2025 Edition: The $120K Credit Card Showdown

Welcome to the 2025 edition of the $120K Credit Card Showdown, my annual look at the finest pieces of plastic (or metal) that money can buy. $120K cards come with hefty annual fees which are generally non-waivable, so before you hop onboard, you’ll want to have a game plan for extracting maximum value.

In the eighth iteration of this guide, we’ll review how the $120K landscape has changed over the past year, and which (if any!) card is right for you.

The $120K candidates

💳 $120K Candidates
AMEX Platinum Reserve Plastic	Citi Prestige Card Metal
DBS Vantage Card Metal	HSBC Visa Infinite Plastic
Maybank Visa Infinite Plastic	OCBC VOYAGE Metal
StanChart Visa Infinite Plastic	UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card Metal

There is no change to the $120K card lineup for 2025, which features the same eight faces that contested the 2024 edition.

However, the HSBC Visa Infinite stopped accepting applications in September 2024, and is due to be relaunched this year. I was hoping to delay this article until we had the details, but since there’s no word yet, we’ll just have to save it for 2026’s edition.

To address some common questions…

What about the AMEX Platinum Charge and StanChart Beyond Card?

The AMEX Platinum Charge and StanChart Beyond Card aren’t featured because their annual fees are 3X those of the $120K segment, making a fair comparison close to impossible. These cards offer way more perks— and given their fees, they’d better!

In fact, I actually consider these to be “$200K cards”, in a segment of their own (the AMEX Platinum Charge accepts applications well below this income level, but that’s how it was positioned originally). This straddles the $120K and S$500K segments, and I might even do a separate $200K card showdown if we see more banks targeting this market.

Where’s the BOC Visa Infinite and CIMB Visa Infinite?

I don’t include $120K cards like the Bank of China Visa Infinite and CIMB Visa Infinite, because they earn cashback instead of points.

That said, if you earn at least S$120,000, you should definitely be getting a CIMB Visa Infinite, since it has no annual fee (ever), and offers 3x DragonPass lounge visits each year.

Where’s the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card?

While the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card has a minimum income requirement of S$120,000, it’s not really meant to compete with the likes of the Citi Prestige or DBS Vantage. It’s better thought of as a specialised spending card, rather than a general spending option.

What’s changed since last year?

Here’s a quick snapshot of what’s changed since the previous $120K showdown in May 2024.

AMEX Platinum Reserve
👍 Improvements	👎  Devaluations
Nothing I’m aware of!	No points for SimplyGo transactions
Citi Prestige Card
👍 Improvements	👎  Devaluations
Nothing I’m aware of!	Lost one of its two complimentary travel insurance policies Lounge access cut to 12 visits per year Annual fee hiked to S$651.82
DBS Vantage Card
👍 Improvements	👎  Devaluations
Nothing I’m aware of!	Nothing I’m aware of!
HSBC Visa Infinite [Note: Currently not available for applications, pending relaunch]
👍 Improvements	👎  Devaluations
Free points transfers now evergreen	Conversions to KrisFlyer have been devalued Holding this card now prevents you from enjoying new-to-bank welcome offers on other HSBC cards
Maybank Visa Infinite
👍 Improvements	👎  Devaluations
Now earns up to 3.2 mpd on FCY spend	No more points for charitable donations No more free points conversions No more JetQuay access
OCBC VOYAGE Card
👍 Improvements	👎  Devaluations
Added 2x lounge visits for supp. cardholders	Nothing I’m aware of!
StanChart Visa Infinite
👍 Improvements	👎  Devaluations
Added 50,000 miles welcome offer	Nothing I’m aware of!
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card
👍 Improvements	👎  Devaluations
Nothing I’m aware of!	4-hour cooldown period between lounge visits Lounge access will be cut to 12 visits per year from 1 June 2026

And now, the head to head!

