Complimentary airport limo ridesย offer cardholders the convenience of being picked up or dropped off for their flight,ย not to mention a little ego boost when they see a sign with their name on it!
Unfortunately, due to rising operating costs, banks have been tightening the terms of this benefit. In recent years, we’ve seen increases to the minimum spend, reductions in the number of ride entitlements, and increases in the cost of add-ons like child seats, midnight surcharges and additional stops.
In this post, weโll explore the credit cards that still include airport limo benefits, the eligibility requirements and entitlements, andโmost importantlyโthe terms and conditions you need to know.
๐ Best Credit Cards for Airport Limo Rides |
Summary: Credit cards with airport limo rides
The following credit cards offer complimentary airport limo rides.ย
Card | Qualifying Spend |
Cap |
Income Req. โฅS$30K | ||
UOB PRVI Miles AMEX (T&C) |
S$1K (FCY) per quarter for 2 rides | 2 per quarter SG |
Booking Book at Maxicab.sg 2 days prior to departure |
||
Income Req. โฅS$120K | ||
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card (T&C) |
None | 1 per year SG Overseas |
Booking Register at travelwithus.mastercard.com and book at least 48h in advance |
||
HSBC Visa Infinite (T&C) |
S$2K per month for 1 ride First 2 [Regular] or 4 [Premier] per year are free |
24 per year Includes free rides SG |
Booking Book via Ten Concierge website at least 24h in advanceย |
||
Maybank Visa Infinite (T&C) |
S$3K per month for 1 ride | 8 per year SG |
Booking Call Maybank Cards Priority Customer Service at least 72h in advance |
||
OCBC VOYAGE (T&C) |
S$12K per quarter for 2 rides |
2 per quarter SG |
Booking Book via STACK, orย call 6593 9999 at least 48h in advance |
||
Citi Prestige (T&C) |
S$12K per quarter for 2 rides | 2 per quarter SG |
Booking Book via Citi Prestige Digital Concierge on Citi Mobile app at least 48h in advance |
||
StanChart Beyond Card (T&C) |
None | 2 per year* Priority Banking & Priority Private only SG Overseas |
Booking Book via Teleport.sg at least 48h in advance |
||
*StanChart advertises 10 rides per year for Priority Private Beyond Cardholders. However, this figure already includes the 8 rides that Priority Private customers normally enjoy, without having to hold the Beyond Card. |
In addition to these, there are also a handful of ultra-premium credit cards which offer an airport limo benefit. I’ll address these at the end, because their benefits are โ surprisingly โ a lot more restrictive, usually requiring the purchase of a First or Business Class ticket.ย
The key points of difference among the various cards are:
- spending requirements
- whether rides are valid for pick-up, drop-off, or both
- whether rides are valid in Singapore, overseas, or both
- ride validity
We’ll look at each of these in turn.
Spending requirements
๐ Limo Entitlement: Spending Requirement |
||
Card | Min. Spend | Unlocks |
StanChart Beyond Card | No min. spend required, 2 free rides offered per calendar year | |
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card | No min. spend required, 1 free ride offered per calendar year | |
UOB PRVI Miles AMEX | S$1K FCY per quarter* |
2 rides |
HSBC Visa Infinite | S$2K per month^ |
1 ride |
Maybank Visa Infinite | S$3K per month | 1 ride |
OCBC VOYAGE | S$12K per quarter |
2 rides |
Citi Prestige | S$12K per quarter | 2 rides |
*Excluding online transactions ^First 2/4 free for regular/HSBC Premier customers |
There are three cards which award airport limo rides without requiring any minimum spend.
- HSBC Visa Infinite:ย 2 (regular) or 4 (HSBC Premier) free rides per calendar year, with additional rides unlockable through spend
- StanChart Beyond Card: 2 free rides per calendar year
- UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card: 1 free ride per calendar year
Other cards require cardholders to meet a certain minimum spend to unlock either one ride or two.
