UOB cards offering uncapped Apple AirPods Pro & AirTags welcome gift

Last month, UOB bumped its head a little too hard and started offering an uncapped welcome gift for selected credit cards: a pair of the highly-rated Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones. 

It looks like the damage may be permanent, because this month they’re doing it again- this time round it’s a pair of Apple AirPods Pro and two AirTags, and again there’s no cap. Everyone who gets approved and meets the minimum spend gets the gift (what a novel concept!).

This would be a nice little offer, but as always with UOB, there’s a catch.

UOB Cards offering Apple bundle welcome gift

New-to-bank customers who apply and receive approval for an eligible UOB credit card from 1-30 September 2024 will receive:

• Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) with MagSafe Charging Case
• 2x Apple AirTags

Unlike last month, where UOB thought it wiser to list the cards that weren’t eligible, this month they’ve kindly listed the cards which are:

• Metro-UOB Card
• Singtel-UOB Card
• UOB ONE Card
• UOB Preferred Platinum Visa
• 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 September 2024, you will need to meet the minimum spend by 9 October 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 30 September 2024.

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 Apple products with a recommended retail price of S$456.50 may seem like a good deal, keep in mind that thanks to SingSaver’s constant giveaways, the resale price for Apple AirPods Pro, even brand new ones, is significantly lower. I can find them on Carousell starting from S$250, and with two AirTags, you’re looking at closer to S$320 of value. 

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 January 2025 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 this is a more vintage UOB welcome offer: 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 30 September 2024. 

Conclusion

UOB is continuing last month’s uncapped promotion by switching up the gift to an Apple AirPods and AirTag bundle, while keeping the minimum spend and other eligibility criteria the same.

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 still represents a discount to the retail price, though perhaps not as good a deal when you consider how much these items go for on Carousell. 

If you’re a new-to-bank customer who prefers to go down the miles path, then I’d recommend looking at the uncapped 45,200 miles welcome offer with the UOB PRVI Miles Card instead.