OCBC VOYAGE adds two lounge visits for supplementary cardholders

At the start of 2024, OCBC VOYAGE switched its lounge provider from Plaza Premium to DragonPass. This was a very welcome move indeed, since Plaza Premium’s footprint (~150 lounges) is nowhere as big as DragonPass’ (~1,300), and you could visit most if not all Plaza Premium Lounges through DragonPass anyway.

However, the switch came at a cost: supplementary cardholders, who previously enjoyed unlimited visits to Plaza Premium Lounges, lost their lounge privileges altogether.

For what it’s worth, OCBC has now walked back the changes somewhat by adding two complimentary visits for all supplementary VOYAGE cardholders, effective July 2024. 

OCBC VOYAGE adds lounge visits for supplementary cardholders

From 1-15 July 2024, OCBC VOYAGE principal cardholders will receive an SMS from the bank with a unique DragonPass membership number and activation code for each of their supplementary cardholders.

This code entitles supplementary cardholders to two lounge visits per calendar year. Any additional visits will be charged at US$32 per visit. OCBC has also informed me that the lounge visits can’t be shared with a guest, so a supplementary cardholder couldn’t bring one guest and consume both visits at one go. 

There is no limit on how many supplementary cardholders will receive this benefit, but do remember you’ll pay an annual fee of S$191 per supplementary card (the first year’s fee is waived for a maximum of two cards).

Do note that the entitlement is tracked by calendar year, so you can expect a further two visits to be added to your account on 1 January 2025. It also means you must consume your existing two visits by 31 December 2024, or else forfeit them. 

Just like with the principal VOYAGE Card, set meals and restaurant benefits are excluded. This means you won’t be able to visit the various DragonPass restaurant options at Changi Airport, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. 

For avoidance of doubt, this benefit applies to all four VOYAGE cards, namely the BOS VOYAGE, OCBC PPC VOYAGE, OCBC Premier VOYAGE and vanilla OCBC VOYAGE. There is no similar benefit for supplementary OCBC Premier Visa Infinite Cardholders, however.

The OCBC VOYAGE’s T&Cs have been updated at point 5.3 to reflect this change. 

Registering for your benefit

Here’s the instructions that OCBC has provided for registering for your DragonPass benefit.

New cardmembers who have their OCBC VOYAGE Card approved between the 1st and 15th of the month will receive their activation code via SMS from the 22nd to the 25th of the same month. If your card is approved from the 16th to the last day of the month, the details will be sent between the 7th and 10th of the following month. 

Which other cards offer lounge visits for supplementary cardholders?

While there’s no shortage of credit cards offering lounge access, the vast majority of them limit the benefit to principal cardholders only.

However, where supplementary cardholders do get access, the allowances are more generous than the VOYAGE’s, with the AMEX Centurion, AMEX Platinum Charge, Citi ULTIMA, HSBC Visa Infinite, UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card and UOB Reserve offering anywhere from six to unlimited lounge visits for supplementary cardholders.

Card	Lounge Network	Free Visits (Per Year)
		Principal	Supp.
Income Requirement S$30K
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature	Selected lounges in SIN, KUL, HKG	Spend S$1K in single trxn. within 3 months prior to travel for 1x visit
Diners Club Cards	Diners Network	1*	N/A
Citi PremierMiles	Priority Pass	2*	N/A
DBS Altitude Visa	Priority Pass	2	N/A
AMEX HighFlyer Card	Priority Pass	2	N/A
SCB Journey Card	Priority Pass	2	N/A
HSBC TravelOne Card	DragonPass	4*	N/A
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend	Plaza Premium	4	N/A
Income Requirement ≥S$120K
CIMB Visa Infinite	DragonPass	3	N/A
BOC Visa Infinite	Plaza Premium	4#	N/A
Maybank Visa Infinite	Priority Pass	4	N/A
SCB Visa Infinite	Priority Pass	6	N/A
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card	Dragon Pass	6*	6*
DBS Vantage	Priority Pass	10	N/A
OCBC VOYAGE	Dragon Pass	∞	2*
HSBC Visa Infinite	LoungeKey	∞
UOB VI Metal Card	DragonPass	∞ + 1 guest	N/A
Citi Prestige	Priority Pass	∞ + 1 guest	N/A
AMEX Platinum Charge	Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, AMEX & Centurion Lounges, and others	∞ + 1-2 guests
Income Requirement ≥S$500K
DBS Insignia	Priority Pass	∞	N/A
Citi ULTIMA	Priority Pass	∞	∞
UOB Reserve	Priority Pass	∞ + 1 guest	∞
AMEX Centurion	Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, AMEX & Centurion Lounges, and others	∞ + 1-2 guests
Priority Banking Customers
OCBC Premier Visa Infinite	Dragon Pass	2	N/A
SCB Priority Banking VI	Priority Pass	12^	N/A
*Allowance follows calendar year instead of membership year #BOC Visa Infinite allowance runs from 1 November to 31 October the following year ^With min. AUM S$200K. If AUM falls under S$200K, then two visits

Of course it’s not fair to do a straight comparison, since these cards vary significantly in terms of annual fees and income requirements. But if lounge access for supplementary cardholders is important to you, you might want to consider the HSBC Visa Infinite, which offers unlimited visits for up to five supplementary cardholders. The annual fee for HSBC Premier members of S$497 is comparable to VOYAGE, though it goes up to S$662 if you’re a regular joe.

Here’s a recap of the various credit cards with lounge access in Singapore.

2024 Edition: Best Credit Cards for Airport Lounge Access

Conclusion

Supplementary OCBC VOYAGE Cardholders can soon look forward to two complimentary DragonPass visits per calendar year. It’s a far cry from the unlimited visits they previously enjoyed, but it’s something I guess.

Whether or not that justifies the S$191 supplementary cardholder annual fee is a question only you can answer, though ever since the removal of unlimited lounge visits, this isn’t the $120K card you go to for supplementary cardholder lounge access anyway.