Review: UOB PRVI Miles Card

The UOB PRVI Miles Card offers good earn rates and an excellent airport limo benefit, though UOB's shenanigans are an ever-present annoyance.

Here’s The MileLion’s review of the UOB PRVI Miles Card, which UOB often markets as “the highest limitless miles card” in Singapore.

That’s technically true, but as competitors raise their game, UOB has found itself having to add more and more caveats to that claim. The current iteration is something of a mouthful!

  “Highest limitless miles card” refers to the highest miles earn rate on general eligible spending in comparison with other comparable entry-level non-premium miles credit cards in Singapore that award miles with no minimum spend and no cap on miles earned, as of 31 December 2023.

But fine. The earn rates are indeed as good as it gets for an entry-level general spending card, and since UNI$ pool with other high-earning options like the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, UOB Visa Signature, and UOB Lady’s Card, the UOB PRVI Miles can help anchor a UOB-centric card strategy. And if you have the AMEX version, you might be surprised to know that the airport limo benefit is one of the best in the market, beating even more expensive premium cards!

It’s not all smooth sailing. You’ll need to get comfortable with UOB’s penchant for hijinks, whether it’s punitive rounding policies, non-miles accruing UOB$ merchants, automatic UNI$ deductions for annual fees, and “first X” sign-up bonuses.

But assuming that’s not a deal-breaker, then you’ll find this to be one of the better general spending cards out there- not essential, but certainly worth a look. 

UOB PRVI Miles Card
๐Ÿฆ MileLion Verdict
โ˜ Take It
โ˜‘ Take It Or Leave It
โ˜ Leave It

What do these ratings mean?
The UOB PRVI Miles Card offers good earn rates and an excellent airport limo benefit, though UOB’s shenanigans are an ever-present annoyance.
๐Ÿ‘ The good ๐Ÿ‘Ž The bad
  • Highest earn rates of any entry-level general spending card
  • AMEX version offers probably the best airport limo benefit on the market
  • Periodic bonus miles offers
  • S$5 earn blocks, UOB$ merchants, automatic UNI$ deductions and all of UOB’s usual gotchas
  • 2-year points expiry
  • No miles with annual fee payment
  • No airport lounge access
๐Ÿ’ณ Full List of Credit Card Reviews

Overview: UOB PRVI Miles Card

Let’s start this review by looking at the key features of the UOB PRVI Miles Card. 

Apply (AMEX)
Apply (MC)
Apply (Visa)
Income Req. S$30,000 p.a. Points Validity 2 years
Annual Fee S$261.60
(FYF Option)
Min.
Transfer
5,000 UNI$
(10,000 miles)
Miles with
Annual Fee
N/A Transfer
Partners
3
FCY Fee 3.25% Transfer Fee S$25
Local Earn 1.4 mpd Points Pool? Yes
FCY Earn 2.4 mpd
Lounge Access? No
Special Earn 6 mpd on Agoda, Expedia Airport Limo? Yes 
(AMEX only)
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The UOB PRVI Miles is issued across all three card networks: American Express, Mastercard, and Visa.

Income requirements, annual fees, earn rates and all other features are the same for all, 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

I’ll discuss these in more detail below. 

How much must I earn to qualify for a UOB PRVI Miles Card?

Once upon a time, the UOB PRVI Miles Card had an annual income requirement of S$80,000. However, the requirement was gradually lowered, and today the card has been repositioned at the S$30,000 entry-level segment.

If you don’t meet the income requirement, you can place a S$10,000 fixed deposit with UOB and get a secured version of the card. Visit any UOB branch for further information. 

How much is the UOB PRVI Miles Card’s annual fee?

  Principal Card Supp. Card
First Year Free First 1 free, S$130.80 after
Subsequent S$261.60 First 1 free, S$130.80 after

While other general spending cards like the Citi PremierMiles and DBS Altitude carry S$196.20 annual fees, the UOB PRVI Miles Card is slightly more expensive. 

Principal cardholders are charged S$261.60 per year, with the first year waived. There is a perpetual fee waiver for the first supplementary card, and a S$130.80 annual fee for the second card onwards.

Most general spending cards charge you an annual fee if you don’t hit a minimum annual spend, but award you some miles in return. With UOB, it’s the opposite:

  • If you spend at least S$50,000 in a membership year on the UOB PRVI Miles AMEX, your annual fee will be waived and you’ll receive 20,000 miles. This will be credited in the form of 10,000 UNI$ within two statement periods from the card’s anniversary date
  • If you fall short of the threshold, or if you hold the UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard or UOB PRVI Miles Visa, you’ll be billed the annual fee at the start of the second year with no miles to show for it. 

Fee waivers are possible, but be warned that UOBโ€™s default behaviour is to automatically deduct your UNI$ come renewal time to cover the annual fee.

