If you’ve ever visited the SilverKris Lounge at Changi Terminal 3, you must have walked past the DBS Asia Treasures Lounge, instantly recognisable by its living wall and prominent DBS logo.
This unique facility is unlike any other airport lounge. In one sense, it’s extremely egalitarian, welcoming First Class and budget passengers alike. In another, it’s one of the most exclusive places in Changi, requiring a minimum seven-digit AUM to even get in the door.
As you might expect, there’s precious little information about this lounge out thereย (although it does have a 4/5 score on TripAdvisor!).ย I’ve always been curious to visit, but needless to say I fall well short of the qualification criteria. Fortunately, on a recent trip I was able to pop in courtesy of a MileLion reader who would prefer to stay anonymous (for obvious reasons).ย
Access and Operating Hours
While Changi Airport has two DBS Asia Treasures lounges, the lounge in Terminal 2 is currently closed along with the rest of the terminal (but maybe not for long!). This leaves only the Terminal 3 lounge in operation, open from 7 a.m to 1 a.m daily.ย
The first thing you need to know is that this is aย special breed of lounge. Don’t even dream of approaching the counter if you’re a regular DBS Treasures customer; you’ll only embarrass yourself.ย
To access the lounge, you must be either:
- a DBS Treasures Private Client (min AUM: S$1.5 million)ย andย spend at least S$30,000 on any DBS/POSB personal credit card from 1 April to 31 March of the following year
- a DBS Private Bank Client (min AUM: S$5 million)
While DBS Treasures Private Client customers have a further hurdle to clear in the form of a minimum spend requirement, DBS adopts a wider definition of eligible spending compared to normal. Transactions like insurance premiums, hospital bills, recurring telco bills, educational institutions and even cash advances all count towards the S$30,000 threshold.
Each eligible passenger can invite one accompanying guest.ย
The FAQs for access can be found here.
Asia Treasures Lounge Overview
The Asia Treasures Lounge is a relatively small facility, seating no more than 40 or so people.ย It doesn’t have tarmac views, but its open-air design allows guests to observe the comings and goings down on Terminal 3’s main artery.ย
Despite the lack of windows, the lounge still enjoys natural light courtesy of panels in the Terminal 3 ceiling, which let in just the right amount depending on time of day.ย
The layout of the lounge is extremely open, and you can easily see from one end to the other. While that makes it feel more spacious, it also means it’s not particularly private, and there’s no subdivisions into different areas for dining, resting and working.
In fact, the entire lounge is laid out like one big restaurant, with seating almost exclusively dining table style. There were no armchairs or communal work tables, much less productivity pods.ย
The most variety in terms of seating comes in the form of a couple of sofas, catered to larger groups.ย
Before COVID, DBS used to offer money changing services in the lounge, trumpeting “the best FX rates anywhere in the airport”. This is no longer done onsite, and guests are instead directed to the public Travelex counters where they enjoy preferential currency exchange rates. DBS is also trying to push people towards the digibank app for their forex needs, with the DBS Multi-Currency/Multiplier account allowing them to store and spend up to 12 currencies through their debit card (seriously, just use Amaze).
Unsurprisingly, there’s an onsite ATM, as well as a couple of private meeting rooms for handling more sensitive transactions.ย
Power and Productivityย
Asia Treasure’s Wi-Fi network might just be the zippiest in all of Changi. I clocked Wi-Fi speeds of 78 Mbps down and 38 Mbps up, putting it lightyears ahead of the SilverKris Lounge and Changi public Wi-Fi networks.ย
| ย | โฌ๏ธ Download | โฌ๏ธ Upload |
| DBS Asia Treasures | 78 Mbps | 38 Mbps |
| SATS Premier Lounge | 12 Mbps | 17 Mbps |
| Changi Public Wi-Fi | 6.9 Mbps | 16 Mbps |
| SilverKris Lounge | 5.4 Mbps | 4.7 Mbps |
Power outlets were plentiful throughout the lounge, with universal sockets and USB ports. There were also wireless charging pads for mobile devices.
