Maybank Horizon Visa Signature offering 3.2 mpd on FCY spend and air tickets

The Maybank Horizon Visa Signature is easily one of my favourite cards, ever since its major revamp in November 2023 that added 2.8 mpd on all foreign currency (FCY) transactions (uncapped) and air tickets (capped at S$10,000 per month) as an evergreen benefit. 

The earn rates have been periodically boosted to 3.2 mpd during the peak travel seasons, and Maybank has done it once again for a three-month period from November 2024 to January 2025.

While it’s true you could earn 4 mpd on these categories with other cards, the Maybank Horizon’s trump card is the lack of a cap for FCY spending, and a beefy S$10,000 per month cap for air tickets. And remember, the FCY earn rate applies even to charitable donations, education, insurance premiums, private hospitals and utilities!

Maybank Horizon Visa Signature 3.2 mpd promo 

From 1 November 2024 to 31 January 2025, Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Cardholders will earn:

• 3.2 mpd on FCY spend (no cap)
• 3.2 mpd on air tickets (capped at S$10,000 per calendar month). 

💳 Maybank Horizon 3.2 mpd Promotion
Apply
Min. Spend	S$800 per calendar month
FCY Spend (no cap)	2.8 mpd 3.2 mpd
Air Tickets (capped at S$10K per calendar month)	2.8 mpd 3.2 mpd

This offer is available to both existing cardholders, and cardholders who sign up subsequently. No registration is needed; simply spend at least S$800 per calendar month to trigger the offer.

FCY spend

FCY spend is defined as card retail transactions posted in foreign currencies, regardless of whether they’re online or in-person.

For avoidance of doubt, this 3.2 mpd includes charitable donations, education, insurance premiums, private hospitals and utilities, so long as they’re charged in FCY. This would be fantastic for anyone who has overseas university fees to pay, for instance. 

Air tickets

Air ticket spend is classified as transactions posted in Singapore dollars (if you have air tickets in FCY, they fall under the previous section, with no cap) under MCCs 4511 and 3000-3350.

This includes Singapore Airlines, Scoot, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways and pretty much every major airline out there.

If you’re kiasu and want to check the MCC of a particular airline transaction before spending, here’s three ways of doing so:

What counts towards the S$800 minimum spend?

The minimum S$800 spend required to trigger the 3.2 mpd rate includes all retail transactions, both online and offline, in local and FCY. 

Maybank keeps a list of transactions that will not count towards the minimum spend or TREATS points issuance in its T&Cs, at point 2.2.

Key exclusions to note are:

• Government services
• Betting or gambling transactions
• Brokerage or securities transactions
• Stored value top-ups like GrabPay or YouTrip

Charitable donations, education, insurance premiums, medical bills and utilities will count towards the minimum spend, whether in SGD or FCY.

Maybank also has an unusual policy when it comes towards transaction versus posting dates, but it’s one that works in your favour. 

• Retail transactions charged to a Card made within a calendar month that are successfully posted to a Card Account prior to the 6th day of the following calendar month, will be counted towards the minimum spend of the month that the retail transactions are made.
• Retail transactions charged to the Card which made within a calendar month but are only posted to a Card Account after the 6th day of the following month will be counted towards the following month’s minimum spend

Basically, so long as your transaction posts by the 6th day of the following calendar month, that transaction will count towards the minimum spend and bonus cap for the month it was made. 

How are points credited?

The 1X base TREATS Points are credited when the transaction posts, which usually takes 1-3 working days.

The 7X bonus TREATS Points will be credited by the 8th day of the following calendar month, in a lump sum.

There is a 1,000,000 TREATS points cap

While the earn rate for FCY is supposedly uncapped, it’s worth highlighting a rather odd clause in the TREATS T&Cs (point 2.8) that caps cardmembers at accumulating a maximum of 1,000,000 TREATS Points at any point in time. 

It’s a strange rule, but you won’t trigger it unless you spend more than S$142,857 in FCY in a given calendar month (remember, the base 1X is credited in the month of transaction and the bonus 7X in the month after, so you have the opportunity to cash out the 1X points before the 7X arrive).

So yeah, there is a cap, if you want to be technical about it, but if you’re spending six digits in a month on your card then I don’t really want to talk to you.

Terms & Conditions

The T&Cs of this offer can be found here.

How does this compare to other cards?

For the period of the promotion, the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature becomes the highest-earning uncapped general spending card for FCY spending.

