Review: Standard Chartered Journey Card

Here’s The MileLion’s review of the Standard Chartered Journey Card, which even by the wacky standards of the miles game, has a pretty hardcore origins story.

Picture this: the year is 2019. You’re a bank with big plans to capture the affluent millennial segment. Do you:

1. Design a card that not only attracts new customers, but offers enough value for them to stick around and become lifelong ones?
2. Slap a 100,000 miles sign-up bonus on the bumper and railroad that sucker through to the market- renewals are a tomorrow problem!

It’s clear which option Standard Chartered decided on, and there’s nothing wrong with that approach, mind you, only that no one ever got down to thinking about renewal. 

The story of how the premium metal Standard Chartered X Card eventually became the mass-market plastic Journey is a fascinating one— and you can read about it here— but it’s not the focus of this article.

Instead, the question before us is much simpler: should you get a Standard Chartered Journey Card?

Standard Chartered Journey Card
🦁 MileLion Verdict
First Year	Recurring
☑ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It	☐ Take It ☑Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It
What do these ratings mean?
The StanChart Journey Card has an excellent welcome offer, though like its X Card predecessor, renewals aren’t exactly a slam dunk.
👍 The good	👎 The bad
Generous welcome offer, stackable with SingSaver gifts Bonuses on online groceries, food delivery and transport Non-expiring points Two lounge visits per year	Lost 9 airline and hotel transfer partners, leaving just Asia Miles and KrisFlyer Minimum transfer blocks of 10,000 miles 3.5% FCY fee compared to the industry-standard 3.25%
💳 Full List of Credit Card Reviews

Overview: StanChart Journey Card

Let’s start this review by looking at the key features of the Standard Chartered Journey Card.

Apply (Fee Waiver)
Apply (Fee Paying)
Annual Fee	S$196.20	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
Special Earn	3 mpd on online groceries, food delivery, transport (SGD)	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The Standard Chartered Journey Card is a direct replacement for the X Card, so even if you still hold a physical X Card, all your earn rates, benefits and fees will follow the Journey Card from 19 May 2023.

In other words, the Standard Chartered X Card, as we know it, no longer exists. However, for posterity’s sake, I’ve preserved the legacy review, just in case future generations need a case study on how not to manage a credit card. 

Review: Standard Chartered X Card

How much must I earn to qualify for a StanChart Journey Card?

How the mighty have fallen. Back when this was the X Card, a minimum income of S$80,000 p.a. was required.

Now as the Journey, all you need is the MAS-mandated minimum of S$30,000 p.a. 

How much is the StanChart Journey Card’s annual fee? 

The Standard Chartered Journey Card has an annual fee of S$196.20 for principal cardholders. You can either opt for a first year fee waiver with a smaller welcome bonus of 25,000 miles, or pay the annual fee for a larger welcome bonus of 45,000 miles.

Be advised that annual fee waivers from the second year onwards are not a given. Data points in the MileChat suggest that StanChart is taking a strict approach to this, so don’t be surprised if your request is rejected. However, you will receive 10,000 miles for paying the annual fee, so that helps somewhat. 

The annual fee is waived for up to five supplementary cards (it’s not clear what the fee is for the sixth onwards, but why would you need so many anyway?).

What sign-up bonus or gifts are available?

New-to-bank customers who apply for a StanChart Journey Card can enjoy both of the offers listed below. 

Standard Chartered

From now till 31 October 2024, new-to-bank customers can choose from the following offers, depending on whether they wish to pay the first year’s S$196.20 annual fee. 

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.

Bonus miles are on top of the StanChart Journey Card’s regular earn rates of 1.2-3 mpd, so assuming you spend the full S$3,000 on local, non-bonused transactions, you’re looking at an additional 3,600 base miles (S$3,000 @ 1.2 mpd), for an overall haul of up to 48,600 miles.

SingSaver

Apply (Fee Waiver)

Apply (Fee Paying)

From now till 1 September 2024, new-to-bank customers who apply for a StanChart Journey Card via the SingSaver links in this article can choose from one of the following gifts:

• Apple AirPods Pro
• 15,000 Max Miles
• S$280 eCapitaVoucher
• S$250 cash

These offers are available regardless of whether you apply for the fee paying or fee waiver option. A minimum spend of S$500 within the first 30 days of approval is required. 

