HSBC Revolution restores travel and contactless bonuses, raises monthly bonus cap by 50%

By

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Jul 1, 2025

The HSBC Revolution Card had a torrid 2024 by all accounts, with the removal of numerous bonus categories, the axing of complimentary travel insurance, and even a devaluation of KrisFlyer conversions — it seemed like the bad news just couldn’t stop coming.

But now comes an unexpected ray of sunshine. For the next four months, HSBC is turning back the clock by restoring 4 mpd for travel-related spend and contactless transactions. On top of that, it’s also boosting the monthly bonus cap by 50% to S$1,500. Talk about resurrections!

This is a fantastic opportunity to generate 60,000 HSBC rewards points (worth up to 24,000 miles), which are among the best points currencies in Singapore thanks to 20 transfer partners, fee-free, instant conversions, and conversion blocks as small as two miles.

Enhancements to HSBC Revolution Card

Apply

From 1 July to 31 October 2025, the HSBC Revolution Card will raise its monthly bonus cap to S$1,500, and reinstate its previous earn rate of 10X HSBC points per S$1 (4 mpd) for travel-related and contactless transactions.

This earn rate consists of:

Base: 1x HSBC points per S$1 (0.4 mpd)
Bonus: 9x HSBC points per S$1 (3.6 mpd)

Bonus points will be credited by the end of the calendar month following the transaction. While HSBC does not provide a fixed crediting data; historical data points suggest it typically falls between the 9th and 19th of the month.

Do note that only transactions which post by 31 October 2025 will qualify. Last-minute spending may risk falling outside the promotion period.

Monthly bonus cap increased to S$1,500

	Regular	Promo Period (1 Jul to 31 Oct 25)
Monthly Bonus Point Cap	9,000 points	13,500 points
Equivalent Spending	S$1,000	S$1,500

The HSBC Revolution Card normally has a cap of 9,000 bonus points per calendar month, equivalent to S$1,000 of spending.

During the promotion period, the bonus cap will be increased to 13,500 bonus points per calendar month, equivalent to S$1,500 of spending.

Any spend in excess of the bonus cap will only earn the base reward of 1x HSBC points per S$1 (0.4 mpd).

Bonuses for travel-related spending restored

Earn 4 mpd on airline ticket bookings with your HSBC Revolution Card

On 1 January 2025, the HSBC Revolution Card removed bonuses for travel-related expenditure.

However, during the promotion period, HSBC will restore this bonus category and offer 4 mpd for airlines, car rental, hotels and cruise lines transactions. These are defined by the following MCCs.

MCC	Description
3000 to 3350, 4511	Airlines
3351 to 3500	Car Rental Agencies
3501 to 3999, 7011	Lodging- Hotels , Motels, Resorts
4411	Cruise Lines

Do note that MCC 4722 is not included, so online travel agencies like Expedia, Hotels.com, Pelago, Klook and KKday will not be eligible for the bonus. If you’re in doubt about the MCC of a given merchant, use one of the three methods below to verify it before making a transaction.

Method	Ease of Use	Reliability
❓HeyMax	●●●	●
📱 Instarem app	●●	●●
🤖 DBS digibot	●	●●●
“Ease of use” and “reliability” are all relative. HeyMax already provides a solid baseline for reliability, and the DBS digibot is still simple enough to use, despite requiring more steps than the other two methods.

Bonuses for contactless spending restored

On 15 July 2024, the HSBC Revolution Card stopped awarding bonuses for contactless payments, limiting bonuses to online transactions only.

However, during the promotion period, HSBC will restore bonuses for contactless payments and offer 4 mpd for transactions made under the following MCCs.

Travel

MCC	Description
3000 to 3350, 4511	Airlines
3351 to 3500	Car Rental Agencies
3501 to 3999, 7011	Lodging- Hotels , Motels, Resorts
4411	Cruise Lines

Department Stores & Retail

MCC	Description
4816	Computer Network/Information Services
5045	Computers, Computer Peripheral Equipment, Software
5262	Marketplaces
5309	Duty Free Stores
5310	Discount Stores
5311	Department Stores
5331	Variety Stores
5399	Miscellaneous General Merchandise Stores
5611	Men’s and Boys’ Clothing and Accessories Stores
5621	Women’s Ready to Wear Stores
5631	Women’s Accessory and Specialty Stores
5641	Children’s and Infants’ Wear Stores
5651	Family Clothing Stores
5655	Sports Apparel and Riding Apparel Stores
5661	Shoe Stores
5691	Men’s and Women’s Clothing Stores
5699	Accessory and Apparel Stores–Miscellaneous
5732	Electronics Sales
5733	Music Stores–Musical Instruments, Pianos and Sheet Music
5734	Computer Software Stores
5735	Record Shops
5912	Drug Stores and Pharmacies
5942	Book Stores
5944	Clock, Jewelry, Watch and Silverware Stores
5945	Game, Toy and Hobby Shops
5946	Camera and Photographic Supply Stores
5947	Card, Gift, Novelty and Souvenir Shops
5948	Leather Goods and Luggage Stores
5949	Fabric, Needlework, Piece Goods and Sewing Stores
5964	Direct Marketing–Catalog Merchants
5965	Direct Marketing–Combination Catalog and Retail Merchant
5966	Direct Marketing–Outbound Telemarketing Merchants
5967	Direct Marketing–Inbound Telemarketing Merchants
5968	Direct Marketing–Continuity/Subscription Merchants
5969	Direct Marketing–Other Direct Marketers–Not Elsewhere Classified
5970	Artist Supply Stores, Craft Shops
5992	Florists
5999	Miscellaneous and Specialty Retail Stores

Dining

MCC	Description
5441	Candy, Nut and Confectionery Stores
5462	Bakeries
5811	Caterers
5812	Eating Places and Restaurants
5813	Bars, Cocktail Lounges, Discotheques, Nightclubs and Taverns– Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)

Transport & Membership Clubs

MCC	Description
4121	Taxicabs and Limousines
7997	Clubs–Country Clubs, Membership (Athletic, Recreation, Sports), Private Golf Courses

Contactless payments refer to transactions made via Visa payWave (i.e. tapping the physical card), Apple Pay or Google Pay.

For the avoidance of doubt, you will continue to earn 4 mpd for online transactions made in these categories too.

Terms & Conditions

The T&Cs for this promotion can be found here.

What can you do with HSBC points?

HSBC points can be transferred to 20 airline and hotel partners, at the ratios shown in the table below.

✈️ HSBC Airline Partners
Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (HSBC Points : Partner)
	50,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	30,000 : 10,000
	30,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000

🏨 HSBC Hotel Partners
Hotel Programme	Conversion Ratio (HSBC Points : Partner)
	30,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 5,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000

The crucial thing to know here is that not all partners share the same transfer ratio. Therefore, the effective earn rate depends on the partner you choose.

For example, 10 HSBC points per S$1 is equivalent to 4 mpd only if you choose a partner with a 25,000 points = 10,000 miles transfer ratio, like British Airways Executive Club or EVA Air Infinity MileageLands. If you choose KrisFlyer, where the ratio is 30,000 points = 10,000 miles, then the earn rate is 3.33 mpd.

Transfer Ratio (Points : Miles)	HSBC Revolution (Bonus Categories)^#
25,000 : 10,000	4 mpd
30,000 : 10,000	3.33 mpd
35,000 : 10,000	2.86 mpd
40,000 : 10,000	2.5 mpd
50,000 : 10,000	2 mpd
#10 points per S$1 on bonus categories

All conversions must be done via the HSBC Singapore app (Android | iOS) and are processed instantly, with the exception of the following:

Hainan Fortune Wings Club: Within 5 business days
Japan Airlines Mileage Bank: Within 10 business days

Conversions are free of charge until further notice, and HSBC points are pooled across cards.