💳 FCY Earn Rates by Card (For general spending cards with uncapped earn rates only)
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Maybank Horizon Apply	3.2 mpd	Min. S$800 spend per c. month Review
Maybank World Mastercard Apply	3.2 mpd*	Min. S$4K per c. month, no cap Review
StanChart Visa Infinite Apply	3 mpd	Min. S$2K spend per s. month Review
UOB PRVI Miles Apply	2.4 mpd	Review
HSBC TravelOne Apply	2.4 mpd	Review
OCBC VOYAGE (Premier, PPC, BOS) Apply	2.3 mpd	Review
OCBC Premier Visa Infinite Apply	2.24 mpd
DBS Vantage Apply	2.2 mpd	Review
OCBC VOYAGE Apply	2.2 mpd	Review
OCBC 90°N Card Apply	2.1 mpd	Review
All other options earn 2 mpd or less

It’s even better than the Maybank World Mastercard, because the latter requires a minimum spend of S$4,000 per month to trigger its 3.2 mpd earn rate on FCY spend, and it blows the StanChart Visa Infinite out of the water because it: 

• Has a lower FCY fee of 3.25% (compared to 3.5% for StanChart)
• Requires a lower minimum spend of S$800 per month (compared to S$2,000 for StanChart)
• Has an income requirement of S$30,000 (compared to StanChart’s S$150,000)
• Offers the first three years free (compared to a non-waivable annual fee of S$594 for StanChart)

That said, we need to keep in mind that there are other ways to earn 4 mpd on FCY spend, albeit with a cap. Top-of-mind options include the UOB Visa Signature Card, the Citi Rewards Card (paired with Amaze), and the UOB Lady’s Cards. 

Refer to the article below for a rundown of the options.

2024 Edition: Best Cards for Overseas Spending

Therefore, you should ensure you’ve maxed out those other cards first, before using the Maybank Horizon to soak up what’s leftover.

Welcome gift

Maybank is currently offering a welcome gift to new-to-bank customers, defined as those who:

• do not have an existing principal Maybank credit card or CreditAble account at the time of application, and
• did not cancel a principal Maybank credit card or CreditAble account within 9 months prior to application

New-to-bank customers who apply for a Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card and CreditAble account will have a choice of one of the following gifts:*

• Samsonite ENOW SPINNER 69/25 EXP (worth S$570)
• S$200 cash credit
• 10,000 KrisFlyer miles (in the form of 25,000 TREATS points)

*You need not select your gift at the time of application; rather, you’ll select it at the time of fulfilment.

Cardholders must spend a minimum of S$600 per month for the first two consecutive months after approval. For example, if your card is approved on 15 November 2024, your spend periods are:

• Spend Period 1: 15 November 2024 to 14 December 2024 
• Spend Period 2: 15 December 2024 to 14 January 2025

There is no need to charge anything to the CreditAble account.

If you do not want to apply for a CreditAble account, you can still receive the welcome gift provided you spend at least S$650 per month for the first two consecutive months after approval. All other terms remain the same.

It may sound almost blasphemous, but my recommendation is not to take the miles. 10,000 KrisFlyer miles are worth around S$150 (based on my valuation of 1.5 cents per mile), so the S$200 cash credit feels more enticing to me.

Gifts will be fulfilled within five business days after meeting the minimum spend requirement. Yes, that’s not a typo. Unlike other banks, which take months to award your gifts, Maybank does it in just five days- I personally tested this last year and was amazed at how fast it was. 

This promotion does not currently have an end date. The T&Cs for this offer can be found here. 

Overview: Maybank Horizon Visa Signature

Apply Here
Income Req.	S$30,000 p.a.	Points Validity	12-15 months
Annual Fee	S$196.20 (3 yrs free)	Min. Transfer	25,000 points (10,000 miles)*
Miles with Annual Fee	N/A	Transfer Partners	4
FCY Fee	3.25%	Transfer Fee	S$27.25
Local Earn	0.24-1.2 mpd	Points Pool?	Yes
FCY Earn	2.8 mpd	Lounge Access?	No
Special Earn	2.8 mpd on air tickets	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions
*For KrisFlyer; 5,000 miles for Cathay and MAS, 2,000 points for Air Asia

The Maybank Horizon Visa Signature is quite easily one of the best entry-level cards on the market right now, provided you use it exclusively for FCY spend and air tickets. 

Refer to my detailed review below for everything you need to know.

Review: Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card

Conclusion

The Maybank Horizon Visa Signature has brought back its 3.2 mpd earn rates for FCY spend and air tickets from November 2024 to January 2025, making it an excellent option to use for these categories.

Remember that the FCY earn rate applies to both online and offline transactions, so even if you’re not planning an overseas trip, there’s still opportunities to take advantage of this offer.