Back in October 2024, the DBS Vantage Card replaced its best-ever welcome offer of 85,000 miles with a smaller offer of 60,000 miles, a 30% reduction.
This was scheduled to run till 31 January 2025, but if you were hoping for a return of the larger one, you’ll need to wait at least one more month as the 60,000 miles offer has been extended till 28 February 2025.
However, existing customers will be disappointed to learn that there’s no longer a welcome offer for them (they previously enjoyed 40,000 miles) as DBS has limited the scope to new customers only.
This appears to be part of an overall change in the bank’s posture towards welcome offers, as the DBS Altitude and DBS yuu Cards have likewise ended their existing customer offers.
DBS Vantage extends 60,000 miles welcome offer
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Customers who apply for a DBS Vantage Card from 1-28 February 2025 (with approval by 14 March 2025) will receive 60,000 miles when they pay the first year’s S$599.50 annual fee and spend S$4,000 within the first 30 days of approval.
New | Existing | |
Pay S$599.50 annual fee | 25,000 miles | 25,000 miles |
Spend S$4,000 within 30 days of approval | 35,000 miles | – |
Total | 60,000 miles | 25,000 miles |
Unlike previous welcome offers for this card, no promo code is required when you apply.
This offer is applicable to new-to-DBS cardholders, defined as those who:
- do not currently hold any principal DBS/POSB credit cards, and
- have not cancelled any principal DBS/POSB credit cards in the past 12 months
While there was previously a smaller welcome offer of 40,000 miles for existing DBS cardholders, they’ve been excluded this time. If you’re an existing DBS cardholder, you’ll only receive the 25,000 miles for paying the annual fee.
The welcome bonus is on top of whatever base miles you normally earn with the DBS Vantage, so you can expect at least 66,000 miles in total, based on S$4,000 spent locally at 1.5 mpd.
Do remember that the “real” bonus is 35,000 miles for new customers, since cardholders receive 25,000 miles for paying the annual fee every year anyway.
What counts as qualifying spend?
Cardholders are required to spend at least S$4,000 within 30 days of approval.
Qualifying spend includes both local and foreign retail sales and posted recurring bill payments, excluding the transactions mentioned in point 11 of the T&Cs, such as:
- Charitable donations
- Education
- Government agencies
- Hospitals
- Insurance premiums
- Prepaid account top-ups
- Utilities
CardUp rental transactions which code under MCC 6513 (Real Estate Agents and Managers) will count towards qualifying spend. However, all other CardUp transactions will not count towards qualifying spend, even though they will earn base miles.
Refer to the article below for more information.
ipaymy transactions are explicitly excluded from counting towards qualifying spend.
For the avoidance of doubt, supplementary and principal cardholder spending will pool when calculating whether the minimum qualifying spend has been met.
When will the miles be credited?
The 25,000 miles for paying the S$599.50 annual fee will be awarded (in the form of 12,500 DBS points) after the annual fee is charged.
The bonus of 35,000 miles will be credited within 2-4 months from the date of fulfilling the qualifying spend (in the form of 17,500 DBS points).
Terms & Conditions
The T&Cs for this welcome offer can be found here.
Is this a good deal?
This obviously isn’t as strong as the previous welcome offer of 85,000 miles, but that aside, it represents buying miles at about 1 cent each, which is a good price in and of itself.
You should also be factoring in the value of the rest of the DBS Vantage Card’s perks, such as an Accor Plus Explorer membership and 10 complimentary lounge visits per year.
What can you do with DBS Points?
DBS Points earned on the DBS Vantage Card expire after three years, and can be converted to any of the following frequent flyer programmes with a S$27.25 admin fee.
Frequent Flyer Programme | Conversion Ratio (DBS Points : Miles) |
5,000 : 10,000 | |
5,000 : 10,000 | |
5,000 : 10,000 | |
500 : 1,500 |
Transfer to KrisFlyer and Asia Miles are typically processed within three working days.
In my opinion, it’s only worth transferring miles to KrisFlyer or Asia Miles. AirAsia BIG is more of a rebates program than a traditional frequent flyer scheme, and Qantas Frequent Flyer doesn’t have any real sweet spots for Singapore-based travellers.
Overview: DBS Vantage Card
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Income Req. | S$120,000 p.a. | Points Validity | 3 years |
Annual Fee | S$599.50 |
Min. Transfer |
5,000 DBS Points (10,000 miles) |
FCY Fee | 3.25% | Transfer Fee | S$27.25 |
Local Earn | 1.5 mpd | Points Pool? | Yes |
FCY Earn | 2.2 mpd | Lounge Access? | Yes: 10x Priority Pass |
Special Earn | N/A | Airport Limo? | No |
Cardholder Terms and Conditions |
The DBS Vantage Card earns 1.5 mpd on local spend and 2.2 mpd on FCY spend.
Cardholders enjoy benefits such as:
- A Priority Pass membership with 10 free lounge visits per year (which can be used by the main cardholder or his/her guests)
- Accor Plus Explorer membership with up to 50% off dining and one complimentary hotel night at selected Asia Pacific hotels
While the card’s annual fee cannot be waived in the first year, it will be waived subsequently when you spend at least S$60,000 in a membership year (which can include CardUp transactions).
Should the fee be waived, you will not receive the 25,000 miles, though you will receive the rest of the benefits like the Accor Plus Explorer membership and lounge passes.
You can read my full review of the DBS Vantage Card below.
Conclusion
The DBS Vantage Card has extended its 60,000 miles welcome offer till 28 February 2025, though it no longer offers anything for existing DBS cardholders.
I personally think the DBS Vantage Card does not perform as well as some of its competitors in the $120K segment, but the welcome offer goes a long way towards making the first-year value proposition worthwhile. Moreover, this is one of the few $120K cards whose annual fee can be waived, which might make it attractive to those confident of putting at least S$60,000 through the card in a year.