DBS has started a new promotion with Mileslife that runs from now till 31 December 2018. This promotion features a larger sign up bonus plus a 50% bonus on all transactions, subject to a cap of S$2,000 of spending per month.
1,500 mile first user bonus
First time users of Mileslife who enter the code 1500MILESDBS will get 1,500 miles with their first spend of S$49 or more made on a DBS card.
It’s only fair to point out that this referral bonus is higher than the 1,000 miles you’d get by using my code, so if you’re new to Mileslife it does make more sense for you to use the DBS code instead. The referral links to Mileslife my site will default to the MILELION code, so you’ll need to separately download the app and enter 1500MILESDBS if you want the larger bonus.
50% more miles on all transactions
If you pay for your Mileslife transactions with a DBS or POSB credit card, you will earn 50% additional miles from Mileslife. That’s to say:
- I pay with DBS Altitude (1.2 mpd) at a restaurant that offers 2 mpd normally on Mileslife
- I earn 1.2 + 2*1.5 (50% more miles than the 2 mpd)= 4.2 mpd in total
The additional 50% bonus miles is credited to you from Mileslife, not from DBS. Your base earning rate on DBS cards remains the same.
You can earn the 50% bonus miles subject to a maximum spend of S$2,000 a month. Remember that your miles will be automatically credited to your default frequent flyer account within 3-5 working days of your transaction. Mileslife currently partners with the following airlines:
The full T&C of this promotion can be found here.
What about the DBS WWMC?
Back in June 2017, barely one month after Mileslife launched in Singapore, DBS updated the T&C of its Woman’s World Mastercard to explicitly exclude Mileslife from earning 10X rewards points (4 mpd). This decision made very little sense to me, given that the whole point of exclusion categories was to prevent people from earning points on non-discretionary spend like tuition fees, hospitals, insurance and utilities bills. Mileslife is an app for dining out, going for spas and buying holidays- the very definition of discretionary spend.
Hopefully this partnership means DBS might consider removing Mileslife from the exclusion categories in the future, but as of right now I still see Mileslife excluded. If you’re looking for 10X with Mileslife, you can try the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa. FYI, Mileslife’s MCC is 7278.
Conclusion
If you’re already earning 4 mpd on Mileslife through your credit card (i.e. UOB PPV), then it’s hard to see a scenario where switching to a 1.2 mpd earning DBS Altitude would make sense insofar as dining is concerned. That’s because the maximum base miles on any restaurant is 3, so your incremental 50% miles of 1.5 would not offset the 2.8 mpd lost by paying with the Altitude.
The situation might be different if you look at fixed mile rewards like lifestyle or getaway packages, however.
Suppose you were staying at The Residence Bintan
- UOB PPV: 4*100 (bank) + 2,100 (Mileslife)= 2,500 miles total
- DBS Altitude: 1.2*100 (bank) + 2,100 * 1.5 (Mileslife)= 3,270 miles total
*Edit: It’s been clarified that you don’t actually get 2,100 miles for paying $100 at The Residence Bintan, the $100 refers to adding an additional bed. But you get the point of the illustration- be sure to click through all the way to see the total amount spent and miles earned.Â
And suppose you were staying at the Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa
- UOB PPV: 4*559 (bank) + 2,200 (Mileslife)=4,436 miles total
- DBS Altitude: 1.2*559 (bank) + 2,200 *1.5 (Mileslife)= 3,971 miles total
So you can see that there are situations where you would earn more miles by paying with the DBS Altitude with its 50% bonus, and others where you would earn more with the UOB PPV and its 10X points. A quick calculation before you hit buy should help you maximize your miles.
Worth noting that topping up Mileslife credit will NOT earn the extra 50% bonus…
Hi Aaron, on the calculation for Amara, for UOB PPV, has to round down the amount to 555 (4*555 instead of 4*559) yea..
there is some rounding but the difference is inconsequential in the scheme of things.
To clarify your example, paying $100 for the Residence Bintan does not earn 2100 miles. $100 is only for extra bed
i see, that actually makes a lot more sense.
there’s a promo for 2miles per $ for topping up mileslife credits until 15 April. there’s a $100 minimum though
the trade off is you don’t get the 50% dbs bonus as sam mentioned
Given that UOB PPV earns 2.8 mpd more than DBS Altitude (on the bank side of the total miles earned) while DBS Altitude gives 50% more miles (on the Mileslife side of the total miles earned), DBS Altitude will only be better for packages that give more than 5.6 mpd (2.8 x 2) on the Mileslife side. It does not seem like Mileslife sells any package with such a generous multiple (the norm seems to be between 1-3 mpd). So I’m tempted to go out on a limb and say you’ll always earn more miles with UOB PPV.
Do we need to spend $49 on the first transaction to be eligible for the 1,500 bonus miles sign up offer? The DBS site says you’ll get the bonus after the first purchase doesn’t say anything about a minimum spend.
My experience with Mileslife is that the welcome bonus (normally just 1,000) is given after your first $49 transaction (not cumulatively), so your first transaction doesn’t have to be $49. When it isn’t, the welcome bonus just sits unclaimed in your account until you make a transaction that’s at least $49, subject to its expiry (which I recall is about a month from when it’s issued). So I think what DBS is trying to say is you’ll start earning 50% more miles from your first transaction, while the 50% more miles on your welcome bonus will be awarded only after… Read more »
Am trying out Mileslife for the first time, but by way of how it operates and the MCC it is under, doubt Maybank horizon would render 3.2miles on top of whatever is offered via Mileslife? However, something worthy to note, Maybank cards are offered 2x miles on Mileslife spent (on the F&B part at least). Hence, if some simple calculation was done on a visit to a restaurant on Mileslife that renders 2 miles per $ spent, it help in the sense that Maybank Horizon would render 1TP (0.4miles) x 4 miles (2miles from restaurant visit x 2 bonus miles)… Read more »
I wonder if this 50% bonus from DBS stacks with 4x bonus for spends during the promotion period 13 Apr – 15 Apr? 1.2 + 2 x 1.5 x 4 = 13.2 mpd?
Hi James,
The 2 campaigns are non-combinable during the campaign period. You’ll be rewarded with 4x bonus miles for every spend on Mileslife, excluding gift cards and top ups, between 13 to 15 April 2018.
Hope this helps, thanks!
Hello! Is the 1500 bonus miles for sign ups via DBS still available? (I note that the DBS page mentions the 1500 miles sign up bonus but the Mileslife page it links to doesn’t mention it …)