DCS Imperium World Elite Card: Diner’s Club has a S$3,551 credit card now?!

If there’s a term you probably won’t associate with DCS Card Centre (formerly known as Diner’s Club, currently known as Tin Pei Ling’s employer), it’s premium.

No disrespect to the venerable brand, but when your cobrand tie-ups are with the likes of Popular, Sheng Siong and Mustafa, the last thing you expect is an invite-only, ultra high-end metal card with an annual fee of S$3,551.

And yet that’s exactly what’s happened, with the launch of the DCS Imperium World Elite Card.

💳 DCS Imperium Card

Indulge in the epitome of luxury with the DCS Imperium World Elite Card, a pinnacle of refined luxury crafted exclusively for those who quietly enjoy the finer things in life. Imperium, a name embodying absolute power, while the Chinese name 御 embodies royalty, speaks of how you too can enjoy the experiences reserved for a very select few. Experience a world where luxury seamlessly intertwines with your inherent desire to remain humble. Explore the exclusive rewards that await you, as you wield the Imperium card, which helps you subtly live a life fit for sovereignty.

This is a card that’s quite literally bespoke to the owner, from the personalised name engraving, right down to the ability to select the last four digits of the card number (presumably a benefit for those superstitious about that sort of thing).

At first I thought it was a gag, a viral marketing campaign to drive home the whole “we still exist” message (their words, not mine). But since the Imperium appears to be very much real, let’s look at what benefits DCS has in store for those who “quietly enjoy the finer things in life”.

Overview: DCS Imperium World Elite Card

More Info
Income Req.	By invitation only	Points Validity	No expiry
Annual Fee	S$3,551.04	Min. Transfer	?
Miles with Annual Fee	N/A	Transfer Partners	?
FCY Fee	3.25%	Transfer Fee	?
Local Earn	1.6 mpd	Points Pool?	No
FCY Earn	2.4 mpd	Lounge Access?	Yes
Special Earn	2.4 mpd at Aimo Haute Jewelry	Airport Limo?	Yes
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The DCS Imperium World Elite Card is made of metal, by invitation only, and has a non-waivable annual fee of S$3,551.04 (increasing to S$3,583.92 from 1 January 2024). 

That figure should cause you to drop your monocle in shock, because DCS isn’t just gunning for premium- they’re going right for the rarefied air occupied by the likes of the DBS Insignia and UOB Reserve!

💳 Elite Card Annual Fees
Cards	Annual Fee
AMEX Centurion	S$7,560
Citi ULTIMA	S$4,199
UOB Reserve	S$3,888
DCS Imperium	S$3,551.04
DBS Insignia	S$3,240

So with an annual fee like that, the benefits should be equally eye-popping, right? Well, you’d be surprised….

Earn Rates

DCS Imperium Cardholders earn:

• 4 Imperium Points per S$1 spent in SGD (1.6 mpd)
• 6 Imperium Points per S$1 spent in FCY (2.4 mpd)

Imperium Points are the currency of the soon-to-be-launched Imperium Rewards System, and do not expire. Oddly, you’re also capped at holding a maximum of 2 million Imperium Points (800,000 miles) at any time. I can’t imagine why they’d have such a rule, unless perhaps their IT systems are too antiquated to handle numbers larger than that?

At the time of writing, we still do not know:

• What frequent flyer programmes Imperium will partner with
• What the minimum conversion blocks will be
• What the conversion fees will be
• How long conversions will take
• Alternative non-miles redemption options 

DCS imposes a 3.25% FCY fee on all overseas transactions, and there’s no way of avoiding that fee since Amaze is on the exclusions list. Also excluded are standard things such as charitable donations, education, hospitals, insurance premiums and government payments.

DCS Imperium Card benefits

The DCS Imperium doesn’t offer any miles with sign-up or renewal, but how’s this for a welcome gift: the first 100 applicants will receive a bottle of Tomatin 3388 Single Malt Scotch Whisky, estimated to be worth S$2,000.

I know close to nothing about whisky (other than some people get really triggered when you don’t spell it as whiskey), though if the list price is anywhere close to what they say it is, that goes some way to offsetting the annual fee.

But perhaps not far enough, because most of the other perks that DCS is promoting are generic World Elite Mastercard benefits:

• Six annual lounge visits per calendar year
• One complimentary global limo transfer per calendar year
• HoteLux Elite Plus membership
• Free 3GB Flexiroam package
• Four complimentary golf games per calendar year
• Wyndham Rewards Diamond status match
• Mastercard One Dines Free programme
• Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts Collection
• Held Tables for reservations at >600 dining venues worldwide

Other perks like an invitation to the Venice Film Festival or Roland Garros are also teased, but these are almost certainly part of the Mastercard priceless platform, and not a unique perk of the DCS Imperium. 

So what isn’t a generic Mastercard benefit then?

Four local limo transfers

Principal cardholders are entitled to four complimentary local airport transfer services per year, with no minimum spend required. 

Personalised card number

It feels like a stretch to call this a benefit, but let’s entertain the thought anyway.

At the time of application, customers will be able to choose from a list of “Golden Numbers” to personalise the last four digits of their card, much like signing up for a new mobile phone line. This perk is not applicable for lost card replacements though, so if you lose your card, there goes your luck in more ways than one.

Aimo Haute Jewelry

DCS Imperium Cardholders enjoy 12% off purchases and will earn 2.4 mpd on all transactions at Aimo Haute Jewelry. 

I suppose the mere fact I’ve not heard of this means I’m the wrong target audience. 

Is that it?

Given the DCS Imperium’s annual fee, I can’t help but feel like I must be missing something. But I’ve scoured the website already, and that’s all there is. 

Now, it’s a free market and of course you’re entitled to charge whatever you want for a credit card. I’m just having trouble wrapping my head around how this costs more than a DBS Insignia, with barely a fraction of the perks. 

Surely DCS isn’t trying to dress up a generic World Elite Mastercard and sell it to people who don’t know they could get the same perks with a S$540 Citi Prestige, right?

Right?

Conclusion

The DCS Imperium Card is a S$3,551 behemoth that’s trying to muscle in on a space few issuers dare to tread. However, given that the vast majority of its perks are generic Mastercard benefits, it’s hard to see anyone giving up their Centurion for this. 

Unless maybe you really want those lucky numbers.

What do you make of the DCS Imperium Card?

(HT: Gerrad)