Review: DBS Woman’s World Card

In a world fractured by schisms over gender, it’s comforting to know that the DBS Woman’s World Card still retains the ability to unite miles chasers, regardless of chromosomes. Contrary to what its name suggests, this card is available to both men and women— a fact for which we should all be very thankful.

Last year got off to a bad start when its star attraction — 4 mpd on all online transactions — was cut from S$2,000 to S$1,500 per month. As disappointing as that was, however, it’s an easy way of raking in up to 72,000 miles a year, enough for a one-way Business Class ticket to Auckland.

If transfer partner variety isn’t of paramount importance, and you’re mindful about the relatively short points expiry, I see no reason not to add this to your purse, wallet and/or manbag.

DBS Woman’s World Card
🦁 MileLion Verdict
☑ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It
What do these ratings mean?
Despite a short points validity and limited transfer options, the 4 mpd on online spend still makes the DBS Woman’s World Card a must-have for miles chasers.
👍 The good	👎 The bad
4 mpd on up to S$1,500 of online transactions each month Points pool with other DBS cards Easy annual fee waiver	Bonus points are credited one month later Points are only valid for one year Limited transfer partners
Full List of Credit Card Reviews

Overview: DBS Woman’s World Card

Let’s start this review by looking at the key features of the DBS Woman’s World Card. 

DBS Woman’s World Card
Apply
Income Req.	S$80,000 p.a.	Points Validity	1 year
Annual Fee	S$196.20 (First Year Free)	Min. Transfer	5,000 DBS Points (10,000 miles)
Miles withAF	None	Transfer Partners	4
FCY Fee	3.25%	Transfer Fee	S$27.25 (per xfer) S$43.60 (per yr.)
Local Earn	0.4 mpd	Points Pool?	Yes
FCY Earn	1.2 mpd	Lounge Access?	No
Special Earn	4 mpd on online spending	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

DBS actually has two different Woman’s cards: the DBS Woman’s Platinum Mastercard (left), and the DBS Woman’s World Card (right).

I’ll be focusing on the DBS Woman’s World Card in this post, since there’s really no reason to get the DBS Woman’s Platinum Mastercard (don’t let the income requirement put you off either; as we’ll see in the next section, it’s not strictly enforced).

“Dude, I’m a guy” you say? Good for you. Pump more iron and console yourself that applying for a lady’s card does not make you any less of a man in any way shape or form. The DBS Woman’s World Card is open to both men and women; just scroll up and look at the name DBS chose to emboss on the card face!

How much must I earn to qualify for a DBS Woman’s World Card?

The DBS Woman’s World Card has an S$80,000 annual income requirement, but don’t let that deter you from applying. As I’ve said before, any income requirement above the MAS-mandated minimum of S$30,000 is essentially arbitrary. 

The fact of the matter is, plenty of people who earn S$30,000 per year get approved for a DBS Woman’s World Card with no drama whatsoever. It’s easier if you already hold an existing DBS credit card. Click through this link, then select the DBS Woman’s World Card.

Select “Yes” when asked if you already have a DBS card, and login to ibanking. You should then receive an instant decision, and from the data points I’ve seen so far, earning less than S$80,000 has never been an issue.

How much is the DBS Woman’s World Card annual fee?

The DBS Woman’s World Card has an annual fee of S$196.20 for the principal cardholder, and S$98.10 for each supplementary card. This is waived for the first year, and subsequent years’ annual fees can be waived when you spend at least S$25,000 a year.

Don’t take this as a hard and fast rule. I’ve got my annual fee waived every year despite spending nowhere close to S$25,000. It’s extremely easy to request an annual fee waiver via DBS’s online channels or hotline, so don’t be afraid to try. 

Credit card annual fee waivers: A bank-by-bank guide

How many miles do I earn?

SGD/FCY Spending

DBS Woman’s World Cardholders earn:

• 1 DBS Point for every S$5 spent in Singapore Dollars (0.4 mpd)
• 3 DBS Points for every S$5 spent in FCY (1.2 mpd)

These are obviously not very attractive rates, as you should be, at a bare minimum, earning 1.2-1.6 mpd and 2-2.4 mpd on local and overseas general spending respectively. But the reason people get this card is for its bonuses on online spend, which we’ll cover in the next section.

