Review: Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Card

Here’s The MileLion’s review of the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite, which not too long ago was destined for the scrap heap of history. Rumours said that the X Card would soon become the bank’s flagship offering, and sure enough, marketing was discontinued, applications were closed, and the card scrubbed from the internet.

-dramatic pause-

Well, we all know how that turned out. Barely one year later, applications reopened and the StanChart Visa Infinite slid back into the portfolio like nothing ever happened. And, in a stroke of delicious irony, it was the X Card which got sent to the junk pile instead.

But even though the StanChart Visa Infinite may have won the internal battle, on the industry level, it’s far from a winner.

Standard Chartered Visa Infinite
🦁 MileLion Verdict
☐ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☑ Leave It
What do these ratings mean?
With nerfs to its tax payment facility and transfer partners, and other cards stepping up their FCY bonuses, there’s little reason to hold a StanChart Visa Infinite.
👍 The good	👎 The bad
Up to 3 mpd on FCY spend, with no cap Buy low-cost miles with tax payment facility (though not as cheap as before) Non-expiring points	Highest FCY fee on the market at 3.5% Requires min. monthly spend of S$2K to unlock higher earn rates No automatic renewal miles No airport limo benefit Only six free lounge visits 10 transfer partners has been cut to just two Points don’t pool with non-Visa Infinite cards
💳 Full List of Credit Card Reviews

Overview: Standard Chartered Visa Infinite

Let’s start this review by looking at the key features of the StanChart Visa Infinite.

Apply Here
Income Req.	S$150,000 p.a.	Points Validity	No expiry
Annual Fee	S$599.50	Min. Transfer	25,000 points (10,000 miles)
Miles with Annual Fee	35,000 (first year only)	Transfer Partners	2
FCY Fee	3.5%	Transfer Fee	S$27.25
Local Earn	Up to 1.4 mpd	Points Pool?	Yes
FCY Earn	Up to 3 mpd	Lounge Access?	Yes
Special Earn	N/A	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

For clarity, I should state upfront that Standard Chartered actually has two different Visa Infinite cards: a brown card for the general public, and a blue card for priority banking customers (though they can obviously apply for the brown card if they wish).

	SCB Visa Infinite	SCB Priority Visa Infinite
Annual Fee	S$599.50	S$327
Income Req.	S$150K*	S$30K
Local Earn	1.4 mpd^	1 mpd
FCY Earn	3 mpd^	1 mpd
Lounge Visits	6	12 (AUM ≥S$200K) 2 (AUM <S$200K)
*S$30K for Priority Banking customers ^With min. S$2K spend per statement month, otherwise 1 mpd for both

The brown Visa Infinite card, which is the focus of this review, offers better earn rates. However, the blue Priority Visa Infinite card has a lower annual fee and offers as many as 12 lounge visits per year (it was previously up to 24!), provided the cardholder meets the minimum AUM requirement. 

Regardless of which Visa Infinite you choose, it comes in standard plastic cardstock. No reassuring metal clang here!

How much must I earn to qualify for a Standard Chartered Visa Infinite?

The Standard Chartered Visa Infinite has a S$150,000 p.a. income requirement, which is 25% higher than the usual S$120,000 you’d expect for cards in its weight class. It’s not clear how strictly Standard Chartered enforces this requirement, though I have heard anecdotal reports that they’ll accept anyone earning at least S$80,000 per year.

The income requirement is reduced to just S$30,000 p.a. if you’re a StanChart Priority Banking customer, which requires a minimum AUM of S$250,000. 

How much is the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite’s annual fee? 

The Standard Chartered Visa Infinite has an annual fee of S$599.50. Up to five supplementary cards are free for life.

No fee waivers are offered for this card, regardless of how much you spend per year.

Cardholders receive a welcome gift of 35,000 miles, but this only applies in the first year. Officially, there are no miles offered for renewal. I say “officially” because I’ve read reports that those who call in to appeal are sometimes given 25,000 miles. That wouldn’t be enough to retain me, quite frankly, but at least it’s something.

How many miles do I earn?