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

When the time comes for renewal, you will either be charged: 

  1. 6,500 UNI$ for a full waiver
  2. 3,250 UNI$ + S$130.80 for a half waiver
  • If you have at least 6,500 UNI$ in your account, you will be charged (i)
  • If you have less than 6,500 UNI$ but more than 3,250 UNI$, you will be charged (ii)
  • If you don’t have at least 3,250 UNI$, you’ll be charged the S$261.60 annual fee in cash.

It’s up to you to monitor your statement and request a waiver when this happens. Look at the expiry date on your credit card; the month corresponds to the month your annual fee will be charged. 

For what it’s worth, if UOB subsequently grants you a fee waiver, the reinstated UNI$ will have a fresh 2-year validity, so that’s something I guess!

What welcome offers are available?

T&Cs

New-to-bank customers who apply for a UOB PRVI Miles Card will enjoy up to 45,200 bonus miles, split into:

  • 20,000 miles for paying the first year’s S$261.60 annual fee
  • 25,200 miles for spending S$1,000 per month for two consecutive months

This works out to a cost of 0.58 cents per mile, and one of the better offers you’ll see for a UOB card.

โ“ New-to-bank

New-to-bank customers are defined as those who:

  • do not currently hold any principal UOB credit card, and
  • have not cancelled a principal UOB credit card within the past 6 months

There is no cap on the maximum customers eligible for either component. However, you must be approved by the end of the month in which you apply, so don’t leave your application till the last minute.

The S$2,000 minimum spend will earn:

  • 2,800 base miles, if spent locally @ 1.4 mpd
  • 4,800 base miles, if spent overseas @ 2.4 mpd

UOB assumes the latter scenario in its marketing, which is why you’ll see claims of a 50,000 miles sign-up bonus (45,200 bonus + 4,800 base) on its website.

How many miles do I earn?

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ SGD Spend ๐ŸŒŽ FCY Spend โญ Bonus Spend
1.4 mpd 2.4 mpd 6 mpd on Agoda & Expedia

SGD/FCY Spend

UOB PRVI Miles Card members earn:

  • UNI$3.5 for every S$5 spent in Singapore Dollars
  • UNI$6 for every S$5 spent in foreign currency (FCY)

1 UNI$ is worth 2 airline miles, so that’s an equivalent earn rate of 1.4 mpd for local spending, and 2.4 mpd for FCY spending.

This is the highest earn rate for any general spending card at the S$30,000 income level, but be warned! You might be earning less than you think on smaller transactions, due to UOB’s nasty rounding policy (more on that below).

๐Ÿ’ณ Earn Rates for General Spending Cards
(income req.: S$30K)
Cards Local Spend FCY Spend
UOB PRVI Miles 1.4 mpd 2.4 mpd
HSBC TravelOne Card 1.2 mpd 2.4 mpd
DBS Altitude 1.3 mpd 2.2 mpd
OCBC 90ยฐN Card 1.3 mpd 2.1 mpd
Citi PremierMiles 1.2 mpd 2 mpd
StanChart Journey 1.2 mpd 2 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend 1.2 mpd 2 mpd*
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card 1.1 mpd 2 mpd*
BOC Elite Miles 1 mpd 2 mpd
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card 1.2 mpd 1.2 mpd
*In June and Dec only, otherwise 1.1 mpd

All FCY transactions are subject to a 3.25% fee, which is par the course for the market.

๐Ÿ’ณ FCY Fees by Issuer and Card Network
Issuer โ†“ MC & Visa AMEX
Standard Chartered 3.5% N/A
American Express N/A 3.25%
Citibank 3.25% N/A
DBS 3.25% 3%
HSBC 3.25% N/A
Maybank 3.25% N/A
OCBC 3.25% N/A
UOB 3.25% 3.25%
BOC 3% N/A
CIMB 3% N/A

With a 3.25% fee, using your UOB PRVI Miles Card overseas represents buying miles at 1.35 cents each. 

Unfortunately, there’s another UOB quirk here. While other banks define overseas transactions simply as those charged in currencies other than Singapore Dollars, UOB further requires that the payment gateway be overseas. As per the T&Cs:

For the avoidance of doubt, card transactions made overseas but effected/charged in Singapore dollars and online transactions effected in Singapore dollars or in foreign currencies at merchants with payment gateway in Singapore will not be treated as overseas transactions and will earn UNI$3.5 per S$5 spend

In other words, if you’re shopping on an online website which bills you US$100 (~S$140), but processes the payment within Singapore (Hotels.com is an example), you’ll earn miles at the local spending rate of 1.4 mpd.

How do you know where the payment processing is done? You don’t. This is something you’ll just have to learn as you go along, by tracking your points carefully.

UOB$ merchants

Another thing to be on your toes about is UOB$ merchants, because UOB PRVI Miles Cardholders will not earn any UNI$ for transactions here (with the exception of UOB PRVI Miles AMEX, which does not participate in the UOB$ scheme).