If there’s one thing the Asia Treasures lounge could have used, it’s a couple of workstations or productivity pods. Given the number of business travellers who must pass through on a daily basis, it seemed odd there was no place for them to take phone calls or catch up on some emails prior to boarding.
Food & Beverage
The F&B selection in the Asia Treasures Lounge comes from a small buffet area, with all items currently assembled-to-order by staff due to the COVID situation.
Breakfast was being served when I visited, with display items wrapped in cling film for reference.
I tried both the carrot cake and laksa. Both were decent, though I think the SilverKris Lounge does a slightly better rendition of the latter.
In case you were wondering, yes, that is champagne. It’s a rather lovely Taittinger Prelude Grand Crus, made from a blend of 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir. This holds a 4.2/5 rating on Vivino, and retails for about S$93 a bottle in Singapore.ย
Other wines include a 2016 Kopu Pinot Noir from New Zealand (3.2/5 on Vivino)…
…and a Franรงoise Chauvenet Marguerite de Bourgogne Chardonnay (3.5/5 on Vivino)
A small selection of spirits was also available. I didn’t ask, but I assume they’d be able to whip up simple cocktails.ย
Toilets
The DBS Asia Treasures Lounge has its own bathrooms, with cleverly-designed male and females logos playing off the DBS motif.ย
The bathrooms don’t have showers, but are otherwise well-appointed with Dyson Airblade taps and bidet seat toilets.
Conclusion
The DBS Asia Treasures Lounge is a pleasant place to grab a meal before your flight, and certainly a lot less crowded than the SilverKris Lounge (which is currently full to the brim while waiting for the KrisFlyer Gold and First Class Lounge to come online).
That said, it’s not as full-featured as a traditional airline lounge- there’s no showers, sleeping rooms or children’s play area for instance. But then again, it’s not designed with transit passengers in mind; the typical non-holidaying guest would be travelling on short point-to-point flights within the region, where such amenities aren’t really necessary.ย
All in all, one of the most unique lounges I’ve ever visited.ย
Anyone visited the DBS Asia Treasures Lounge in Terminal 2 before? How does it compare?
before covid the roti prata was my favourite, hope it’s just as good now
Okay, my money stays in IBKR.
“one of the most unique lounges visited” is a very diplomatic way to put it…ha…
haha it is just an exclusive canteen for clients. thereโs really nothing special. iโd choose the old silverkris lounge over this.
How is this lounge even worthy of mention, given what little is offered?
Seriously, with such AUM requirements, the food is shockingly low-rent
Better off getting like a $30 food voucher to be used within Changi
The lounge is catered perfectly for its clientele. Full stop. You would think most of DBS treasures private and private clients are high flying business executives or well heeled entrepreneurs. The truth is majority are uncles / aunties who made money off property and keep cash in DBS. There are successful SME entrepreneurs but they are the super cheapo kind who would walk 500m for a cheaper kopi o. Very few of them will fly business or have any lounge access via miles credit cards or frequent flyer programs. This free canteen is perfect for them. If not for free… Read more »
Agree, the clientel for this lounge is what is being described by Noob. Though the lounge may be newly renovated it does not have that privacy and exclusivity that befits a person with the AUM required to be Asia Treasures member. Quality of food is also quite pathetic.
Yup agreed. And they donโt need workstations either and probably couldnโt tell if other lounges are better. To then the privilege of exclusiveness will put them on such a high the lounge has done itโs job
Exactly why I donโt bank with dbs
Noob is correct. I am one of those uncles.
In the good old days you only needed a combined total of 1 million across all DBS accounts to be considered a treasures member so we always went to this lounge whenever we were at the airport. Much quieter than the SQ lounge and we were flying economy wo any priority access so this lounge was good enough. We also used to drop by after our flight for a quick meal before leaving, since you don’t need a boarding pass to access.
The offerings looks…sad… Not befitting the high AUM required
I prefer and use the DBS lounge over the SilverKris lounge. Food taste great and is freshly prepared (especially the prata) and much better than the current SQ offering. Champagne is better than SQ business but not as good as First. Staff are friendly, flexible and attentive. Mostly importantly 9 times out of 10 itโs nice and empty.