Surprisingly, despite its entry-level positioning, the UOB PRVI Miles AMEX has the lowest spending requirement of all: just S$1,000 in foreign currency (excluding online transactions) will unlock two rides. That’s significantly more generous than the rest of the pack, with the Citi Prestige and OCBC VOYAGE requiring a whopping S$12,000 spend per quarter!
Each bank will have their own definition of qualifying spend, but in general, it refers to transactions that are not on the rewards exclusions list.ย
โ Qualifying Spend: Important Notes |
For Citi Prestige Cardholders, spending on Citi PayAll will count towards the minimum spend requirement for the limo, provided the admin fee is paid. Also, Citi is unique in the sense that they will include non-rewards-earning transactions like insurance premiums, hospitals, education and charitable donations in the computation of qualifying spend, though you still won’t earn any rewards points for it. Refer to this article for more information. For UOB PRVI Miles AMEX Cardholders,ย do note that spending must be in foreign currency, excluding card-not-present transactions. In other words, buying things online or over the phone won’t count |
All eligible spending is calculated based on posting date, not transaction date. Take care if you’re making any significant spend towards the end of the period, because merchants may take 2-3 days to post transactions (e.g. a transaction made on 30 January may only post on 1 February).
Finally, do note that with the Citi Prestige and UOB PRVI Miles AMEX, you can ride first, spend later. That’s because these two cards award limo rides on a reimbursement basis. Your card will first be charged for the amount of the ride, and should you meet the minimum spend requirement in that quarter, a statement credit will follow.ย
Pick-up vs drop-off
Some credit cards only allow rides to be used for drop-offs, while others allow them for pick-ups as well.ย
This is a subtle but important difference:
- Airport pickups are generally more costly to provide because the driver needs to budget time for flight delays, immigration, and baggage collection
- Airport drop-offs are more straightforward- if you don’t show up beyond a certain time, your ride leaves without you
Ideally you’ll want your free limo rides to be redeemable for trips both to and from the airport, which all cards allow except the HSBC Visa Infinite and UOB PRVI Miles AMEX.
Special mention to the OCBC VOYAGE which covers not just Changi Airport, but also the following checkpoints:
- Seletar Airport
- Marina Bay Cruise Centre
- Singapore Cruise Centre
- Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal
- Queen Street Bus Terminal
- Woodlands Checkpoint
- Tuas Checkpoint
Singapore vs overseas
Most credit cards limit airport limo rides to Singapore, but others let you utilise rides overseas
The UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card’s single limo ride can be used either in Singapore or other supported cities.
The StanChart Beyond Cardย allows you to utilise limo rides overseas, but the catch is that depending on city, a single ride may use multiple entitlements. For example, a trip from Tokyo Narita airport to the Hilton Tokyo requires a whoppingย fourย ride utilisations!
Ride validity
Once you’ve unlocked your limo rides, they’re valid for a certain period. Be sure to use them before they expire!
The limo rides with the longest validity periods come from the cards with no spending requirements, such as the StanChart Beyond and UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card.ย These rides simply need to be utilised within the same calendar year in which they were awarded.
Do note that with the Citi Prestige, all that’s required is that you book the limo rides by the end of the calendar quarter in which the minimum spend is met. The actual utilisation can be for any future date.
For example,ย on 3 May 2025 I charge S$12,000 in qualifying spend to my Citi Prestige Card. This earns me two complimentary limo rides, which I must bookย by 30 June 2025. The actual utilisation date can be beyond 30 June 2025.
Other important terms
Below I’ve compiled some other points you should take note of, such asย the advance notice required, charges for late night service, maximum passengers permissible and the grace period before additional waiting charges apply.