While the minimum transfer block is 10,000 miles/points (Accor: 5,000 points), the subsequent block is just 2 miles (Accor: 1 point). In other words, you could choose to transfer 10,002 miles or 20,958 miles, which helps you avoid orphan points.

Finally, some good news!

Many miles chasers were dreading the arrival of July 2025, with a seemingly endless parade of nerfs taking effect today:

The Chocolate Visa Card is cutting earn rates and capping the miles for bill payments
The Citi Prestige Card is eliminating unlimited lounge visits and hiking its annual fee by 20%
The Maybank Horizon Visa Signature is cutting the earn rate for insurance, medical, utilities and education to 0.16 mpd
Maybank credit cards are removing rewards for charitable donations
The BOC Elite Miles Card is removing Asia Miles transfers, excluding CardUp and ipaymy from rewards, and increasing the cost of KrisFlyer miles (though to be fair it’s also boosting earn rates)
More than 250 Kris+ merchants are nerfing their earn rates

Mind you, there’s good reason to believe a KrisFlyer devaluation is on the horizon, and there’s a confirmed nerf to the DBS Woman’s World Card coming in August 2025 for good measure.

So it’s a big relief that finally, there’s some news to cheer. Personally, I haven’t had issues maxing out the monthly bonus cap on my HSBC Revolution with Atome and HeyMax transactions, but I’m still relishing the additional 2,000 miles per month from the S$500 boost.

Conclusion

From 1 July to 31 October 2025, HSBC Revolution Cardholders will be partying like its early 2024, with the restoration of bonuses for travel-related and contactless spending, plus a 50% upsize in the monthly bonus cap.

You now have four months to take advantage of this (is it to early to start praying for an extension?), so make hay while you can.

American Express will discontinue Amex Pay from end July

By

Aaron Wong

-

Jun 30, 2025

6

Amex Pay is a great way of earning miles at QR code-only merchants like hawker centres or mom-and-pop outfits, where credit cards are not accepted. Sure, American Express cards have rather mediocre earn rates, but some miles are better than no miles at all.

Unfortunately, American Express has just announced that the Amex Pay platform will be killed off from 31 July 2025.

American Express to discontinue Amex Pay

Amex Pay will be discontinued on 31 July 2025

American Express has announced its plans to discontinue Amex Pay, with 30 July 2025 the last day for customers to make transactions.

We are writing to let you know that our mobile payment solution, Amex Pay, will be discontinued from 31 July 2025.

If you have added your Card previously to Amex Pay, you may continue to use it for payments at participating locations until 30 July 2025. Please note that participating locations may vary over time as payment signage is gradually removed. You will not be able to make any payments from 31 July 2025 onwards.

-American Express

On 31 July 2025, card details will be removed from Amex Pay, and it will no longer be possible to make any Amex Pay transactions, whether QR or NFC.

Apple users can still add new cards to Amex Pay and use them for payments until the service is discontinued. However, Android users will not be able to add new cards to Amex Pay due to a “technical issue”, so you’re stuck with whatever you’ve already added previously.

A list of FAQs related to the discontinuation of Amex Pay can be found here.

How many miles can you earn with Amex Pay?

Transactions made through Amex Pay are eligible to earn miles or Membership Rewards points at the card’s usual base rates for SGD spending.

Card	Earn Rate
AMEX Solitaire PPS Credit Card Apply	1.3 mpd
AMEX PPS Credit Card Apply	1.3 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend Apply	1.2 mpd
AMEX HighFlyer Card Apply	1.2 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card Apply	1.1 mpd
AMEX Centurion	0.98 mpd
AMEX Platinum Charge Apply	0.78 mpd
AMEX Platinum Reserve Apply	0.69 mpd
AMEX Platinum Credit Card Apply	0.69 mpd

How else can you earn miles at QR-code only merchants?

ShopBack Pay is a way of earning miles at QR-only merchants

With the demise of Amex Pay, it might still be possible to earn miles at QR code-only merchants, provided they accept alternatives like FavePay, Shopback Pay, and Changi Pay. However, odds are that if a merchant accepts any of these payment methods, it likely accepts direct card payments too.

Otherwise, you’re out of luck. I don’t know how many times I have to answer this question, but no, you can’t earn miles on PayNow transactions.

Oh how I miss XNAP!

Conclusion

American Express will discontinue its Amex Pay platform on 31 July 2025, making it harder than ever before to earn credit card rewards at QR code-only merchants.

This leaves you with slightly over one month to earn miles on your favourite bowl of wanton noodles or at your friendly neighbourhood provision shop, after which you’re out of luck unless a ShopBack Pay or similar card x QR solution is accepted.

Complete list of UOB$ merchants: June 2025

By

Aaron Wong

-

Jun 30, 2025

2

Welcome to the June 2025 roundup of UOB$ merchants, which highlights the places where UOB cardholders can earn UOB$ cashback in addition to the regular UNI$. This cashback can then be used on your next visit to the same merchant.

Unfortunately, the opportunities for double-dipping have shrunk significantly since my last update in March, with 27 merchants — just over a quarter of all participants — exiting the programme.

UOB$ Programme

💳 UOB $ Merchants

Why did UOB$ merchants use to be a problem?
How do UOB$ work?
Changes this month
Latest UOB$ merchant summary

If you’ve stumbled upon this article via a search engine and want to ensure you’re reading the most up-to-date version, click this link and look for the topmost article.

Why did UOB$ merchants use to be a problem?

UOB$ merchants (formerly known as SMART$ merchants) used to be one of the biggest minefields for UOB cardholders, because UOB$ cashback would be awarded in lieu of UNI$.

Despite the similar-sounding names, UOB$ and UNI$ are worlds apart:

UOB$ is a form of return cashback that can be spent on the next bill with the same merchant
UNI$ is UOB’s points currency, which can be converted into airline miles

With a median UOB$ rebate of just 3.5%, you would almost always be worse off earning UOB$, compared to up to 4 mpd worth of UNI$.

But on 1 November 2024, everything changed as UOB revised its policy to allow double dipping on UNI$ and UOB$ at UOB$ merchants. Now, instead of avoiding UOB$ merchants, UOB cardholders should be seeking them out. UOB$ rebates may be modest, but so long as they’re in addition to UNI$, you have nothing to lose.

How do UOB$ work?

When UOB cardholders spend at UOB$ merchants, they earn UOB$ which can be redeemed on the next transaction with the same merchant at a rate of 1 UOB$ = S$1.

For example, suppose you visit UOB$ merchant Miniso (4% rebates) and use your UOB Preferred Platinum Visa to pay for a S$20 transaction (via mobile contactless). You will earn:

40 UNI$ (which can be convert into 80 airline miles)
0.80 UOB$ (which can be used to offset a future transaction at Miniso)

UOB$ can be tracked via the UOB TMRW app. To view the UOB$ you’ve earned, tap on Rewards+ > My rewards > UOB$.

This shows a summary of the UOB$ you’ve earned at various merchants, as well as the expiry date.

All UOB cards participate in the UOB$ programme, with the exception of:

UOB PRVI Miles AMEX
UOB Absolute Cashback Card
UOB Preferred Platinum AMEX Card (no longer issued)
UOB UnionPay Platinum Card
UOB Travel Account Card
UOB Purchasing Card

Changes for June 2025

New UOB$ merchants

Two new merchants have joined the UOB$ programme since the previous update in March 2025.

✅ New UOB$ Merchants: June 2025
Category	Merchant	Rebate
Retail & Services	ICON Aesthetics	3%
Dining	Chutney Mary	5%

In the case of Chutney Mary, it’s worth noting that it will be leaving the programme almost as soon as it joined! The last day of participation is 31 August 2025, and all UOB$ must be redeemed by 30 November 2025.

