UOB’s five Visa Infinite cards: What’s the difference?

UOB was the first bank in Singapore to launch a Visa Infinite card back in September 2003, with the debut of the (imaginatively-named) UOB Visa Infinite Card.

Labelled “an exceedingly-exclusive card for the mega-rich”, this invite-only card had a minimum income requirement of S$350,000 — equivalent to S$546,000 in today’s money — and targeted the top 0.1% in Singapore.

While a Visa Infinite holds much less prestige today, given that you can get one with a minimum fixed deposit of S$30,000, UOB clearly still loves the product.

Most banks offer one or maybe two Visa Infinite cards. UOB offers a total of five.

Card	Description
UOB Reserve Diamond Card T&Cs	The most extinguished  distinguished card in the UOB line-up, with an actual diamond embedded (replacement cards cost S$1,090 each). Offers additional hotel and dining benefits over the UOB Reserve
UOB Reserve T&Cs Review	UOB’s high-end offering for private banking and UHNWIs, made of alpaca silver
UOB Privilege Banking Card T&Cs	Created as an option for Privilege Banking clients who did not meet the S$350K income requirement for the original UOB Visa Infinite, carries largely the same benefits
UOB Visa Infinite T&Cs	The granddaddy of all Visa Infinite cards in Singapore, no longer open for applications and gradually being phased out in favor of the Visa Infinite Metal Card
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card T&Cs Review	Launched in 2018 as the replacement for the UOB Visa Infinite, with a lower annual fee and income requirement

What’s the difference between the five, and which — if any — should you be applying for? 

Before we begin, a quick note about terminology. Because of UOB’s rather generic naming convention, it’s easy to get confused when talking about the five different UOB Visa Infinite cards (it doesn’t help that one of them is literally named the UOB Visa Infinite Card).

So when I’m referring to these five cards collectively, I’ll use the term UOB VI Cards instead. When I’m referring to individual products, I’ll use their full names as mentioned in the table above.

Eligibility & annual fees

Card	Eligibility	Annual Fee
UOB Reserve Diamond Card	Spend S$1M on the UOB Reserve or S$10M on UOB Payment Facility in a membership year	S$3,924
UOB Reserve	By Invitation	S$3,924
UOB Privilege Banking Card	S$350K AUM	S$1,962 (waived if min. AUM is met)
UOB Visa Infinite	No longer available for application	S$1,962
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	S$120K income	S$654

While a Visa Infinite may not be the status symbol it used to, it’s safe to say that UOB doesn’t just give them to anyone. To get a card, you need to either have a private or privilege banking relationship with UOB, a high income, or both.

The UOB Reserve is strictly by invitation only, and if you don’t earn at least S$500K a year or have a UOB Privilege Reserve relationship (min. AUM S$2M), you can forget about it. That’s not even mentioning the UOB Reserve Diamond, which is only available to those who spend a jaw-dropping S$1M on their card, or S$10M on the UOB Payment Facility (which would cost S$160,000 in fees, based on the current promotional rates).

More attainable is the UOB Privilege Banking Card, which requires a minimum AUM of S$350,000, or the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card with a minimum income requirement of S$120,000. Hey, it’s all relative, right?

In terms of annual fees, the only card here with the possibility of a waiver is the UOB Privilege Banking Card, which waives its S$1,962 annual fee so long as you maintain a minimum AUM of S$350,000.

Miles with annual fee

Card	Annual Fee	Miles (CPM)
UOB Reserve Diamond Card	S$3,924	100,000 3.92¢
UOB Reserve
UOB Privilege Banking Card	S$1,962 (waived if min. AUM is met)	60,000 (only if AF is paid) 3.21¢
UOB Visa Infinite	S$1,962	60,000 3.21¢
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	S$654	25,000 2.61¢

All UOB VI Cards offer miles — in the form of UNI$ — for paying the annual fee. 

