UOB PRVI Miles offering 4.4 mpd on bus/MRT rides via SimplyGo- with a twist

Earlier this year, UOB was offering an excellent 4.4 mpd for SimplyGo transactions charged to the UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard or Visa. That offer lapsed on 30 June 2020, but UOB has brought it back again- with a twist.

From 1 September to 31 December 2020, UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard/Visa cardholders can earn 4.4 mpd on SimplyGo (capped at S$80 per month), provided they have not used that card for SimplyGo transactions from 1 July to 31 August 2020. 

That’s an odd mechanic, insofar as it seems to be penalizing those who were faithfully using their UOB cards, but hey, it’s UOB…

Earn 4.4 mpd on SimplyGo with UOB PRVI Miles cards

Cardholders will first need to register by sending the following SMS to 77862:

PRVI‹space›last 4 alphanumeric digits of your NRIC/Passport No.
For example, if your NRIC is S1234567A, you will need to send “PRVI 567A” to 77862. 

Registration can be done any time from 1 September to 31 December 2020, but you’ll only earn the bonus after registering. 

Registered cardmembers will receive 4.4 mpd on the first S$80 of SimplyGo transactions each month until 31 December 2020, broken down as follows: 

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

Bonus UNI$ will be credited to your account by 31 March 2021.

Any spending above the S$80 monthly cap will earn the usual 1.4 mpd. I previously clarified with UOB that the cap is per account, so even if you have both a UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard and Visa, your cap is S$80.

Remember: you must use mobile contactless (i.e Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay) to pay for your SimplyGo rides; you will not earn any bonus miles for tapping your physical card at the reader. 

Similarly, you will not earn any miles (base or bonus) if you use your UOB PRVI Miles Card to top up your EZ-Link card at ticketing terminals. 

The full T&C of this promotion can be found here. 

Don’t you need to spend at least S$5 to earn miles with UOB PRVI Miles cards?

This question always comes up when we talk about small transactions on UOB credit cards, but that’s understandable, given UOB’s strange points rounding policies.

By right, you need to spend a minimum of S$5 to earn any miles on the UOB PRVI Miles cards- spend S$4.99 and you walk away empty handed.

Given that most people won’t be spending that amount on public transport rides per transaction (or even per day), the question then becomes how you could possibly earn anything out of this.

The answer lies in the fine print:

• For Visa cards, UNI$ are earned based on the accumulated spend on SimplyGo Transactions per calendar month, and awarded to Cardmembers on the 7th calendar day of the following month
• For Mastercard, your accumulated fares are posted to your credit card account every 5 days or 21 transactions or S$15, whichever comes first.

So except in extreme circumstances (e.g. where you take two rides a month), you’ll definitely earn some miles on SimplyGo. 

Get $20 cash upon approval for a UOB PRVI Miles Card

If you don’t have a UOB PRVI Miles card yet, you can get S$20 cash when you sign up through the links below, even if you’re an existing UOB customer. 

	Income Req.	Annual Fee
UOB PRVI Miles AMEX Apply Here	S$30,000	S$256.80 (first year free)
UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard Apply Here	S$30,000	S$256.80 (first year free)
UOB PRVI Miles Visa Apply Here	S$30,000	S$256.80 (first year free)

This offer is valid from 1-14 September 2020. 

Conclusion

You won’t earn a First Class flight from public transport rides alone, but that’s no reason to leave miles on the table- especially when it’s 4.4 mpd. Assuming you’re eligible, it’s an excellent promotion to register for and use, and the highest earn rate available for SimplyGo. 

I’ve updated the What Card to Use guide to reflect this latest promotion.