A 3.25% fee applies to all FCY transactions, which is par the course for the market.

Bonus Spending

DBS Woman’s World Cardholders earn:

• 10 DBS Points for every S$5 spent online in Singapore dollars (4 mpd)
• 10 DBS Points for every S$5 spent online in FCY (4 mpd)

This used to be capped at S$2,000 per calendar month, but the cap was cut to S$1,500 in March 2024. Any spend in excess of this cap earns just 0.4 mpd, so you’ll want to monitor your spending carefully to ensure you don’t go over the limit.

The bonus cap is enforced by transaction date, not posting date. For example, making an online transaction on 31 January 2025 at 11.59 p.m Singapore time will still be counted under January 2025’s bonus cap, even though the posting will almost certainly happen in February 2025.

Some non-exhaustive examples of online transactions include:

The great thing about this card is that the MCC does not matter (at the risk of stating the obvious, general exclusions like insurance or charitable donations still apply). All that matters is the mode of payment.

This is known as a blacklist approach, where all transactions earn bonuses unless they’re explicitly excluded in the T&Cs. It makes the DBS Woman’s World Card more versatile than cards with a whitelist approach, where transactions don’t earn bonuses unless they’re explicitly included in the T&Cs (e.g. HSBC Revolution, UOB Lady’s Card).

A blacklist approach comes in handy for MCCs that aren’t excluded from earning rewards, yet don’t feature on the whitelist of other specialised spending cards. Some examples include teleconsults with DoctorAnywhere or Minmed, hospital bills paid via HealthHub and Health Buddy, and, surprisingly enough, furniture stores like IKEA.

To clarify some commonly asked questions:

When are DBS Points credited?

DBS Points earned on the DBS Woman’s World Card are not all credited at once.

Depending on the type of transaction, some will be credited when the transaction posts, with the rest credited by the end of the calendar month following the transaction. 

How are DBS Points calculated?

Here’s how you can work out the DBS Points earned on the DBS Woman’s World Card:

Contrary to popular belief, the DBS Woman’s World Card does not have S$5 earning blocks. Instead, transactions are divided by 5 before being multiplied by the respective number of points. This means you will still earn points on transactions that are below S$5, unlike the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa.

If you’re an Excel geek, here’s the formulas you need to calculate: 

For the full list of formulas that banks use to calculate credit card points, do refer to these articles:

• General Spending Cards
• Specialised Spending Cards

As with all credit cards, it’s important to periodically check your points and make sure they’re crediting properly. Refer to the article below for more details.

How to check credit card points breakdowns

What transactions aren’t eligible for DBS Points?

The DBS Woman’s World Card will not earn points on the following transactions:

• Amaze transactions
• Charitable donations
• Education
• Government services
• Hospitals
• Insurance premiums
• Prepaid account top-ups (e.g. Grab, YouTrip)
• Utilities

You can find the full list of exclusions in the DBS Rewards T&Cs (Point 2.6). This should be read in conjunction with the DBS Woman’s World Card T&Cs, which lists some further exclusions.

Do note that the bonuses for online spending are subject to this general exclusions list. For example, if you pay an insurance premium online, you will not earn any points, notwithstanding the fact it’s an online transaction.

This is also not the card to use for CardUp/ipaymy, as you will earn 0.4 mpd at best.

What do I need to know about DBS Points?

Expiry

While some DBS Points never expire (e.g. those earned on the DBS Altitude Card), DBS Points earned on the DBS Woman’s World Card expire after just one year.

This is a relatively short validity, and probably the biggest drawback of the card. You’ll need to monitor your points balance closely, and cash them out at least once a year.

For what it’s worth, once you transfer your points to KrisFlyer you’ll have a further three years to enjoy them. If you choose Asia Miles, your miles will never expire so long as you earn or redeem at least one mile every 18 months. 