Removed UOB$ merchants

27 merchants have left the UOB$ programme since the previous update in March 2025.

❌ Removed UOB$ Merchants: June 2025
Category	Merchant	Rebate
Dining	8 Degrees Taiwanese Bistro	5%
Dining	Canadian 2 for 1 Pizza	5%
Dining	Co Chung	5%
Dining	Famous Palace	5%
Dining	I.N.U Cafe and Boutique	5%
Dining	Ivins	3%
Dining	Jia He Xing	3%
Dining	Kinara North West	10%
Dining	Kyojo Dining	5%
Dining	Little Italy	10%
Dining	MOA Restrobar	3%
Dining	Mr Biryani	3%
Dining	Mun Zuk	5%
Dining	Pearl Hill Garden Restaurant	5%
Dining	Polar Puffs and Cakes	2%
Lux Retail	DKNY	10%
Retail and Services	Aesthetic Works MediSpa	3%
Retail and Services	Buff’d Nail Spa	3%
Retail and Services	CASA	3%
Retail and Services	Code Bright Academy	3%
Retail and Services	Delta Dental Surgeons	5%
Retail and Services	Maco Nail Spa	3%
Retail and Services	OZARA	3%
Retail and Services	Picota Nail Spa	3%
Retail and Services	Pixie Nail Spa	3%
Retail and Services	Qoosh Nail Spa	3%
Retail and Services	Salivan Beauty Clinic	5%

Notable departures include Canadian 2 for 1 Pizza, Polar Puffs and Cakes, and Delta Dental Surgeons, the only medical clinic on the list.

Full list of UOB$ merchants

Here’s the latest list of UOB$ merchants, current as of 30 June 2025 (sections are expanded by default for easier searching; you can tap on individual sections to collapse them for easier navigation).

Dining

Merchant	Rebate	Remarks
Aburi-EN	3%	Isetan Scotts Paragon Nex Northpoint City
Bee Cheng Hiang	2%	Except Takashimaya , Jewel, Changi Airport
Bonchon	5%
BreadTalk	3%
Canteen by Trapeze Rec. Club	3%	5% rebate for UOB reserve
Carl’s Jr	3%
Cellarbration	3%
Chutney Mary	5%
Cinnabon	5%
Crystal Jade Group	3%	Except Changi Airport and Tampines 1
Famous Kitchen	5%
Famous Treasure	5%
Hang Heung	5%	ION Orchard
Hard Rock Cafe	3%
Hei Sushi	3%
House of Seafood	3% (cap S$60)	The Riverwalk
House of White Beehoon	3%	The Punggol Settlement
Kappou Miyako	5% (cap S$100)	International Building
Kinara Contemporary Indian Cuisine	10%	164 Upper East Coast Rd
Mr. Coconut	2%	Except Jewel
Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant	5%	Far East Plaza Chinatown Point
Nong Geng Ji	5%	VivoCity
Orchid Live Seafood	3% (cap S$30)	HomeTeamNS Khatib
OSO Ristorante	5%	Oasia Hotel Downtown
Patisserie G	5%	Downtown Gallery Millennia Walk
Potato Corner	3%
Sakae Sushi	3%
Salmon Samurai	3%	Except 100AM Mall
Secret Mermaid	3%
Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant	5%
Standing Sushi Bar	3%
Swatow Seafood Restaurant	5%	181 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh
Tanuki Raw	3%
Tarte by Cheryl Koh	5%
Taste of India	5% (cap S$8)	77 Rangoon Rd
Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant	5%	Marina Square
Toast Box	3%

Lux Retail

Merchant	Rebate	Remarks
CDG	5% (min. S$1K)	Till 15 July 2025
CDG Play	5% (min. S$1K)	Till 15 July 2025
Club21	5% (min. S$1K)	Till 15 July 2025
Jil Sander	5% (min. S$1K)	Till 15 July 2025
Mulberry	5% (min. S$1K)	Till 15 July 2025
Sacai	5% (min. S$1K)	Till 15 July 2025
Stella McCartney	5% (min. S$1K)	Till 15 July 2025
Thom Browne	5% (min. S$1K)	Till 15 July 2025

Retail and Services

Merchant	Rebate	Remarks
agnès B	5%
COSLAB	3%	Bukit Panjang Plaza Waterway Point Yew Tee Point
Crocodile	3%
Fortune Supermarket	2%
Gordon Max	3%	Wheelock Place
G-Star Raw	5%
Hall of Fame	6%	VivoCity
Hang Ten	3%	702 AMK Ave 8 KINEX Lot One Shopper Lucky Plaza NEX Northpoint Shopping Centre
HoneyWorld	3%
ICON Aesthetics	3%
iRun	6%	Queensway Shopping Centre Far East Plaza Peninsula Shopping Complex
JD Sports	5% (min. S$100)	Not available at Vivo City outlet
LFC	6%	Bugis Junction
Limited Edt Underground	6%	Queensway Shopping Centre VivoCity The Shoppes at MBS 313 @ Somerset
M)phosis	3%
Miniso	4%
Mr Jeff	5%	Lot One IMM Kallang MRT Tampines Mall 78B Telok Blangah St 19 Eng Kong Terrace
New Era	6%
Nitori	3%
Optique Paris Miki	2%
Replay	5%	Wisma Atria
Sports Fashion	6%	Queensway Shopping Centre
Surfer’s Paradise	3%	Bedok Mall Compass One Eastpoint Mall JCube KINEX Tiong Bahru Plaza Thomson Plaza White Sands
Under Armour	6%	Queensway Shopping Centre
Weston Corp	6%
Winter Time	2%

Travel and Entertainment

Merchant	Rebate	Remarks
Cathay Cineplexes	2%
City Tours	10%

Conclusion

UOB cardholders can earn both UOB$ cashback and UNI$ points at UOB$ merchants, which provides extra incentive to use a UOB card.

Unfortunately, June 2025 has seen the list of participating merchants cut by more than 25%. This is a significant reduction, overshadowing the two new additions (one of which will only be with the programme for a couple more months!).

Extended: GHA DISCOVERY D$5 app booking bonus

By

Aaron Wong

-

Jun 29, 2025

1

In July 2023, GHA DISCOVERY launched a promotion offering an extra D$15 for each stay booked through the GHA app. This could be further stacked with other ongoing offers, making it a no-brainer to claim.

This promotion was extended throughout 2024, and again into 2025— but with a nerf. Instead of the previous D$15, the bonus is now just D$5. It’s hardly going to move the needle, but in any case the validity period has just been extended by a further three months to 30 September 2025.

Earn a bonus D$5 on all app bookings

Promo Details

From 1 January to 30 September 2025, GHA DISCOVERY members who book and complete a stay via the GHA DISCOVERY app (Android | iOS) will earn an extra D$5.

No minimum spend or minimum stay length is required, and there is no cap on the maximum times this offer can be used.

However, do note that you will need to check-out by 30 September 2025 to receive the bonus D$. If your check-out falls after this date, you will not earn any bonus D$, notwithstanding the fact your check-in date was within the promo period.

As always, any D$ earned through promotions expires six months from the date of issuance, as opposed to the usual D$ expiry.

Terms & Conditions

The promo T&Cs can be found below. Do note that GHA has added language that disqualifies consecutive stays at the same property from earning promotional D$, to avoid a situation where someone stays at Hotel X for three nights but makes three separate one-night bookings.

Terms & Conditions

To avail of the offer, members must complete a qualified eligible booking via the GHA DISCOVERY app within the promotional period (1 January 2025 – 30 September 2025) and complete the eligible stay related to that booking within the required stay period (1 January 2025 00:00 Central European Time (CET) – 30 September 2025 23:59 Central European Time (CET)). The eligible stay must be completed and the member must be checked out on or before 30 September 2025 for Promotional D$ to be awarded. Ongoing stays with a checkout date after 30 September 2025 will not receive Promotional D$.

