DBS Altitude Cards launch 43,400 miles welcome offer

The DBS Altitude Card has launched a new welcome offer, which awards up to 43,400 bonus miles to cardholders who spend S$3,000 within 60 days of approval and pay the first year’s annual fee.

DBS Altitude Offers

Assuming you pay the first year’s annual fee (S$196.20) and meet the entire minimum spend in foreign currency, you’d receive up to 60,000 miles in total- hence the marketing tagline.

Adjusted for spending, this is a better offer than the one which ended on 31 January 2024, which awarded up to 22,600 bonus miles for S$2,000 spend.

The catch is that this time round, there’s nothing here for existing customers; only new-to-bank customers are eligible to participate.

DBS Altitude Card welcome offers

The following welcome offers are only valid for new-to-bank customers, defined as those who do not:

• currently hold a principal DBS or POSB credit card, and
• have not cancelled a principal DBS or POSB credit card in the past 12 months

Customers must enter a certain promo code at the point of application (see below for details). Make sure to do this; no code, no bonus!

There’s nothing stopping you from signing up for both the DBS Altitude AMEX and DBS Altitude Visa cards. However, you will only enjoy the new-to-bank bonus on the first card that’s approved.

DBS Altitude AMEX

DBS Altitude AMEX Apply
Promo Code	ALTA60	ALTAW50
Bonus Miles	43,400 miles
Base Miles From S$3K Spend (1.3 mpd local, 2.2 mpd FCY)	3,900-6,600 miles
Miles From S$196.20 Annual Fee	10,000 miles	Fee waived
Total Miles	57,300 – 60,000 miles	47,300 – 50,000 miles

From now till 31 May 2024, new DBS Altitude AMEX cardholders who spend at least S$3,000 within 60 days of card approval will earn:

• 43,400 bonus miles
• 3,900 to 6,600 base miles, depending on the breakdown of the S$3,000 spend (1.3 mpd for SGD spend; 2.2 mpd for FCY spend)

If they pay the first year’s S$196.20 annual fee, they will earn an extra 10,000 miles. 

Customers who wish to pay the annual fee should apply with the code ALTA60. Customers who want a fee waiver should apply with the code ALTAW50.

DBS Altitude Visa

DBS Altitude Visa Apply
Promo Code	ALTV53	ALTVW43
Bonus Miles	36,400 miles
Base Miles From S$3K Spend (1.3 mpd local, 2.2 mpd FCY)	3,900-6,600 miles
Miles From S$196.20 Annual Fee	10,000 miles	Fee waived
Total Miles	50,300 – 53,000 miles	40,300 – 43,000 miles

From now till 31 May 2024, new DBS Altitude Visa cardholders who spend at least S$3,000 within 60 days of card approval will earn:

• 36,400 bonus miles
• 3,900 to 6,600 base miles, depending on the breakdown of the S$3,000 spend (1.3 mpd for SGD spend; 2.2 mpd for FCY spend)

If they pay the first year’s S$196.20 annual fee, they will earn an extra 10,000 miles. 

Customers who wish to pay the annual fee should apply with the code ALTV53. Customers who want a fee waiver should apply with the code ALTVW43.

What counts as qualifying spend?

Cardholders are required to spend at least S$3,000 within 60 days of approval.

Qualifying spend consists of local and foreign retail sales and recurring bill payments, excluding the following:

DBS has previously confirmed that CardUp transactions will only count towards the minimum spend for sign-up bonuses if they are made in respect of rental payments that code as MCC 6513 (but beware, some rental transactions code as MCC 7399, for reasons only CardUp knows).

That said, all CardUp transactions, regardless of type, are still eligible for base miles with DBS Altitude Cards (i.e. 1.3 mpd).

When will the bonus miles be credited?

For cardmembers who have opted for the annual fee bonus, the 10,000 miles will be credited once the annual fee is charged. 

The bonus miles for meeting the minimum spend will be credited within 2-4 months of meeting the minimum spend. 

Terms & Conditions

The T&Cs of this offer can be found here.

Is it worth it?

Even if you have no interest in paying the annual fee, this is still an opportunity to generate up to 43,400 bonus miles for S$3,000 of spending. On a spend to miles ratio, it’s certainly better than last month’s offer (22,600 miles for S$2,000 spend).

The main catch is that you need to be a new-to-bank customer, which would be tricky for any serious miles collector (since you’d probably have the DBS Woman’s World Card)!

What can you do with DBS Points? 

DBS Points earned on the DBS Altitude Card do not expire, and can be converted to any of the following frequent flyer programmes with a S$27 admin fee. 

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (DBS Points: Miles)
	5,000: 10,000
	5,000: 10,000
	5,000: 10,000
	500: 1,500

DBS also offers automatic conversions to KrisFlyer for a 12-month period with a S$43.60 annual fee.

In my opinion, it’s only worth transferring miles to KrisFlyer or Asia Miles. AirAsia BIG is more of a rebates program than a traditional frequent flyer scheme, and Qantas Frequent Flyer doesn’t have any real sweet spots for Singapore-based travellers (unless maybe you want to book a round-the-world trip, or domestic flights within Australia).

Overview: DBS Altitude Card

Apply (AMEX)
Apply (Visa)
Income Req.	S$30,000 p.a.	Points Validity	No Expiry
Annual Fee	S$196.20 (FYF Option)	Min. Transfer	5,000 DBS Points (10,000 miles)
FCY Fee	3% (AMEX) 3.25% (Visa)	Transfer Fee	S$27
Local Earn	1.3 mpd	Points Pool?	Yes
FCY Earn	2.2 mpd	Lounge Access?	Yes  (Visa)
Special Earn	6 mpd on Expedia, 10 mpd on Kaligo	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The DBS Altitude Card has an income requirement of S$30,000 and an annual fee of S$196.20 , which can be waived in the first year (or paid to earn an extra 10,000 miles). 

Cardholders earn:

• 1.3 mpd on SGD spend
• 2.2 mpd on foreign currency spend
• 6 mpd on flight, hotel and travel packages with Expedia
• 10 mpd on hotel bookings with Kaligo

Unfortunately, the 3 mpd for online flights and hotel bookings is no more, having been axed from 1 September 2023. Moreover, the special Expedia and Kaligo portals for cardholders usually have inflated pricing, so you’ll need to be careful. 

DBS Altitude Visa Cardholders enjoy a Priority Pass membership with two complimentary lounge visits. 

For a full review of the DBS Altitude Card, refer to the article below.

Review: DBS Altitude Card

Conclusion

DBS has launched a new set of welcome offers for the Altitude Card, with up to 43,600 bonus miles available to customers who apply by 31 May 2024 and spend S$3,000 within 60 days of approval. They can also opt to pay the S$196.20 annual fee for an extra 10,000 bonus miles.

Unfortunately, there’s no offer this time round for existing customers, so you’ll need to wait until June at least if you fall into this group.