Annual fees and welcome/renewal gifts

Card	Annual Fee	Welcome / Renewal Gift
AMEX Platinum Reserve	S$545	1N stay at Fraser properties +  dining & lifestyle vouchers 🔁 Recurring
Citi Prestige Card 🥇 Winner 🥇	S$651.82	32,000 miles 🔁 Recurring
DBS Vantage Card	S$599.50	25,000 miles 🔁 Recurring
HSBC Visa Infinite	S$662.15 (S$497.12 for HSBC Premier)	35,000 miles
Maybank Visa Infinite	S$654 (1st yr. free)	None
OCBC VOYAGE Card	S$498	15,000 miles 🔁 Recurring
StanChart Visa Infinite	S$599.50	25,000 miles
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	S$654	25,000 miles 🔁 Recurring

If you want to join the $120K club, you’d better get used to the idea of paying annual fees, and not insignificant ones— the annual fee for a $120K card ranges from S$498 to S$662.

On the bright side, most $120K cards cushion the blow by offering miles in exchange for the annual fee.

• The Citi Prestige, DBS Vantage, OCBC VOYAGE, and UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card offer bonus miles each year the annual fee is paid
• The HSBC Visa Infinite and StanChart Visa Infinite offer bonus miles only in the first year, as a one-time welcome gift. No miles are officially given upon renewal, but unofficially, customers who call up and complain are sometimes placated with 20,000-25,000 miles (YMMV)
• The AMEX Platinum Reserve does not offer miles with the annual fee, but renewing members receive another 1N Fraser Hospitality voucher upon renewal, plus other dining and spa vouchers
• The Maybank Visa Infinite does not offer miles with the annual fee, but waives the first year’s fee

If we’re just looking at the first year, the winner would be the HSBC Visa Infinite. Cardholders receive 35,000 miles in exchange for a S$497.12 annual fee, which works out to 1.42 cents per mile.

However, this only applies if you’re a HSBC Premier customer (min. AUM: S$200,000). For regular customers, the annual fee is a much higher S$662.15, or 1.89 cents per mile. Besides, the card isn’t even open for applications now. 

In my opinion, we should look at this on a recurring basis, and in that case the Citi Prestige offers the best deal: S$651.82 for 32,000 miles each year, or 2.04 cents each (prior to 1 July 2025, this was S$545 for 25,000 miles).

2.04 cents per mile may sound expensive, but remember: you’re not just buying miles with the annual fee. You’re getting other benefits like lounge access that need to be factored into the equation as well.

Sign-up bonus

Card	Min. Spend	Sign-Up Bonus
AMEX Platinum Reserve	N/A	N/A
Citi Prestige Card 🥇 Winner 🥇	S$2,000	57,000 miles Existing New
DBS Vantage Card	N/A	N/A
HSBC Visa Infinite	N/A	N/A
Maybank Visa Infinite	N/A	N/A
OCBC VOYAGE Card	N/A	N/A
StanChart Visa Infinite	S$2,000	50,000 miles Existing New
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	S$4,000	40,000 miles Existing 80,000 miles New

While renewing certain $120K cards may be difficult decision, the first year of membership can be considerably more lucrative thanks to sign-up bonuses.

At the time of writing, sign-up bonuses are offered by the Citi Prestige, StanChart Visa Infinite and UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card. 

When comparing sign-up bonuses, there are two things to consider:

• Is the bonus available to both new-to-bank and existing customers?
• What is the payoff ratio (in terms of miles to spend)?

Based on this, the Citi Prestige would be the winner. Its welcome offer is available to both new and existing Citi cardholders, with 57,000 miles for S$2,000 spend (payoff ratio: 28.5- the number is fudged a bit because part of the total comes from paying the annual fee rather than spending, but as a quick-and-dirty comparison it’ll do).

In second place is the StanChart Visa Infinite, which also offers 50,000 miles for S$2,000 spend (payoff ratio: 25), with the added gift of S$100 cash for applications via SingSaver. However, this is only available for new-to-bank customers.

The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card offers something for both new and existing customers, but with a more modest payoff ratio of 10 (existing) or 20 (new).

Earn rates

Card	Local	FCY	Min. Spend for Points
AMEX Platinum Reserve	0.69 mpd	0.69 mpd	S$1.60
Citi Prestige Card	1.3 mpd^	2 mpd^	S$1
DBS Vantage Card	1.5 mpd	2.2 mpd	S$1.34 (SGD) S$0.91 (FCY)
HSBC Visa Infinite	1 mpd	2 mpd	S$0.20
Maybank Visa Infinite	1.2 mpd	3.2 mpd*	S$5
OCBC VOYAGE Card	1.3 mpd	2.2 mpd	S$5
StanChart Visa Infinite 🥇 Winner 🥇	1.4 mpd#	3 mpd#	S$0.20
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	1.4 mpd	2.4 mpd	S$5
^Additional 0.02 to 0.12 mpd awarded based on tenure with bank #With minimum S$2K spend per statement month. Otherwise 1 mpd for both *With minimum S$4K spend per calendar month. Otherwise 2 mpd

For the record, you shouldn’t be spending a lot on your $120K card, because every dollar you put on a $120K card is a dollar that doesn’t go towards a specialised spending card, and with specialised spending cards earning 4 mpd, the opportunity cost is high.