UOB$ is UOB’s card-wide cashback programme and includes Cold Storage, Crystal Jade, Giant, Guardian, Starbucks and Toast Box, among others

Here’s the latest list of UOB$ merchants, current as of July 2024.

Dining

Dining

Merchant Rebate Remarks
8 Degrees Taiwanese Bistro 5%
  • 37 Teck Chye Terrace
  • 20 Foch Rd
A&A Bistro & Cafรฉ 3%
  •  2 Havelock Rd
Aburi-EN 3%
  • Isetan Scotts
  • Paragon
  • Nex
  • Northpoint City 
Bee Cheng Hiang 2%
  • Except Takashimaya , Jewel, Changi Airport
Bonchon 5%  
BreadTalk 3%  
Canadian 2 for 1 Pizza 5%
  • 369 Sembawang Rd
  • 533 Choa Chu Kang St 51
  • 557 Jurong West St 42
Canteen by Trapeze Rec. Club 3% 5% rebate for UOB reserve
Carl’s Jr 3%  
Cellarbration 3%  
Cinnabon 5%  
Co Chung 10%
  • Plaza Singapura
Crystal Jade Group 3%
  • Except Changi Airport
Dirty Supper 3%  
Famous Kitchen 5%  
Famous Palace 5%  
Famous Treasure 5%  
Feng Tian Xiao Chu 5%
  • 582 Geylang Rd
Francesca’s 5%
  • 313 @ Sommerset 
Hang Heung 5%  
Hard Rock Cafe 3%  
Hei Sushi 3%  
House of Seafood 3%
(cap S$60)
  • The Riverwalk
House of White Beehoon 3%
  • The Punggol Settlement 
I.N.U Cafe and Boutique 5%
  • 530 Balestier Rd
Ivins 3%
(cap S$50)
 
Jia He Xing 3%  
Kinara Contemporary Indian Cuisine 10%
  • 164 Upper East Coast Rd 
Kinara North West 10%
  • 55 Boat Quay 
Kyojo Dining 5%
  • Claymore Connect 
Little Italy 10%
  • 297 Tanjong Katong Rd
  • 160 Changi Rd 
MOA Restrobar 3%
(min. S$40)
  • 61 Robinson Rd
Mr Biryani 3%
  • 11 Chander Rd
  • 32 Norris Rd 
Mr. Coconut 2%
  • Except Jewel 
Mun Zuk 5%
  • Velocity
Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant 5%
  • Far East Plaza
  • Chinatown Point
Nong Geng Ji 5%
  •  VivioCity
Orchid Live Seafood 3%
(cap S$30)
  • HomeTeamNS
OSO Ristorante 5%
  • Oasia Hotel Downtown 
PastaGo 2%  
Patisserie G 5%
  • Downtown Gallery
  • Millennia Walk 
Pearl Hill Garden Restaurant 5%
  • 175A Chin Swee Rd 
Polar Puffs and Cakes 2%  
Potato Corner 3%  
Sakae Sushi 3%  
Salmon Samurai 3%
  • Except 100AM Mall 
Secret Mermaid 3%  
Standing Sushi Bar 3%  
Starbucks 2%
(min. S$10)
  • Except Jewel and Changi Airport
Sushiro 5%  
Swatow Seafood Restaurant 5%
  • 181 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh 
Tangmen Restaurant 5%
  • Orchard Plaza
Tanuki Raw 3%  
Tarte by Cheryl Koh 5%  
Taste of India 5%
(cap S$8)
  • 77 Rangoon Rd
Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant 5%
  • Marina Square 
Tian Tian You Yu 10%
  • 111 Sommerset 
Toast Box 3%  
Yole 10%
  • United Square
  • West Mall 
Yuan Cuisine Group 5%  

Gourmet Dining

Gourmet Dining
Merchant Rebate Remarks
Hortus 3%  
Kappou Miyako 5%
(cap S$100)
  • International Building
Kotuwa 3%  
Meatsmith Little India 3%  
Meatsmith Telok Ayer 3%  
Restaurant Majestic 3%  
The Market Grill & Wine 90 3%  

Groceries

Groceries
Merchant Rebate Remarks
Cold Storage 1%
(min. S$50)

 

Giant 1%
(min. S$50)

 

Jasons Deli 1%
(min. S$50)

 

Lux Retail

Lux Retail
Merchant Rebate Remarks
CDG 10%
(min. S$1.5K)
 
Club21 10%
(min. S$1.5K)
 
DKNY 10%
(min. S$1.5K)
 
Jil Sander 10%
(min. S$1.5K)
 
Mulberry 10%
(min. S$1.5K)
 
Paul Smith 10%
(min. S$1.5K)
 
PLAY CDG 10%
(min. S$1.5K)
 
Sacai 10%
(min. S$1.5K)
 
Stella McCartney 10%
(min. S$1.5K)
 
Thom Browne 10%
(min. S$1.5K)
 

Do note that the earn rate for all of the above merchants will be cut to 5% from 26 October to 31 December 2024, before reverting to 10% from 1 January to 25 April 2025.

