Gotcha: The unexpected surprises lurking in UOB’s T&Cs

If you want to collect miles, then I’d argue that UOB cards are practically essential. I’m a big fan of the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, UOB Visa Signature and UOB Lady’s Card, and would recommend them to anyone starting out in the miles game. Heck, even the general spending UOB PRVI Miles Cards can come in useful during their periodic bonuses for overseas shopping and dining.

At the same time, however, I’m well aware that lurking in the T&Cs are some very nasty gotchas. These may be familiar to veterans, but can easily trip up first-time cardholders. You might not earn any miles on small transactions. Your UNI$ may be automatically deducted for an annual fee waiver. Your overseas spend might not be overseas. I could go on and on.

So every time I recommend a UOB card to a family member or friend, I make a point of attaching this article too, if only so they can’t say I didn’t warn them!

S$5 earning blocks & double rounding

Pop quiz: what’s the local earn rate on your UOB PRVI Miles Card? If you answered “1.4 miles per S$1”, well, you might want to check your points balance. UOB has one of the strictest rounding policies on the market, which can lead to a lot of lost miles especially on small transactions. 

Suppose you make a S$9.99 transaction on your UOB PRVI Miles Card. You might think that earns you S$9.99 * 1.4 mpd = 13.99 miles, but you’d be wrong.

What happens is:

• S$9.99 is first rounded down to S$5
• S$5 is divided by 5 and multiplied by 3.5 (since the UOB PRVI Miles Card awards UNI$3.5 per S$5 spent)
• UNI$3.5 is rounded down again to the nearest whole number

In other words, you earn just UNI$3 (6 miles) on this S$9.99 transaction, which is an effective earn rate of 0.6 mpd.

How to protect yourself

S$9.99 is an extreme example, but the fact remains that because of this rounding policy, the UOB PRVI Miles Card may earn fewer miles than a card with an ostensibly lower earn rate, such as the Citi PremierMiles Card. 

💳 Miles Earned for SGD Spending
	UOB PRVI Miles 1.4 mpd	Citi PremierMiles* 1.2 mpd
S$5	6 miles	6 miles
S$9.99	6 miles	11 miles
S$15	20 miles	18 miles
S$19.99	20 miles	23 miles
S$25	34 miles	30 miles
S$29.99	34 miles	35 miles
S$35	48 miles	42 miles
S$39.99	48 miles	47 miles
*For Citi PremierMiles, round transaction down to the nearest S$1, then multiply by 1.2 and round to the nearest whole number

Therefore, a good heuristic would be to avoid using the UOB PRVI Miles Card for small transactions (<S$25) that aren’t in blocks of S$5.

Alternatively, you can focus your spending on cards like the UOB Visa Signature, UOB Lady’s Card or UOB Lady’s Solitaire, where the impact of rounding is relatively muted because of the way in which UOB calculates points.

To understand why that’s the case, refer to the post below.

What you should know about UOB’s points rounding policy

Automatic UNI$ deductions for annual fees

UOB cardholders need to be on their toes every 12 months, because buried in the T&Cs is a clause that gives UOB the right to automatically deduct UNI$ to cover their annual fee.

UOB is the only bank in Singapore with such a practice, and those not in the habit of monitoring their statements may find themselves mysteriously short of miles come redemption time.

💳 UNI$ deductions for annual fee
Card	Annual Fee	Full Waiver*
UOB Lady’s Card	S$196.20	UNI$6,500
UOB Pref. Plat. Visa	S$196.20	UNI$6,500
UOB Visa Signature	S$218	UNI$6,500
UOB PRVI Miles Card	S$261.60	UNI$6,500
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card	S$414.20	UNI$10,000
*Half waiver requires 50% of the UNI$ for a full waiver and 50% of the annual fee cash

Here’s the logic behind how deductions work: 

• If you have sufficient UNI$ for a full waiver, the full waiver option will be automatically selected
• If you do not have sufficient UNI$ for a full waiver but have sufficient UNI$ for a half waiver, the half waiver option will be automatically selected
• If you do not have sufficient UNI$ for a full or half waiver, the annual fee will be billed in cash

How to protect yourself

There’s two things to do here. 

The first is to know when your annual fee will be charged- check the expiration date printed on your card; the month corresponds to the month the annual fee will be billed.

The second is to carefully monitor your UNI$ balance each month.  This can be done through internet banking, or via the UOB TMRW app. You can also check your eStatement for a line relating to the UNI$ deduction. 