But for argument’s sake, let’s suppose you do spend regularly on your $120K card (perhaps because you’ve burst the bonus caps on 4 mpd cards already).

In that case, the StanChart Visa Infinite would be the best bet with its 1.4/3 mpd earn rates for local/overseas spend. However, you must spend at least S$2,000 per statement month, or else you’ll earn just 1 mpd for both local and overseas spend. Also note that its 3.5% FCY transaction fee is slightly higher than the rest of the $120K cards, which charge 3.25%.

If you don’t want to bother with minimum spends, the next best would be the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card, which earns 1.4/2.4 mpd for local/overseas spend. But you will also need to deal with UOB’s annoying S$5 earning blocks, which result in lost miles due to rounding, especially if the typical transaction size on your $120K card is <S$50.

To avoid that, consider the DBS Vantage Card as an alternative. You can earn 1.5/2.2 mpd on local/overseas spend, with smaller earning blocks than UOB.

Points flexibility and expiry

Card	Expiry	Partners (Fee)	Min Xfer*
AMEX Platinum Reserve	N/A	11 (Free)	250 miles Pool
Citi Prestige  Card	N/A	11 (S$27.25)	10K miles
DBS Vantage Card	3 yrs.	4 (S$27.25)	10K miles Pool
HSBC Visa Infinite 🥇 Winner 🥇	37 mo.	21 (Free)	10K miles^ Pool
Maybank Visa Infinite	N/A	4 (S$27.25)	10K miles Pool
OCBC VOYAGE Card	N/A	9 (S$25)	1 mile
StanChart Visa Infinite	N/A	10 (S$27.25)	10K miles
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	2 yrs.	3 (Free)	10K miles Pool
^Subsequent blocks of 2 miles after the first 10,000 miles *Refers to KrisFlyer, min. blocks may be different for other frequent flyer programmes

Quantity of points is one thing; quality is another. When assessing points quality, we look at:

• Expiry
• Minimum conversion
• Pooling
• Transfer partners
• Transfer fees
• Transfer speed

Based on these criteria, the HSBC Visa Infinite is the clear winner.

• Conversion fees are waived indefinitely
• Conversions to all but two programmes (Hainan and JAL) are instant
• Rewards points pool across all HSBC cards
• While the minimum conversion block is 10,000 miles, the subsequent block is just two miles (so you could transfer 10,002 or 20,496 miles, for example)
• Even though non-expiring points would be nice, HSBC still offers longer validity than most competing banks at 37 months
• It has 16 airline and four hotel transfer partners, by far the most of any bank in Singapore

The main weakness is that HSBC offers inferior transfer ratios for KrisFlyer, ever since the January 2025 nerf. Transfers cost 20% more than HSBC’s lowest-cost programme, and if you want to earn KrisFlyer miles, this isn’t the card to use.

In second is the AMEX Platinum Reserve, since Membership Rewards points don’t expire, have no conversion fees, and can be converted to a wide range of partners with a minimum block of just 250 miles. The bigger problem is that the earn rates are so miserly, it’d take you a very long time to earn a critical mass of points. 

In third place is the Citi Prestige. ThankYou points never expire and can be transferred to 11 different partners, and additional points can be accumulated fairly easily via Citi PayAll (though it’s relatively pricey outside of promotions). The drawback here is that points don’t pool, and you have to pay a S$27.25 conversion fee.

As for the rest, the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card can help anchor a UOB portfolio since conversions are free and UNI$ pool. Therefore, you can use it as a conduit to cash out UNI$ earned on other cards like the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, UOB Lady’s Card and UOB Visa Signature for free. The main catch is the 2-year expiry of UNI$ and the limited number of transfer partners.

