At the start of August, DBS unveiled a refresh of the DBS Altitude Card, which saw a slight increase in the local and overseas general spending rates, but a removal of the 3 mpd bonus for online flight and hotel bookings.
As much as I disliked the changes, what really didn’t sit well with me was the way they were communicated- or rather, not communicated. While the bank had teased back on 30 June that changes were coming, it declined to provide anyย details until the changes came into effect on 1 August.ย
Needless to say, that’s far from best practice, and I made my thoughts on the matter very clear. I also reached out to DBS toย clarify what their policy was regarding theย communication of product changes.
Well, there’s a happy ending to this, or at least as happy as one could hope for given the circumstances. The 3 mpd rate for online flights and hotels will still end, but from 1 September 2023. DBS has agreed to honour the rate for the month of August 2023.ย
Per a statement I received from DBS:
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“We are extending the bonus earn rate of up to 3 miles per S$1 (mpd) for online flight & hotel bookings to 31 August, to provide our customers with more time to adjust to the revised card proposition, which includes the cessation of the bonus earn rate. All eligible spending for online flight & hotel bookings from 1 August to 31 August will still be awarded the accelerated earn rate of up to 3mpd, capped at S$5,000 per calendar month. The bonus miles will be credited by 31 October. From 1 August onwards, DBS Altitude cardholders can enjoy a higher earn rate on local and overseas spend (from 1.2 to 1.3 miles for local spend and 2 to 2.2 miles for overseas spend). With this, we hope to benefit more of our DBS Altitude cardholders and help them to accumulate miles at a faster rate.” -DBS |
DBS Altitude Card offering 3 mpd for flights & hotel bookings in August
Effective immediately, DBS has restored the DBS Altitude Card’s bonus earn rate of 3 mpd for online flight and hotel bookings till 31 August 2023.ย
For avoidance of doubt, the change will be backdated to 1 August 2023. If you were one of those who charged a flight or hotel booking to your Altitude Card in the wee hours of the morning on 1 August,ย then cursed your luck when you saw the news, you’ll be made whole.
Where online flight and hotel bookings are concerned, DBS historically credited the base miles upfront, with the bonus component by the end of the following calendar month. This time round, it’ll work slightly differently- probably because DBS needs to make manual adjustments on the back-end.ย
| Online flight & hotel booking in… | Base Miles | Bonus Miles (credited by 31 Oct 23) |
| SGD | 1.3 mpd | 1.7 mpd |
| FCY | 2.2 mpd | 0.8 mpd |
Cardholders will continue to earn the base miles upfront for their online flight or hotel booking:
- 3.25 DBS Points per S$5 spent in local currencyย (1.3 mpd)
- 5.5 DBS Points per S$5 spent in foreign currencyย (2.2 mpd)
The bonus component will be credited by 31 October 2023, two months later:
- 4.25 DBS Points per S$5 spent in local currency (1.7 mpd)
- 2 DBS Points per S$5 spent in foreign currency (0.8 mpd)
As before, a monthly cap of S$5,000 applies to the bonus component.ย The T&Cs have been updated to incorporate this provision (at point 14).ย
DBS defines online flight and hotel spend as:
| ย | Online retail transactions made at merchants with main business activity classified as flights and/or hotels. DBS determines an online retail transaction based on system indicators. Business classifications and system indicators are both decided by the merchants and their bankers, and passed to DBS when the transaction is posted to the Card. |
There is no explicit list of MCCs, but in practice, this includes:
- all major airlines, such as Singapore Airlines, Scoot, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Qatar Airways
- online travel agents such as Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, and Klook
- all major hotel chains, such as Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott
- Airbnb
All other key features of the Altitude Card remain unchanged:
- DBS Points earned on the Altitude Card never expire
- DBS Altitude AMEX and Visa Cardholders receive 10,000 bonus milesย (in the form of 5,000 DBS Points) for paying the S$194.40 annual fee
- DBS Altitude AMEX and Visa Cardholders earn 6 mpd on Expediaย andย 10 mpd on Kaligo till 31 March 2024 (with a further extension likely, based on historical precedent)
- DBS Altitude Visa Cardholders receive two free lounge visitsย each membership year via Priority Pass
What about the further changes from February 2024?
DBS initially positioned the refreshed Altitude Card as an intermediate iteration, with new card benefits to come from 1 February 2024.ย
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What are the card benefits from 1 February 2024? Watch this space in January 2024! We will be sharing more details on the card benefits you can enjoy from 1 February 2024. |
However, all references to this have now been removed from the landing page and FAQs.ย
I’m not quite sure what’s going on here; whether the February 2024 changes have been cancelled altogether and what you see is the final DBS Altitude Card, or whether DBS still plans to go ahead with them.
If it’s the latter, I’m hoping that this incident meansย we can expect DBS to be more upfront inย communicating the full details of any changes, at least 30 days in advance.ย
Conclusion
DBS has decided to walk back its immediate nerf of the Altitude Card’s bonuses for online flight and hotel bookings, retaining the 3 mpd earn rate on up to S$5,000 of spending until 31 August 2023.ย
That’s probably what they should have done in the first place, but all the same I’m glad to see them taking feedback on board.
Don’t forget that there are other options for flight and hotel bookings that can earn 4-6 mpd, although the Altitude’s hefty S$5,000 monthly cap acts as a useful sponge for such transactions.
For avoidance of doubt, if I were to sign a new card as existing DBS customer (under ALTMEXAW) today, 3mpd for online flight and hotel should still apply right?
This is amazing! When you managed to make an impact and get orgs to recognise what they do ain’t well-received by the masses! Thanks for being our voice!
Great investigative journalism that actually had an impact on the industry! Aaron you are a special one โค๏ธ
DBSโ email seems an attempt to directly contradict you, and sounds very fishy. The opening sentence says:
โOn 30 June 2023, we announced on our website the following changes that would be effective 1 August 2023:
1) From 1 August 2023, you can enjoy boosted earn rates on your daily spend, including both local and overseas spend (made in foreign currency)โฆโ
Yes, I realised that. All I can say is the facts are the facts
In the email DBS claims: โOn 30 June 2023, we announced on our website the following changes that would be effective 1 August 2023: 1) From 1 August 2023, you can enjoy boosted earn rates on your daily spend, including both local and overseas spend (made in foreign currency) 2) For online flight and hotel spend, we will be ceasing the bonus earn rate of 3 miles per S$1.โ They are trying to push the narrative that they announced the changes in detail on 30 June 2023, which they did not; back then, they merely said โwatch this space for… Read more »
I had a little chuckle when I read that. Ah well.
It would be nice also, if they learnt how to do a reversal transaction properly and not double-dip on the DCC charge instead. But I guess something is better than nothing.
Aaron, thanks for doing what you do. Keep up the good work.
I am sure the update was due to your articles so thank you very much!
Good job Aaron – I am sure it was your actions that made them go back.
Can you update the which card to use page please?