OCBC VOYAGE offering 12,000 bonus miles for overseas spend

OCBC VOYAGE has launched a new overseas spending campaign that awards 12,000 bonus miles to cardholders who spend at least S$3,000 by 30 June 2022. 

While this is a publicly-available offer, the catch is that it’s limited to the first 500 cardholders only. Whether it’s worth taking a punt depends on your risk appetite, and how soon you think you can complete the minimum spend.

Earn 12,000 bonus VOYAGE miles for FCY spend

From 20 May to 30 June 2022, OCBC VOYAGE cardholders who spend at least S$3,000 in foreign currency transactions (either online or in person) will receive a flat bonus of 12,000 miles. 

Unfortunately, this is limited to the first 500 customers only. How do you know you’re among the first 500? You don’t. It’s basically a gamble. 

Bonus miles will be awarded within two months after the end of the promotion period, i.e. by 31 August 2022.

This offer is open to principal cardholders of all four VOYAGE cards, i.e. the regular version, Premier, Premier Private Client and Bank of Singapore VOYAGE. The bonus miles are on top of the usual base miles, as follows:

Card	FCY Earn	FCY Fee	CPM
OCBC VOYAGE (Regular)	2.2 mpd	3.25%	1.48
OCBC VOYAGE (Premier, PPC, BOS)	2.3 mpd	3.25%	1.41

For example, a regular OCBC VOYAGE cardholder who spends S$3,000 in FCY (and is among the first 500) would earn a total of 18,600 miles, split into:

• 6,600 base miles for spending S$3,000 @ 2.2 mpd
• 12,000 bonus miles for meeting the S$3,000 minimum spend

While the CPM (cost per mile) for the regular OCBC VOYAGE card is usually 1.48 cents, in this scenario you’d be paying 0.52 cents each (S$3,000*3.25%/18,600 miles). That’s a fantastic price- assuming you’re in the first 500!

The full T&Cs of this offer can be found here. 

What’s the best card to use for overseas spending?

As a reminder, here’s the alternative cards you can consider using for FCY transactions.

General Overseas Spending

The following cards offer bonuses on all FCY transactions (except those in the general exclusions list like charitable donations and cryptocurrency). 

Card	FCY Earn	Fee	CPM
UOB Visa Signature	4.01	3.25%	0.81
SCB Rewards+	4.02	3.5%	0.88
SCB VI	3.03	3.5%	1.17
HSBC VI	2.254	2.8%	1.24
UOB PRVI Miles	2.4	3.25%	1.35
OCBC Premier VI	2.24	3.25%	1.45
OCBC VOYAGE	2.2	3.25%	1.48
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend	2.05	2.95%	1.48
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card	2.05	2.95%	1.48
OCBC 90N MC	2.1	3.25%	1.55
DBS Altitude	2.0	3.25%	1.63
Citi PM	2.0	3.25%	1.63
Citi Prestige	2.0	3.25%	1.63
UOB VI Metal	2.0	3.25%	1.63
SCB X Card	2.0	3.5%	1.75
1. Min. spend S$1,000 per statement month, cap at S$2,000 per statement month 2. Cap at S$2,222 per membership year, must have SCB Visa Infinite or SCB X Card otherwise 2.9 mpd 3. Min. spend S$2,000 per statement month, otherwise 1 mpd 4. Min. spend S$50,000 in previous membership year, otherwise 2 mpd 5. Only in June and December, otherwise 1.1 (Blue) or 1.2 (Ascend)

Specific Overseas Spending

If you’re clocking FCY spend on particular categories, the cards below can also be options.

Card	Earn Rate	Fee	CPM
Citi Rewards	4.01	3.25%	0.81
DBS WWMC	4.02	3.25%	0.81
OCBC Titanium Rewards	4.03	3.25%	0.81
UOB Pref. Plat. Visa	4.04	3.25%	0.81
UOB Lady’s Card	4.05	3.25%	0.81
HSBC Revolution	4.06	2.8%	0.7
1. Department store, apparel, or online transactions (excluding travel). First S$1K per statement month.  2. Online transactions. First S$2K per calendar month. 3. Department stores, apparel, electronics. Full list here. First S$12K per membership year. 4. Apparel, electronics, dining, food delivery, entertainment. Also applies to overseas mobile payments. Full list here. First S$1.1K per calendar month. 5. Depends on your selected bonus category. Full list here. First S$1K (Lady’s) or S$3K (Lady’s Solitaire) per calendar month. 6. Airlines, hotels, department stores, apparel, supermarkets, transport. Must be online or via contactless payments. Full list here. First S$1K per calendar month.

The Amaze Alternative

Despite its recent nerfs and impending exclusion by DBS, Amaze continues to be the best option to use for FCY transactions.

With Amaze, you’ll pay zero FCY fees (though the FX rates entail a small spread) while earning up to 4 mpd on your credit card plus up to 1% cashback. 

💳 tl;dr: Amaze card

Sign Up Here

Link up to five Mastercard credit/debit cards Foreign currency transactions on Amaze are converted into SGD (with no FCY transaction fees) and charged to the underlying credit/debit card Transaction MCC remains the same Earn 0.5-1% cashback on all transactions of at least S$10 (min. S$1,500 spend per quarter, capped at S$50 cashback per quarter), except exclusion categories Offline transactions charged to Amaze become online transactions for the underlying credit/debit card

The 4 mpd is limited only by the credit card linked to the Amaze, but by pairing it with the Citi Rewards Mastercard and DBS Woman’s World Card (until 31 May 2022), you’ll have a monthly cap of S$3,000. 

Conclusion

OCBC VOYAGE cardholders who spend at least S$3,000 in FCY by 30 June 2022 will enjoy a flat bonus of 12,000 VOYAGE miles, on top of regular base miles.

While that’s a very good deal indeed, it’s contingent on being among the first 500 eligible customers. It’s rolling the dice, plain and simple, and if you don’t fancy that then you’re better off looking at cards which offer a guaranteed 4 mpd instead.