Once you’ve spotted a UNI$ deduction, you should request a waiver through the UOB TMRW app.

1. Tap Accounts at the bottom of the screen
2. Select the card you wish to request a fee waiver for
3. Tap Settings, then Waive Fees
4. Select Annual Fee and confirm

For avoidance of doubt, you can request a fee waiver this way regardless of whether you’ve been billed in cash, or via a deduction of UNI$.

Do note that you must wait for the for UNI$ deduction to change from “pending” to “posted” before you can request for a fee waiver. If you try to attempt a fee waiver before the status changes to “posted”, you will get an error message saying “there is no fee to waive”.

If it’s any consolation, should UOB grant you an annual fee waiver, your UNI$ will be reinstated with a fresh 2-year validity.

Read more about this practice below.

How do UOB’s automatic UNI$ deductions for annual fees work?

“First X” welcome offers

UOB dangles some great-sounding welcome offers: Apple Watches, Michelin-starred dining experiences for two, S$350 cash and so on. 

But before you get excited and hit the apply button, give those T&Cs a read! UOB is infamous for “first X” welcome offers, which cap the maximum number of eligible participants. That’s of course their prerogative, but it stacks the deck against the customer, given the information asymmetry.

There’s no way of knowing whether the cap has been hit yet at the time of application, so you’re basically gambling. You apply, spend, and pray that the gift shows up sometime down the road (let’s not forget those UOB Reserve Cardholders who had to spend S$150,000 for a non-guaranteed reward…). And if it doesn’t, there’s no second chance. You’re already considered an existing UOB customer, and therefore not eligible for further welcome gifts!

How to protect yourself

The best way of protecting yourself is to read the T&Cs for every welcome offer carefully. Do a quick search for “first”, and if that’s followed by a number, run far far away. 

If, for some reason, you want to apply for a “first X” offer, there isn’t much you can do short of improving your odds by applying and meeting the minimum spend the day the promotion launches.

To be fair, UOB occasionally runs uncapped welcome offers on certain cards, though these are the exception rather than the rule. If you meet the new-to-bank criteria, that’s when you should hop onboard.

Definition of overseas spend

Many general spending cards offer a higher earn rate for overseas spending, in order to encourage cardholders to spend on holiday.

For most banks, overseas spending is simply defined as any transaction not in SGD. That’s intuitive enough. 

For UOB, it’s not so simple. Overseas spending is defined as any transaction not in SGD, and processed by a payment gateway outside of Singapore. Here’s an example from the UOB PRVI Miles T&Cs:

How do you know where a merchant’s payment gateway is located? You don’t. Even if you called up the merchant, I doubt a frontline customer service officer would be willing or able to divulge that information.

How to protect yourself

If you’re physically overseas and using your card at a brick-and-mortar merchant, you have nothing to worry about. The payment gateway will definitely be overseas.

If you’re shopping online, that’s when you need to take heed. Generally speaking, if you’re dealing with a transaction that has no nexus with Singapore (e.g. buying United Airlines tickets for domestic travel within the US), you should be safe. However, there are other sites like Hotels.com which may show prices in foreign currency, yet process transactions locally. That’s when you get dinged. 

I’m sorry I can’t be more specific than that, because just like you, I’m in the dark as to whose payment gateway is where. 

Definition of contactless spend

The UOB Preferred Platinum Visa earns 4 mpd on all contactless transactions, and is an excellent tool to have in your arsenal.

But be careful! UOB’s definition of “contactless” is probably different from yours. Ever since May 2020, the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa has only awarded 4 mpd on mobile contactless transactions, where the card is digitised into Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay. Tapping the physical card does not qualify. 

Now, I’m a bit more hesitant to criticise UOB in this respect, because I understand merchant fees vary depending on whether a customer taps his/her physical card or uses his/her phone to pay. If the reduced fees are what enables UOB to continue offering 4 mpd on the Preferred Platinum Visa, then fair enough.

However, it’s still something to be aware of, and the situation is further complicated by the fact that the UOB Visa Signature, which also earns 4 mpd on contactless spending, does include transactions made by tapping the physical card.

How to protect yourself

An easy way to avoid this pitfall is to digitise all cards onto your phone by default. This saves bulk in your wallet, and ensures you’ll always have them with you.

Statement month vs calendar month

Most specialised spending cards will cap the maximum spending on which you can earn 4 mpd every month. That’s fair enough; 4 mpd is a generous return, and they can’t just offer it uncapped (or can they…)

But where it gets confusing with UOB is that the bank uses different definitions of “month” depending on card.

