Great deal: Enjoy up to 6 mpd and interest-free instalments on the DBS Woman’s Card

By now, regular MileLion readers must be sick of hearing me repeat these two mantras: 

1. Use the DBS Woman’s Card and DBS Woman’s World Card for online transactions only
2. Don’t opt for instalment plans, because they don’t earn miles

But for a limited time, DBS is changing the rules of engagement with an excellent, stackable promotion for its My Preferred Payment Plan (MP3) and the DBS Woman’s & Woman’s World Cards.

Cardholders can earn up to 6 mpd on online transactions and 3.2 mpd on offline transactions, with up to 6 months of interest-free instalments. 

Overview: DBS Woman’s & Woman’s World Card

First, a brief recap on what the DBS Woman’s & Woman’s World Cards have to offer. 

Despite the name, both men and women are eligible for these products (don’t let your fragile masculinity put you off applying), which earn miles according to the following table. 

Card	Online Trxns.	Offline Trxns.
DBS Woman’s Card	2 mpd^	0.4 mpd
DBS Woman’s World Card	4 mpd*	0.4 mpd (SGD) 1.2 mpd (FCY)
^Capped at S$1,000 per calendar month *Capped at S$2,000 per calendar month

If you don’t already have a DBS Woman’s or Woman’s World Card, new-to-bank customers (defined as those who do not hold a DBS/POSB principal credit card now, and have not cancelled one in the past 12 months before application) will enjoy S$300 cashback when they:

• Apply by 29 April 2022
• Enter the promo code APRFLASH during application
• Charge a minimum qualifying spend of S$500 within 30 days of approval
• Full T&C

Why these cards are so fantastic is because they adopt a blacklist approach to online spending bonuses, rather than whitelist:

• With a whitelist approach, cardholders only earn bonuses on specified Merchant Category Codes (MCCs), such as dining or shopping
• With a blacklist approach, cardholders earn bonuses on all online transactions, except those which appear in the exclusions

While DBS cards have the usual rewards exclusions (e.g. insurance premiums, charitable donations, government payments, education bills and GrabPay top-ups), everything else is fair game- Grab/gojek rides, Deliveroo orders, air tickets, Netflix subscriptions, Qoo10 and Lazada shopping and grocery delivery are all eligible for up to 4 mpd.

When you think about the number of online transactions you make in an average month, it just makes sense to add a Woman’s Card to your arsenal. 

There’s all the more reason with the following promotion.

0% processing fees on 3 & 6-month My Preferred Payment Plan

The DBS MP3 allows customers to convert any DBS/POSB credit card charge of at least S$100 into 3, 6, 12, 18 or 24-month instalments. You can consolidate and convert up to 10 eligible transactions into a single MP3. 

A one-time processing fee applies, but from now till 31 December 2022, DBS is offering a 0% processing fee on 3-month and 6-month MP3 instalments, as summarised in the table below. 

This means that you could split a S$1,500 payment into three monthly payments of S$500 nett each, or six monthly payments of S$250 nett each.

Any change in tenure, early repayment and/or card account termination or closure will result in an administrative charge of S$150. 

Earn a bonus of up to 2 mpd on MP3 instalments

Terms & Conditions

MP3 instalments are normally ineligible for DBS points, but from now till 31 July 2022 (extended from 30 June 2022), DBS Woman’s & Woman’s World Card customers will earn the following bonuses,  on top of the usual points. 

• DBS Woman’s Card: 3 DBS Points per S$5 spent (equivalent to 1.2 mpd)
• DBS Woman’s World Card: 5 DBS Points per S$5 spent (equivalent to 2 mpd)

These bonus points are capped at the first S$500 of MP3 instalments per calendar month during the promotion period. 

By combining this with the 0% processing fee promotion, a DBS Woman’s World Card customer could earn up to:

• 6 mpd for online transactions
• 3.2 mpd for overseas offline transactions
• 2.4 mpd for local offline transactions

with the additional benefit of 3 or 6 months of interest free instalments. 

