Fast Food Restaurants
5912 Drug Stores and Pharmacies
5921 Package Stores — Beer, Wine, and Liquor
Shopping5309 Duty Free Stores
5310 Discount Store
5311 Department Stores
5331 Variety Stores
5399 Miscellaneous General Merchandise
5611 Men’s & Boys’ Clothing and Accessory Stores
5621 Women’s Ready-to-Wear Stores
5631 Women’s Accessory and Specialty Stores
5641 Children’s and Infants’ Wear Stores
5651 Family Clothing Stores
5655 Sports and Riding Apparel Stores
5661 Shoe Stores
5681 Furriers & Fur Shops
5691 Men’s and Women’s Clothing Stores
5697 Tailors, Seamstresses, Mending, Alterations
5698 Wig & Toupee Shops
5699 Miscellaneous Apparel and Accessory Stores
5732 Electronics Stores
5733 Music Stores — Musical Instruments, Pianos, and Sheet Music
5735 Record Stores
5941 Sporting Goods Stores
5942 Book Stores
5943 Stationery, Office and School Supply Stores
5944 Jewelry, Watch, Clock, and Silverware Stores
5945 Hobby, Toy and Game Stores
5946 Camera and Photographic Supply Stores
5947 Gift, Card, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
5948 Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
5949 Sewing, Needlework, Fabric, and Piece Good Stores
5950 Glassware and Crystal Stores
5970 Artist Supply and Craft Stores
5971 Art Dealers and Galleries
5977 Cosmetic Stores
5993 Cigar Stores & Stands
5994 News Dealers & Newsstands
5999 Miscellaneous & Specialty Retail Stores
Accommodation3500 – 3999 Lodging
7011 Lodging–Hotels, Motels, Resorts–not elsewhere classified

It’s also important to remember that if your transaction is processed within Singapore, it won’t qualify. This is more an issue with online shopping, as there are certain websites which may charge you in foreign currency, but process the transaction within Singapore. Unfortunately there’s no comprehensive list of sites which do this, but if you’re buying things on websites like Amazon USA you should be safe. 

You also won’t earn any bonus if your transaction is processed in DCC, so please, please don’t fall victim to it

Some of you may wonder how this compares to the OCBC 90N Card. From now till 29 Feb 2020, the OCBC 90N is offering an uncapped 4 mpd on all foreign currency spending. Here’s the key differences between that promotion and this one:

 UOB PRVI MilesOCBC 90N
Earn rate4.4 mpd4 mpd
FCY Fee3.25%3%
Cents Per Mile0.740.75
CapS$3,000 for promotion periodNo cap
Eligible transactionsDining, shopping, accommodationAll foreign currency transactions
Payment ProcessingMust be done outside SingaporeNo restriction
Bonus Miles Posted31 Mar 2020Immediately upon transaction posting

Although the UOB PRVI Miles earn rate is higher, remember that UOB has a 3.25% FCY fee on the PRVI Miles card, whereas the OCBC 90N charges 3%. This means that your cost per mile is roughly equivalent, and I’ll probably stick with the OCBC 90N for convenience and to avoid the pitfalls of payment processor location. 

Bus/train rides promotion

Registered cardholders who use their UOB PRVI Miles card on eligible transit transactions via mobile contactless will earn the equivalent of 4.4 mpd, split into:

  • UNI$3.5 per S$5 spent on locally (1.4 mpd- the base miles)
  • UNI$7.5 per S$5 spent on eligible transit transactions (3 mpd- the bonus miles)

The maximum bonus miles you may earn each month is capped at UNI$120 (or S$80 worth of spending). Note that while the cap for selected overseas spend is for the entire period, the cap for transit spending is per month. Bonus miles will be credited by 31 March 2020. 

You won’t earn any bonus if you tap the card directly at the gantry.  To earn the bonus miles, you’ll need to add your UOB card to your mobile wallet (Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay) and tap in at the gantry. 

Do this…

Likewise, you won’t earn any bonus miles if you use your card to top up your EZ Link at physical terminals, regardless of whether it’s the physical card or your mobile wallet. 

…not this!

As SimplyGo only supports Visa and Mastercards, you won’t be able to use the UOB PRVI Miles AMEX for this promotion. 

