The Taylor Swift Eras Tour-UOB card presale guide

So, everyone’s favourite ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift is coming to Singapore, and in a coup that must have exceeded their wildest dreams, UOB has secured the exclusive presale rights.

Tickets
Dates	2, 3, 4 March 2024 7, 8, 9 March 2024
Venue	National Stadium Singapore
Price	From S$108 (Ticketmaster) From S$1,080 (Carousell)
Boomers on Facebook complaining how people these days like to waste money and time	Abundant

I am, without a doubt, Taylor Swift’s biggest fan — I love her number one hit Dark Horse!!!* — and if you’re a complete Twistie like me, here’s how to throw your hat into the presale ring. 

*how many letters to the editor am I going to get about this, I wonder.

UOB presale details

While the general sale starts on Friday, 7 July 2023, UOB cardmembers (from Singapore Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, both principal and supplementary) get access to tickets a full 48 hours earlier:

• UOB Cardmembers Presale: 5 July 2023, 12 p.m to 7 July 2023, 9 a.m
• General Sale: 7 July 2023, 12 p.m

Unlike the General Sale, there is no need to register for the UOB Cardmembers Presale. A link to purchase tickets will be published closer to the date. 

Now, if you don’t have a UOB card, you could avail yourself of one of the many HTB (help to buy) offers that have sprung up on Carousell. For the low, low price of S$40 and up, someone with a UOB card will help you buy a ticket, and will totally not flip it for 10X the price to the next highest bidder, trust me bro.

But really? Would you entrust such an important life event to some online rando?

Nah. As Taylor Swift famously sang, “I did it my way”. 

If you want a UOB debit card

UOB Savings Accounts

UOB has warned that it will “take time” to process the surge in credit card applications, and with less than two weeks till the presale begins, some may not fancy rolling the dice (recent data points for UOB credit card applications have cited waiting times of three weeks or more, and this was pre-Swiftmania).

However, the presale is available to both UOB credit and debit cardholders. If all you care about is getting a UOB card, a debit card would be a much faster solution, since there’s no need for the usual range of credit checks. It would also be the better option to take, if you’re the type with no impulse control and can’t handle a credit card.

All you need to do is open a UOB savings account. Once the account is opened, you’ll receive a debit card in the mail within a week or so.

Do note that most accounts will have early closure fees of S$30 if you close them within 6 months of opening.

If you want a UOB credit card

UOB Credit Cards

But debit cards have crappy rewards. If you want to earn serious miles or cashback on your Taylor Swift tickets, a credit card is the way to go.

I’m going to assume that you’re a new-to-bank customer for UOB, defined as someone who:

• Does not currently hold any principal UOB credit cards
• Has not cancelled a principal UOB credit card in the past six months (corporate, debit and supplementary cards do not count)

If so, congratulations! You’re eligible for a UOB sign-up bonus. 

Here’s where regular readers will start sniggering, because “UOB sign-up bonus” is a bit of a loaded term. The bank is fond of running “first X” offers, which cap the maximum number of eligible participants.

It’d be one thing if UOB maintained a real-time tracker showing how many rewards were left in the pool, but they don’t. The system is completely opaque to customers, who have to spend and pray that they’re within the first X. It’s an all-or-nothing approach, and pretty much gambling.

But, every once in a while, the bank bumps its head a little too hard and decides to run some uncapped offers, where everyone who meets the eligibility criteria gets a gift (what a novel idea!).

Here’s the current list of uncapped sign-up offers, valid for new-to-bank UOB customers.

Card	Welcome Gift	Remarks
UOB Absolute Cashback Card  First Year Free  Apply	10% cashback	Valid on spend within first 30 days, capped at S$100
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card  First Year Free  Apply	25,000 miles	Min. S$2K spend within 60 days of approval
UOB PRVI Miles AMEX Apply	45,200 miles	Min. S$1K spend per month for 2 consecutive months. S$259.20 annual fee must be paid
UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard Apply
UOB PRVI Miles Visa Apply
UOB VI Metal Card Apply	80,000 miles + S$200 Grab vouchers	Min. S$4K spend within first 30 days. S$648 annual fee must be paid

Your spend on Taylor Swift tickets will, of course, count towards the minimum spend required for the welcome offer.

If you’re browsing the UOB website, you might see some eye-catching offers for the UOB EVOL Card (Apple Watch SE 2nd Gen!) or UOB Lady’s Card (S$350 Grab vouchers!). 

Apply if you want to, but be warned that these offers are capped. If you’re not among the first X, you don’t just end up empty-handed, you also don’t count as new-to-bank anymore, so say goodbye to other UOB sign-up offers too!

One more thing: I know some of you might be thinking that two is better than one, but you only count as new-to-bank for the first card you apply for. You’ll get the welcome offer for the first approved card, and nothing on the second.

As for how long your application will take to process, only UOB knows. The most you can do to expedite the process is to apply via SingPass MyInfo; I seriously doubt that heading down to a UOB branch will help.

If you want the best of both worlds

What if you want all the benefits of a credit card, but don’t want to gamble with the wait?

One workaround is to open a secured credit card instead. These cards are backed by a fixed deposit collateral of at least S$10,000, and the bank will allocate a certain percentage of the collateral as the credit limit. Again, the approval process should (in theory at least) be faster because there’s no credit check necessary- it’s kind of like a supercharged debit card.

Do note that you’ll need to visit a physical UOB branch in order to open a secured credit card.

Which card should you use?

Tickets for the Taylor Swift Eras tour will be sold via Ticketmaster, which codes as MCC 7922 (Theatrical Producers (Except Motion Pictures), Ticket Agencies).

The following UOB cards would earn the highest rewards on such transactions:

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card Apply	6 mpd	Capped at S$3K per c. month, choose Entertainment as bonus category
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	6 mpd	Capped at S$1K per c. month, choose Entertainment as bonus category
UOB Pref. Plat. Visa Apply	4 mpd	Capped at S$1.1K per c. month
UOB EVOL Card Apply	8% cashback	Min. S$600 per s. month, capped at S$20
c. month= calendar month | s. month = statement month

I’m partial to the UOB Lady’s Cards, which will earn 6 mpd on Ticketmaster provided you select Entertainment as your quarterly bonus category.

But these are only open to female applicants. If you lack the right, um, qualifications, your next best bet is the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, which will earn 4 mpd on Ticketmaster transactions. 

If you like cashback (why?), the UOB EVOL Card will earn 8% cashback on online transactions, provided you spend at least S$600 per statement month. However, this is capped at just S$20, and when you read the T&Cs and do the math, you’ll realise the highest effective cashback you can earn with this card is actually 6.7%.

What you should know about UOB cards

While I generally like my UOB cards, they do have some hairpulling shenanigans that can catch out first-time users. None of these are deal-breakers, in and of themselves, but it still pays to be informed.

For the full list of things you should pay attention to, refer to the post below.

Gotcha: What you should know about UOB’s sneaky T&Cs

Conclusion

UOB credit and debit cardholders get early access to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets, starting from 5 July 2023.

If you don’t have a card yet, the quickest solution would be to open a savings account for a debit card. A credit card would offer richer rewards, but with the flood of applications, there’s a possibility it may not be arrive in time. Alternatively, you can open a secured credit card to get the best of both worlds, though this will require you to commit to a fixed deposit of at least S$10,000 plus visit a physical UOB branch.

Good luck, fellow Starbucks lovers!