Retail and Services

Retail and Services
Merchant Rebate Remarks
Aesthetic Works MediSpa 3%
(min. S$500)
  • Parkway Parade
agnรจs B 5%  
Buff’d Nail Spa 3%  
CASA 3%
  • 15 Kian Teck Crescent
Code Bright Academy 3%  
COSLAB 3%
  • Bukit Panjang Plaza
  • Waterway Point
  • Yew Tee Point
Crocodile 3%  
Delta Dental Surgeons 3%
  • Aperia
Fortune Supermarket 2%  
Gordon Max 3%
  • Wheelock Place
G-Star Raw 5%  
Guardian 1%
(min. S$50)
 
Hall of Fame 6%
  •  VivoCity
Hang Ten 3%
  • 702 AMK Ave 8
  • KINEX
  • Lot One Shopper
  • Lucky Plaza
  • NEX
  • Northpoint Shopping Centre
HoneyWorld 3%  
iRun 6%
  • Queensway Shopping Centre
  • Far East Plaza
  • Peninsula Shopping Complex
Le Coq Sportif 5%
  • Wisma Atria
LFC 6%
  • Bugis Junction
Limited Edt Underground 6%
  • Queensway Shopping Centre
  • VivoCity
  • The Shoppes at MBS
  • 313 @ Sommerset
M)phosis 3%  
Maco Nail Spa 3%  
Miniso 4%  
Mr Jeff 5%
  • Lot One
  • IMM
  • Kallang MRT
  • Tampines Mall
  • 78B Telow Blangah St
  • 19 Eng Kong Terrace
New Era 6%  
Nitori 3%  
Optique Paris Miki 2%  
OZARA 3%
  • Bugis Street
Picota Nail Spa 3%  
Pixie Nail Spa 3%  
Qoosh Nail Spa 3%  
Replay 5%
  • Wisma Atria
Salivan Beauty Clinic 5%
  • Far East Plaza
Sports Fashion 6%
  • Queensway Shopping Centre
Surferโ€™s Paradise 3%
  • Bedok Mall
  • Compass one
  • Eastpoint Mall
  • JCube
  • KINEX
  • Tiong Bahru Plaza
  • Thomson Plaza
  • White Sands
The Stretch Clinic 5%
  • Oxley Tower
Under Armour 6%
  •  Queensway Shopping Centre
Western Corp 6%  
Winter Time 2%  

Travel and Entertainment

Travel and Entertainment
Merchant Rebate Remarks
Cathay Cineplexes 2%  
City Tours 10%
  • Marina Square 

I’ve written about some potential workarounds for UOB$ merchants in the following post.

Workarounds: How to earn miles at UOB$ merchants with UOB cards

Bonuses with OTAs

UOB PRVI Miles Cardholders can enjoy 6 mpd on hotel and flight bookings with Agoda and Expedia.

One caveat: all bookings must be made through special landing pages, which tend to charge higher prices than publicly-available rates for hotels (though not always). Be sure to compare prices before booking, and make sure you’re not overpaying for miles. 

Fortunately, the same rule doesn’t apply for airline tickets, which tend to be more or less the same price as the official website (doesn’t hurt to check though!)

6 mpd with Agoda

UOB x Agoda
T&Cs

UOB PRVI Miles Cardholders will earn 6 mpd on hotel bookings with Agoda, when they book via the special UOB x Agoda landing page.

Bookings and stays must be made and completed by 31 December 2024, and all stays must be prepaid. Bookings where payment is made at the hotel will not be eligible for bonus miles.

Bonus UNI$ will be credited within three months after the stay is completed. 

6 mpd with Expedia

UOB x Expedia
T&Cs

UOB PRVI Miles Cardholders will earn 6 mpd on bookings with selected airlines and hotels, when they book via the special UOB x Expedia landing page.

The following airlines are participating. You won’t find Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific here, but THAI, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways might be useful for someone based in Singapore.

  • Cambodia Airways
  • China Eastern 
  • China Southern
  • EVA Air
  • Finnair
  • Garuda Indonesia
  • Gulf Air
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Korean Air
  • Myanmar Intl Airways
  • Qatar Airways
  • Sichuan Airlines
  • Sri Lankan Airlines
  • THAI
  • Turkish Airlines
  • Xiamen Airlines

Bookings and stays made by 31 December 2024, and all stays must be prepaid. Bookings where payment is made at the hotel will not be eligible for bonus miles.

When are UNI$ credited?

UNI$ are credited when your transaction posts, which generally takes 1-3 working days. 

How are UNI$ calculated?