Citi Prestige
HSBC Visa Infinite
Maybank Visa Infinite
Maybank Visa Infinite | |
Adv. Booking | 72 hours |
Late Night Fee | Not mentioned |
Max Pax. | Not mentioned |
Grace Period | 30 mins |
Changes & Cancellation |
|
OCBC VOYAGE
OCBC VOYAGE | |
Adv. Booking | 48 hours |
Late Night Fee |
None |
Max Pax. | Sedan: 3 MPV: 4 (no upgrade charge) |
Grace Period | 15 mins S$10 per 15-min block after. Auto cancel at 45 mins |
Changes & Cancellation | S$80 for cancellations with <48 hours notice |
Other Charges |
|
StanChart Beyond Card
StanChart Beyond Card | |
Adv. Booking | 48 hours |
Late Night Fee (12 a.m to 6.59 a.m) |
S$12 (SG) (S$40 (Overseas) |
Max Pax. | 3 |
Grace Period | 15 mins S$11 per 15-min block after. Auto cancel at 45 mins |
Changes & Cancellation |
|
Other Fees |
|
UOB PRVI Miles AMEX
What about the $500K cards?
You might be wondering why none of the so-called $500K cards have been mentioned yet. Leaving aside how niche the appeal is, their airport limo benefits are surprisinglyย more restrictiveย than cheaper cards!ย
For example, the Citi ULTIMA only awards a one-way limo transfer if you purchase a First or Business Class ticket using the credit card, while the UOB Reserve requires a dining or travel reservation to be made via the concierge.
Card | Limo Benefit | Remarks |
AMEX Centurion | Purchase First or Business Class ticket via Centurion Concierge | Round-trip transfer within Singapore, and on arrival at selected airports overseas |
Citi ULTIMA | Purchase First or Business Class ticket with card | One-way transfer in Singapore or overseas |
DCS Imperium | No min. spend required | Capped at 4x local rides and 1x overseas ride per calendar year |
DBS Insignia |
N/A* | |
UOB Reserve | Make dining, cruise, staycation or flight booking via UOB Travel Concierge | Capped at 4X uses per year |
*The DBS Insignia does not offer any airport limo benefit that I’m aware of, but if you get the card by virtue of being an Treasures Private Client then you may enjoy free airport transfers |
The only S$500K card with easy limo rides is the DCS Imperium, which offers four local and one overseas ride per calendar year without any minimum spend. However, this card is otherwise massively underwhelming, given its S$3,584 annual fee.
Alternative airport limo benefit
While slightly different from the ones above, both the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card and Maybank Privilege Horizon Visa Signature (not to be confused with the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature) offer cardmembers Grab codes valid for rides to and from the airport.ย
Maybank’s is slightly better because it’s a guaranteed benefit, unlike the KrisFlyer UOB one which is subject to a monthly redemption cap.
Card | Offer | Remarks |
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card | 2x S$15 Grab codes |
|
Maybank Privilege Horizon Visa Signature | 2x S$20 Grab codes |
|
Conclusion
The airport limo benefit isn’t as common as it was in the past, but there’s still a few cards out there offering this perk.ย
In my opinion, the card with the “best” limo benefit still remains the UOB PRVI Miles AMEX. The annual fee can be waived, and the spending requirement is the lowest of all.ย
Is an airport limo benefit still useful to you?
Good work as always Aaron. This benefit is so meh after the dilution(s) over the past few years. I am not even sure it is worth optimising for any longer. It at least made tangential sense in the pre-COVID era for family travel with kids and tons of baggage on return to Singapore. I don’t think such trips will happen frequently in 2022, if at all.
I wouldn’t judge a card if it got rid of this in favour of more lounge visits or higher 4 mpd monthly / statement limit.
Indeed! I think there was also a prestige factor back in the day to be able to sail past the taxi queues with someone waiting for you, but these days grab/gojek makes everything so convenient anyway.
I hope the bank is not reading this, but I kind of like to think of the citi limo benefit as either “defraying” my AF, or reducing my CPM if I buy thru payall.
Wish I was a woman so I could sign up for the Lady’s Solitaire. On top of all their benefits the womens’ cards work with the UOB One account too. How is that not being sexist when they’re the only miles cards which are eligible for bonus interest on the savings accounts?
you might as well complain why bars have ladies’ night…
Thatโs to attract hopefully attractive female patrons and not dinobus in so that hamsups like you and me are drawn in as well.