Some of you may wonder how this compares to the DBS Altitude Card. From now till 31 Dec 2019, the DBS Altitude is offering 4 mpd on public transport, taxi and Grab/gojek rides. Here’s the key differences between that promotion and this one:

 UOB PRVI Miles
DBS Altitude
Earn rate4.4 mpd4 mpd
CapS$80/monthS$1,200 for promotion period
Eligible transactionsPublic transportPublic transport, taxi, Grab/go-jek
Bonus Miles Posted31 Mar 202090 days after 31 Dec 2019

Get S$100 cash with the UOB PRVI Miles AMEX

As a reminder, SingSaver is currently offering S$100 cash upon approval for the UOB PRVI Miles AMEX, regardless of whether you’re a new or existing UOB customer.

To get this, simply apply by 31 October 2019 via the link below:

Get S$100 cash when approved for the UOB PRVI Miles AMEX here

Once you’ve submitted your application, be sure to fill out the Rewards Redemption Form that will be sent to your email address. If you’re eligible, you’ll receive an email about your gift within 3 months of card activation. The S$100 cash will be dispensed via PayNow, so there’s no need to go to a physical collection centre. 

Conclusion

This is a great promotion, and I’ve updated the “What Card To Use Where” guide to reflect this. 

I’ll still be sticking to my OCBC 90N for foreign currency spending, because the PRVI Mile’s higher earn rate is offset by its higher FCY fee. However, I’ll be switching over to the PRVI Miles for public transportation, since it does earn 10% more than the DBS Altitude with no downside. 

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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J

Will buying on points.com be awarded the 4.4?

wow

it will always amaze me how some people will just skip straight to the comments and not even bother to read the article…

J

Love ur assumption, but no where can I find the MCC for points.com which I plan to buy Hilton points from to match with the list if it would be eligible.

Besides this is a online platform for people to learn and share, not for retards like you to comment

No miles for me

Points.com MCC 7399 – Business Services Not Elsewhere Classified

So no it isn’t going to be awarded 4.4 mpd.

J

Thanks, will go with dbs wmc then

J

Don’t have either of these.. planned to use uob VS but accidentally overspend on that. Unsafe means even manual appeal also fail?

Edison

For transport using simply go, does uob award in $5 blocks of spending? So if my daily transport spend is less than $5, will I get any uni$?

boo

then would you consider UOB to be better than DBS altitude? Given DBS you have to hit $1.83 or something minimum per day?

Owen

They will total it up each month even though it shows individual transactions each day on the statement?

No miles for me

Does your cents per mile calculation also include the spread between Visa/MC rates and mid market rate/local money changer rate? I usually spend overseas and always wonder how far behind the curve I am when using a 4mpd card vs cash vs transferwise vs a foreign currency debit card. Not exactly a simple calculation.

cheesecake

Agree that using the N90 is more straightforward. Also avoids the $5 rounding issue of UOB cards.

Jark

You won’t earn any bonus if you tap the card directly at the gantry.

Does this also apply to the altitude card? I didn’t know about this specific ruling.

Anon

Yup

jason

altitude card doesnt say tap card directly cannot earn bonus , please do not mislead

j

Will booking hotels at agoda.com in USD be awarded with 4.4?

T

just go for OCBC 90N, it gives u 8mpd.
Aaron had done up great review over here
https://milelion.com/2019/08/24/review-ocbc-90n-card/

DR

For the PRVI card registration via SMS, is anyone receiving a confirmation from UOB? I’ve SMS’d them but receive no reply.

Nocrypto

Yep I did. U wanna check again if u sent in the correct number and format?

cheesecake

“The T&C do not directly address this, but based on past promotions I’m assuming that the caps apply on a per card basis, which is to say that if you hold both the UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard and Visa, your cap is effectively doubled.”

This is incorrect. I just called UOB and they clarified the cap is per principal cardholder – so $3,000 max spending across ALL your PRVI cards combined will earn 4.4 mpd. Apparently the call center has received subsequent clarification from the product manager.

Louis

Thank you Aaron for the article. Since most cards I am having (DBS/UOB/SCB/Citi) have FCY conversion fee of at least 3.25%, using Privi card is a no-brainer for overseas shopping.

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