No woman no cry: Surviving the upcoming DBS Woman’s Card and UOB Lady’s Cards nerfs

In the coming weeks, both the DBS Woman’s World Card and the UOB Lady’s Cards will see their earn rates and/or bonus caps cut, proof again of how the patriarchy ruins everything (why yes, I have watched the Barbie movie, why do you ask?).

This has led to no small amount of online histrionics, which I suppose is how people get through the various stages of devaluation grief: 

• Denial: Fake news, not confirmed, stop spreading FUD
• Anger: The bank is so stupid; I’m going to cut up all my cards now!
• Bargaining: Why can’t they just extend it for a few more months?
• Depression: The miles game is pointless, might as well earn cashback
• Acceptance: What’s for lunch?

Assuming you’ve progressed to the acceptance stage, it’s time to talk post-nerf strategies. How will these changes impact two of the most useful cards in the miles game?

Recap: What’s getting nerfed?

DBS Woman’s World Card

DBS Woman’s World Card
	Till 29 Feb 24	From 1 Mar 24
Bonus Earn	4 mpd on online transactions
Bonus Cap	S$2,000 per calendar month	S$1,500 per calendar month

From 1 March 2024, the DBS Woman’s World Card will cut its monthly 4 mpd bonus cap for online transactions from S$2,000 to S$1,500 per calendar month. 

All other earn rates remain the same, namely an uncapped 1.2 mpd for foreign currency spending, and 0.4 mpd for any spend in excess of the cap. 

The reduction to the bonus cap means you’d max out at 72,000 miles per year (S$1,500 x 4 mpd x 12 months), versus 96,000 miles before. The difference of 24,000 miles is no small amount, equivalent to a one-way Business Class ticket to Bangkok or Hanoi. 

For the full details, refer to the post below.

DBS Woman’s World Card cutting monthly 4 mpd cap to S$1,500

UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card

UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card (Regular & Metal)
	Till 31 March 24	From 1 April 24
Bonus Earn	6 mpd on choice of 2 bonus categories	4 mpd on choice of 2 bonus categories
Bonus Cap	S$3,000 per calendar month	S$2,000 per calendar month

From 1 April 2024, the UOB Lady’s Cards will cut the bonus category earn rate from 6 mpd to 4 mpd. 

Now, I think it’s somewhat uncharitable to call this a nerf, given that the extra 2 mpd was always meant to be a limited-time additional bonus. Moreover, UOB has already extended this for a further month; originally, the reversion was supposed to happen on 1 March 2024.

What is undoubtedly a nerf, however, is the reduction of the bonus cap for the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card and UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card. From 1 April 2024, the bonus cap will be cut from S$3,000 to S$2,000 per calendar month.

The reduction to the bonus cap means you’d max out at 96,000 miles per year (S$2,000 x 4 mpd x 12 months), versus 144,000 miles before. The difference of 48,000 miles is enough for a Suites Class ticket to Hong Kong, so it’s no small amount either.

For the full details, refer to the post below.

UOB Lady’s Solitaire Cards cutting bonus cap to S$2,000 per month

Revised strategy: DBS Woman’s World Card

The DBS Woman’s World Card’s blacklist policy (all online spend earns 4 mpd, unless the MCC is on the exclusions list) is what makes it such a versatile card. It doesn’t matter whether it’s shopping, food delivery, groceries, movie tickets, streaming subscriptions or airfares. So long as it’s online, you’ll earn 4 mpd.

With a 25% reduction in the bonus cap, it’s necessary to get a bit more granular with your whitelist policy cards (where only MCCs on the inclusion list earn bonuses), conserving the more flexible WWMC cap for transactions not covered elsewhere. 

For example, the HSBC Revolution earns 4 mpd on food delivery and groceries. If you’re buying something on Deliveroo or RedMart, why not charge that to the Revolution instead?

Likewise, many people forget that the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa also earns 4 mpd on online food delivery, groceries, shopping (e.g. Amazon, Courts, Lazada, Shopee), movie and concert tickets. 

