Standard Chartered Visa Infinite offering 45,000 miles sign-up bonus

The Standard Chartered Visa Infinite was unexpectedly resurrected in January 2021, following a year-long hiatus when it seemed all but certain the X Card had replaced it as top dog in the SCB pantheon (how’s that working out?).

Now Standard Chartered is offering a 45,000 miles sign-up bonus, available to new-to-bank customers who sign up by 31 December 2022. 

Standard Chartered Visa Infinite 45,000 miles sign-up bonus

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From 18 July to 31 December 2022, new-to-bank customers who sign up for a Standard Chartered Visa Infinite card will receive the following:

New-to-bank customers are defined as those who:

• do not currently hold any Standard Chartered principal credit card, and
• have not cancelled any Standard Chartered principal credit card in the past 12 months prior to application

Cardholders receive 35,000 miles (in the form of 87,500 SCB rewards points) for paying the non-waivable S$588.50 annual fee, and a further 10,000 miles (in the form of 25,000 SCB rewards points) for spending at least S$5,000 within 30 days of approval.

This is on top of the regular miles you’ll earn as a cardholder, so in total you’re looking at:

• 35,000 miles from paying the annual fee
• 10,000 miles from the sign-up bonus
• 7,000 miles from the regular earn rate (S$5,000 @ 1.4 mpd)

The above calculation assumes you’ll spend all S$5,000 in local currency. Cardholders will earn 3 mpd on any spending made in foreign currency. 

The T&C of this sign-up offer can be found here.

When will bonus miles be credited?

The 35,000 miles for paying the annual fee will be credited in the first statement cycle.

The additional 10,000 miles from the sign-up bonus will be credited by 28 February 2023.

What counts as qualifying spend?

Standard Chartered Visa Infinite cardholders must spend at least S$5,000 on eligible transactions within 30 days of approval.

A list of ineligible transactions can be found here (at point 4) but the key exclusions to highlight are: 

• Charitable donations
• Education expenses
• Gambling-related transactions
• Government transactions
• Prepaid account top-ups (e.g. GrabPay and YouTrip)

For avoidance of doubt, CardUp spending is not excluded. Standard Chartered is also one of the few remaining banks to still offer rewards points for utilities payments– enjoy it while it lasts!

Overview: Standard Chartered Visa Infinite

Apply
Income Req.	S$150,000 p.a.	Points Validity	No expiry
Annual Fee	S$588.50	Min. Transfer	25,000 points (10,000 miles)
Miles with Annual Fee	35,000 (Y1) 20,000 (Y2- subject to approval)	Transfer Partners	SIA Accor Emirates Etihad EVA Air Flying Blue IHG Qantas Qatar United
FCY Fee	3.5%	Transfer Fee	S$26.75
Local Earn	1.0 mpd	Points Pool?	Yes
FCY Earn	3.0 mpd	Lounge Access?	Yes (6x visits)
Special Earn	N/A	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The Standard Chartered Visa Infinite offers commendable earn rates, with cardholders earning 1.4 mpd and 3.0 mpd on local and FCY spend respectively. This is subject to a minimum spend of S$2,000 per statement month- should this not be reached, the earn rate is a very mediocre 1.0 mpd for both local and FCY spend.

Apart from that, there’s not much to get excited about, really. Cardholders enjoy six complimentary lounge visits via Priority Pass, a relative pittance compared to the unlimited visits offered by competing cards like the Citi Prestige and HSBC Visa Infinite. There’s no limo benefit nor dining membership, and the two main bright spots are its 35,000 welcome miles and income tax payment facility.

35,000 welcome miles for a S$588.50 annual fee yields an effective cost of 1.68 cents per mile, fairly reasonable all things considered. However, this is only given in the first year. No miles are given upon renewal, unless customers call up to appeal- in which case they may receive 20,000 miles subject to approval. That works out to 2.94 cents per mile, way too steep a price to pay.

The income tax facility allows cardholders to pay taxes with a 1.6% fee, earning up to 1.4 mpd in the process (tax payments do count towards the S$2,000 minimum spend required to trigger the 1.4 mpd rate). This works out to 1.14 cents per mile, one of the cheapest ways of buying miles when paying taxes in Singapore. 

Even better, Standard Chartered deposits the tax due amount into your bank account, and then its up to you to pay IRAS directly. You can still take advantage of the interest-free monthly GIRO payments, making this an all-round win. 

The main question in my mind is whether the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite offers more than the Standard Chartered X Card. Neither has anything to get the blood pumping, and it really boils down to how easily the annual fee is waived. The X Card has been waiving its annual fee almost in perpetuity, so it might be the better choice. 

	SCB Visa Infinite	SCB X Card
Income Req.	S$150,000	S$80,000
Annual Fee	S$588.50	S$695.50
Local Earn Rate	1.4 mpd^	1.2 mpd
FCY Earn Rate	3.0 mpd^	2.0 mpd
Lounge Visits	6 per year	2 per year
Miles with annual fee	35,000 miles*	30,000 miles*
*First year only ^Min. S$2K spend per statement month, otherwise 1.0 mpd for both

Conclusion

Standard Chartered is currently offering a 45,000 miles sign-up bonus for new-to-bank cardholders, with payment of the S$588.50 annual fee and a minimum spend of S$5,000 within the first 30 days.

If you’ve got your sights set on this card already, then it’s as good a chance as any to hop onboard. However, given the relatively underwhelming features, I’d be hard-pressed to make this my pick of the $120K cards.