Have I been too hard on the BOC Elite Miles Card? Their latest promotion certainly has me thinking so, because it is, for the lack of a better word, insane.
For the whole month of March 2024, BOC Elite Miles Cardholders will earn an extra 6 mpd on overseas and online spend, dining, SIA, Scoot, KrisShop and Pelago, without cap. This is on top of the regular earn rate of 1/2 mpd for local/overseas spend, so youโre looking at an uncapped 7/8 mpd in total.
How do I even begin to process this? Iโm still trying to figure out if thereโs some sneaky gotcha Iโm missing, but until then, buckle your seatbelts because this is wild.
BOC Elite Miles bonus 6 mpd offer
From 1-31 March 2024, BOC Elite Miles Cardholders will earn an uncapped bonus 6 mpd (in the form of 27 BOC points per S$1 spent) on the following transactions:
| Category | Definition |
| Online Spending | Any retail transaction made via the internet |
| Overseas Spending | Not defined by T&Cs, but based on BOCโs regular definition would be foreign currency transactions with payment gateway outside of Singapore |
| Dining | MCC 5812 Restaurants and MCC 5814 Fast Food |
| Singapore Airlines, Scoot, KrisShop and Pelago |
Any transaction with the following descriptions:
|
| Note: Isnโt the Singapore Airlines, Scoot, KrisShop and Pelago category redundant if online spending is already included? I supposeโฆthough it would cover situations where you pay in-person at SIAโs service centres, if nothing else | |
BOC keeps referring to the 6 mpd as โbonusโ and โadditionalโ, and Point 6 in the T&Cs clearly states that the promotion is on top of the regular BOC Elite Miles card benefits. So as hard as it is to believe, my conclusion is that youโll earn:
- 7 mpd if the transaction in in SGD (1 mpd base + 6 mpd bonus)
- 8 mpd if the transaction is in foreign currency (2 mpd base + 6 mpd bonus)
I also see nothing in the T&Cs that would rule out Amaze transactions, and since Amaze turns all offline transactions into online ones, weโre basically looking at 7 mpd everywhere, or 8 mpd if you spend overseas and choose not to use Amaze (remember, Amaze converts all spend into SGD so youโll only earn the local base rate).
How to register
Registration is required for this offer, and can be done by sending the following SMS to 75665:
| ๐ฑ SMS to 75665 |
| BOCEM<space>Last 4 characters of NRIC or Passport<space>Frequent Flyer Programme Membership Number E.g. SMS <BOCEM 234A 8**> |
Cardmembers must receive an automatic SMS response acknowledging receipt to be registered.
Once registered, bonus miles will be awarded for eligible spend incurred during the entire promotion period, i.e. 1-31 March 2024, not just from the time registration was completed.
When will miles be credited?
Cardholders will earn the usual 1/2 mpd (in the form of 4.5/9 BOC points) when the transaction posts. These BOC points can be converted into either KrisFlyer or Asia Miles at the following ratios.
| Frequent Flyer Programme | Conversion Ratio (BOC Points: Partner) |
 |
45,000: 10,000 |
 |
27,000: 6,000 |
The bonus 6 mpd will be credited within 60 days of the end of the promotion, directly into your KrisFlyer account with no fees. Thatโs why BOC asks for it in the registration process, by the way- you canโt opt for Asia Miles.
Terms & Conditions
The T&Cs of this offer can be found here.
Whatโs the catch?
Holy Moley Macaroni. Iโm completely gobsmacked by this offer, which seems too good to be true. Iโve read the T&Cs numerous times, but I donโt spot any particular red flags.
Yes, they use terms like โfirst-come-first-serveโ, but thereโs nothing in here about caps. Maybe they plan to close registration after a certain number is reached? Thatโs pure speculation on my part though, and might be uncharitable to BOC, so until I see any evidence to the contrary Iโll give them the benefit of the doubt.
| Edit: A few people have pointed out that the offer is labeled as โfor existing cardmembersโ, and asked whether you needed to be a cardholder as of 1 March 2024 to participate. I donโt know what the answer is here, quite frankly. Normally Iโd say youโre reading too much into things, but this is BOC after allโฆ |
Now, I know the other question on your mind right now: could I apply for a BOC Elite Miles Card and get it in time to make substantial hay?
