Wow: BOC Elite Miles offering 10,000 miles sign-up bonus!

In my time covering the miles and points game, I’ve been privileged to witness some truly incredible sign-up bonuses.

The HSBC Premier Mastercard’s 106,200 miles bonanza. The Standard Chartered X Card and Beyond Card’s 100,000 miles windfalls. The AMEX Platinum Charge’s 93,750 miles carrot, supplemented with a S$100 statement credit. 

But what I’m about to share with you today simply blows them all away. I hope you’re sitting down, because for the rest of 2026, the BOC Elite Miles Card is offering a whopping 10,000 miles sign-up bonus with a minimum spend of just S$50, and payment of the first year’s S$207.10 annual fee. 

Yes, that’s S$207.10 for 10,000 miles. Not since the Louisiana Purchase has mankind seen such a phenomenal deal. Think of all the places you can go, like…Kuala Lumpur! In Economy! One-way!

As tempting as it is to gatekeep this, I have decided that the whole world must know.

BOC Elite Miles 10,000 miles welcome offer

This BOC Elite Miles Card welcome offer is available for new-to-bank customers, defined as those who:

• Do not currently hold a principal BOC credit card, and
• Have not cancelled a principal BOC credit card in the past six months

It’s worth noting that unlike previous BOC welcome offers, supplementary cardholders are eligible to participate, so that’s…progress, I suppose!

10,000 bonus miles (in the form of 50,000 BOC points) will be awarded to customers who:

• Apply and receive approval between 1 April to 31 December 2026
• Enter the promo code WELCOME26 during application
• Pay the first year’s S$207.10 annual fee
• Make a minimum spend of S$50 within 60 days of approval

This bonus is on top of the usual earn rates of 1.4 and 2.8 mpd for SGD and FCY spend respectively, though it won’t change the overall picture significantly given that the minimum spend is just S$50. 

When will the bonus miles be credited?

According to the T&Cs, BOC will award the 10,000 bonus miles within 60 days from the end of the promotion period. Since the promotion period ends on 31 December 2026, you should expect to receive your miles by 1 March 2027. Yes, March 2027!

What’s that you say? BOC’s Facebook post says that points will be credited within “60 days of meeting all conditions”, and that’s probably the correct version?

Well, I simply refuse to believe that BOC’s well-drafted, airtight and not-at-all-ambiguous T&Cs could possibly be wrong!

Terms & Conditions

Here is a link to the well-drafted, airtight and not-at-all ambiguous T&Cs. 

Is it worth it?

Hahahaahhaahhaahahahahahahahahahaha.

Oh, you were serious.

No, it’s not worth it. Even if that hilariously-protracted crediting cycle turns out to be a typo, BOC is basically asking you to pay S$207.10 for 10,000 bonus miles, equivalent to 2.07 cents per mile.

Why on earth would you do that, when you could buy miles for less through other cards with cheaper annual fees, more transfer partners, lower conversion fees, and marginally less dysfunction than BOC — where converting miles requires filling out a PDF form and waiting 14-21 working days!

💳 Cards with annual fees <2.07 cpm
Card	Annual Fee	Miles	CPM
HSBC TravelOne Apply	S$196.20	12K	1.63¢
StanChart Visa Infinite Apply	S$599.50	35K 1st Year Only	1.71¢
Citi PremierMiles Apply	S$196.20	10K	1.96¢
DBS Altitude AMEX Apply	S$196.20	10K	1.96¢
DBS Altitude Visa Apply	S$196.20	10K	1.96¢
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	S$196.20	10K	1.96¢
OCBC 90°N MC Apply	S$196.20	10K	1.96¢
OCBC 90°N Visa Apply	S$196.20	10K	1.96¢
StanChart Journey Apply	S$196.20	10K	1.96¢
Citi Prestige Apply	S$651.82	32K	2.04¢

What can you do with BOC points?

Following its removal of Asia Miles in July 2025, BOC has a single transfer partner: KrisFlyer.

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (BOC Points: Miles)
	50,000 : 10,000

Conversions are subject to a S$30.56 admin fee, and customers are capped at transferring a maximum of 100,000 miles in a single conversion. Why? Because BOC said so. There is absolutely no technical reason for this; it’s just a pure money-grab on the part of the bank.

BOC does have some crazy promotions!

Now, as laughable as this welcome offer may be, it’s only fair to mention that roughly once a year, BOC runs an utterly bonkers promotion that makes everyone temporarily forget what a royal pain it is to deal with.

In 2025, the BOC Elite Miles Card offered a bonus 6 mpd on online and FCY spending, dining and the SIA Group, capped at 30,000 bonus miles per month. In 2024, it offered 7-8 mpd on the same set of merchants— uncapped!

However, both these promotions ended well before their originally-announced deadlines, with the 2024 offer lasting just two weeks. BOC’s card processing time may have improved in recent years, but even so, it’s better to have a card on standby, ready to go once the next big promotion drops.

That said, I’d rather apply for it without the current sign-up bonus and enjoy a first year fee waiver, instead of paying S$207.10 for 10,000 miles.

Conclusion

The BOC Elite Miles Card has just launched the greatest deal of all time— for BOC. 

If paying S$207.10 for 10,000 miles provides you with titillation, then hey, I don’t judge. For everyone else, however, may I humbly suggest that you’d be better off paying the S$196.20 annual fee on the Citi PremierMiles, DBS Altitude, KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card, OCBC 90°N or StanChart Journey Card, or better yet, buying miles through CardUp or Citi PayAll instead. 

Let’s hope they don’t pull this one early!

(HT: Alvin)