The OCBC VOYAGE offers nine transfer partners, but the conversion rates are poor. For example, conversions to British Airways Avios and Asia Miles entail a 10% and 25% haircut respectively compared to KrisFlyer, when other banks offer conversions to these programmes at the same ratio as KrisFlyer.

Miles purchase facilities

Card	Buy Miles From	Limit
AMEX Platinum Reserve	N/A	N/A
Citi Prestige Card	2 cpm* (Citi PayAll)	Actual bill amount
DBS Vantage Card	1.67 cpm (Tax payment)	Actual tax amount
HSBC Visa Infinite	N/A	N/A
Maybank Visa Infinite	N/A	N/A
OCBC VOYAGE Card	1.9-1.95 cpm (VOYAGE Pay)	Actual tax amount
StanChart Visa Infinite 🥇 Winner 🥇	1.36 cpm (SC EasyBill) (SC Tax Payment Facility)	Actual bill amount
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	2.2 cpm^ (UOB Payment Facility)	No limit
*Temporarily lowered to 1.44-1.63 cpm till 31 August 2025 ^Temporarily lowered to 2 cpm till 31 August 2025

Most $120K cards offer a payment facility, which is basically a way of buying miles.

To recap, there are two types of payment facilities:

1. Those which let you buy as many miles as you want, no questions asked
2. Those which let you buy miles provided you have a rental, tax, insurance or some other bill to pay

(1) is available to UOB Visa Infinite Metal Cardholders, with miles priced at 2.2 cents each (temporarily reduced to 2 cents till 31 August 2025). This is certainly better than the US$40 per 1,000 miles that Singapore Airlines charges if you top-up while redeeming, though not exactly cheap.

(2) is available to Citi Prestige, DBS Vantage, OCBC VOYAGE and StanChart Visa Infinite Cardholders, and the cost per mile can be significantly lower.

The lowest cost option belongs to the StanChart Visa Infinite, where you can pay bills with a 1.9% fee and earn up to 1.4 mpd, or a cost per mile of 1.36 cents each. The catch is that the scope of coverage is rather narrow: taxes, education, insurance and rent.

Guide: Buying miles with Standard Chartered’s SC EasyBill service

If you want to pay other types of bills, then Citi PayAll would be the next best option. The Citi Prestige Card pays a 2.6% fee and earns 1.3 mpd, or a cost per mile of 2 cents each. This can be lowered even further during promotions; at the time of writing, cardholders can buy miles from 1.44 cents each. 

Citi PayAll offering 1.8 mpd on tax & 1.6 mpd on non-tax payments

The rest of the options aren’t really worth discussing in great detail, since with third-party bill payment platforms like CardUp, you don’t really need a bank to offer its own payment facility anymore.

Lounge access

Card	Lounge Network	Free Visits (Per Year)
		Main	Supp.
AMEX Platinum Reserve	N/A	N/A	N/A
Citi Prestige Card	Priority Pass	12 Share	N/A
DBS Vantage Card	Priority Pass	10 Share	N/A
HSBC Visa Infinite 🥇 Winner 🥇	LoungeKey	∞	∞ (up to 5x)
Maybank Visa Infinite	Priority Pass	4	N/A
OCBC VOYAGE Card	Dragon Pass	∞	2
StanChart Visa Infinite	Priority Pass	6 Share	N/A
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	Dragon Pass	∞ + 1 guest	N/A

With the nerf to the Citi Prestige’s lounge benefit, there are only three $120K cards with unlimited lounge visits: HSBC Visa Infinite, OCBC VOYAGE, and UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card.

I wouldn’t give the award to the VOYAGE, because supplementary cardholders enjoy just two visits, and more importantly, its Dragon Pass is hobbled by the exclusion of restaurants. 

The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card offers unlimited lounge visits for the principal cardholder and one guest. While this benefit will be reduced to 12 visits from 1 June 2026, I’m not counting that against it this year. What I am counting though is the new 4-hour cooldown period that effectively limits cardholders to one lounge use per flight (unless you have a connection, or you come to the airport very early).

That leaves the HSBC Visa Infinite, which offers unlimited lounge visits for the principal and up to five supplementary cardholders. That’s an excellent perk, considering all five supplementary cards have no annual fees too. With so many nerfs to lounge passes this year, however, I’m doubtful this can continue for long.