SGD/FCY Spend

Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Cardholders normally earn:

• 2.5 points for every S$1 spent in Singapore Dollars
• 2.5 points for every S$1 spent in foreign currency (FCY)

5 points are worth 2 airline miles, so that’s an equivalent earn rate of 1 mpd for local and FCY spend. Needless to say, it’s extremely underwhelming- even the much-maligned BOC Elite Miles Card does better!

The picture improves if cardholders spend at least S$2,000 per statement month. In that case, they’ll earn:

• 3.5 points for every S$1 spent in Singapore Dollars
• 7.5 points for every S$1 spent in foreign currency (FCY)

This works out to 1.4 mpd for local and 3 mpd for FCY spend, and for avoidance of doubt, it applies to all spend from the first S$1 onwards, not just the incremental spend above S$2,000. For example, if you spend S$3,000 per statement month, all in local currency, you’ll earn 4,200 miles.

Provided you’re able to meet the minimum spend, this would be the highest-earning card in the $120K segment.

💳 Earn Rates for S$120K Cards (sorted by sum of local and FCY earn rate)
Card	Local	FCY
SCB Visa Infinite	1.4 mpd#	3 mpd#
UOB VI Metal Card	1.4 mpd	2.4 mpd
DBS Vantage	1.5 mpd	2.2 mpd
OCBC VOYAGE	1.3 mpd	2.2 mpd
Citi Prestige	1.3 mpd^	2 mpd^
Maybank Visa Infinite	1.2 mpd	2 mpd
HSBC Visa Infinite	1 mpd	2 mpd
AMEX Plat. Reserve	0.69 mpd	0.69 mpd
^Additional 0.02 to 0.12 mpd awarded based on tenure with bank #With minimum S$2K spend per statement month. Otherwise 1 mpd for both

Is that reason enough to get a Standard Chartered Visa Infinite? Well, if you staunchly insist on using one card for everything and spend big on FCY transactions, maybe. But keep in mind that its star attraction — 3 mpd for overseas spend — comes with a hefty 3.5% FCY fee, the highest in the market.

Considering you could earn 4 mpd on overseas spend by pairing the right card with Amaze and paying an implicit FCY fee of ~2%, it’s hard to swallow.

But what if you’re a big spender and regularly bust the 4 mpd caps on specialised spending cards? Even so, I’d argue that the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature would be the better option. 

	SCB VI	MB Horizon
Annual Fee	S$599.50 (no waiver)	S$196.20 (3 year waiver)
FCY Earn	3 mpd	2.8 mpd
Min. Spend	S$2,000 per s. month	S$800 per c. month
FCY Fee	3.5%	3.25%
Cost Per Mile	1.17	1.16

Maybank Horizon Cardholders earn an uncapped 2.8 mpd on FCY spend provided they spend at least S$800 per calendar month, without the hefty annual fee of the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite. The cost per mile works out to around the same, so it’s the superior option in my opinion. 

And if you’re able to meet a minimum spend of S$4,000 per calendar month instead, then the Maybank World Mastercard offers an uncapped 3.2 mpd on FCY spend, again without the mandatory annual fee of the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite (it also earn an uncapped 4 mpd on petrol in Singapore too!).

	SCB VI	MB World MC
Annual Fee	S$599.50 (no waiver)	S$261.60 (FYF)
FCY Earn	3 mpd	3.2 mpd^
Min. Spend	S$2,000 per s. month	S$4,000 per c. month
FCY Fee	3.5%	3.25%
Cost Per Mile	1.17	1.02
^2.8 mpd if cardholder spends at least S$800 but less than S$4,000 per calendar month

So the FCY earn rate, which was once the trump card of the StanChart Visa Infinite, now looks a lot less impressive when other cards are offering similar or better rates with lower fees. 

When are 360° Rewards Points credited?

Cardholders will initially receive the base rate of 2.5 points per S$1 when the transaction posts. 

If they meet the minimum S$2,000 spend required for the enhanced earn rates, the additional 1/5 points per S$1 will be credited within five days after the end of the statement cycle month.

How are 360° Rewards Points calculated?

Here’s how you can work out the 360° Rewards Points earned on your StanChart Visa Infinite Card:

Regular rate (Monthly spend <S$2K)

The minimum spend to earn points would be S$0.20 (local & FCY).