As SingSaver gifts regularly change, be sure to refer to the T&Cs for the most current offer (you’ll also see it reflected on the application landing page).

How many miles do I earn?

SGD/FCY Spend

Standard Chartered Journey Card cardholders will earn:

• 3 Rewards Points per S$1 spent locally
• 5 Rewards Points per S$1 spent overseas

5 Rewards Points are worth 2 miles, so that’s an equivalent earn rate of 1.2 mpd for local spending, and 2.0 mpd for FCY spending.

These were once respectable rates for its segment, but in recent times, the HSBC TravelOne Card, DBS Altitude Card and OCBC 90°N Card have leapfrogged ahead.

💳 Earn Rates for General Spending Cards (income req.: S$30K)
Cards	Local Spend	FCY Spend
UOB PRVI Miles	1.4 mpd	2.4 mpd
HSBC TravelOne Card	1.2 mpd	2.4 mpd
DBS Altitude	1.3 mpd	2.2 mpd
OCBC 90°N Card	1.3 mpd	2.1 mpd
Citi PremierMiles	1.2 mpd	2 mpd
StanChart Journey	1.2 mpd	2 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend	1.2 mpd	2 mpd*
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card	1.1 mpd	2 mpd*
BOC Elite Miles	1 mpd	2 mpd
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card	1.2 mpd	1.2 mpd
*In June and Dec only, otherwise 1.1 mpd

All FCY transactions are subject to a 3.5% fee, which is the highest in the market (other banks max out at 3.25%).

With a 3.5% fee, using your StanChart Journey Card overseas represents buying miles at 1.75 cents each. 

Bonus Spend

StanChart Journey Cardholders will earn 7.5 Rewards Points per S$1 spent (3 mpd) for online transactions charged 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

Any transactions beyond the S$1,000 monthly cap will earn 1.2 mpd. 

This used to be a limited-time promotion, but was made a permanent product feature in late 2023. Truth be told, however, 3 mpd is not much of a draw in and of itself, since you could earn 4 mpd on these categories with other cards. However, it’s rare to see a general spending card have bonus categories, so we’ll have to give StanChart some credit for that. 

When are Rewards Points credited?

The base 3/5 Rewards Points for local/overseas spend are credited when your transaction posts, which generally takes 1-3 working days. 

The bonus 4.5 Rewards Points for local grocery, food delivery, and transport will be credited at the end of the statement period.

How are Rewards Points calculated?

Here’s how you can work out the Rewards Points earned on your Standard Chartered Journey Card.

This means the minimum spend required to earn points is S$0.17, whether in local or foreign currency. 

For what it’s worth, SCB has a more forgiving rounding policy than banks like OCBC and UOB, which enables the Standard Chartered Journey Card to outperform ostensibly higher-earning cards for smaller transactions. An illustration is provided below.

	SCB Journey Card Earn Rate: 1.2 mpd	UOB PRVI Miles Card Earn Rate: 1.4 mpd
S$5	6 miles	6 miles
S$9.99	12 miles	6 miles
S$15	18 miles	20 miles
S$19.99	24 miles	20 miles
S$25	30 miles	34 miles
S$29.99	36 miles	34 miles

If you’re an Excel geek, here’s the formulas you need to calculate points: 

For the full list of formulas that banks use to calculate credit card points, do refer to these articles:

• General Spending Cards
• Specialised Spending Cards

What transactions aren’t eligible for Rewards Points?

A full list of transactions that do not earn transactions can be found in the T&Cs.

I’ve highlighted a few noteworthy categories below:

• Charitable Donations
• Education
• Government Services 
• GrabPay and YouTrip top-ups
• Hospitals (excluded from 3 September 2024)
• Insurance Premiums
• Utilities (excluded from 3 September 2024)

For avoidance of doubt, CardUp transactions will earn points, and do count towards the minimum spend for welcome offers. 

What do I need to know about Rewards Points?

Expiry

Rewards Points earned on the StanChart Journey Card never expire, so long as the card account remains active.

Pooling

StanChart’s rewards system is rather odd. 