Bookings that include multiple rooms will be counted and considered as a single stay and rewarded only once. Only bookings completed via the GHA DISCOVERY app will be eligible.

Consecutive stays with the same check-in date as the last check-out date at the same property will not receive Promotional D$.

“Ineligible rates” (defined below) do not qualify for earning Promotional D$. Stays that are booked prior to the promotional dates will not be awarded Promotional D$.

Promotional D$ are awarded in addition to the Base D$ that are issued as a result of completing the eligible stay. Promotional D$ are subject to a limited expiry term of six (6) months from the date of issuance and are therefore excluded from the Base D$ expiration rules. Any Base D$ earned on a member’s stay will be subject to expiration based on standard tier-based expiration rules.

“Ineligible rates” do not qualify for earning Promotional D$. “Ineligible Rates” shall include, without limitation: (1) third-party online retailer rates, such as Expedia.com, Booking.com, Hotels.com, Orbitz.com, Priceline, Travelocity.com, etc. (“OTAs”) (2) tours series rates and charter rates (3) room rates for airline staff and crew where rooms are pre-booked and paid for by the airline or directly; (4) travel-industry staff rates; (5) other discounted rates; (6) any complimentary, free, traded or bartered night stays, or any stays in connection with gift certificates or other awards or vouchers. First stays on ineligible rates may receive DISCOVERY Dollars on a promotional basis, but these stays will not count towards tier qualification; subsequent stays on an ineligible rate will not receive D$ nor will they count towards tier qualification.

This offer is subject to change or withdrawal without notice, cannot be transferred or exchanged for other forms of compensation, cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion unless explicitly stated and is subject to availability. D$ are not redeemable for cash.

How do D$ work?

D$ can be earned on most room rates and incidental spending

D$ can be earned or redeemed on the following expenses:

✅ Eligible Spend to Earn/Redeem D$

Room and add-ons:

Room charge/qualified room rate
Room upsell
Early check-in
Late check-out
Package
Crib/baby cot
Extra bed
Day use
Apartments/ Residences up to 30 days
Internet
Telecom
In-room media

Food and Beverage at eligible outlets:

Restaurants
Bars, pool bars
Lobby cafes
Coffee bars
Room service
Minibar

Other non-room spend at eligible outlets:

Spa
Golf & Sports
Experiences

Only stays booked through the GHA website or official hotel websites/channels will be eligible to earn D$.

Online payments with D$ are currently possible with the brands listed on this page. If this feature is available, you’ll see an option at the check-out page to apply your D$ towards the booking.

A minimum of D$10 is required, and D$ will be deducted immediately upon confirmation. If you cancel your stay — and the stay is refundable — D$ will be refunded accordingly. However, D$ which have expired will not be reinstated, so take care if you’re booking a stay that takes place beyond your D$ validity period.

The member redeeming D$ online must be the member staying at the hotel during the associated reservation.

For all other brands, D$ can be used during a stay at the front desk of a hotel. This is a lot more restrictive, as it usually limits you to booking the more costly pay-at-hotel rates, not to mention your D$ may have expired by the time the stay takes place.

It might be possible to use D$ on prepaid rates, however, insofar as the hotel doesn’t actually charge your card at the time of booking (you’d be surprised, many “prepaid stays” aren’t actually charged until check-in). My advice would be to contact the hotel beforehand, let them know you want to book a prepaid rate with D$, and ask them how to proceed.

What cards should I use for hotel bookings?

Here are the cards you can use for GHA DISCOVERY hotel bookings. Do note that certain cards will only offer their bonus rates if the booking is in foreign currency.

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.5K per c. month. Booking must be charged online
DCS Imperium Card Apply	4 mpd FCY only	Min. S$4K FCY spend per c. month. No cap.
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd	Max S$2K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd FCY only	Min. S$1K, max. S$2K FCY spend per s. month
StanChart Beyond Card Apply	3-4 mpd FCY only	3 mpd for regular, 3.5 mpd for PB, 4 mpd for PP. No cap
Maybank Visa Infinite Apply	3.2 mpd FCY only	Min. S$4K per c. month. No cap.
Maybank World Mastercard Apply	3.2 mpd FCY only	Earn 3.2 mpd with min. S$4K per c. month. Earn 2.8 mpd with min. S$800 per c. month. No cap
StanChart Visa Infinite Apply	3 mpd FCY only	Min. S$2K spend per s. month
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply	2.8 mpd FCY only	Min S$800 per c. month, no cap
S. Month= Statement Month \| C. Month= Calendar Month

Conclusion

GHA DISCOVERY has renewed its app booking bonus till 30 September 2025, albeit with a much smaller bonus of D$5 compared to last year’s D$15.

Still, it’s better than nothing, so if you have plans to stay at a GHA property, be sure to book it via the app.

Review: Citi PremierMiles Card

By

Aaron Wong

-

Jun 29, 2025

48

Here’s The MileLion’s review of the Citi PremierMiles Card, 18 years old this year and still going strong.

When this card launched back in July 2007, it was initially positioned as a premium product for those with a minimum income of S$80,000 (cardholders were even invited to join Citigold for a year, with a reduced AUM requirement!). Over time, however, it was repositioned towards the mass market, and today can be held by anyone who meets the MAS-mandated minimum of S$30,000 per annum.

But unless you’re a snob, more accessible doesn’t mean less desirable. With its welcome offer, transfer partner variety, lounge access and periodic Citi PayAll offers (though less lucrative than before), the Citi PremierMiles Card still serves as a solid general spending card.


Citi PremierMiles Card
🦁 MileLion Verdict
☐ Take It ☑ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It
What do these ratings mean?
Its earn rates are modest, and Citi PayAll has lost some shine, but transfer partner variety, lounge access and travel insurance make the Citi PremierMiles a decent general spending card.
👍 The good	👎 The bad
Non-expiring Citi Miles that transfer to 11 airline and hotel transfer partners 2 free lounge visits per year Complimentary travel insurance with solid coverage Generous sign-up bonus with relatively low minimum spend	No points pooling with other Citi cards Modest earn rates compared to other general spending cards 10,000 miles transfer blocks Citi PayAll offers are less and less attractive Complimentary travel insurance will end in April 2026
Full List of Credit Card Reviews

Overview: Citi PremierMiles Card

Let’s start this review by looking at the key features of the Citi PremierMiles Card.


Apply Here
Income Req.	S$30,000 p.a.	Points Validity	No Expiry
Annual Fee	S$196.20 (First Year Free)	Min. Transfer	10,000 Citi Miles (10,000 miles)
Miles with Annual Fee	10,000	Transfer Partners	11
FCY Fee	3.25%	Transfer Fee	S$27.25
Local Earn	1.2 mpd	Points Pool?	No
FCY Earn	2.2 mpd	Lounge Access?	Yes: 2x Priority Pass
Special Earn	7.2 mpd on Agoda 10 mpd on Kaligo	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The Citi PremierMiles Card was originally issued on the AMEX, Mastercard and Visa networks. However, the AMEX version was discontinued in 2019, and since April 2020 all new cards have been issued on the Mastercard network only.

Existing Citi PremierMiles Visa Cards remain valid, and will continue to be replaced/renewed unless you expressly consent to switch to the Mastercard version.

❓ What happens to my Citi Miles if I switch?

If you switch from the Visa to the Mastercard, any Citi Miles accrued on the Visa will be automatically transferred to the new Mastercard account.

In any case, there’s very little difference between the Mastercard and Visa. We’ll be referring to the Mastercard version in this review, but everything said here applies to the Visa as well unless explicitly stated.

How much must I earn to qualify for a Citi PremierMiles Card?