Card	Bonus Cap Based On
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	Calendar month
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	Calendar month
UOB Pref. Plat Visa Apply	Calendar month
UOB Visa Signature  Apply	Statement month

The UOB Lady’s Card, Lady’s Solitaire and Preferred Platinum Visa cap 4 mpd by calendar month, which is intuitive enough. The UOB Visa Signature caps 4 mpd by statement month, which is slightly more difficult to remember.

Granted, other banks cap bonuses by statement month as well (e.g. Citi Rewards), but at least they’re internally consistent. 

How to protect yourself

Fortunately, it is possible to call up UOB customer service and ask them to adjust your statement month for the UOB Visa Signature. 

It can’t be a perfect match for calendar month (because some months have 30 days, others 31), but at least there’ll be a closer correspondence. If I recall correctly, the latest date you can put is 28th of each month.

“Accelerated miles” for KrisFlyer UOB Card that aren’t

I like the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card. How can you not like an uncapped 3 mpd for Singapore Airlines, Scoot and KrisShop, as well as dining, food delivery, online shopping, online travel and transport?

But be careful! Even though UOB refers to the 3 mpd as “accelerated” miles, in reality they’re anything but.

Of the 3 mpd earned on dining, food delivery, online shopping, online travel and transport, only 1.2 mpd is credited upfront. The remaining 1.8 mpd is credited two months after the end of the membership year!

The delayed crediting mechanism gives rise to several important issues.

First, any pending Accelerated Miles will be forfeited if you cancel the card before they post. This effectively locks you into the card, which I’m quite certain is deliberate.

Second, because Accelerated Miles are credited as one lump sum, it will be very tricky to reconcile your points with transactions. I mean, it’s hard enough doing this on a month to month basis; imagine doing it for 12 months’ worth. 

Third, you will be more exposed to devaluation risk. If SIA announces an award chart devaluation in, say, two months, other cardholders can rush out to convert their points and burn their miles before it happens. You can’t, because your Accelerated Miles are in limbo.

Fourth, your miles will all be of different vintages. The Base Miles will be credited each month, and start their 3-year expiry period immediately. The Accelerated Miles will follow two to 14 months later. 

Refer to the article below for more information.

How does the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card’s Accelerated Miles feature work?

How to protect yourself

Short of avoiding the card altogether, there isn’t a lot you can do her- and I still think the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card has a role to play, since an uncapped 3 mpd can come in useful for big spenders once their 4 mpd caps have been burst. 

You’ll just need to remember that if you do want to cancel your card, you’ll need to stop spending anything further and wait till the Accelerated Miles from the current membership year get credited.

But at least UOB$ merchants aren’t a problem anymore!

And just to show I’m perfectly capable of giving credit where it’s due, here’s something that’s no longer a gotcha: UOB$ merchants. 

UOB$ Programme

UOB runs two different card rewards programmes, with very similar sounding names:

• UNI$: A points currency which can be converted to airline miles
• UOB$ (formerly known as SMART$): A merchant-specific cashback scheme where cashback can only be used on a return visit

These two programmes used to be mutually exclusive, so you wouldn’t earn any UNI$ for transactions at UOB$ merchants. That led to a lot of nasty surprises for first-time cardholders, especially since most UOB$ rebates are rather miserly.

But in November 2024 that policy changed, and cardholders can now double dip on UOB$ cashback and UNI$ points at UOB$ merchants. 

PSA: UOB cardholders now earn UNI$ at UOB$ merchants

This means that UOB$ merchants are no longer something to be avoided; on the contrary, you have added incentive to use UOB cards here to get some extra cashback you wouldn’t otherwise have received with alternate cards!

Conclusion

I’m not here to hate on UOB cards. They have some excellent miles earning options, and there’s a reason why they feature heavily in my annual credit card strategy posts.

It’s just frustrating that every time I recommend a UOB card, I have to throw in so many “but take note of the following…” caveats. It’s almost as if UOB gets some kick out of making things as convoluted as possible for customers (case in point: their 2021 miles extension perk, which required you to send an SMS in…January 2024). 

So by all means, continue spending on those UOB cards, but also keep your wits about you. There’s gotchas in the T&Cs that can trip up unsuspecting cardholders, and it’s important to go in with both eyes open.

Any other tricky UOB T&Cs to look out for?