• Rewards Points earned on Visa Infinite cards and the Journey card pool
• Rewards Points earned on non-Visa Infinite cards pool

In case you’re wondering why the Journey gets to party with the Visa Infinite cards, it’s purely a legacy reason. Remember, the former X Card was a Visa Infinite, so Standard Chartered could hardly “downgrade” all legacy X Card points by putting them on the same scheme as the non-Visa Infinite. 

It used to be the case that all Standard Chartered points pooled, so a cardmember with a non-Visa Infinite card could apply for a Visa Infinite card to “enhance” the value of his non-Visa Infinite points (they enjoy a favourable conversion ratio, as you’ll see below). That is no longer possible.

Transfer Partners & Fees

Standard Chartered used to have 10 different airline and hotel transfer partners, one of the widest ranges in Singapore. 

Unfortunately, that all changed in March 2024, when nine of them were unceremoniously dumped. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles was added, but the overall lineup is certainly a lot thinner than before. 

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (SC Points: Partner)
	Visa Infinite & Journey	All others
	25,000 : 10,000	34,500 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000	34,500 : 10,000

Transfers cost S$27.25 each, regardless of the number of points transferred. 

Transfer Time

Conversions to KrisFlyer miles are generally completed within 1-3 working days.

Other card perks

Two complimentary lounge visits

Registration

Standard Chartered Journey Card cardholders enjoy two complimentary lounge visits per membership year, courtesy of Priority Pass. A guest fee of US$32 applies after the free visits have been exhausted, and this benefit is only available to the principal cardholder. 

Here’s how this compares to other cards in its segment:

Card	Network	Free Lounge Visits (per year)
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend	Plaza Premium	4X
HSBC TravelOne Card	DragonPass	4X
Citi PremierMiles	Priority Pass	2X
DBS Altitude	Priority Pass	2X (Visa Version Only)
StanChart Journey Card	Priority Pass	2X
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card	N/A	N/A
BOC Elite Miles	N/A	N/A
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card	N/A	N/A
OCBC 90°N Card	N/A	N/A
UOB PRVI Miles	N/A	N/A

SC EasyBill

SC EasyBill

This isn’t a unique feature of the Journey Card per se, but all StanChart cardholders can use SC EasyBill to pay the following bills:

• Individual Income & Property Tax
• Education
• Insurance
• Rent

An admin fee of 1.9% applies, which is sometimes lowered for targeted customers. 

To illustrate, suppose you have a S$10,000 income tax payment to make:

• After setting up the payment, StanChart will pay S$10,000 to IRAS on your behalf
• Your Journey Card will be charged S$10,190 (S$10,000 +1.9% admin fee)
• You’ll earn 12,000 miles (the admin fee does not earn miles)
• tl;dr: you’ve paid S$190 for 12,000 miles, or 1.58 cents apiece. 

It’s not a terrible rate, but Citi PayAll can offer better rates during its regular promos, as well as a wider scope of payments.

Complimentary travel insurance

Standard Chartered Journey Card cardholders enjoy complimentary travel insurance underwritten by Allianz, which is automatically activated when the full airfare is charged to the card. Allianz has previously clarified that coverage does not apply to award tickets, unfortunately. 

Do note there is no coverage for trip cancellation and disruption, delayed flights, rental car excess, or personal liability. I personally would not feel comfortable without this, so I’d recommend you purchase additional coverage regardless. 

Summary Review: StanChart Journey Card

Apply
🦁 MileLion Verdict
First Year	Recurring
☑ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It	☐ Take It ☑Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It
What do these ratings mean?

The StanChart Journey Card offers a compelling first-year value proposition, with a 45,000 miles welcome offer that’s further stackable with SingSaver gifts. Together with the two free lounge visits, it’s almost impossible to lose.

But come the second year onwards, you’ll have a tougher decision on your hands. Because StanChart lacks the kind of specialised spending cards that DBS and UOB offer, after the initial welcome bonus it can be difficult to accumulate a critical mass of points from day to day spending. True, there is a 3 mpd bonus on online groceries, food delivery and transport, but keep in mind that superior 4 mpd alternatives exist so there’s some opportunity cost involved. 

It’s also unfortunate that StanChart has discarded nine of its transfer partners, which were a  unique differentiating factor given how many banks default to just KrisFlyer and Asia Miles. 

So that’s my review of the StanChart Journey Card. What do you think?