The Citi PremierMiles Card has a minimum income requirement of S$30,000, the MAS-mandated minimum.

If you don’t meet the income requirement, it may be possible to place a S$10,000 fixed deposit with Citibank and get a secured version of the card, with a credit limit of roughly 80-90% of the fixed deposit amount. Visit a Citibank branch if you’d like to explore this option.

How much is the Citi PremierMiles Card’s annual fee?

	Principal Card	Supp. Card
First Year	S$196.20*	Free
Subsequent	S$196.20	Free
*Can be waived for new-to-bank customers, with a smaller welcome bonus. Waived for existing customers (and no welcome bonus)

The Citi PremierMiles Card has an annual fee of S$196.20 for the principal cardholder, and no fee for supplementary cards.

Cardholders can request a waiver of the first year’s annual fee, although this means they will only be eligible for a smaller sign-up bonus (see next section). Assuming you meet the definition of a new-to-bank customer, I’d strongly recommend paying the first year’s annual fee to enjoy the bigger sign-up bonus.

Annual fee waivers are at the discretion of Citi, and in my personal experience are fairly easy to obtain.

Should a waiver not be granted, paying the annual fee gets you 10,000 miles in return, which means buying miles at ~1.96 cents each. That’s certainly not the lowest price you can buy miles for, though it could still be worth it for some depending on how much you value a mile.

Sign-up bonus

New-to-bank

New-to-bank customers have a choice of two welcome offers when they apply for a Citi PremierMiles Card:

8,000 bonus miles with a first year fee waiver
30,000 bonus miles with the payment of the first year’s S$196.20 annual fee

❓ New-to-bank Definition

New-to-bank customers are defined as those who do not currently hold a principal Citi card, and have not in the 12 month period before application. Debit cards, supplementary cards and corporate cards do not count.

Both offers require a minimum spend of S$800 within the first 2 months after approval, otherwise known as the qualifying period. The qualifying period runs from the approval date and two full calendar months following that. For example, those approved on 15 July 2025 will have until 30 September 2025 to meet the minimum spend.

In other words, you actually have 2-3 months to hit the minimum spend, and should apply as early in the month as possible to maximise your time.

Citi PremierMiles Card extends 30,000 miles welcome offer

Existing

If you already hold any principal Citi credit card, or cancelled one in the past 12 months, there is no sign-up bonus available to you. You will automatically be granted a first year fee waiver.

How many miles do I earn?

🇸🇬 SGD Spending	🌎 FCY Spending	⭐ Bonus Spending
1.2 mpd	2.2 mpd	7.2 mpd on Agoda 10 mpd on Kaligo

SGD/FCY Spending

Citi PremierMiles Card members earn:

1.2 Citi Miles for every S$1 spent in Singapore Dollars (SGD)
2.2 Citi Miles for every S$1 spent in foreign currency (FCY)

1 Citi Mile is worth 1 airline mile, so equivalent to 1.2 mpd for local spending, and 2.2 mpd for FCY spending.

These were once respectable rates for its segment, but in recent times, the HSBC TravelOne Card, DBS Altitude Card and OCBC 90°N Card have leapfrogged the PremierMiles.

💳 Earn Rates for General Spending Cards (income req.: S$30K)
Cards	Local Spend	FCY Spend
UOB PRVI Miles Card	1.4 mpd	3 mpd IDR, MR, THB, VND 2.4 mpd All Others
HSBC TravelOne Card	1.2 mpd	2.4 mpd
DBS Altitude Card	1.3 mpd	2.2 mpd
OCBC 90°N Card	1.3 mpd	2.1 mpd
Citi PremierMiles Card	1.2 mpd	2.2 mpd
StanChart Journey Card	1.2 mpd	2 mpd
BOC Elite Miles Card	1 mpd	2 mpd
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card	1.2 mpd	1.2 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend	1.2 mpd	1.2 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card	1.1 mpd	1.1 mpd

All FCY transactions are subject to a 3.25% fee, which is par the course for the market.

💳 FCY Fees by Issuer and Card Network
Issuer	↓ MC & Visa	AMEX
Standard Chartered	3.5%	N/A
American Express	N/A	3.25%
Citibank	3.25%	N/A
DBS	3.25%	3%
HSBC	3.25%	N/A
Maybank	3.25%	N/A
OCBC	3.25%	N/A
UOB	3.25%	3.25%
BOC	3%	N/A
CIMB	3%	N/A

With a 3.25% fee, using your Citi PremierMiles Card overseas represents buying miles at 1.48 cents each.

Bonus miles on Kaligo & Agoda

Citi PremierMiles Cardholders can earn bonus miles for hotel bookings made through Kaligo or the Citi x Agoda websites. However, do note that the prices here may be inflated compared to other channels (how this works is that Kaligo/Agoda are simply rebating some of the commission they receive from the booking in the form of miles).

It might still be worth it, depending on the price difference and how much you value a mile. Think of it like buying additional miles when booking a hotel.

While both of these offers technically have end dates, they have been perpetually renewed for the past few years and can be considered evergreen until further notice.

T&Cs

Citi PremierMiles Cardholders can earn an uncapped 10 mpd on hotel bookings made through Kaligo by 31 December 2025 (the stay can be for any future date).

They will initially receive the usual 1.2/2.2 mpd for SGD/FCY-denominated bookings, with the balance 8.8/7.8 mpd credited within two months after the check-out date.

T&Cs

Citi PremierMiles Cardholders can also earn an uncapped 6.2 mpd (SGD) or 7.2 mpd (FCY) on hotel bookings made through the special Citi x Agoda landing page by 31 December 2025 (for stays till 30 April 2026).

They will initially receive the usual 1.2/2.2 mpd for SGD/FCY-denominated bookings, with the balance 5 mpd credited within two months after the check-out date.

When are Citi Miles credited?

Citi Miles are credited when your transaction posts, which generally takes 1-3 working days.

How are Citi Miles calculated?

Here’s how you can work out the Citi Miles earned on your Citi PremierMiles Card.

Local Spend	Round down transaction to nearest S$1, then multiply by 1.2 Round to the nearest whole number
FCY Spend	Round down transaction to nearest S$1, then multiply by 2.2 Round to the nearest whole number

This means the minimum spend required to earn miles is S$1. Because of this rounding policy, the Citi PremierMiles Card can potentially outperform a “higher-earning” card like the UOB PRVI Miles Card, depending on transaction size.

	Citi PremierMiles Earn rate: 1.2 mpd	UOB PRVI Miles Earn rate: 1.4 mpd
S$5	6 miles	6 miles
S$9.99	11 miles	6 miles
S$15	18 miles	20 miles
S$19.99	23 miles	20 miles
S$25	30 miles	34 miles
S$29.99	35 miles	34 miles
S$35	42 miles	48 miles
S$39.99	47 miles	48 miles

If you’re an Excel geek, here’s the formulas you need to calculate:

Local Spend	=ROUND (ROUNDDOWN (X,0) *1.2,0)
FCY Spend	=ROUND (ROUNDDOWN (X,0) *2.2,0)
Where X= Amount Spent

For the full list of formulas that banks use to calculate credit card points, refer to these articles:

What transactions aren’t eligible for Citi Miles?

The full list of ineligible transactions for Citi Miles can be found in the general Citi rewards T&Cs.

I’ve highlighted a few noteworthy categories below:

Quasi cash transactions (MCC 6529-6540)
Utilities payments (MCC 4900)
Insurance (MCC 6300)
Real Estate Agents and Managers (MCC 6513)
Top-ups to prepaid accounts like GrabPay and YouTrip (MCC 6540)
Hospitals (MCC 8062)
Educational Institutions (MCC 8211-8299)
Professional Services and Membership Organizations (MCC 8651-8661)
Government Services (MCC 9000-9999)

For the avoidance of doubt, Citi PremierMiles Cardholders will earn rewards for CardUp transactions, though they may prefer to use Citi PayAll instead especially during promo periods

Citi PremierMiles Cardholders will also earn miles when they pair their card with Amaze, but since Amaze converts all transactions to SGD, miles will be awarded at the local rate of 1.2 mpd.