Airport limo transfers

Card	Qualifying Spend	Cap
AMEX Platinum Reserve	N/A	N/A
Citi Prestige Card	S$12K per quarter for 2 rides	2 per quarter
DBS Vantage Card	N/A	N/A
HSBC Visa Infinite 🥇 Winner 🥇	S$2K per month for 1 ride*	24 per year
Maybank Visa Infinite	S$3K per month for 1 ride	8 per year
OCBC VOYAGE Card	S$12K per quarter for 2 rides	8 per year
StanChart Visa Infinite	N/A	N/A
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	N/A	N/A
*First 2 (Regular customer) or 4 (HSBC Premier) per membership year are free

No changes here from last year, as the HSBC Visa Infinite continues to reign supreme.

By paying the annual fee, cardholders enjoy two complimentary airport transfers per calendar year (four if you’re a HSBC Premier customer), and up to 24 rides per year (including the free ones) can be unlocked with just S$2,000 spend each.

The Maybank Visa Infinite comes a close second, with S$3,000 spend needed per ride. It used to be even better than the HSBC Visa Infinite, mind you, as up till July 2023 it offered two rides per S$3,000 spend.

Everything after that is far from ideal. The Citi Prestige and OCBC VOYAGE both require S$12,000 per quarter for two rides, and the rest of the cards have no benefit at all!

However, the Citi Prestige does count transactions such as education, government services, hospital bills, insurance and utilities towards the minimum spend required to unlock limo rides (even though you won’t earn any ThankYou points). Since it’s so hard to earn rewards on these categories, you might as well clock them with the Citi Prestige to get something out of it. 

Frankly speaking, those who want the best airport limo benefit should just get a lowly UOB PRVI Miles AMEX, where all you need to spend is S$1,000 FCY in a calendar quarter to get two free rides.

Travel insurance

Card	Accident	Medical	Travel Inconvenience
AMEX Platinum Reserve Policy	S$1M	N/A	Yes
Citi Prestige Card Policy	US$500K	US$500K	Yes
DBS Vantage Card	N/A	N/A	N/A
HSBC Visa Infinite Policy 🥇 Winner 🥇	S$2.75M	S$100K	Yes
Maybank Visa Infinite Policy	S$1M	N/A	Yes
OCBC VOYAGE Card	N/A	N/A	N/A
StanChart Visa Infinite Policy	S$1M	S$50K	Yes
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card Policy	US$1M	N/A	Yes

While most $120K cards offer complimentary travel insurance, not all coverage is made equal. 

In general, you’ll want to make sure your policy covers three things:

1. Death and permanent disability: In case you perish or suffer permanent bodily damage while on your trip
2. Medical expenses: In case you need to visit a doctor or a hospital overseas
3. Travel inconvenience: Flight delays, lost and damaged luggage

If not, I’d highly advise you to buy a stand-alone insurance policy, because 1 or 2 out of 3 isn’t sufficient. And even if the policy covers all three, it’s your responsibility to make sure the coverage limits are sufficient for your needs.

We don’t have the space here to do a detailed analysis, but based on my cursory reading, the policy offered by the HSBC Visa Infinite has the highest coverage of all. Cardholders are covered for up to S$2.75 million for accidental death, with S$100,000 of overseas medical expenses, S$10,000 of post medical expenses in Singapore, and S$250,000 for emergency medical evacuation.

In terms of travel inconvenience, there’s S$10,000 coverage for trip cancellation, S$5,000 coverage for lost luggage, as well as coverage for loss of travel documents, rental car excess, and personal liability. Coverage even extends to family members travelling on the same trip. If you ask me, this is as good as any stand-alone policy. 

Private club access

Card	Private Club Access
AMEX Platinum Reserve 🥇 Winner 🥇	Tower Club
Citi Prestige Card	N/A
DBS Vantage Card	N/A
HSBC Visa Infinite	N/A
Maybank Visa Infinite	N/A
OCBC VOYAGE Card	N/A
StanChart Visa Infinite	N/A
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	N/A

Not much of a contest here, really. 

The AMEX Platinum Reserve continues to be the only $120K card with private club access via Tower Club. Bookings can be made through the AMEX concierge, and access is limited to five cardholders per day. All expenses will incur a 10% surcharge, as is Tower Club’s policy for affiliate members.