The cost per mile ranges from 2.61 to 3.92 cents, which is well above my accepted valuation. That said, it’s insufficient to merely look at the cost per mile, because these cards come with other benefits that can help to justify the annual fee.

Earn rates

Card	Local Earn	Overseas Earn
UOB Reserve Diamond Card	2 mpd Luxury Spend* 1.6 mpd All Others	2.4 mpd
UOB Reserve
UOB Privilege Banking Card	2 mpd Luxury Spend^ 1.2 mpd All Others	2 mpd Dining  & Shopping^ 1.2 mpd All Others
UOB Visa Infinite
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	1.4 mpd	2.4 mpd
*Capped at S$20,000 per calendar month ^Capped at S$10,000 per calendar month

Do UOB VI Cards have earn rates to match their hefty annual fees?

Yes and no. The UOB Reserve Diamond & UOB Reserve (1.6/2.4 mpd) and UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card (1.4/2.4 mpd) offer very competitive rates for general spending cards. They won’t be racking up 4 mpd like the UOB Preferred Visa or UOB Lady’s Cards, but that’s a criticism you could levy against any general spending card, really.

The UOB Privilege Banking Card and UOB Visa Infinite are relatively underpowered, however. The local earn rate of 1.2 mpd is average at best, and where overseas spending is concerned, you only earn 2 mpd on specific dining and shopping MCCs — and even then, capped at S$10,000 per calendar month.

Given that your entry-level general spending cards all offer at least 2 mpd on all kinds of overseas spending — uncapped no less — this is hard to swallow. 

All UOB VI Cards, with the exception of the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card, also earn 2 mpd on local luxury spend, defined as SGD transactions with Audemars Piguet, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Cartier, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton and many other chi-chi places.

This is capped at S$10,000 per calendar month for the UOB Privilege Banking Card and UOB Visa Infinite (a shared cap with the 2 mpd for overseas shopping and dining), and S$20,000 per calendar month for the UOB Reserve and UOB Reserve Diamond Card.

Lounge access

Card	Lounge Visits
	Principal	Supp.
UOB Reserve Diamond Card	∞ + 1 guest	∞
UOB Reserve	∞ + 1 guest	∞
UOB Privilege Banking Card	N/A	N/A
UOB Visa Infinite	N/A	N/A
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	12 per m. year	N/A

Principal UOB Reserve & UOB Reserve Diamond Cardholders receive unlimited Priority Pass lounge visits for themselves and one guest, while supplementary cardholders receive unlimited visits. 

Unfortunately, that’s as good as it gets, because UOB Visa Infinite Metal Cardholders had their unlimited visits cut to just 12 per membership year from June 2026. There is no lounge access for either the UOB Privilege Banking Card or UOB Visa Infinite.

For what it’s worth, all UOB VI Cards enjoy access to the UOB Infinite Lounge in EmQuartier Bangkok, with complimentary F&B.

Limo transfers

Card	Limo Transfers
UOB Reserve Diamond Card	4x limo transfers (6x for UOB Private Banking)
UOB Reserve
UOB Privilege Banking Card	N/A
UOB Visa Infinite
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card

Limo transfers are another area where the UOB VI Cards fall short.

Complimentary airport transfers are only offered to the UOB Reserve & UOB Reserve Diamond Card, and even then, they’re capped at just four per membership year (or six for those with UOB Private Bank status).

These rides can be used for transfers to and from:

• Changi Airport
• Valencia Yachts reserved via UOB Reserve Concierge
• dinner reservations under the Reserve Dining programme
• cruises/staycations bookings made via the UOB Travel Concierge

All bookings and reservations must be charged to the UOB Reserve Card.

Miles purchase facility

Card	Admin Fee (One-time payment)
UOB Reserve Diamond Card	1.9% 1.6%
UOB Reserve	1.9% 1.6%
UOB Privilege Banking Card	2.2% 1.8%
UOB Visa Infinite	2.2% 1.8%
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	2.2% 1.8%

The UOB Payment Facility allows UOB cardholders to buy as many miles as they wish, capped only by their credit limit. 

