UOB PRVI Miles Card offering 45,200 miles sign-up bonus

UOB is running a new sign-up bonus on its PRVI Miles Cards, which runs from now till 31 March 2023. 

While we did see some no-cap offers in 2022, UOB is going with a hybrid this time round. A total of 45,200 miles are up for grabs, of which 20,000 are guaranteed, and 25,200 are a roll-the-dice affair.

UOB PRVI Miles offering 45,200 miles sign-up bonus

Details

UOB markets this as a 50,000 miles sign-up bonus because they include 4,800 base miles from S$2,000 spent in foreign currency (@ 2.4 mpd) If you spend the S$2,000 locally (@ 1.4 mpd), your total haul will be 48,000 miles

New-to-bank UOB PRVI Miles Cardmembers who apply and get approved from 1-31 March 2023 will enjoy up to 45,200 bonus miles, split into:

• a guaranteed 20,000 miles for any customer who pays the S$259.20 annual fee
• a non-guaranteed 25,200 miles for spending S$1,000 per month for two consecutive months (first 200 customers only)

Assuming the S$2,000 minimum spend is clocked locally, a further 2,800 base miles (@ 1.4 mpd) will be earned. If the minimum spend is clocked overseas, a further 4,800 (@ 2.4 mpd) base miles will be earned.

For avoidance of doubt, there is no need to participate in both components of the offer. You can choose to take the annual fee bonus without the spending bonus, or the spending bonus without the annual fee bonus. 

This offer applies to all three versions of the UOB PRVI Miles Card, namely:

• UOB PRVI Miles American Express
• UOB PRVI Miles World Mastercard
• UOB PRVI Miles Visa

Annual fee bonus (All)

Cardholders who pay the first year’s S$259.20 annual fee will receive UNI$10,000 (20,000 miles). There is no cap on the number of cardholders who can receive this bonus. 

Since the first-year annual fee is waived by default, cardholders must opt in by sending the following SMS to 77862 by 30 April 2023.

S$259.20 for 20,000 miles works out to 1.30 cents per mile, which is one of the cheapest opportunities to buy miles on the market right now.

Spending bonus (First 200)

The first 200 cardholders who spend S$1,000 in eligible transactions per month for two consecutive months following approval will receive UNI$12,600 (25,200 miles)

For example, if your card is approved on 10 March 2023, you will need to fulfil the minimum spend criteria as follows:

How do you know if you’re in the first 200? You don’t. All you can do is try to apply as early as you can (and given that we’re already two-thirds through the month, I can’t say your chances are the best), make the spend and pray that the miles show up eventually, with very little transparency around the process. 

What counts as qualifying spend?

Eligible transactions include all retail transactions in local or foreign currency, and a full list of exclusions can be found here. 

The key exclusions to highlight are:

• Charitable donations
• Education
• Government payments
• Hospitals
• Insurance
• Prepaid account top-ups (e.g. GrabPay or YouTrip)
• Utilities

Supplementary cardholder spending will be pooled with the principal cardholder’s in determining if the minimum spend has been met. And before you say “isn’t that obvious?”, remember that UOB is not above such shenanigans.

When will the bonus miles be credited?

Annual fee bonus

The S$259.20 annual fee will be posted to your account by 22 May 2023, and the UNI$10,000 will be credited by 31 May 2023.

Spending bonus

The UNI$12,600 from meeting the 2x S$1,000 minimum spend will be credited by 30 June 2023.

Terms and Conditions

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

Overview: UOB PRVI Miles Card

UOB PRVI Miles Cards are issued across all three networks: American Express, Mastercard, and Visa. Earn rates are the same for all (1.4 mpd local, 2.4 mpd overseas), though the American Express version has two unique features:

• 20,000 bonus miles for spending at least S$50,000 in a membership year
• Complimentary airport limo transfers with a minimum spend of S$1,000 in foreign currency per calendar quarter

As a reminder, UOB UNI$ can be converted to either KrisFlyer or Asia Miles at a 1 UNI$= 2 miles ratio, with a S$25 conversion fee.

Be sure to check out my full review of the UOB PRVI Miles Card below.

Review: UOB PRVI Miles Card

Conclusion

UOB is offering a hybrid sign-up bonus for March, with all applicants entitled to purchase 20,000 miles for S$259.20, and 200 lucky ones getting a further 25,200 miles spending bonus with S$1,000 spend per month for two consecutive months. 

If you think your miles balance could use a shot in the arm, paying 1.30 cents per mile isn’t the worst way of going about it. I’m less sanguine about your prospects for the spending bonus, however, and this shouldn’t be your main reason for signing up for the card.