What do I need to know about Citi Miles?

❌ Expiry	↔️ Pooling	💰 Transfer Fee
No expiry	No	S$27.25 per conversion
⬆️ Min. Transfer	✈️ No. of Partners	⏱️ Transfer Time
10,000 Citi Miles (10,000 miles)	11	24-48 hours (for KrisFlyer)

Expiry

Citi Miles never expire, so long as your card account is kept open. This isn’t a license to hold on to them indefinitely (since all airline frequent flyer programmes will, over time, devalue), but does give you some breathing room.

Pooling

Citibank has a policy of not pooling points across cards.

If you have 12,000 Citi Miles on the Citi PremierMiles Card and 25,000 ThankYou points on the Citi Rewards Card, you will have to pay two separate conversion fees. This also means that you’ll need to transfer all your points out before cancelling the card, or else forfeit them.

Partners and Transfer Fee

Citibank offers a wide variety of transfer partners, with 11 airline and hotel loyalty programmes to choose from. This includes some programmes with good value sweet spots like British Airways Executive Club, Qatar Privilege Club and Turkish Miles&Smiles.

Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio, with a minimum transfer block of 10,000 miles.

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (Citi Miles: Partner)
	10,000: 10,000
	10,000: 10,000
	10,000: 10,000
	10,000: 10,000
	10,000: 10,000
	10,000: 10,000
	10,000: 10,000
	10,000: 10,000
	10,000: 10,000
	10,000: 10,000
	10,000: 10,000

Transfers cost S$27.25 per programme, regardless of how many points are transferred.

Citi also allows cardholders to pay with Citi Miles, but the regular rate on offer (165 miles = S$1) is quite frankly dreadful. It’s currently upsized to 100 miles = S$1 for airline, hotel and travel agency expenses till 15 July 2025, but even that shouldn’t be on your radar.

Citi PremierMiles Card offering “enhanced” Pay with Miles value

Transfer Times

Citibank tells customers that points transfers will take 14 business days, but in reality it’s usually 24-48 hours for KrisFlyer, or 2-4 working days for other programmes.

If you need your points credited instantly, you can do so via Kris+ at a rate of 4,000 Citi Miles = 3,400 KrisPay miles. KrisPay miles can then be instantly converted to KrisFlyer miles at a 1:1 ratio with no fees.

S$5 for new Kris+ Users

Get S$5 (in the form of 750 KrisPay miles) when you sign-up with the code W644363 and make your first transaction

However, those 4,000 Citi Miles would normally be worth 4,000 KrisFlyer miles, so you effectively take a 15% haircut. Therefore, I wouldn’t recommend taking this option, unless you need a small top-up to redeem a flight, or have an orphan Citi Miles balance.

If you choose to do so nonetheless, do remember that it’s a two-step process:

Transfer Citi Miles to KrisPay miles
Transfer KrisPay miles to KrisFlyer miles

Do not forget the second step! If you wait more than 21 days, or spend any of the converted KrisPay miles via Kris+, the entire balance will be stuck in the Kris+ app. KrisPay miles expire after six months, and can only be spent at a relatively poor ratio of 100 miles = S$1.

Other card perks

Two free lounge visits

Registration

Principal Citi PremierMiles Cardholders enjoy two free Priority Pass lounge visits per calendar year. This is notably different from most other travel cards, which award free lounge visits by membership year.

In other words, if you get a Citi PremierMiles Card towards the end of the year, you could enjoy four lounge visits in relatively quick succession (e.g. in December then January, since your allowance resets on 1 January).

Lounge entitlements can be shared with a guest, but once you exhaust your free visits you’ll be charged US$35 per additional visit.

Here’s how this compares to other cards in its segment.

Card	Network	Free Lounge Visits (per year)
HSBC TravelOne Card	DragonPass	4X* Share
UOB PRVI Miles Card	Priority Pass	4X*
Citi PremierMiles Card	Priority Pass	2X* Share
DBS Altitude Visa	Priority Pass	2X Share
StanChart Journey Card	Priority Pass	2X Share
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend	N/A	N/A
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card	N/A	N/A
BOC Elite Miles Card	N/A	N/A
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card	N/A	N/A
OCBC 90°N Card	N/A	N/A
*Allowance tracked based on calendar year

Citi PayAll

Citi PayAll is a platform that allows Citibank cardholders to pay various types of bills and earn rewards points in the process. Citi PayAll transactions will count towards the minimum spend for welcome offers and other promotions, provided the service fee is paid.

24 categories of payment are currently supported:

💰 Citi PayAll: Supported Payments
Category	Monthly Cap
Insurance	S$200,000
Education	S$100,000
Rent Electricity Bills Condo Management Fees (selected MCSTs) Renovation Property Agent Fees Wedding Expenses Child Care Services Domestic Helper Service Fees Donation or Charity Payment Event Management Fees Membership Fees Club Membership Fees Maintenance Fees Medical Services Payment for Retail Goods & Services Parking Fees Professional Service Fees Storage Fees Travel Expenses Transport Fees Utilities	S$30,000 (each category)
Taxes	Outstanding balance with IRAS

⚠️ Earn miles for free!

While most of the abovementioned categories are excluded from rewards by most card issuers, there are still a handful of exceptions out there.

Before resorting to Citi PayAll, be sure to check whether any of your existing cards would let you earn miles for free!

Citi PremierMiles Cardholders will earn 1.2 mpd on all Citi PayAll payments, with a service fee of 2.6%, which means that under regular circumstances, you would be paying 2.17 cents per mile. That’s very expensive, and not worth considering.

While Citi has historically run promotions that have upsized the earn rate to as much as 2.5 mpd (lowering the cost per mile to just 0.8 cents!), the generosity has been dialed back significantly in recent times. Citi’s recent promotion for the 2025 income tax season offered up to 1.8 mpd for tax payments, resulting in a cost per mile of 1.44 cents. This is not bad in and of itself, but nowhere as good as before.

I’ve written a comprehensive guide to Citi PayAll, so be sure to check out the article below.

Citi PayAll Complete Guide: How to pay bills and earn miles

Complimentary travel insurance

Benefit	Cardholder
Accidental Death & Permanent Disablement	S$1M
Overseas Medical Expenses	S$40K
Emergency Medical Evacuation	S$100K
Repatriation of Mortal Remains	S$50K
Baggage Loss	S$1K
Baggage Delay	S$600
Flight Delay	S$500
Trip Cancellation	S$500
Trip Interruption	S$500
Overseas Medical Expenses (COVID-19)	S$50K
Overseas Hospital Allowance (COVID-19)	S$1K
Coverage may also apply to spouse and children. Refer to policy for full details
Policy

Complimentary travel insurance is offered by numerous cards, but not all policies are made equal. Some offer bare bones coverage, others are much more comprehensive.

Fortunately, the Citi PremierMiles Card falls into the latter category. Its HL Assurance-underwritten policy offers up to S$1,000,000 for accidental death and permanent disablement, S$40,000 for medical expenses, S$100,000 for emergency medical evacuation, and coverage for travel inconveniences like lost or delayed luggage. COVID-19 medical expenses and hospital allowance are also provided for.

Coverage is activated when you use your Citi PremierMiles Card to pay for your round-trip airfare, or to pay for the taxes and surcharges on an award ticket.

Unfortunately, Citi will be phasing out complimentary travel insurance from 1 April 2026. What this means is that even if you used your Citi credit cards to buy tickets before this date, you won’t have coverage if your travel takes place from 1 April 2026 onwards.