Although the Straits Bar is an OK place to have a drink (don’t expect anything other than paint-by-numbers cocktails though), I find the overall Tower Club experience a bit stuffy and overrated. It’s certainly not a decisive factor for choosing a $120K card. 

Dining perks

Card	Dining Perks
AMEX Platinum Reserve 🥇 Winner 🥇	Up to 50% off dining with Love Dining 1 for 1 drinks with Chillax Assorted dining vouchers
Citi Prestige Card	Haute Dining Experiences
DBS Vantage Card	Up to 50% off dining with Accor Plus
HSBC Visa Infinite	Entertainer with HSBC
Maybank Visa Infinite	Generic Maybank dining promotions
OCBC VOYAGE Card	VOYAGE Gourmet Experiences
StanChart Visa Infinite	Generic StanChart dining promotions
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	30% off Sheraton Towers 30% off Pan Pacific Hotels Group dining 30% off Fullerton Hotels dining Infinite Dining Experiences

The AMEX Platinum Reserve may not have a lot going for it, but it does offer a solid dining proposition.

Cardholders enjoy up to 50% off food with Love Dining at a wide range of hotels and restaurants around Singapore. There’s also Chillax, which gives 1-for-1 drinks at selected bars islandwide.

Guide: American Express Love Dining programme

However, the exact same benefits can be enjoyed with an AMEX Platinum Credit Card, which has a lower annual fee of S$327 (which is further discounted by up to 75% in the first year, with the current welcome offer).

It’s hard to match the muscle of the Love Dining programme, though the HSBC Visa Infinite does a valiant job with its complimentary copy of The Entertainer, which includes 1-for-1 offers at more than 200 dining merchants across Singapore, plus additional deals for use overseas. 

This covers a wider range of restaurants than Love Dining, though the savings for Love Dining will always be superior since it’s 50% off all food (whether appetisers, mains or desserts), while The Entertainer generally offers a 1-for-1 main course.

The DBS Vantage includes an Accor Plus membership that offers up to 50% off food at participating Accor hotel restaurants across Asia Pacific, as well as 15% off drinks. I realise it’s subjective, but I don’t think much of the Accor hotel restaurants in Singapore. Most of them are middling at best, with Racines at Sofitel City Centre the only possible exception. 

The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card used to offer 50% off weekday lunch at restaurants under the Pan Pacific Hotels Group, but its dining discounts now max out at 30%.

The Citi Prestige, OCBC VOYAGE and UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card offer periodic celebrity chef dining experiences, which are sometimes offered on a 1-for-1 basis (though the nett price still won’t be cheap).

Weight

What’s the point of having a $120K card if you can’t let the whole world know by dropping it casually on the counter with a fragile-masculinity-assuaging “plunk”? (fun fact: the plunk factor is an actual term in the card manufacturing industry, describing the heft of a card).

That is, if your card is actually made of metal like the DBS Vantage, Citi Prestige, OCBC VOYAGE and UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card. The judging criteria here is simple: VOYAGE wins because it weighs the most. 

Card	Weight
AMEX Platinum Reserve	~5g
Citi Prestige Card	8g
DBS Vantage Card	10g
HSBC Visa Infinite	~5g
Maybank Visa Infinite	~5g
OCBC VOYAGE Card 🥇 Winner 🥇	15g
StanChart Visa Infinite	~5g
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	9g

Supp. cardholder benefits

Card	Supp. Cards	Perks
AMEX Platinum Reserve	2 free (S$163.50 after)	Love Dining Chillax Tower Club access
Citi Prestige Card 🥇 Winner 🥇	Free	World Elite Mastercard perks
DBS Vantage Card	Free	Visa Infinite perks
HSBC Visa Infinite	5 free	Unlimited-visit LoungeKey membership Visa Infinite perks
Maybank Visa Infinite	Free	Visa Infinite perks
OCBC VOYAGE Card	S$191*	2x lounge visits Visa Infinite perks
StanChart Visa Infinite	5 free	Tax payment facility Visa Infinite perks
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	1 free (S$293.38 after)	Visa Infinite perks
*First year fee waived for the first two supp. cards

While the best perks are reserved for principal cardholders, certain $120K cards show the love to supplementary cardholders too. 