What is the argument for limiting this card to women only? Honestly asking. And can I get one if I identify as female now that this is trending .
well for what’s worth ladies’ night is banned in some other jurisdictions (e.g. California and the UK)…..
Maybank privilege Horizon Visa signature also got two S$20 Grab ride promo code every year
thank you! have updated.
i may have missed it.
but do you want to include the number to SMS in your article?
yeah i missed it. have added, thanks!
I would like to point out the OCBC Voyage Limo doesn’t work as well as before. In the past, they have a webpage for you to request for it. This webpage doesn’t work anymore. If you try to call their Voyage hotline, nobody picks up (I tried 3 times and waited about an hour before giving up). The only way I managed to use it, is to call OCBC General Line, and left a message for them to assist.
To add to the above, they cancelled my limo three times numerous times.. There was once they cancelled and route me to another driver 30 mins before my pick up time.
Noob question from someone who has never taken one before, what are the actual cars used for Changi airport limo rides? Are we talking actual stretch limousines here or just a Mercedes/Toyota Alphard?
mercedes e class is the standard issue vehicle. no stretch limos- i’ve never even seen one in Singapore before.
As you mentioned in one of your replies above, limo rides really aren’t what they used to be. The main point of it was to save time as queues for cabs at Changi were really long before ride-hailing apps came. Now it’s just basically a Grab Premium, which costs $30-$40 for a nice ride to town (sometimes even less).
Aaron, Fwiw, Data point- for citi prestige, limo from airport, I was promised 60 min grace period from the actual landing time. When I asked over the call, there also appears to be some sort of c/f within quarters in the same CY so I think you can theoretically hoard over each quarter and ride limo 8x in Q4.
There used to be carry forward of limo rides but they removed it in latest t and c update. When did you do your call?
Oh dang. IIRC I called in 3Q2022 about c/f of limo rides. Thanks – I didn’t even realise the T&C was changed. Am out of town, but when I’m back in SG I’ll call to check, and let you know if I hear different.
But the 60 min grace period is almost certainly current info – this was mid-Jan 2023.
Thanks Aaron!
The grace period is different depending on which way the limo is going. It’s 60 minutes from airport and 15 minutes to airport. This is to accomodate potential delays in landing, collecting baggage, immigration, etc.
the OCBC Premier Private Voyage gives you unlimited rides back and fro from your registered address to Changi Airport. Even if you don’t fly, you go to Jewel in style..
Not sure if they’ve updated to include other drop off points like cruise and bus terminals, of if they’ve nerfed this benefit.
I’ve got the HSBC Visa Infinite card, to be honest the limo rides work well, I’ve never had an issue with them being late nor not having availability. I’ve never had a Mercedes pick me up, usually the Toyota Alphard or a Nissan people carrier.
I noticed the updated T&Cs for Citi Prestige valid from July 1 2023 list a Mini-Van (8 pax + 8 suitcases) as a vehicle option, however upon attempting to book it, it turns out this is in reality not an option after all. Not that it was already booked, but the service provider does not provide this option at all. Confirmed via phone by the Citi Card team and concierge despite being listed in the T&Cs.
https://www.citibank.com.sg/prestige/terms-benefits.html
“Travel”, item 16.
Thanks for posting the Grab Codes! Missed it out when looking at the benefits
out of the maybe 100 limo rides over the years, I’ve only had the driver hold up my name once.
Nowadays, it’s like grab ride, they don’t even offer to help with your bags to the car. You meet them at the pick up area. Doesn’t really matter for me, but can see how if you had lots of bags, or kids or if you’re aged you would want some help…
For Citi Prestige I think it should be that ride bookings must be made at the same calendar quarter as the minimum spending is met, but actual ride can happen in the future.
yes that’s right. will update that part.
HSBC Visa Infinite is showing as closed to new applications on the website – any idea why and for how long this will last?