🖥️ Online Transactions
Card	Regular	MP3	Total
DBS Woman’s Card	2 mpd	1.2 mpd	3.2 mpd
DBS Woman’s World Card	4 mpd	2 mpd	6 mpd

🛍️ Offline Transactions
Card	Regular	MP3	Total
DBS Woman’s Card	0.4 mpd	1.2 mpd	1.6 mpd
DBS Woman’s World Card	0.4 mpd (SGD) 1.2 mpd (FCY)	2 mpd	2.4 mpd (SGD) 3.2 mpd (FCY)

As far as I’m concerned, it’s an absolute no-brainer for DBS Woman’s World Card customers to convert their online transactions into MP3. This lets them enjoy up to 6 mpd, plus the cashflow benefits of payments spread across 3 or 6 months with no fees.

In fact, this promotion even creates a case to use the DBS Woman’s World Card for offline transactions. Customers will earn a total of 2.4/3.2 mpd for local/overseas transactions, and while this isn’t quite the 4 mpd you may be able to earn with other cards, you need to factor in the time value of spreading payments over 3 or 6 months.

For example, a cardholder might make a big-ticket purchase of S$1,200 in a department store. He or she will earn a rather mediocre 480 miles (S$1,200 * 0.4 mpd) upfront, but by opting for a 3-month MP3, he/she would earn an additional 800 miles (S$400 * 2 mpd) per month for a total of 2,880 miles. That’s a decent return, especially considering the cashflow advantages. 

Bonus points from the MP3 promotion will be credited by the end of the following calendar month in which the MP3 instalment is paid. 

How to apply for an MP3 plan

Applying for an MP3 is extremely straightforward and doesn’t take more than a few minutes. 

Login to your DBS digibank app and tap on “More” at the bottom right hand corner. Scroll down and select “Pay by Instalments”, then “Credit Card”.

Choose your DBS Woman’s or Woman’s World Card. You’ll then be able to select eligible transactions for conversion into MP3 (remember, only transactions of at least S$100 are eligible). 

You can select up to 10 transactions per MP3. Transactions must be either unbilled retail transactions or retail transactions reflected in the latest statement. 

Once you’re done, tap “Confirm”, then “Instalment Period” and select the duration you wish to pay over.

You’ll see a final screen with the instalment per month and any applicable fees. Confirm the deals submit your application. You’ll receive an approval decision immediately. 

Important things to note

Pick transactions that won’t be cancelled

When selecting payments to convert into MP3 instalments, it’s a good idea to pick those which are unlikely to be refunded.

For example, I had a refundable Airbnb transaction I decided against putting on MP3, because if I later choose to cancel it, my points will be clawed back and I’ll miss out on an opportunity to fully utilise the S$500/month cap (I can’t go back in time and pick another transaction).

If a transaction is converted to MP3 and subsequently refunded, you’ll need to call up the bank and request for a cancellation of the MP3. The S$150 administrative charge will be waived on a case-by-case basis. 

Maximising your points

There are three things to consider here:

• Bonus points for MP3 payments are capped at S$500 per calendar month
• Bonus points for MP3 payments will be awarded for instalments charged up to 31 July 2022
• MP3 instalments are charged at the start of your statement month

To illustrate, here’s what a 6-month MP3 would look like for a S$1,500 online transaction, charged by a DBS Woman’s World Card customer whose statement month runs from the 28th to the 27th of the following month.

Note how the transactions from August onwards don’t earn any DBS Points, since the MP3 rewards campaign ends on 31 July 2022.

If he opted for a 3-month MP3 instead, here’s what he’d receive. 

Likewise, here’s what a 3-month MP3 would look like for a S$1,200 offline transaction, charged in local currency by a DBS Woman’s World Card customer whose statement month runs from the 28th to the 27th of the following month.

Conclusion

DBS Woman’s & Woman’s World Card customers now have an excellent opportunity to earn up to 6 mpd on their transactions, with the added benefit of up to 6 months of interest free payments. 

This further sweetens the already excellent bonus for online spending, and may even encourage some to use their cards for offline spending, given the boosted earn rate and cash flow benefits. 

For more details on the promotion, visit this link. If you don’t already have a DBS Woman’s or Woman’s World Card, don’t forget to enter the code APRFLASH during application to enjoy S$300 cashback with a minimum spend of S$500 within 30 days of approval (valid for new-to-bank customers who apply by 29 April 2022, T&Cs apply).