Ever since the DBS Vantage Card launched in June 2022, it’s been alternating between welcome offers of 60,000 or 80,000 miles.
But back in February, they launched their best-ever welcome offer of 85,000 miles, with a minimum spend of just S$4,000. This was originally set to lapse on 15 July 2024, but has now been extended till 30 September 2024.
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If you’ve been toying with the idea of getting a DBS Vantage Card, this is as good as it gets.
DBS Vantage 85,000 miles welcome offer
 DBS Vantage Card |
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Customers who apply for a DBS Vantage Card by 30 September 2024 (with approval by 14 October 2024), pay the first year’s S$599.50 annual fee and spend S$4,000 within 30 days of approval will receive the following:
| New to DBS Cardholder | Existing DBS Cardholder | |
| Pay S$599.50 annual fee | 25,000 miles | 25,000 miles |
| Spend S$4,000 within 30 days of approval | 60,000 miles | 15,000 miles |
| Total | 85,000 miles | 40,000 miles |
| โ “New to DBS Cardholder” Definition | ||
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A New to DBS Cardholder is defined as someone who:
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New to DBS cardholders will receive 85,000 miles, while existing DBS cardholders will receive 40,000 miles.
This bonus is on top of whatever base miles you normally earn with the DBS Vantage, so you can expect at least 91,000 miles (new) or 46,000 miles (existing) in total, based on S$4,000 spent locally at 1.5 mpd.
Do remember that the “real” bonus is 60,000/15,000 miles for new/existing customers, since cardholders receive 25,000 miles for paying the annual fee every year anyway.
Unlike previous welcome offers for this card, no promo code is required when you apply.
Is this a good deal?
If you’re a new DBS cardholder, I’d certainly say so. Back when the DBS Vantage Card first launched, the sign-up offer was:
- New customers: 80,000 bonus miles with S$8,000 spend in 60 days
- Existing customers: 60,000 bonus miles with S$8,000 spend in 60 days
The current offer bumps up the new customer bonus by 5,000 miles, while cutting the minimum spend in half. With 85,000 miles and an annual fee of S$599.50, you’re basically paying 0.71 cents per mile.
If you’re an existing DBS cardholder, however, I’d recommend waiting because there are periods where DBS upsizes the existing customer sign-up offer to 60,000 miles. With the current offer of 40,000 miles and an annual fee of S$599.50, you’re basically paying 1.5 cents per mile.
What counts as qualifying spend?
Cardholders are required to spend at least S$4,000 within 30 days of approval.
Qualifying spend includes both local and foreign retail sales and posted recurring bill payments, excluding the transactions mentioned in point 10 of the T&Cs.
CardUp rental transactions which code under MCC 6513 (Real Estate Agents and Managers) will count towards qualifying spend. However, all other CardUp transactions will not count towards qualifying spend, even though they will earn base miles.
Refer to the article below for more information.
ipaymy transactions are explicitly excluded from counting towards qualifying spend.
For the avoidance of doubt, supplementary and principal cardholder spending will pool when calculating whether the minimum qualifying spend has been met.
When will the miles be credited?
The 25,000 miles for paying the S$599.50 annual fee will be awarded immediately (in the form of 12,500 DBS points) when the annual fee is charged.
The bonus of 60,000 miles (new) or 15,000 miles (existing) will be credited within 90-120 days from the date of fulfilling the qualifying spend (in the form of 30,000/7,500 DBS points).
Terms & Conditions
The T&Cs for this welcome offer can be found here.
What can you do with DBS Points?
DBS Points earned on the DBS Vantage Card expire after three years, 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) |
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5,000 : 10,000 |
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5,000 : 10,000 |
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5,000 : 10,000 |
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500 : 1,500 |
Transfer to KrisFlyer and Asia Miles are typically processed within 3 working days.
In my opinion, itโs 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 doesnโt 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 Vantage Card
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| Income Req. | S$120,000 p.a. | Points Validity | 3 years |
| Annual Fee | S$599.50 |
Min. Transfer |
5,000 DBS Points (10,000 miles) |
| FCY Fee | 3.25% | Transfer Fee | S$27.25 |
| Local Earn | 1.5 mpd | Points Pool? | Yes |
| FCY Earn | 2.2 mpd | Lounge Access? | Yes: 10x Priority Pass |
| Special Earn | N/A | Airport Limo? | No |
| Cardholder Terms and Conditions | |||
The DBS Vantage Card offers 1.5 mpd on local spend and 2.2 mpd on FCY spend. Unfortunately, it no longer offers 4 mpd on dining and petrol spend, ever since 1 January 2023, though some lucky cardholders were recently targeted for 4 mpd on dining.
Cardholders enjoy benefits such as:
- A Priority Pass membership with 10 free lounge visits per year (which can be used by the main cardholder or his/her guests)
- Accor Plus Explorer membership with up to 50% off dining and one complimentary hotel night at selected Asia Pacific hotels
While the card’s annual fee cannot be waived in the first year, it will be waived subsequently when you spend at least S$60,000 in a membership year. Should the fee be waived, you will not receive the 25,000 miles, though you will receive the rest of the benefits like the Accor Plus Explorer membership and lounge passes.
You can read my full review of the DBS Vantage Card below.
Conclusion
The DBS Vantage Card is now running its best-ever welcome offer of up to 85,000 bonus miles with a minimum spend of S$4,000.
This is only applicable to new DBS cardholders, however, so existing ones will want to hold their fire as their 40,000 bonus miles offer is weak compared to historical averages.
I personally think the DBS Vantage Card does not perform as well as some of its competitors in the $120K segment, but the welcome offer goes a long way towards making the first-year value proposition worthwhile.
I only have DBS multi currency debit card which I was offered when I open DBS bank account. Am I eligible to be a new credit card benefit?
was there really a period where they offer 60,000 miles for existing users?
yes.. I was one of the beneficiaries, haha.. but i signed up within days of launch, so not sure if it ever came back again
Does Thomson fertility centre spend count as hospital?
Does using Cardup for different bigger payment basket sizes account towards the initial first month 4K spend?
“DBS has previously confirmed that CardUp transactions will only count towards the minimum spend for sign-up bonuses if they are made in respect of rental payments.”
Does this mean using Cardup to pay income taxes or mortgage loans will not count towards min spend for sign-up bonuses?
I am an existing DBS cardholder and signed up for the Altitude Amex offer. Having met the hurdle spend, I waited but the miles did not come in within the stipulated time frame. Upon putting in an enquiry, I was told that existing DBS cardholders may not sign up for more than one new card offer a year. As I had signed up for another new card with DBS in the last twelve months and was awarded the promotion incentives, that was the reason the miles I expected were not credited to me. I pointed out that this was not… Read more »
I also had the same experience but was able to argue and got the points awarded in the end. Notably I also used iPayMy for a rental transaction and was told it was excluded (which it wasnโt at the time as was still under the older t$cs that only excluded certain CardUp and ipaymy transactions) so one to watch out for.
I’m wondering, is there a downside to cancelling the card and then re-applying for it again after one year, just to get the welcome bonus?
approval is not guaranteed. if dbs believes you’re gaming the system, they can choose not to approve your subsequent applications