DBS Altitude offering 5 mpd on overseas spend in Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand

DBS has launched a new foreign currency (FCY) spending promotion for the DBS Altitude Card, which offers cardholders 5 mpd on in-person FCY spending made in Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand from now till 30 June 2025.

A minimum spend of S$2,000 is required each month (which can be in SGD or FCY), and the bonus is capped at the first S$1,200 of in-store FCY spend per month. 

A 5 mpd earn rate is no doubt attractive, but this is arguably a weaker promotion than the previous offer we saw in November/December 2024, because of the limited geographic scope, higher minimum spend, and exclusion of online transactions. 

DBS Altitude Card offering 5 mpd on selected FCY spend

Campaign Details

From 1 May to 30 June 2025, DBS Altitude AMEX and DBS Altitude Visa Cardholders can enjoy 5 mpd on in-store FCY spend made in the following countries:

• 🇦🇺 Australia
• 🇯🇵 Japan
• 🇲🇾 Malaysia
• 🇹🇭 Thailand

This consists of the usual 2.2 mpd for FCY spend, plus a bonus 2.8 mpd.

Bonus for Foreign Currency Spend
	Base	Bonus	Total
FCY (In-store only)	2.2 mpd	2.8 mpd	5 mpd

Cardholders must spend at least S$2,000 per calendar month to be eligible, and the bonus is capped at S$1,200 of in-store FCY spend. Therefore, the maximum bonus you can earn from this promotion is 3,360 miles (or 6,000 miles, if we include the base component).

How to register

Registration is required, and can be done via the DBS PayLah! app. Look for the campaign banner under the Rewards tab.

A maximum of 10,000 slots are available each calendar month, but don’t worry, a tracker will show you how many slots still remain.

You must re-register each month of the campaign to continue participating.

Minimum spend and eligible spend will only start accumulating from the time of registration, so do make a point of getting it done sooner rather than later. 

For example, if you register on 15 May 2025, then any spending made from 1-14 May 2025 will neither count towards minimum spend nor eligible spend.

What counts as eligible spend?

DBS defines in-store FCY spend as any transactions made physically in-store, in Australian Dollar, Japanese Yen, Malaysian Ringgit or Thai Baht, excluding the following:

1. any transaction made overseas but effected or charged in Singapore dollars;
2. payments made with the Merchant Category Codes (“MCC”) listed in Table 1 and transactions matching the terms listed in Table 2 in accordance with the DBS Rewards Terms and Conditions;
3. posted 0% interest-free instalment plan monthly transactions (“IPP”);
4. posted My Preferred Payment instalment plan monthly transactions (“MP3”);
5. interest, finance charges, cash advance, cash withdrawal, balance transfer, smart cash, AXS
   payments (except Pay+Earn), SAM online bill payments, bill payments via internet banking and all fees charged by DBS;
6. any transaction that is subsequently cancelled, voided, refunded, or reversed (“Refunded
   Transactions”) for any reason; and
7. any other transactions determined by DBS from time to time

Remember, online spending does not count, so you’ll want to be careful about using your DBS Altitude Card to pay for in-app transactions (e.g. ride-hailing , food delivery or Kris+), or online transactions (e.g. ordering and paying via a QR code menu) made while overseas. 

What counts as minimum spend?

The S$2,000 minimum spend can be met by any retail transactions charged in SGD or FCY, excluding the following:

1. posted 0% interest-free instalment plan monthly transactions (“IPP”);
2. posted My Preferred Payment instalment plan monthly transactions (“MP3”);
3. interest, finance charges, cash advance, cash withdrawal, balance transfer, smart cash, AXS
   payments (except Pay+Earn), SAM online bill payments, bill payments via internet banking and all fees charged by DBS; and
4. any transaction that is subsequently cancelled, voided, refunded, or reversed (“Refunded
   Transactions”) for any reason.

For the avoidance of doubt, supplementary cardholder spend will count towards the minimum spend requirement, and be eligible to earn 5 mpd provided the principal cardholder successfully registers for the campaign.

However, supplementary cardholders do not have a bonus cap of their own.

Is it worth it?

The DBS Altitude AMEX and DBS Altitude Visa have an FCY transaction fee of 3% and 3.25% respectively, so there’s a bit of math to be done.

Card	Earn Rate	FCY Fee	Cost Per Mile
DBS Altitude AMEX	5 mpd	3%	0.6 cents
DBS Altitude Visa	5 mpd	3.25%	0.65 cents

With a 5 mpd earn rate, your cost per mile is 0.6 and 0.65 cents respectively. Assuming your alternative is a 4 mpd card + Amaze (which has an implicit FCY fee of 2%), then Amaze is marginally better with a cost per mile of 0.5 cents. 

But remember that usefulness of Amaze is limited by the bonus caps of your paired cards, and when it comes to general foreign currency spending, that cap will be a mere S$1,000 (with the Citi Rewards). The extra bonus cap that the Altitude provides will come in useful— if you have travel plans to the eligible countries.

What if I have both the DBS Altitude AMEX and Visa?

During the previous promotion, both the DBS Altitude AMEX and Visa had their own bonus caps. Cardholders would need to meet the minimum spend on each Altitude card to enjoy the 5 mpd rate, with the same monthly cap per card.

However, a DBS spokesperson has clarified that this time round, the bonus cap is shared between the AMEX and Visa versions. 

When will bonus miles be credited?

Cardholders will initially receive the usual 2.2 mpd for FCY spend, when the transaction posts.

The bonus 2.8 mpd will be credited (in the form of DBS Points) within 60 days from the end of each calendar month of the promotion period.

Terms and Conditions/FAQs

The T&Cs for this campaign, as well as FAQs can be found via the links below:

• DBS Altitude 5 mpd Promo T&Cs
• DBS Altitude 5 mpd Promo FAQs

What can you do with DBS Points? 

DBS Points earned on the DBS Altitude Card never expire, 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

Conclusion

DBS Altitude Cardholders can now earn 5 mpd on in-person FCY spend in Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand for the months of May and June 2025, covering five popular travel destinations for Singaporeans during the peak travel season.

Do remember that you’ll need to register for each month of the promotion, and only the first 10,000 registrations per month are eligible. Neither minimum nor eligible spend will count until registration is done, so be sure to do it ASAP.

Sadly, if your travel plans veer more…adventurous, DBS has nothing for you this time round. You’ll want to focus your spending on other cards with FCY spending bonuses instead. 

For a detailed rundown of the DBS Altitude Card, check out my review below.

Review: DBS Altitude Card