Here’s how you can work out the UNI$ earned on your UOB PRVI Miles Card

Local Spend Round down transaction to nearest S$5, then divide by 5 and multiply by 3.5. Round down to the nearest whole number
FCY Spend
Round down transaction to nearest S$5, then divide by 5 and multiply by 6. Round down to the nearest whole number

Unfortunately, UOB has one of the most punitive rounding policies in the game, which can adversely affect your earn rates especially on smaller transactions.

UOB first rounds your transaction down to the nearest S$5, divides it by 5, then multiplies the amount by 3.5 UNI$ (assuming it’s a Singapore Dollar transaction). This UNI$ figure is then rounded down again to the nearest whole number. 

So imagine you spent S$9.99 on your UOB PRVI Miles Card. You might figure that’s 14 miles (S$9.99 @ 1.4 mpd), but…

  • The S$9.99 is rounded down to S$5
  • S$5 is awarded 3.5 UNI$
  • 3.5 UNI$ is rounded down to 3 UNI$

You actually earn 3 UNI$ (6 miles), an effective rate of just 0.6 mpd!

This is an extreme example, of course, and the effect of rounding gets smaller as your transaction size increases. But it’s exactly why you should think twice about using your UOB PRVI Miles Card for small transactions that aren’t in S$5 blocks- in fact, the minimum spend required to earn miles is S$5.

๐Ÿš† What about SimplyGo?

If the minimum transaction to earn miles is S$5, then what’s the point of using the UOB PRVI Miles Card with SimplyGo?

Don’t worry. For Mastercard, SimplyGo transactions are batched and posted every 5 days, 21 transactions, or S$15, whichever comes first. For Visa, UNI$ are awarded based on the accumulated SimplyGo spending per calendar month.

So with the exception of extreme circumstances (e.g. where you take just 1-2 rides a month), you’ll definitely earn some miles.

This means that despite having a higher headline rate, you may earn fewer miles on the UOB PRVI Miles Card than the Citi PremierMiles Card depending on transaction size. Consider the following: 

  UOB PRVI Miles
Earn rate: 1.4 mpd
citi premiermiles card reviewCiti PremierMiles
Earn rate: 1.2 mpd
S$5 6 miles 6 miles
S$9.99 6 miles 11 miles
S$15 20 miles 18 miles
S$19.99 20 miles 23 miles
S$25 34 miles 30 miles
S$29.99 34 miles 35 miles
S$35 48 miles 42 miles
S$39.99 48 miles 47 miles

If you’re an Excel geek, here’s the formulas you need to calculate points: 

Local Spend =ROUNDDOWN (ROUNDDOWN (X/5,0) * 3.5,0)
FCY Spend
=ROUNDDOWN (ROUNDDOWN (X/5,0) * 6,0)
Where X= Amount Spent

For the full list of formulas that banks use to calculate credit card points, do refer to these articles:

What transactions aren’t eligible for UNI$?

A full list of transactions that do not earn UNI$ can be found in the T&Cs at Point 1(ii).

I’ve highlighted a few noteworthy categories below:

  • Charitable Donations
  • Education
  • Government Services 
  • Insurance
  • Prepaid account top-ups (e.g. GrabPay, YouTrip)
  • Real Estate Agents & Managers
  • Utilities

UNI$ will be awarded for CardUp transactions, but not ipaymy.

While Amaze* Transit* is on the exclusion list, this only affects transit-related transactions like EZ-Link card top-ups. UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard cardholders can pair their card with Amaze to earn rewards at the local spending rate of 1.4 mpd (since Amaze converts all transactions into SGD).

What do I need to know about UNI$?

โŒ Expiry โ†”๏ธ Pooling โœˆ๏ธ Transfer Fee
2 years Yes S$25
โฌ†๏ธ Min. Transfer โœˆ๏ธ No. of Partners โฑ๏ธ Transfer Time
5,000 UNI$
(10,000 miles)
3 48 hours (KF)

Expiry

UNI$ expire 2 years from the last day of each periodic quarter in which the UNI$ was earned.

Each UNI$ period is calculated commencing from January to December of each calendar year. Expired UNI$ cannot be replaced or reinstated.

Pooling

UNI$ pool across cards. If you have 10,000 UNI$ on the UOB Lady’s Card, and 5,000 UNI$ on the UOB PRVI Miles Card, you can redeem 15,000 UNI$ at one shot and pay a single conversion fee.

It also means that you don’t need to transfer your UNI$ out before cancelling the UOB PRVI Miles Card, assuming it’s not your last UNI$-earning card. 

Transfer Partners & Fees

UNI$ transfer to frequent flyer programs at a 1:2 ratio, with a minimum transfer block of 5,000 UNI$ (let’s ignore AirAsia, because converting points there is like throwing them away):

Frequent Flyer Programme Conversion Ratio
(UNI$: Partner)
krisflyer logo 5,000 : 10,000
asia miles logo 5,000 : 10,000
2,500 : 4,500

Transfers cost S$25 per programme, regardless of how many points are transferred.