Regular rate (Monthly spend ≥S$2K)

The minimum spend to earn points would be S$0.20 (local) and S$0.10 (FCY).

For what it’s worth, Standard Chartered has a more forgiving rounding policy than banks like OCBC and UOB, which enables the StanChart Visa Infinite Card to outperform ostensibly higher-earning cards for smaller transactions- even if you’re on the regular rate! 

An illustration is provided below.

	SCB VI 1 mpd	UOB VI Metal  1.4 mpd
S$5	5.2 miles	6 miles
S$9.99	10 miles	6 miles
S$15	15.2 miles	20 miles
S$19.99	20 miles	20 miles
S$25	25.2 miles	34 miles
S$29.99	30 miles	34 miles

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

Regular rate

Step-up rate

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

• General Spending Cards
• Specialised Spending Cards

What transactions aren’t eligible for Rewards Points?

A full list of transactions that do not earn transactions can be found in the T&Cs on page 3, point 6.

I’ve highlighted a few noteworthy categories below:

• Charitable donations
• Education
• Government services 
• GrabPay and YouTrip top-ups
• Insurance premiums

Standard Chartered used to offer rewards for hospitals and utilities as well, but this ended on 3 September 2024. 

For avoidance of doubt, CardUp transactions will earn points, and do count towards the minimum spend for welcome offers.

What do I need to know about Rewards Points?

Expiry

Points earned on the StanChart Visa Infinite Card never expire, so long as the card account remains active.

Pooling

Standard Chartered’s rewards system is rather odd. 

• Points earned on Visa Infinite cards and the Journey card pool
• Points earned on non-Visa Infinite cards pool

In case you’re wondering why the Journey gets to party with the Visa Infinite cards, it’s purely a legacy reason. Remember, the former X Card was a Visa Infinite, so Standard Chartered could hardly “downgrade” all legacy X Card points by putting them on the same scheme as the non-Visa Infinite. 

It used to be the case that all Standard Chartered points pooled, so a cardmember with a non-Visa Infinite card could apply for a Visa Infinite card to “enhance” the value of his non-Visa Infinite points (they enjoy a favourable conversion ratio, as you’ll see below). That is no longer possible.

Transfer Partners & Fees

Standard Chartered used to have 10 different airline and hotel transfer partners, one of the widest ranges in Singapore. 

Unfortunately, that all changed in March 2024, when nine of them were unceremoniously dumped. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles was added, but the overall lineup is a lot thinner than before. 

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (SC Points: Partner)
	Visa Infinite & Journey	All others
	25,000 : 10,000	34,500 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000	34,500 : 10,000

Transfers cost S$27.25 each, regardless of the number of points transferred. 

Transfer Time

Conversions to KrisFlyer miles are generally completed within three working days.

Other card perks

Six complimentary lounge visits

Registration

Principal Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Card cardholders enjoy six complimentary lounge visits per membership year, courtesy of Priority Pass. These visits can be shared with a guest or guests, so a family of three could visit the lounge two times, for example. 

A guest fee of US$35 applies after the free visits have been exhausted.

As far as cards in the $120K segment go, this is woefully uncompetitive. In fact, it would be the second worst option, if not for the Maybank Visa Infinite’s decision to set the bar even lower!

💳 Airport Lounge Benefits (income req.: S$120K)
Card	Lounge Network	Free Visits (Per Year)
		Main	Supp.
HSBC Visa Infinite	LoungeKey	∞	∞ Up to 5 supp. cards
OCBC VOYAGE	Plaza Premium	∞	∞
Citi Prestige	Priority Pass	∞ + 1 guest	N/A
UOB VI Metal Card	Dragon Pass	∞ + 1 guest	N/A
DBS Vantage	Priority Pass	10	N/A
SCB Visa Infinite	Priority Pass	6	N/A
Maybank Visa Infinite	Priority Pass	4	N/A
AMEX Plat. Reserve	N/A	N/A	N/A

Tax payment facility

Tax Payment Facility

The tax payment facility is not available to SC Priority Banking Visa Infinite, SC Journey or SC X Cardholders

For a card so short on benefits, the income tax payment facility is arguably the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite’s ace in the hole.