How it works is that cardholders fill out an online form and specify how much they’d like to charge to the facility, e.g. S$5,000. UOB will then:

• Deposit S$5,000 into their designated bank account
• Charge S$5,000 plus an admin fee to their card
• Award UNI$ at a rate of UNI$2.5 per S$5 (1 mpd), or 2,500 UNI$ in total (5,000 miles; the payment facility fee doesn’t earn miles)

UOB runs a near-perpetual promotion that reduces the cost per mile to 1.6 cents for the UOB Reserve Diamond Card and UOB Reserve Card and 2.2 cents for the UOB Privilege Banking Card, UOB Visa Infinite Card and UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card. 

The main advantage of the UOB Payment Facility is that it’s really no questions asked — so long as you have the credit limit, you can buy the miles. However, if you have actual bills to pay (with supporting documentation) like rent, insurance premiums, MCST fees, or income tax, you could buy miles for less by using your UOB VI Card with a service like CardUp.

Other unique perks

Card	Special Perks
UOB Reserve Diamond Card	Complimentary 2nd night hotel stay, capped at S$400, once per quarter Complimentary meal for two per quarter Complimentary birthday treat All the benefits of UOB Reserve (see below)
UOB Reserve	2x complimentary meet & assist Reserve Dining programme Complimentary green fees 100,000 bonus miles with min. S$250,000 spend in a membership year
UOB Privilege Banking Card	None
UOB Visa Infinite	None
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card	15,000 bonus miles with min. S$100,000 spend in a membership year

UOB Reserve Diamond cardholders enjoy some additional benefits over run-of-the-mill UOB Reserve cardholders:

• Complimentary 2nd night hotel stay: Once a quarter, capped at S$400 per night
• Complimentary meal for two people: UOB chooses a restaurant each quarter and the cardholder plus one guest dine for free
• Complimentary birthday treat: the cardholder receives a gift for his/her birthday

These perks are enjoyed in the first year of Diamond card membership, but in subsequent years require a further S$1M spending (!) to enjoy.

The complimentary 2nd night hotel stay sounds attractive at first, until you realise that the value of the free night is capped at S$400 and you can only use the benefit once a quarter. The Citi ULTIMA has a similar benefit, but allows up to two complimentary nights per outward journey. This means you could get many more free nights out of the ULTIMA (and not have to spend S$1M for the privilege of doing so).

UOB Reserve Cardholders enjoy two complimentary meet & assist services per year, four free golf games, and 100,000 bonus miles with a minimum spend of S$250,000 in a membership year. I don’t find any of these to be life-changing perks, quite frankly, which explains my overall indifference towards the UOB Reserve in general. 

UOB Visa Infinite Metal Cardholders used to get complimentary Singtel ReadyRoam packages and a Gourmet Collection membership, but those have long ended and the only additional perk worth noting is 15,000 bonus miles with a minimum spend of S$100,000 in a membership year. 

I’m not aware of any other noteworthy benefits for the UOB Visa Infinite or UOB Privilege Banking Card, aside from the fact that all UOB VI Cards enjoy a waiver of the S$27 miles conversion fee. 

Conclusion

UOB VI Cards have high annual fees but relatively modest benefits, and therefore I find them hard to recommend.

If I wanted a $120K card, I’d look at something like the Citi Prestige, which offers an easier route to fee recovery via its 4th Night Free benefit And if I ever qualified for a $500K card, I’d go for the Citi ULTIMA in a heartbeat. The annual fee is just under 10% more, but you get so much more out of it— the 2nd Night Free benefit puts the UOB Reserve Diamond Card’s perk to shame! 

Come to think of it, the UOB cards I like the most are the entry-level ones; I’d recommend the UOB Preferred Visa, the UOB Lady’s Card and the UOB Visa Signature to pretty much anyone. Once you move up the tiers, however, you’re better off looking elsewhere.