Nerfed: UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card losing monthly Grab vouchers

Back in January 2023, UOB Visa Infinite Metal Cardholders started receiving 2x S$5 GrabGift vouchers each month, which could be redeemed for Transport, Food, Mart or Express services.

S$5 may not sound like a lot, but over the course of a membership year that’d be S$120 in value, or nearly 20% of your annual fee (whether you should take the vouchers at face value is a separate argument).

Unfortunately, UOB is calling time on this perk soon, which is another blow to the case for renewing your UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card. 

UOB nerfs monthly GrabGifts vouchers

From July 2024, UOB Visa Infinite Metal Cardholders will no longer receive the usual 2x S$5 GrabGifts vouchers each month. The final codes will be sent to cardholders SMS by 20 June 2024. 

Here’s a reminder of the usual T&Cs governing the monthly GrabGifts vouchers.

This isn’t the first UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card x GrabGifts nerf- at the start of 2024, UOB removed the S$200 GrabGifts welcome offer for new applicants. While the 80,000 miles welcome offer was retained, it’s obviously weaker than before, where almost 30% of your annual fee was covered upfront by the vouchers alone. 

Should you renew your card?

With the loss of the monthly GrabGifts vouchers, UOB Visa Infinite Metal Cardholders are looking at S$120 less of value each year.

And that’s not all. In 2023, UOB Visa Infinite Metal Cardholders enjoyed 50% off a la carte weekday lunch for 2 diners at Pan Pacific, PARKROYAL Pickering, Beach Road, Kitchener Road and Si Chuan Dou Hua. 

That offer was not renewed for 2024, and now the applicable discount is 20%, only at Pan Pacific and PARKROYAL Marina Bay.

You can argue that it’s redundant anyway, since all UOB Visa Infinite Metal Cardholders enjoy DISCOVERY Platinum status, which gives 20% off dining at F&B outlets under the Pan Pacific Hotels Group. 

So what does the card have left? For paying your S$654 annual fee, you get: 

• Unlimited DragonPass lounge visits (+1 guest)
• 25,000 miles for renewal (+ 15,000 more miles for spending S$100K in a membership year)
• Pan Pacific DISCOVERY Platinum status
• Fee-free conversions of UNI$ to miles
• The opportunity to earn points on education and hospital bills

For me, it’s really marginal. I’ll touch on this more when I get around to updating my yearly $120K credit card showdown, but I reckon that for the amount you pay, there are superior options out there. 

Conclusion

UOB Visa Infinite Metal Cardholders will lose their monthly 2x S$5 GrabGifts vouchers from July 2024, which leaves you with just three more months to enjoy this perk. 

S$5 isn’t a lot individually, but the cumulative trickle value over the course of a membership year would go some way towards offsetting the non-waivable annual fee. With the dining discounts at Pan Pacific Hotels also gone, the case for renewal is getting more and more marginal.