DBS Vantage Card launches best-ever 85,000 miles welcome offer

Ever since the DBS Vantage Card launched in June 2022, it’s been alternating between welcome offers of 60,000 or 80,000 miles. The most recent offer (60,000 miles) lapsed on 31 January 2024, and with no news in the first week of February, I assumed DBS was taking a break this month.

It seems they were just catching their breath, however, because the DBS Vantage Card is now back with its best-ever welcome offer: up to 85,000 bonus miles with a minimum spend of S$4,000.

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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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From 9 February to 31 May 2024, new DBS Vantage Cardholders who 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 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. 

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 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 said, all CardUp transactions, regardless of type, are still eligible for base miles with DBS Vantage Card (i.e. 1.5 mpd).

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)
	5,000 : 10,000
	5,000 : 10,000
	5,000 : 10,000
	500 : 1,500

Transfer to KrisFlyer and Asia Miles are typically processed within 3 working days.

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 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
Local Earn	1.5 mpd	Points Pool?	Yes
FCY Earn	2.2 mpd	Lounge Access?	Yes: 10x Priority Pass
Special Earn	6 mpd on Expedia	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. 

Review: DBS Vantage Card

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.