If you’re earning points with a Standard Chartered credit card, you might be under the impression thatย 360ยฐ Rewards points have a validity of three years.
Unfortunately, it’s not so straightforward. Like Citibank, Standard Chartered has a somewhat unusual expiry policy, whereby the expiry of points does not depend on when they were earned,ย but rather when you opened your card.ย
In reality, your points are valid for up to three years, which can lead to a nasty surprise if you focus on the “three years” and not the “up to” part.ย In this post, we’ll look at how this policy works.
| ๐ณ StanChart cards with non-expiring points |
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This article does not apply to the following cards, all of which earn non-expiring points:
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Standard Chartered points expiry policy
Inside the T&Cs of the Standard Chartered 360ยฐ Rewards programme, you’ll find the following clause at 11.7.
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360ยฐ Rewards Points awarded are valid for 3 years from the date of opening of the credit card account to which the points are credited to (โInitial Periodโ). 360ยฐ Rewards Points awarded after the Initial Period will be valid for a further period of 3 years from the date the Initial Period ends (โFurther Periodโ). Thereafter, subject to Clause 4.2.3 and Clause 7, any 360ยฐ Rewards Points that remain in the 360ยฐ Rewards Points balance after the Initial Period or Further Period will expire automatically. All 360ยฐ Rewards Points that have expired cannot be reinstated. |
Note the part in red, which states that the validity period is three years from the date of the opening of the credit card account.
In other words, when you first open a StanChart card account, a three-year countdown timer starts. All the points earned during the initial three-year period expire on the same date, regardless of when they were actually earned.ย
| ๐ณ Example: StanChart Points Expiry (Initial Period) |
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| Card Open | 1 January 2024 |
| Points Earned | 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026 |
| Points Expiry | 1 January 2027 |
I mentioned at the start that Citi has a similar policy, where points are valid for up to five years. But theirs is much less punitive, because a further three-month grace period is given after the five years ends.ย
StanChart has no such grace period, so in an extreme scenario, some of your points (the ones earned on 31 December 2026, in our example above) will be valid for as little as one day!
After the initial three-year period ends, a fresh three-year period begins, and all points earned during this period will expire at the end of the period.ย
| ๐ณ Example: StanChart Points Expiry (Further Period) |
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| Card Open | 1 January 2027 |
| Points Earned | 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029 |
| Points Expiry | 1 January 2030 |
What can I do if my StanChart points are going to expire?
If you have StanChart points that are about to expire, but not quite enough for a meaningful redemption, there’s still something you can do.
Standard Chartered is one of only two banks in Singapore (the other being OCBC) which lets you transfer credit card points to another customer.ย A fee of S$10 is charged for every 100,000 points transferred (no fee is applicable for StanChart Visa Infinite cardholders, and transfers can only be made from non-Visa Infinite to non-Visa Infinite cards, or Visa Infinite to Visa Infinite cards).
The expiry of the transferred points follows the expiry of the nominated account.ย To illustrate:
- John opens a StanChart card on 1 January 2025
- Jane opens a StanChart card on 1 January 2026
- On 31 December 2025, John transfers points to Jane
- The transferred points are valid till 1 January 2029, because they now follow Jane’s expiry period
To transfer points, visit the StanChart 360ยฐ Rewards portal. Login and click on your name > Points Transfer. You’ll be prompted to enter the recipient’s name and card number.
Conclusion
StanChart 360ยฐ Rewards points are valid forย up toย three years, and not three years as commonly thought.ย It all boils down to when your card account was opened, and if you don’t cash them out in time, too bad- there’s no grace period!
Fortunately, this won’t affect most miles chasers, who will naturally gravitate towards the StanChart Visa Infinite or StanChart Journey Cards, where points don’t expire. But if you have a StanChart Smart Card, StanChart Rewards+ or any other points-earning StanChart card, take heed!
