StanChart Journey Card now offering 10,000 miles for renewal

In May 2023, Standard Chartered finally put the hapless X Card out of its misery by relaunching it as the Journey Card, an altogether better product (though it’d be difficult not to improve on the X Card!).

One of the funniest things about the X Card was that throughout its lifetime, StanChart repeatedly insisted that the annual fee was “strictly non-waivable.” And yet, so underwhelming was the X Card that the bank ended up having to waive its annual fee every year, each time on an “exceptional” basis!

But perhaps StanChart’s having the last laugh after all. In a delicious twist of irony, since the start of this year reports have been coming in that unlike the premium X Card, the entry-level Journey’s annual fee can’t be waived. And since there’s no renewal incentive, most people confronted with the question have decided to cancel their card.

Perhaps that’s why StanChart is now offering a sweetener for renewing…

StanChart Journey Card offering 10,000 miles for annual fee renewal

From 1 July 2024, all principal StanChart Journey Cardholders will be eligible to receive 10,000 bonus miles (awarded in the form of 25,000 rewards points) upon paying their annual fee from the second year onwards. 

This will be credited within one calendar month after the annual fee has been charged. For example, if your annual fee is charged in August 2024, you will receive the bonus by 30 September 2024. 

If you’re cursing your luck (or, more probably, StanChart) because you’ve already paid your annual fee, there’s some good news. All cardholders who paid their annual fee between 1 January to 30 June 2024 will be retroactively credited 10,000 miles as well. This will be automatically credited to your account by 31 August 2024, subject to the card being in good standing at the time of crediting. 

As a reminder, cardholders have a choice of paying the first year’s annual fee to receive a larger welcome bonus, or receiving a first year fee waiver with a smaller welcome bonus.

Cardholders who pay the first year’s S$196.20 annual fee will receive 10,000 bonus miles, and a further 35,000 bonus miles when they spend S$3,000 in the first 60 days of approval.

Cardholders who want a first year fee waiver will receive 25,000 bonus miles when they spend S$3,000 in the first 60 days of approval.

This offer is further stackable with SingSaver gifts, as outlined in the post below.

StanChart Journey Card offering up to 60,000 miles welcome offer

Should you pay the annual fee?

Paying S$196.20 for 10,000 miles is par the course for general spending cards at the S$30,000 income mark, with the Citi PremierMiles, DBS Altitude, HSBC TravelOne, OCBC 90°N and KrisFlyer UOB Card all offering the same. 

💳 Miles with Annual Fee (Cards at S$30K income req.)
Card	Annual Fee	Miles	CPM
OCBC 90°N MC Apply	S$196.20	10,000	1.96¢
OCBC 90°N Visa Apply	S$196.20	10,000	1.96¢
Citi PremierMiles Apply	S$196.20	10,000	1.96¢
DBS Altitude AMEX Apply	S$196.20	10,000	1.96¢
DBS Altitude Visa Apply	S$196.20	10,000	1.96¢
HSBC TravelOne Card Apply	S$196.20	10,000	1.96¢
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	S$196.20	10,000	1.96¢
SCB Journey Card Apply	S$196.20	10,000	1.96¢

However, at 1.96 cents per mile, it’s not necessarily the cheapest way of buying miles. 

If you have bills to pay such as income tax, rent or insurance premiums, it’s possible to generate miles from platforms like CardUp and Citi Payall from as little as 1.1 cents each. 

Therefore, you should only be buying miles from your annual fee if you’ve exhausted the options above.

Overview: StanChart Journey Card

Apply (Fee Waiver)
Apply (Fee Paying)
Income Req.	S$30,000 p.a.	Points Validity	No expiry
Annual Fee (Including GST)	S$196.20 (FYF)	Min. Transfer	25,000 points (10,000 miles)
Miles with Annual Fee	10,000	Transfer Partners	2
FCY Fee	3.5%	Transfer Fee	S$27.25
Local Earn	1.2 mpd	Points Pool?	Yes
FCY Earn	2 mpd	Lounge Access?	Yes: 2x Priority Pass
Special Earn	3 mpd on online groceries, food delivery, transport (SGD)	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

StanChart Journey Cardholders earn 1.2 mpd on SGD spend, and 2 mpd on FCY spend, with no minimum spend or caps. 

A bonus rate of 3 mpd will be awarded for online transactions in SGD with the following MCCs:

Do note that the examples are not exhaustive; all that matters is:

• the MCC falls within the approved range
• the transaction is online
• the transaction is in SGD

This 3 mpd rate is capped at S$1,000 per statement month. You could, of course, do better with 4 mpd on other cards, but if you’ve maxed out those caps then this would be a potential fall-back option. 

For a full review of the Journey card, refer to the article below. 

Review: Standard Chartered Journey Card

Conclusion

StanChart Jouney Cardholders will now be able enjoy 10,000 miles each year they renew their card and pay the S$196.20 annual fee. 

The bank will retroactively award this to any cardholder who paid their annual fee from the start of 2024 onwards, though honestly I have difficulty understanding why anyone would have been willing to pay the annual fee without miles in the first place. 

(HT: Anthony)