Here are three possible scenarios.

Trip Start Date	Trip End Date	Can you claim?
On or before 31 March 2026		Yes
On or before 31 March 2026	1 April 2026 onwards	Partial. You can make claims for incidents up till 31 March 2026
1 April 2026 onwards		No

The most interesting scenario is a trip that straddles 1 April 2026. In this case, you can only make claims for incidents that happen up till 31 March 2026, so if you’re in this scenario, please make sure all your travel-related misfortune is front-loaded!

Citi credit cards ending complimentary travel insurance in 2026

Terms and Conditions

Summary Review: Citi PremierMiles Card


Apply Here
🦁 MileLion Verdict
☐ Take It ☑ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It

If you’re in the market for a general spending card, then the Citi PremierMiles Card ticks many of the right boxes: non-expiring miles with 11 transfer partners, two lounge visits per year, complimentary travel insurance with good coverage, and a great welcome offer with a relatively low minimum spend.

However, Citi continues to have an annoying practice of different rewards currencies across its cards, and not allowing the two to pool. Moreover, the earn rates are average at best, and Citi PayAll’s latest promotions haven’t exactly set the world on fire.

That said, if you’re interested in exploring programmes beyond KrisFlyer, or don’t have any Citi cards at the moment and qualify for the welcome offer, then some of these shortcomings can probably be overlooked.

So that’s my review of the Citi PremierMiles Card. What do you think?

Which cards have no foreign currency transaction fees?

By

Aaron Wong

-

Jun 28, 2025

5

One big reason why many people are hesitant about using their credit cards overseas is the fear of getting hit by all kinds of fees. Between bank fees, card network fees, FX markups, and the scourge of the Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) scam, cash may feel like the simpler and safer option.

But in recent times, numerous cards have been advertising “0% FX fees”, or claiming to offer FX rates “comparable to Google’s”.

How do these cards work, what options are available, and are they better options than miles cards?

What does “zero FCY fees” actually mean?

Let’s clear up a common misconception: just because a card offers zero foreign currency (FCY) transaction fees does not mean you’ll enjoy mid-market rates.

When you make an FCY transaction on your card, the amount is first converted into SGD based on the prevailing rates offered by the card network (American Express, Mastercard or Visa).

Transactions in USD are converted into SGD
Transactions in currencies other than USD are converted into USD, before being converted into SGD

The bank then adds an FCY transaction fee to the converted amount to derive the final figure posted to your card statement. Both Mastercard and Visa offer online tools that let you work this out.

Therefore, there are two potential fees here:

The FX spread that the card network charges
The bank’s FCY transaction fee, which ranges from 3-3.5%

💳 FCY Fees by Issuer and Card Network
Issuer	↓ MC & Visa	AMEX
Standard Chartered	3.5%	N/A
American Express	N/A	3.25%
Citibank	3.25%	N/A
DBS	3.25%	3%
HSBC	3.25%	N/A
Maybank	3.25%	N/A
OCBC	3.25%	N/A
UOB	3.25%	3.25%
BOC	3%	N/A
CIMB	3%	N/A

If your card claims to have “zero FX fees,” it simply means the bank does not impose (2). You will still be subject to (1), though it’s usually rather modest.

In the table below, I’ve compared the rates that Visa uses to mid-market rates (as shown on XE.com) for five major currencies.

	XE.com	Visa	Spread
1 USD	S$1.285	S$1.290	0.34%
1 GBP	S$1.749	S$1.759	0.57%
1 EUR	S$1.480	S$1.484	0.23%
1 AUD	S$0.833	S$0.839	0.74%
10,000 JPY	S$88.25	S$88.78	0.60%
Do note that spreads can differ from day to day

❓ Should we be comparing to mid-market rates?

Mid-market rates are only the right basis for comparison if you could have realistically obtained them in the first place.

Moneychangers will have some spread (and may involve travel costs)
Multi-currency debit cards can get very close to mid-market rates (for supported currencies at least), but will have a noticeable spread on weekends or public holidays when the markets are closed

So even though you’ll certainly be paying less with a zero FCY fee card, it won’t quite match the rate you see on Google.

Do note that multi-currency debit cards like YouTrip or Revolut work slightly differently— I’ll address this later on.

Credit cards

For credit cards, we need to draw a distinction between:

cards which do not have FCY fees
cards which have FCY fees, but rebate them in cashback.

This may seem like splitting hairs, but the distinction is crucial because of rewards exclusions.

To illustrate, suppose you charged a US$1,000 education expense to a card which does not have FCY fees. The amount charged to your card will be the SGD equivalent based on the Visa/Mastercard rate, simple as that.

Then suppose you charged the same US$1,000 education expense to a card which has a 3.25% FCY fee, but also offers 3.25% cashback on FCY spending. The amount charged to your card will be the SGD equivalent based on the Visa/Mastercard rate, plus a 3.25% FCY transaction fee. But if education is an exclusion category for that card (and it almost certainly is), then you won’t be getting the 3.25% cash rebate. It’s as if you paid an FCY fee after all!

In other words, the benefit of zero FCY fees applies to any type of transaction. However, a rebate on FCY spending may only apply to transactions which aren’t on the exclusion list.

Of course, if you’re making a non-excluded transaction, then you’d be fairly indifferent between the two. However, because of this possibility, I’d prefer a card with no FCY fees from the start.

Zero FCY fees

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Trust Cashback Card Apply	1% cashback* No fee	No min. spend or cap. For non-bonus category spend only
Trust Link Credit Card Apply	0.22% rebate in LinkPoints No fee	No min. spend or cap.
UOB EVOL Card Apply	1% cashback No fee	Min. spend S$800 in a s. month, capped at S$20 per s. month. Ends 31 Dec 25
GXS FlexiCard Apply	8% cashback No fee	Must use physical card. Promo rate capped at S$40 for entire period. Ends 30 Jun 25

The Trust Cashback Card earns 1% cashback on all FCY spending. No minimum spend is required, and no cap applies.

However — and here’s where it gets very confusing — this only applies to your non-bonus category. For your selected bonus category, you will earn 2.6-4.9% cashback (not the 5-15% they so deceptively advertise!) provided you spend between S$500 to S$2,000 per month for three consecutive months. If you fail to do so, you earn nothing, not even the base 1% cashback.

It’s horribly convoluted, and not really the focus of this article, so refer here for more details on the mechanics.

The Trust Link Card earns 0.22 LinkPoints per S$1 on FCY spending. No minimum spend is required, and no cap applies.

This is equivalent to a 0.22% cash rebate, though keep in mind that LinkPoints are a “captive cashback” that can only be spent at selected merchants (though one of those is NTUC, so to most people it’s as good as cash).

The UOB EVOL Card recently removed FCY fees, and from now till 31 December 2025, will earn 1% cashback on all FCY spend, whether online or offline. The 1% cashback is subject to a minimum spend of S$800 per statement month, and capped at S$20 per statement month.

The GXS FlexiCard is offering 8% cashback on FCY spending from 24 March to 30 June 2025, capped at S$40 for the entire promotion period (or S$500 spending). You must use the physical card to make payment.

Rebate of FCY fees

Card	Cashback	Remarks
Mari Credit Card Apply	3%^ 3% fee	No min. spend or cap. Ends 31 Dec 25.
DBS Live Fresh Card Apply	3.25% 3.25% fee	In-store spend for selected countries. Min. spend S$800 per c. month, capped at S$60 per c. month

The Mari Credit Card has a 3% FCY fee, but from now till 31 December 2025, it’s offering 3% cashback on FCY spend with no minimum spend nor cap.

On top of this, there is a further promotion — tentatively scheduled to end on 30 June 2025 but subject to further extension — which offers an extra 1-1.5% cashback.

