The SCB X Card has fulfilled its 100,000 miles sign up bonus

For many SCB X Card holders, the past few months have followed the same routine. You’d wake up. You’d go to work. You’d come home and have dinner. Then you’d lie awake at night, wondering if you really qualified for the 100,000 miles sign up bonus.

I mean, sure, the 75,000 points (30,000 miles) from paying the annual fee were already in, but what if you’d made some horrible mistake by spending part of your $6,000 on a non-eligible category? With the uncertainties surrounding particular transactions, and the lack of reassurance from SCB CSOs (“you’ll get an SMS by 30 November” went the party line), I can imagine more than a few people lost some sleep over this.

Well, it looks like we can finally close the chapter on this one. No SMS has been received, but reports started coming in at 6 a.m this morning that the balance 175,000 points (equivalent to 70,000 miles) have been credited.

I went to check my points statement, and can indeed see 175,000 bonus points credited to my X Card account.

What’s interesting is that based on reports in the Telegram group, those who spent part of their $6,000 on “marginal” transactions like SimplyGo and (business) PayPal got their bonus too. I’d certainly like to hear more data points from those who spent their $6,000 on “risky” transactions (you madlads).

What now?

The way I see it, here’s what’s next for SCB X Card holders who have received their sign up bonus:

1. Continue to work towards 275,002 points, which allows you to redeem 11 blocks of 25,000 points, paying only 1 x $26.75 conversion fee, and leaving minimal points behind
2. Do not refund any transaction made on your SCB X Card. I know this sounds silly to say, but it may happen accidentally (e.g booking an award ticket and paying for taxes & surcharges with the X Card- if you cancel the award, the taxes & surcharges get refunded to your card)
3. Hold your card for at least 6 months, as per the T&C of the sign up bonus

Regarding the last point, I get that the lackluster X Card benefits (2 Priority Pass lounge visits, and that’s about it) mean that many are already thinking of dumping it. But there’s no real point cancelling in advance of your one year anniversary. You’ve already paid the $695.50 annual fee; you might as well see what other promotions/benefits the team comes up with before the year’s done.

Set a calendar reminder of your membership year (end July 2020, for those who got the 100,000 miles sign up bonus), and sit tight for now. 

Conclusion

To those who missed the first train and are waiting for the 60,000 miles bonus, be patient. Your time will come. As per the T&C:

• If you got approved by 30 September 2019, you’ll get your remaining 30,000 miles by 31 December 2019
• If your approval comes by 31 December 2019, you’ll get the 30,000 miles by 31 March 2020.

At least you know now for sure that business PayPal and SimplyGo transactions will count towards your bonus. I imagine we’ll get more data points in the days to come that help alleviate your worries about other transactions- we nobly suffered so you don’t have to 😉

We’ve never had a 100,000 miles sign up bonus in Singapore before, so to all those who jumped on this train before it got pulled, congrats! You’re now part of Singapore credit card lore. Have fun with those miles, and remember, you earned them to burn, not to admire. Get busy!