UOB also has an auto-conversion option for KrisFlyer, which costs S$50 per year. UNI$ will be automatically converted on the last day of the calendar month, in blocks of UNI$2,500 (half the regular conversion block).

FAQs
T&Cs
Read Point 53-55

However, you’ll need to keep a minimum balance of UNI$15,000 (30,000 miles) in your account at all times. This is a hefty working capital balance! Make what you will of UOB’s reason for this policy…

 

Why must a minimum balance of UNI$15,000 be kept KrisFlyer auto conversion programme?

This is to give card members the flexibility to convert the UNI$ to other items from UOB Rewards Catalogue. Card members can still choose to convert this UNI$15,000 to KrisFlyer miles by the one time miles redemption process through UOB Rewards Catalogue, subjected to S$25 conversion fee and must be in blocks of 10,000 miles.

Cardmembers who wish to make ad-hoc conversions can still do so, subject to the payment of the usual S$25 fee per conversion, in standard blocks of 5,000 UNI$ (10,000 miles).

Here’s the pros and cons of the automatic transfer scheme:

Pros

  • Pay a single fee for 12 automatic conversions a year
  • Reduces the minimum conversion block from 5,000 UNI$ (10,000 KrisFlyer miles) to 2,500 UNI$ (5,000 KrisFlyer miles)

Cons

  • The 3-year expiry on your KrisFlyer miles starts as soon as they are converted. Had you kept your UNI$ on the UOB side, you’d enjoy two extra years of validity
  • Ad-hoc conversions still cost you S$25
  • Only balances in excess of 15,000 UNI$ are converted
  • Effectively locks you into KrisFlyer, as opposed to UOB’s other transfer partners (you can still make ad-hoc conversions to Asia Miles between quarters, but it’s likely you’ll need to end participation in the Automatic Conversion Programme to acquire a critical mass)

Transfer Times

UOB transfers to KrisFlyer are typically completed within 48 hours.

If you need your points credited instantly, you can do so via Kris+. 1,000 UNI$ can be transferred to 1,700 KrisPay miles, which can then be transferred to KrisFlyer miles at a 1:1 ratio. 

S$5 for new Kris+ Users
Get S$5 (in the form of 750 KrisPay miles) when you sign-up with code W644363 and make your first transaction

However, those 1,000 UNI$ would normally have earned you 2,000 KrisFlyer miles, so you effectively take a 15% haircut. Therefore I wouldn’t recommend taking this option, unless you need a small top-up to redeem a flight, or have an orphan UNI$ balance (<5,000 points). 

If you choose to do so nonetheless, do remember that it’s a two-step process:

  1. Transfer UNI$ to KrisPay miles
  2. Transfer KrisPay miles to KrisFlyer miles

Do not forget the second step! If you wait more than seven days, or spend any of the converted KrisPay miles via Kris+, the entire balance will be stuck in the Kris+ app. KrisPay miles expire after six months, and can only be spent at a poor ratio of 150 miles = S$1. 

Other card perks

Buy miles with UOB Payment Facility

UOB Payment Facility

UOB PRVI Miles Cardholders have access to a “no questions asked” Payment Facility that lets them buy unlimited miles at 2.3 cents each, subject to their credit limit.

How it works is that cardholders fill out an online form and specify how much they’d like to charge to the facility, e.g. S$5,000. UOB will then:

  • Deposit S$5,000 into their designated bank account
  • Charge S$5,115 to their card (S$5,000 + 2.3% fee)
  • Award UNI$ at a rate of UNI$2.5 per S$5, or 2,500 UNI$ in total (5,000 miles; the payment facility fee doesn’t earn miles)

Cardholders are then out of pocket S$115, for which they purchased 5,000 miles. This works out to 2.3 cents per mile.

Frankly speaking, 2.3 cents per mile is way above what you should be paying, when you can find cheaper alternatives with services like CardUp and Citi PayAll. 

The only situation where the UOB Payment Facility would make sense is to top off your UNI$ balance to the next 5,000 UNI$ block needed for a transfer.

UOB runs periodic promotions for the UOB Payment Facility which reduce the fee for UOB PRVI Miles Cardholders to 2.1% (there’s one going on right now which ends on 31 December 2024), but even at that price it’s not really worth considering.

Complimentary airport limo (AMEX only)

UOB PRVI Miles AMEX cardholders enjoy complimentary airport limo transfers

Not only is the UOB PRVI Miles AMEX the only S$30,000 credit card to feature a limo benefit, it also has the lowest spending requirement on the market.

By spending S$1,000 in foreign currency (excluding phone, mail or online transactions) in a calendar quarter, cardholders receive two complimentary airport limo transfers to Changi Airport.

This is the lowest spending requirement of any card in Singapore, and even more generous than cards in the $120K segment.

