How do UOB’s automatic UNI$ deductions for annual fees work?

UOB cardholders have to be on their toes about a good number of things, one of which is the yearly ritual of an automatic UNI$ deduction to cover a credit card’s annual fee. 

That may come as a surprise to you, but buried away in the T&Cs is a clause that gives UOB the right to dock your UNI$ balance in lieu of a cash payment. 

UOB is the only bank in Singapore with such a practice, and those not in the habit of monitoring their statements may find themselves inexplicably short of miles come redemption time.

In this post, I’ll walk you through the ins and outs of this practice, what to look out for, and how you can protect yourself. 

How many UNI$ are deducted?

Here’s how many UNI$ are charged for a credit card fee waiver:

💳 UNI$ deductions for annual fee^
Card	Annual Fee	Full Waiver*
UOB Lady’s Card	S$194.40	UNI$6,500
UOB Pref. Plat. Visa	S$194.40	UNI$6,500
UOB Visa Signature	S$216	UNI$6,500
UOB PRVI Miles Card	S$259.20	UNI$6,500
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card	S$410.40	UNI$10,000
^I’ve only highlighted the cards relevant to the miles and points game; if you want the full listing, you can find it here. *Half waiver requires 50% of the UNI$ for a full waiver and 50% of the annual fee cash

No fee waivers are available for the following cards:

• UOB Reserve Diamond Card
• UOB Reserve Card
• UOB Visa Infinite
• UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card

As the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card earns KrisFlyer miles instead of UNI$, you’ll be automatically billed the annual fee in cash. 

Here’s the logic for how deductions work: 

• If you have sufficient UNI$ for a full waiver, the full waiver option will be automatically selected
• If you do not have sufficient UNI$ for a full waiver but have sufficient UNI$ for a half waiver, the half waiver option will be automatically selected
• If you do not have sufficient UNI$ for a full or half waiver, the annual fee will be billed in cash

Some of you might be working the sums in your head and thinking, well, if I have a UOB PRVI Miles Card, the S$256.80 annual fee can be waived with UNI$6,500 (13,000 miles). That gives a value of ~2 cents per mile; isn’t that rather decent?

But that’s missing the bigger picture: you shouldn’t be paying the annual fee on most cards anyway (unless we’re talking about cards in the $120K segment, where fees are generally not waivable). Banks earn money every time you swipe their card to pay for something; should you really be paying for that privilege? 

The way I see it, the first best solution should always be to request for an annual fee waiver. And if that’s not granted, I’d much rather cancel the card and reapply sometime down the road. 

When will my UNI$ be deducted?

An easy way of knowing when your UNI$ balance will be hit is to look at the expiry month on your credit card.

In the example above, the expiry month is March, and therefore UNI$ will be deducted on 31 March each year to cover the upcoming year’s annual fee.

How to get an annual fee waiver

When you see a UNI$ deduction for payment of an annual fee, you should request a waiver right away. This can be done via the TMRW app (Android | iOS).

1. Login to the UOB TMRW app
2. Tap Accounts at the bottom of the screen
3. Select the card you wish to request a fee waiver for
4. Tap Settings, then Waive Fees
5. Select Annual Fee and confirm

For avoidance of doubt, you can request a fee waiver this way regardless of whether you’ve been billed in cash, or via a deduction of UNI$.

What if a waiver is granted?

Assuming the waiver request is approved, you’ll see a reversal of the deduction in your monthly card statement. For example, in the screenshot below, UNI$6,500 were deducted for the annual fee, then credited back once the waiver was granted. 

By the way, the refunded UNI$ do not follow the original UNI$ expiry; instead, they come with a fresh 2-year validity. I suppose that’s the silver lining to all this!

What if a waiver is denied?

Assuming the waiver request is rejected, it’s not quite game over yet. Call up UOB customer service and tell them you wish to cancel your card. Sometimes, the CSO can magically conjure a fee waiver out of thin air to retain you!

But even if they don’t, I’d lean towards carrying through with the threat to cancel. Like I said, it just doesn’t make sense to pay the annual fee for most entry-level cards.

Here’s how it works if you’re cancelling the card:

• If this is your last UNI$-earning card, you’ll get a certain number of days (the CSO will state this) to transfer out the UNI$ before the account is closed
• If this isn’t your last UNI$-earning card, you don’t need to do anything since UNI$ all pool into a central account

Conclusion

UOB’s automatic UNI$ deductions for annual fees are a unique quirk of the bank, and tend to catch out many first-time cardholders. 

Fortunately, these can be waived just like an annual fee charged in cash. You just need to be vigilant in monitoring your statement and spotting when it happens!