And if you don’t don’t have a Citi Rewards Card yet, then there’s no time like the present to get one. This blacklist policy card is the closest thing you’ll get to a WWMC replacement, with 4 mpd on all online transactions except in-app mobile wallet and travel.

All these will help save the WWMC’s flexible cap for transactions that don’t feature on whitelist cards, such as streaming subscriptions, teleconsultations, HealthHub/Health Buddy and phone bills. 

Revised strategy: UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card

Unlike the DBS Woman’s World Card, the UOB Lady’s Cards have a more restrictive whitelist policy. Moreover, the dynamic nature of the bonus category makes finding an exact replacement tricky. Since this card can be different things to different people, how hard the nerf hits you really depends on which bonus categories you selected. 

Obviously, those who choose Travel as their bonus category will be particularly hard hit. Travel usually entails big ticket purchases like airfares, hotel bookings and cruises, and a 33% reduction in the bonus cap to S$2,000 will hurt. 

Again, the idea is to diversify. The HSBC Revolution earns 4 mpd on airfare, car rental and cruises (but be careful with hotels and travel agencies!), the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card has an uncapped 3 mpd on SIA tickets, and if you’re paying your hotel bill overseas, then the UOB Visa Signature will earn 4 mpd on FCY spending, subject to a minimum spend of S$1,000 per statement month (pity you can’t pair it with Amaze though).

Similar logic applies for other bonus categories. If Dining is a big category for you, then the slack from the UOB Lady’s Cards can be picked up by the HSBC Revolution or UOB Preferred Platinum Visa. If it’s Fashion, try the OCBC Rewards Card.

This assumes you can optimise to the last dollar, of course. The real problem arises when you have a big ticket transaction that can’t be spread over multiple cards. In those cases, I’d recommend optimisation through gift cards and BNPL services. 

How to maximise miles by splitting payments across multiple cards

If you’re willing to settle for 3 mpd instead of 4 mpd, the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card’s uncapped bonuses for dining, food delivery, online shopping & travel, and transport can be a big sponge to soak up excess spending- all you need to do is meet the minimum S$800 SIA Group spend per membership year. 

Other specialised spending cards

Here’s a brief summary of other specialised spending cards which can help carry some of the additional load from the WWMC/Lady’s Card reduced bonus caps.

Card	Earn Rate	Cap	Remarks
Citi Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	S$1K per s. month	Online spend ex. travel
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	S$1K per c. month	Groceries, dining, travel, transport, shopping
OCBC Rewards Apply	4 mpd	S$1.1K per c. month	Shopping
UOB Pref. Plat. Visa Apply	4 mpd	S$1.1K per c. month	Mobile contactless spend
UOB Visa Signature  Apply	4 mpd*	S$2K per s. month	FCY and contactless spend
KF UOB Credit Card Apply	3 mpd^	None	Dining, food delivery, online shopping & travel and transport
*Min S$1K spend per statement month ^Min S$800 spend on SIA Group per membership year

Do note that the definition of bonus categories will differ between banks. Always refer to the T&Cs for the most up to date information.

Conclusion

It’s safe to say that 2024 hasn’t started well for anyone with a woman’s card, whether DBS or UOB. Taking the combined nerfs into effect, we’re losing 4 mpd bandwidth for up to S$1,500 (S$500 WWMC, S$1,000 Lady’s) a month, or 72,000 extra miles a year. 

That’s going to sting, but there are ways to mitigate it.

For the DBS Woman’s World Card, it means conserving its flexible 4 mpd cap by shuffling certain transactions to other specialised spending cards.

For the UOB Lady’s Card, it means looking for other specialised spending cards that can handle spillover from your bonus category, or else breaking up the transaction with gift cards and a BNPL service.

And if all else fails, the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card’s uncapped bonuses are a useful sponge that keeps your minimum earn rate at a decent 3 mpd- certainly better than a general spending card, anyway!

How are you coping with the upcoming Lady’s/Woman’s card nerfs?