Card Qualifying Spend Cap
Income Req. โ‰ฅS$30K
UOB PRVI Miles AMEX
(T&C)
S$1K (FCY) per quarter for 2 rides 2 per quarter
Income Req. โ‰ฅS$120K
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card
(T&C)
None 1 per year
(can be used worldwide)
HSBC Visa Infinite
(T&C)
S$2K per month for 1 ride
(First 2 [Regular] or 4 [Premier] per year are free)
24 per year
(includes free rides)
Maybank Visa Infinite
(T&C)
S$3K per month for 1 ride
8 per year
Citi Prestige
(T&C)
S$12K per quarter for 2 rides 2 per quarter
OCBC VOYAGE
(T&C)
S$12K per quarter for 2 rides
2 per quarter

Limo services need to be booked at least 2 days in advance of travel. Your card will initially be charged S$45, which will be automatically reimbursed within two months after quarter ends, if the spending criteria is met. In other words, you can ride first, spend later– provided both riding and spending take place in the same quarter.

A maximum of two free rides can be booked per quarter. 

Discounted Grab rides to the airport

While the UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard and Visa don’t have the complimentary limo rides of the AMEX, they do offer S$20 off a Grab ride to/from Changi Airport each month. 

Cardholders first need to register by sending the following SMS to 77862.

๐Ÿ“ฑ SMS to 77862
PMPT<space>Last 4 alphanumeric digits of NRIC/Passport
(Example: If your NRIC is S1234567A send โ€œPMPT 567A”)

Registered cardholders must then spend at least S$1,200 on eligible airline, hotel or travel agent transactions during a calendar month to qualify for the promo code.

Eligible transactions are defined as the following:

  โ€œEligible Transactionsโ€ refers to local and foreign credit card retail transaction(s) made at major airlines, lodging (including hotels), online travel agencies (including online travel aggregators) and/or regular travel agencies with their main business activity classified as airlines, lodging or travel services only (including card-not-present transactions like ecommerce/mail/phone order transactions) and successfully charged to your Card and posted on UOBโ€™s system but shall exclude the Excluded Transactions.

UOB does not provide explicit MCC ranges, but based on my reading, this would include:

Category Examples
Airlines
(MCC 3000-3299, 4511)
Singapore Airlines, Scoot, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines
Hotels
(MCC 3500-3999, 7011)
Airbnb, Hilton, Marriott, Accor, IHG
Travel Agencies
(MCC 4722)
Klook, Pelago, Chan Brothers, EU Holidays

There is no cap on the overall number of redemptions, but each cardholder can only redeem a maximum of one code per month (even if you hold both the PRVI Miles Mastercard and Visa). 

Grab vouchers will be sent out to eligible cardholders in the following month via SMS to the registered mobile number with the bank. 

Complimentary travel insurance

Coverage Amount
Accidental Death S$500,000
Medical Benefits S$50,000
Policy Wording

UOB PRVI Miles Cardholders who charge their air tickets to their credit card will be eligible for complimentary travel insurance. However, coverage does not kick in automatically; they must register via this link at least five working days before departure. 

S$500,000 coverage for accidental death is included, as is S$50,000 coverage for emergency medical assistance, evacuation and repatriation (including due to COVID-19). However, there is no coverage for travel inconvenience like delayed, lost or damaged baggage, missed connections or flight delays.

Therefore, I’d highly recommend getting a comprehensive travel insurance policy instead. 

Bonus miles offers

UOB PRVI Miles Cardholders can look forward to periodic bonus miles offers, which can boost the earn rates significantly. While a minimum spend is usually required, the resulting earn rate can outperform even specialised spending cards.

Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve seen recently:

Terms and Conditions

Summary Review: UOB PRVI Miles Card

Apply (AMEX)
Apply (MC)
Apply (Visa)
๐Ÿฆ MileLion Verdict
โ˜ Take It
โ˜‘ Take It Or Leave It
โ˜ Leave It

As far as general spending cards come, the UOB PRVI Miles Card is a solid option: an uncapped sign-up bonus that lets you buy miles at 0.58 cents per mile, the highest earn rates of any entry-level general spending card, periodic bonus miles offers, and a very generous airport limo benefit (at least for the AMEX version).

At the same time, there are some very annoying gotchas, like S$5 earning blocks, automatic UNI$ deductions for annual fees, non-miles earning UOB$ merchants…I could go on. For some people, that’s the kind of turn-off that makes you look elsewhere (these issues exist with the UOB Lady’s Card, UOB Preferred Platinum Visa and UOB Visa Signature too, but I’m more willing to overlook them because of their 4 mpd earn rates). 

While I don’t believe that you should be putting a lot of spend on a general spending card in the first place, if you need to pick one, you could do far worse. 

So that’s my review of the UOB PRVI Miles Card. What do you think?