Pooling

DBS Points earned on different DBS cards pool for the purposes of redemption. If I have a 12,000 points on the DBS Altitude and 8,000 points on the DBS Woman’s World Card, I’ll be able to redeem 20,000 points in a single transaction, and pay a single conversion fee. 

However, DBS Points are not pooled when it comes to card cancellations. If I have a DBS Altitude and DBS Woman’s World Card, and decide to cancel the latter, I’ll need to transfer my points out before cancelling or else forfeit them.

Partners and Transfer Fee

DBS partners with four frequent flyer programmes, though it’s arguably three because Air Asia Rewards offers such poor value it might as well not exist. 

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (DBS Points: Miles)
	5,000: 10,000
	5,000: 10,000
	5,000: 10,000
	500: 1,500

Transfers cost S$27.25 each, regardless of how many points are transferred.

For KrisFlyer miles specifically, DBS offers an “auto conversion programme” which charges a flat fee of S$43.60 per membership year, and automatically converts DBS Points to KrisFlyer miles each calendar quarter in blocks of 500 points. 

This programme is not available if the only DBS card you hold is the DBS Woman’s World Card, but if you have a DBS Insignia, DBS Black Treasures Elite, or DBS Altitude Card, you can apply for the programme and use it to transfer DBS points earned on the DBS Woman’s World Card.

How does the DBS KrisFlyer Miles Auto Conversion Programme work?

Transfer Times

DBS quotes a points conversion time of 1-2 weeks, but in reality it usually takes about 1-3 working days at the very most for KrisFlyer (transfer times to other programmes may be longer)

If you need your points credited instantly, you can do so via Kris+. 100 DBS Points can be instantly transferred to 170 KrisPay miles, which can then be converted to KrisFlyer miles at a 1:1 ratio with no fees. 

S$5 for new Kris+ Users

Get S$5 (in the form of 750 KrisPay miles) when you sign-up with code W644363 and make your first transaction

However, those 100 DBS Points would normally have earned you 200 KrisFlyer miles, so you effectively take a 15% haircut. Therefore I wouldn’t recommend taking this option, unless you need a small top-up to redeem a flight, or have an orphan DBS Points balance (<5,000 points). 

If you choose to do so nonetheless, do remember that it’s a two-step process:

1. Transfer DBS Points to KrisPay miles
2. Transfer KrisPay miles to KrisFlyer miles

Do not forget the second step! If you wait more than 21 days, or spend any of the converted KrisPay miles via Kris+, the entire balance will be stuck in the Kris+ app. KrisPay miles expire after six months, and can only be spent at a poor ratio of 150 miles = S$1. 

Other card perks

There’s no lounge or airport limo benefits with the DBS Woman’s World Card, but because it belongs to the World Mastercard tier, it’s eligible for certain generic Mastercard benefits. These include:

Otherwise, you’ll have access to the usual generic DBS benefits, which can be found here. 

Terms and Conditions

• DBS Woman’s World Card Terms and Conditions
• DBS Rewards Terms and Conditions

Summary Review: DBS Woman’s World Card

DBS Woman’s World Card

Apply

🦁 MileLion Verdict

☑ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It

While 2024’s nerf means it’s not quite as generous as before, the DBS Woman’s World Card remains a fuss-free way of earning 4 mpd on all your online spending.

Even if you’re not much of a shopaholic, you probably make more online transactions than you’re aware of. Food delivery, streaming subscriptions, groceries, movie tickets, air tickets, hotel bookings, cruises, ridehailing, Kris+…the list goes on. Heck, even in-restaurant dining would be fair game, to the extent they use QR-code ordering and online payment.

If you max out the cap each month, that’s an easy 72,000 miles per year, with very little effort on your part.

The main drawback is that points expire after just one year, so you’ll need to be disciplined about making at least one redemption each year. The transfer partner variety also isn’t as good as its closest rival, the Citi Rewards Card, but the DBS Woman’s World Card has a bonus cap that’s 50% higher. 

An essential card for almost everyone, in my (pocket)book.