The HSBC Visa Infinite offers an unlimited-visit LoungeKey membership for up to five supplementary cardholders, which is a fantastic benefit considering the annual fee. However, we’ve already recognised this in the Lounge Access section. 

The AMEX Platinum Reserve offers supplementary cardholders the same Love Dining, Chillax and Tower Club access perks that the principal cardholder enjoys. But again, you could get the same benefits (less Tower Club access) with the cheaper AMEX Platinum Credit Card, so this shouldn’t be a reason to get the AMEX Platinum Reserve. 

The OCBC VOYAGE Card added 2x lounge visits for supplementary cardholders in July 2024, but that’s still nothing compared to the unlimited visits they received prior to March 2024.

The StanChart Visa Infinite Card allows supplementary cardholders to use its income tax payment facility and buy miles from 1.36 cents each, which may or may not be useful if they have tax bills of their own to pay. 

Other than that, all $120K cards (AMEX aside) either belong to the Mastercard World Elite or Visa Infinite tier, so supplementary cardholders will enjoy the same generic benefits that principal cardholders do.

I’d argue that the Citi Prestige is the biggest beneficiary here, because World Elite Mastercard perks are head and shoulders above their Visa Infinite counterparts. 

In contrast, the only Visa Infinite worth noting is a complimentary GHA DISCOVERY Titanium membership, which World Elite Mastercard cardholders also enjoy.

Because of this, I’m giving this category to the Citi Prestige.

Unique perks

In addition to the benefits above, some $120K cards have unique perks which are well worth discussing.

Citi Prestige: 4th Night Free

The Citi Prestige’s 4th Night Free (4NF) benefit, used judiciously, can help cardholders recover large chunks of their annual fee.

With 4NF, principal cardholders can book four nights at a hotel, and get one night refunded to their card (based on the average nightly pre-tax room rate). The refund is done on Citi’s side, so you’ll still earn hotel points and elite credit (where applicable) for four nights’ worth of spending.

However, all bookings must be made through the Citi Prestige concierge, and Citi has been tightening the screws on this benefit:

• Only rates that appear on the hotel’s official website or Expedia can be booked
• All rates must be fully prepaid
• You can’t book suites or villas (even if that’s the lead-in category at a hotel)
• You can’t book half or full-board stays
• The rate must be “publicly available”. Even though it costs nothing to sign up for a Hilton/Marriott/Hyatt etc. membership, you won’t be able to enjoy the extra 10% or so they offer to their own members because it’s not a “publicly-available” rate

It’s an unpleasant number of hoops to jump through, and I’ve read stories about CSOs adopting very “creative” interpretations of the rules (you can’t book a room because it has an ensuite bathroom and suites are not allowed!).

That said, if you’re willing to play ball you can certainly save some money- and because Citi has not capped the 4NF benefit in Singapore (it has in a few other countries), frequent travellers should be able to make the math work.

DBS Vantage: Accor Plus Explorer membership

DBS Vantage Cardholders receive a complimentary Accor Plus Explorer membership, which normally retails for S$418 (though it can be bought for less during sales, or from a different region).

This includes perks at participating Accor hotels across Asia Pacific including:

• One complimentary hotel night per year 
• Up to 50% off dining
• 15% off drinks bill in Asia
• 10% off the best available public rate
• Access to Red Hot Room sales with up to 50% off
• 10 status nights per year

I’ve already discussed the dining benefits in a previous section, so let’s talk about the other big draw: the complimentary hotel night known as Stay Plus.

Stay Plus gives you a complimentary night at participating hotels across Asia Pacific. It is capacity controlled, however, which means you may not always get exactly the property you want, when you want it.

In my experience, it’s tough to book the Sofitels in Singapore, but you can book them elsewhere in Southeast Asia without too much difficulty. Over the years I’ve used my free nights at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, Pullman Kuala Lumpur, and Sofitel City Centre.

HSBC Visa Infinite: Priority immigration

HSBC Visa Infinite cardholders who spend at least S$2,000 in a calendar month receive complimentary fast-track immigration service at selected airports for themselves and a guest (in addition to the previously-mentioned free limo ride).

Just like the limo benefit, two complimentary uses are provided each year with no minimum spend (four if you’re a HSBC Premier customer).

Depending on the airport, fast-track immigration may also include meet and assist services, which escort you to/from the airplane.