This allows you to purchase miles by paying your income tax bill. ‘Here’s an illustration of how it works, for a cardholder with a S$10,000 tax bill:

1. Cardholder completes an online application form and uploads a copy of their IRAS NOA
2. S$10,190 is charged to his Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Card (S$10,000 tax due + S$190 admin fee @ 1.9%)
3. S$10,000 will be deposited into his designated bank account within seven business days, with 14,000 miles credited
4. He uses the funds to pay IRAS

Step (4) is optional. Whether or not you pay IRAS with those funds credited is your business. You’re perfectly at liberty to keep your current GIRO payment plan, or even use another bill payment platform like Citi PayAll or CardUp to buy more miles while paying IRAS.

Given a 1.9% admin fee and a 1.4 mpd earn rate, you’re paying 1.36 cents per mile. I’ve confirmed with a Standard Chartered spokesperson that any amounts charged to the tax payment facility will count towards the S$2,000 minimum spend required to trigger the 1.4 mpd earn rate.

However, there are two main drawbacks. 

First, 1.36 cents is a good price, but it used to be even better. Prior to 15 March 2024, the admin fee was 1.6%, which meant a lower cost per mile of 1.14 cents each!

Second, the number of miles you can buy is limited by the amount on your NOA. In our example of a taxpayer with a S$10,000 bill, the maximum miles he can buy is 14,000 (@ 1.4 mpd). Even if you’re more of a whale, a S$50,000 tax bill would yield 70,000 miles- not even enough for a one-way Business Class ticket to Europe!

Do note that cardholders can only pay their own personal tax bill (not friends or family members), but supplementary cardholders are also allowed to use the same tax payment facility too.

FAQs for the tax payment facility can be found here. 

Complimentary travel insurance

Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Cardholders enjoy complimentary travel insurance underwritten by Allianz.

This includes up to S$1,000,000 coverage for death and total permanent disability, S$100,000 emergency medical evacuation, S$50,000 overseas medical expenses, S$5,000 for lost baggage and S$1,000 for delayed baggage.

Do note there is no coverage for trip cancellation and disruption, delayed flights, rental car excess, or personal liability. I personally would not feel comfortable without this, so I’d recommend you purchase additional coverage.

Coverage is automatically activated when the full airfare is charged to the card. Allianz has previously clarified that coverage does not apply to award tickets, unfortunately. 

Visa Infinite benefits

Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Cardholders will enjoy the following benefits provided by Visa Infinite:

• Avis President’s Club status
• 50% off weekday golf at 50 participating golf clubs across Southeast Asia
• 50% off weekday golf at Sentosa Golf Club
• Visa Luxury Hotel Collection

For more information on how these perks work, refer to the post below.

Is a Visa Infinite Card still worth having?

Terms & Conditions

• Standard Chartered Visa Infinite T&Cs

Summary Review: Standard Chartered Visa Infinite

Apply Here

🦁 MileLion Verdict

☐ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☑ Leave It

The Standard Chartered Visa Infinite has one of the priciest annual fees in the $120K segment, but has surprisingly little to show for it.

The two main selling points are:

1. The uncapped 3 mpd FCY earn rate
2. The tax payment facility

(1) is only attractive if you’ve maxed out the 4 mpd possibilities with other cards, and don’t mind paying a higher-than-average 3.5% FCY fee. But I’d much rather use the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature for 2.8 mpd, given its lower 3.25% FCY fee and three-year fee waiver, or the Maybank World Mastercard for 3.2 mpd if you can meet the minimum S$4,000 spend requirement. 

(2) is a low cost way of earning miles, but you’re capped by your NOA, and the admin fee has increased from 1.6% to 1.9%.

The rest of its benefits are so lacklustre, it’s almost comical. No airport limo transfers. Only six lounge visits. Two transfer partners. Points that do and don’t pool, in a needlessly confusing manner. Beyond using it as a tool to buy some cheap miles in the first year, I just don’t see why anyone would pay S$599.50 for the privilege of owning it . 

Maybe the X Card should have won, eh?