I donโt know, honestly. BOCโs processing times may very well have improved from before (when they were measured in months, not weeks), but itโs the wild card in this equation. That said, I donโt think thereโs much downside for you here. Apply for the card, cross your fingers and hope you get it early, cross your fingers even more and hope the offer gets extended.
And curse that stupid website which told you the BOC Elite Miles Card was a worthless piece of junk and made you to cancel your card!
Conclusion
From 1-31 March 2024, BOC Elite Miles Cardholders can look forward to an uncapped 7-8 mpd on pretty much all of their spend (assuming the Amaze pairing works out, which I see no reason why it wonโt).
This is a sensational deal, and if BOC wants to make me eat my words like this all year long theyโre more than welcome to.
Is there any catch for this offer Iโm not seeing?
No reason to use the card itself overseas. Should just forego the additional 1 mpd and tie it to Amaze for overseas spending.
yeah the additional 1 mpd for 3.25% FCY fee probably doesnโt make sense.
Well, Amaze spread is what, 2% nowadays? So effective extra 1.25% for 1 mpd. Thatโs 1.25 cpm which is expensive but still passable.
Thereโs instapoints rebate to consider too though
Uncapped? Thatโs crazy. 4 biz class flights to Europe or USA on SQ by a dozen users will cause premature termination of this deal.
Why just on SQ? Unless buying tickets in person or over the phone, shouldnโt air tickets (on any carrier) qualify as retail transactions over the internet?
Correct. So I find that very weird and somewhat redundant. But hey itโs boc
Fool me onceโฆ
Fool me twiceโฆ
How does one apply for this card?
Their marketing team should extend this to new to card members and extend the period. Perhaps they are not targeting new to card holders.
Yea, I think you are right.
Given the history and shenanigans of BOC, Iโm wagering that within the next couple of weeks there will be another article on Milelion about how this deal has been pulled and existing customers shafted over.
Staying away from this bank like the plague.
Bingo! You got it right!
They just pulled off this deal today on 15 Mar 2024 according to our telegram group sources!
Not just no but hell no. BOC is just not worth the stress.
I see in the poster that for existing card members? So new card members donโt get the promotion?
Hopefully this will โencourageโ some deals to come from Singapore banks once again, rather than the continual cutting of caps (are you listening DBS and UOB?). Of course while this offer is really, really good, it is only (right now) for 1 month and those who are smart have been earning 7mpd on all spending for many many months now with other options anyway.
There was a time where BOC EM was the best in class gen spend card, even more so when you paired it with the BOC Smartsaver account. But then it got nerfed. So itโs not like BOC is being in a particularly charitable mood. More like they got a backlog of expiring miles that they need to offload. Every bank has its buff and nerf cycles anyway.
Good on BOC, rewarding existing members who held this poopy card through thick and thin and all the other redemption shenanigans. They truly deserve it.
Do you think if it will earn bonus miles for payment of insurance and utilities bills using amaze x boc?
Are cardup transactions (using this BOC EM card) eligible for this promotion?
Iโd like to find out the answer to this too!
Just received notification that the promotion had been fully redeemed as of 15 mar.
Ended prematurely!!
Thank you for your participation in the BOC Elite Miles World Mastercardโข โ Spend Promotion 2024. The Reward has been fully redeemed as of 15 March 2024. Please stay tuned to BOCSGโs Facebook page for more promotions! For assistance, please call BOC Card Centre hotline.
The catch is, on 14/3/25 I used it to purchase air tickets. On 15/3 I received an SMS saying the promotion is fully redeemed. Prior to that I had signed up for and received the confirmation SMS so it remains to be seen whether my S$5000 air ticket on 14/3 received the promotional miles.
Received my spend bonus on 13april.