Most people should know by now that uncapped UOB welcome offers are about as rare as steak tartare, but every once in a while the bank breaks with tradition and offers a guaranteed gift (how novel, I know).
Well, someone must have bumped their head again, because from now till 31 August 2024, new-to-bank customers will receive a pair of the highly-rated Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones when they spend at least S$1,000 on their card, with no cap on eligibility.
This would be a nice little offer, but as always with UOB, there’s a catch.
UOB Cards offering Sony headphones welcome gift
New-to-bank customers who apply and receive approval for an eligible UOB credit card from 1-31 August 2024 will receive a pair of Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (worth S$589).
| ❓ New-to-bank |
|
New-to-bank customers are defined as those who:
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The list of eligible cards can be found in the T&Cs — wait — actually, it can’t. UOB, being UOB, just has to do things differently, and instead lists the ineligible cards.
| 1.4 (b) you must successfully submit an application to be the principal cardholder for new UOB credit card(s) (excluding UOB EVOL Card, UOB PRVI Miles American Express Card, UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard, UOB PRVI Miles VISA Card UOB Lady’s Card, UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card, UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card, KrisFlyer UOB Card, UOB Visa Infinite Metal, UOB Privilege Banking Card, UOB Reserve Card and UOB Professional Platinum Cards) issued by UOB in Singapore (“Eligible UOB Card”) during the Promotion Period (the “Application”); |
But don’t worry; I’ve done the work for you. Here’s the cards which are eligible:
- Lazada-UOB Card
- Metro-UOB Card
- Singtel-UOB Card
- UOB Absolute Cashback Card
- UOB One Credit Card
- UOB Preferred Platinum Visa
- UOB UnionPay Card
- UOB Visa Signature Card
A minimum qualifying spend of S$1,000 must be made within the first 30 days of approval. For example, if your card is approved on 10 August 2024, you will need to meet the minimum spend by 9 September 2024.
Now, you might be thinking: so far, so good. What’s the catch?
The catch is that if you want this gift, you have to give up your first year fee waiver. All the eligible cards normally waive their first year’s fee, so cardholders must manually trigger it by sending the following SMS to 77862 by 31 August 2024.
| 📱 SMS to 77862 |
| CCAF<space>Last 4 alphanumeric digits of NRIC/Passport (Example: If your NRIC is S1234567A, send “CCAF 567A”) |
If you forget to send this SMS, your application will be treated like any other standard application: first year fee waiver, no welcome gift.
Based on the list of eligible cards, you’re looking at a charge of at least S$196.20 (S$218 if you opt for the UOB Visa Signature).
So you’re not so much getting a free gift as you are a discount, and while paying S$196.20 for a pair of S$589 headphones might seem like a good deal, keep in mind the recommended retail price is inflated. You can buy the same item on Amazon for S$419, or on Carousell for S$360 brand new (these headphones are a common SingSaver welcome gift, so naturally there’s a supply glut on Carousell).
What counts as qualifying spend?
Eligible transactions include all retail transactions in local or foreign currency, and a full list of exclusions can be found at point 1.6 in the T&Cs.
The key exclusions to highlight are:
- Charitable donations
- Education
- Government payments
- Hospitals
- Insurance
- Prepaid account top-ups (e.g. GrabPay or YouTrip)
- Utilities
- UOB Payment Facility
Supplementary cardholder spending will be pooled with the principal cardholder’s in determining if the minimum spend has been met. And before you say “isn’t that obvious?”, remember that UOB is not above such shenanigans.
Gift fulfillment
Eligible customers will receive an SMS by 31 December 2024 with details of gift collection.
Terms & Conditions
The T&Cs for this offer can be found here.
Alternative offer: S$350 cash credit
If you don’t like the idea of paying the first year’s annual fee, then UOB is running its regular welcome offer of a S$350 cash credit for new-to-bank customers who spend at least S$1,000 per month for two consecutive months from approval.
But of course, there’s a cap: only the first 200 eligible cardmembers will receive this gift, and as always there’s no way of knowing if you’re within the first 200.
Those interested in this offer will need to register by sending the following SMS to 77862 by 31 August 2024.
| 📱 SMS to 77862 |
| CCA<space>Last 4 alphanumeric digits of NRIC/Passport (Example: If your NRIC is S1234567A, send “CCA 567A”) |
Conclusion
UOB has launched a rare, uncapped welcome gift of a pair of Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones for new-to-bank customers.
However, you will need to give up your first year fee waiver to enjoy this offer, which means paying at least S$196.20. That could still make sense for those who want the headphones, but otherwise you might want to preserve your new-to-bank status for a different deal.
