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
 |
| Apply |
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:
| Miles | |
| Pay S$588.50 annual fee | 35,000 |
| Spend S$5,000 within 30 days of approval | 10,000 |
| Total | 45,000 |
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 |
|
| 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.
There are dining privileges at MBS albeit til end of the year:
Enjoy up to 30% off your dining bill at participating restaurants at Marina Bay Sands with your Visa Infinite Card! Promotion is valid from 1 February 2022 till 31 January 2023. Find out more at sc.com/sg/promotions/mbs
yup, but most of the discounts are closer to the 15% mark with a minimum spend (not that you’d have difficulty hitting the min spend with MBS prices though)
I find the Les Amis group dining discounts more useful. The $100/$500, $20/$100, $10/$50 discounts are not so easy to come by for some of the restaurants in the group. 3 meals at Les Amis and the 20K annual miles covers the annual fee. The IRAS and Tangs vouchers are bonuses. We’ve gotten hundreds in vouchers from Tangs. There’s no physical store in Singapore that’s cheaper than Tangs for Aesop household liquids or certain brands of undergarments etc. (Tangs 12% rebates apply to everything in their store, even Miele washers and Stokke prams, baby shoes, so getting additional vouchers from… Read more »
I have to confess that this is my go-to card. I use it a lot and given I always cross 2k/month, I find it hard to find a better general purpose card. Also the 3mpd for FCY helps as I travel a bit. Most other cards have upper limits, whereas this is the only one with a lower limit. Makes life much easier to manage. Yes the renewal benefits aren’t great, but I have millions of evergreen points against the card which makes cancelling it an impossibility. They give me 50k points for renewal, which means I get something as… Read more »
The long forgotten SC PB VI has a mediocre new sign up offer too.
https://www.sc.com/sg/credit-cards/priority-visa-infinite-card/
“Enjoy an elevated banking experience with the Priority Banking Visa Infinite Credit Card.
Apply today and enjoy 5,000 miles¹ when you activate your card. Plus, get an additional 10,000 miles² when you spend S$500 on eligible transactions within 30 days of card approval date.
Promotion is valid from 15 July 2022 to 30 September 2022. Terms and Conditions apply³.”
This is actually better as there is no need to be new to bank and you get 15000 miles for spending $500. Furthermore, annual fee is waived for first year.
Are they strict with the income requirement? If I earn about $55k/annum, will I still be eligible for this card?
has stand chart removed krisflyer from the rewards?