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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SQ Flyer

This has come down a long way. Back in the day before all the various category multipliers came about, the PRVI Miles Amex was a leading 1.6/2.8mpd for local and overseas spend respectively.

Wei zong

I wonder what card would be given a 5*

Adam

Maybe a card that has a decent general spend rate, along with a range of 4 mpd bonus categories, uncapped. Something like the UOB krisflyer card without the delayed miles caveat.

Adam

1 star card candidates:
BOC Elite Miles
Krisflyer UOB debit card
UOB Preferred Platinum Mastercard
OCBC Platinum Card

Last edited 4 years ago by Adam
Wilfred

Timely reminder to check my statement for that annual fee and it looks like June is when my annual fee is due, for which they’ve quietly deducted 6000 UNI$

Is UOB worth your time?

They’ve updated the list of merchants on UOB$ programme again. Seems like King Koil and some merchants have been removed and others added

Hawaii

For me, this is a very decent card. If you can hit $50k spend in 1 year, that’s effectively 1.8 miles per dollar for spending $50,000. Forget about all the other “perks” (for me, I never use UOB for them) and just make I don’t use the card for things like utilities or insurance, then it works well for me. No annual fees after $50k spend, so that is the magic number to make this card worth it.

Hawaii

i would say, zero to minimal

CY Lee

But Amex Highflyer limits conversion of 30K miles a year for each Krisflyer account. Spending $50K will take me 3 years to convert to miles.

intransitmostlikely

Looks poor. OCBC Voyage next, please! ๐Ÿ™

Frustrated

Have a very unpleasant experienced with UOB Prvi Miles card. They could not recongised one overseas transaction due to special characters in the merchant name (it is in Swiss) hence no UNI$ rewarded. Have called UOB CS numerous times but they just kept saying have raised this up to their relevant department and no follow up at all. Standard reply is “please allow 5 to 7 working days to get back to you” and when there is no SMS, you called CS and then the cycle repeats. End of the story: Think twice when you decide to use this card… Read more »

Frustrated

Have a very unpleasant experience with UOB Prvi Miles card. They could not recognised one overseas transaction due to special characters in the merchant name (it is in Swiss) hence no UNI$ rewarded. Have called UOB CS numerous times but they just kept saying have raised this up to their relevant department and no follow up at all. Standard reply is โ€œplease allow 5 to 7 working days to get back to youโ€ and when there is no SMS, you called CS and then the cycle repeats. It has been 2 months and it have not been resolved. So you… Read more »

Jem

The limo service is only TO Changi and not from? If itโ€™s to and fro then every trip per quarter is going to be free rides with 1k FCY spent. Since itโ€™s โ€˜pre-chargedโ€™ I book the ride for my trip and then meet the 1k FCY on the trip itself after I am back UOB waives the ride charge?

Evelyn

I read that pairing the card with UOB KrisFlyer account, there will be bonus miles at 5mpd. Is it something new as it was not mentioned here?

Miles and miles

Pretty bad experience. The 3.25% fcy is misleading. They also charge an extra 1.5% or so on the underlying FX. So off market Fx rate and then fee on top. Youโ€™re not getting the miles rate you expect. Anyone else found this? This was confirmed to me on the phone by UOB when I put a NZD transaction through.

yup

Yes there is a 3.25% foreign exchange fee and a 1% cross-border fee for overseas transactions. Amex is the only network that does not charge the 1% cross-border fee.

Aaron Wong

can I apply for all 3 cards and get the sign up bonuses?

Bryan

they are lying on the miles earn rate with Agoda btw, you never get the actual mentioned miles, just a fraction of it. Agoda support as expected try to act blur when you question them on it, or refer you to UOB, basically both point fingers at each other and you don’t actually earn miles at the advertised rate, just a fraction of it!

Jonas

Hi there! Is this card a good choice to use to pay for gym membership packages? My gym doesnโ€™t have contactless payment so the physical card has to be used. That renders my UOB Preferred Platinum useless. My DBS Womenโ€™s World wonโ€™t help either.

Esther Tan

Is it correct never to use Amaze with UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard for overseas spending because the cost per mile without Amaze is lower, if you include the forex charge when using Amaze in the computation?

Dennis C

What’s the simplest way to predict the total foreign currency transaction cost when using UOB PRVI Miles overseas? Is it right that if this total cost is less than 4%, you might still get the cost per mile of the 2.4 mpd below 1.5 cpm? The problem is, this total cost can go to 5.0-5.5% sometimes, sending cpm to 1.8-2.2. Is it safer to just use Wise overseas where you can see the actual mid-market rate being used to fund your Wise card? Using Amaze with a general spend card is not a solution because Amaze total transaction cost can… Read more »

Robochon

The limo service is grab like but cant really complain since its free. It basic and the cars come with ang-kong and the like.

Damien

Just received sms that this card will have lounge privileges. 4 times a year apparently!