OCBC VOYAGE: Redeem miles for any flight

A unique feature of OCBC VOYAGE is that VOYAGE Miles can be used to pay for any flight in any cabin on any airline. It’s conceptually the same as buying a commercial ticket, freeing you from the uncertainties of award inventory and waitlisting, and presenting the opportunity to earn miles and elite status credits on your flight.

The value of a VOYAGE Mile when redeemed for commercial airfares is opaque, but prior to August 2023, it was reliably around 2.3 cents. Unfortunately, OCBC then carried out an unannounced 25% devaluation, which reduced the value to no more than 1.72 cents.

But that’s just the risk you bear when holding VOYAGE Miles. Since there’s no official value per mile, the value is whatever OCBC says it is!

Category Recap

Before we unveil the overall winner, let’s first recap the results of each category (and keep in mind that I wouldn’t weigh each category the same):

🥊 $120K Credit Card Showdown 🥊
Category	Winner
Annual Fee & Welcome/Renewal Gift	Citi Prestige Card
Sign-up Bonus	Citi Prestige Card
Earn Rates	StanChart Visa Infinite
Points Flexibility & Expiry	HSBC Visa Infinite
Miles Purchase Facility	StanChart Visa Infinite
Lounge Access	HSBC Visa Infinite
Airport Limo	HSBC Visa Infinite
Travel Insurance	HSBC Visa Infinite
Private Club Access	AMEX Platinum Reserve
Dining Perks	AMEX Platinum Reserve
Weight	OCBC VOYAGE Card
Supp. Cardholder Benefits	Citi Prestige Card

🏆 Winner: Citi Prestige (or HSBC Visa Infinite?)

Look, I know it’s a bit boring to read that the Citi Prestige wins year after year, but I really don’t see any other conclusion.

Despite the removal of unlimited lounge visits, and the hike to its annual fee, it’s still possible to come out ahead, with the 32,000 miles, 4th Night Free benefit, airport limo rides (which can be clocked even with non-rewards-eligible spend), and other benefits— you’ll just have to work harder.

Its closest competitor would probably be the HSBC Visa Infinite, and come to think of it, HSBC Premier customers are probably enjoying the best deal in town right now: S$497.12 for six — yes six — unlimited LoungeKey passes (even the regular S$662.15 fee would be a good deal). The minimum spend for a limo ride remains reasonably low at S$2,000 (with two or four free rides per year), its complimentary travel insurance coverage is excellent, and HSBC points are extremely versatile.

On the flip side, the earn rates of the HSBC Visa Infinite are absolutely abject, so you won’t be earning many points to begin with. And of course, the bigger issue is that this card is effectively in limbo. Applications have been closed for almost a year now, and who knows what features will get nerfed with the relaunch?

Apart from that, it’s not like the rest the pack has closed the gap in any meaningful way. The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card’s new four-hour cooldown period effectively limits you to one lounge visit per trip, and it will lose unlimited lounge access altogether in June 2026. 

The Maybank Visa Infinite has lost JetQuay access, points for donations, and free points conversions. The DBS Vantage Card, OCBC VOYAGE Card and StanChart Visa Infinite have remained more or less the same, and there’s still no real reason to get an AMEX Platinum Reserve, unless you’re enjoying an annual fee waiver by virtue of the “one annual fee” scheme for AMEX Platinum Charge cardmembers (since discontinued).

So…yay. The 2025 $120K showdown. I’ve been writing this article for eight years now, and with each iteration, it feels like the sweet spot keeps shrinking. Sure, you can still recover your annual fee with most cards, but every year the effort involved only increases.

If you ask me, I think that $200K cards could be the new $120K cards, and it’d be interesting to see if any other banks follow the lead of American Express and Standard Chartered in launching a product for this segment. There’s only so much value the banks are willing or able to offer with annual fees of ~S$500.

Conclusion

If you’re on the fence about getting a $120K card, the good news is that no one needs one to play the miles game. If your goal is simply to accumulate miles as quickly as possible, you’d be better off with the cards I recommend in my annual card strategy post, most of which are available with an annual income of just S$30,000.

That said, those who enjoy travelling and dining out may find a $120K card to be a good companion, provided they make heavy use of its benefits. 

Which $120K card do you fancy the most?