Total Eligible Overseas Spend	Bonus Cashback
Below S$1,000	1%
S$1,000 to S$1,500	1.5%

Alternatively, the DBS Live Fresh Card has a 3.25% FCY fee, but offers 3.25% cashback on selected overseas spend as an evergreen feature. This requires a minimum spend of S$800 in a calendar month, and is capped at S$50 per month.

However, I find the mechanics to be extremely finicky . Not only does this only apply to in-store FCY spend (i.e. not online transactions), it’s only valid for the following countries:

🇧🇳 Brunei
🇰🇭 Cambodia
🇮🇩 Indonesia
🇱🇦 Laos
🇲🇾 Malaysia
🇲🇲 Myanmar
🇵🇭 Philippines
🇹🇭 Thailand
🇻🇳 Vietnam

🇨🇳 China
🇭🇰 Hong Kong
🇯🇵 Japan
🇲🇳 Mongolia
🇰🇷 South Korea
🇹🇼 Taiwan

Debit cards

Zero FCY fees

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Chocolate Visa Debit Card	2 mpd^ No fee	Cap S$1K per c. month, 0.4 mpd afterwards
GXS Debit Card	N/A* No fee	Spend at least S$10 to receive a randomised reward of up to S$5
Trust Link Debit Card	0.22% rebate in LinkPoints No fee	No min. spend or cap
*2% rebate in GrabRewards points for every S$1 in FCY spent on Grab app till 31 Dec 2025 ^Reduced to 1 mpd from 1 July 2025

Both the GXS Debit Card and Trust Link Debit Card charge no FCY transaction fees, and conversions are based on the prevailing Mastercard or Visa rates. However, both offer close to negligible rewards.

The Chocolate Visa Debit Card would be a better choice, with no FCY transaction fees, 2 Max Mile per S$1 on the first S$1,000 spent per calendar month (though it will be cut to 1 Max Mile per S$1 from July 2025), and 0.4 Max Miles per S$1 on all spend above that.

Multi-currency debit cards

Unlike traditional debit cards, which allow you to hold funds in SGD only, multi-currency debit cards allow users to convert and hold selected currencies in a wallet or bank account.

I’ve listed some of the bigger players in the table below, though there’s others out there too.

Card	Supported Currencies	Network
Wise	49	Visa and Mastercard
Revolut	39	Visa and Mastercard
DBS MCY Debit Card	12	Visa
YouTrip	12	Mastercard
Amaze*	11	Mastercard
UOB FX+ Debit Card	9	Mastercard
*Amaze can be funded by either a credit/debit card or a wallet balance. In this context, we are referring to wallet-funded Amaze transactions

All of these cards work pretty much the same, though some (e.g. YouTrip) allow you to withdraw a certain amount of cash each month from overseas ATMs without any fees.

When you spend on your multi-currency debit card in a supported currency, funds are first debited from that particular currency wallet. If there are insufficient funds, then conversions will be made from your SGD wallet at the prevailing rates offered by the card issuer (e.g. Revolut, YouTrip).

But when you spend in an unsupported currency, it works similar to a traditional debit card. The amount will be converted into SGD based on the prevailing rates offered by Visa or Mastercard, and debited from the SGD wallet accordingly.

The main advantage of multi-currency debit cards is that unlike credit or debit cards, they allow you to lock in today’s rates for tomorrow’s spending. This is not possible with credit or debit cards, which use the prevailing Visa or Mastercard rate on the day the transaction is made.

For example, if you feel that today’s JPY/SGD rate is good, you can buy JPY for your trip in six months. Assuming your instincts are correct and the JPY does indeed appreciate against the SGD, you win because you bought it for less (keep in mind there’s still the opportunity cost of funds to consider, since your balance earns no interest). Of course, that can also work in reverse. If the JPY ends up depreciating against the SGD, you lose because you paid more for JPY than you had to.

Multi-currency debit cards also offer very competitive rates for supported currencies. During weekdays, they can be virtually on par with mid-market rates. However, during weekends, holidays, and times of high currency volatility, there may be a spread of ~1% or more.

Historically speaking, multi-currency debit cards were at a disadvantage because the MAS-imposed transaction limits restricted customers to keeping S$5,000 in a wallet at any time, and spending S$30,000 per year. These restrictions meant that customers wanting to make big ticket purchases would have to use a credit card instead.

But at the start of 2024, YouTrip became the first e-wallet to increase its stock limit (the amount that can be kept in the wallet) to S$20,000, and the flow limit (the amount that can be spent per 12-month period) to S$100,000. Revolut followed suit in the middle of 2024, and Amaze in 2025 (there have never been any spending or holding limits for multi-currency debit cards offered by banks).

	Wallet Cap	Annual Trxn Cap
Amaze	S$15K	S$75K
Revolut	S$20K	S$100K
YouTrip	S$20K	S$100K
Wise	S$20K	S$100K

Basically, unless you’re spending really big, these limits should not bother you.

Drawback of debit cards

Make sure to lock your debit cards when not in use!

If you plan to use a debit card (whether traditional or multi-currency), one important thing to understand is how fraudulent transactions are handled.

Any transactions charged to your debit card, whether fraudulent or legitimate, are immediately deducted from your account.

While there are procedures to dispute fraudulent transactions and (hopefully) recover your funds, you will be out of pocket for the period of the investigation. Some time back, there was a feature in CNA covering the horror story of a customer who found her YouTrip wallet drained by 31 unauthorised transactions in quick succession, and had to wait months to recover her funds.

In contrast, if your credit card gets hit by a fraudulent transaction, there is no immediate deduction of funds. You can spot the fraudulent transaction on your statement and open a dispute with the bank, and in the majority of cases you should receive a temporary credit to offset the disputed amount while investigations are carried out.

Therefore, if you plan to use a debit card, I’d highly advise you to lock it whenever it’s not in use.

Debit cards also do not support so-called “authorisation holds”, the type required when you rent a car or check in to a hotel. Instead, the hold amount is deducted from your available funds, leaving you with less money on hand.

For instance, if you have a US$1,000 balance on your YouTrip card and use it to guarantee a rental car, and the rental company has a US$400 hold, you only have US$600 left to spend. If you had used a credit card, a certain amount of your credit limit may be earmarked, but there’s no actual deduction of funds.

What’s the trade-off?

You may have noticed that all the cards with zero FCY transaction fees have mediocre rewards at best (the Chocolate Visa Debit Card is a notable exception at 2 mpd, though remember it’ll be nerfed very soon).

That’s not a coincidence. If the issuer isn’t making money from FCY fees, how are they going to have the margin to offer miles or cashback? In that sense, the reward is the savings.

If you’re looking for cards with better earn rates for overseas spending, you’ll need to accept that FCY transaction fees are part of the deal. It’s conceptually similar to buying miles, and everyone’s willingness to pay will vary (1.5-2 cents per KrisFlyer mile is a common benchmark).

Assuming a 3.25% FCY fee and an earn rate of 4 mpd, the cost per mile is 0.81 cents (ignoring the card network spread). I reckon that would be acceptable to most people, and you can read about the miles-earning options in the article below.

2025 Edition: Best Cards for Overseas Spending

Conclusion

If your main concern is minimising the cost of your overseas transactions, then zero FCY fee cards offer a convenient and more secure alternative to cash.

But not all zero FCY cards work the same. Multi-currency debit cards will generally be cheaper than traditional debit or credit cards for transactions in supported currencies, though that assumes you don’t completely misread the market and lock in unfavorable rates!

The downside to zero FCY options is that the rewards will be mediocre at best— you can’t have your cake and eat it.

I personally feel that it’s acceptable to pay a 3.25% FCY fee if you can earn in the 3-4 mpd range, though everyone will have to come to their own conclusion based on their personal valuation of a mile.

OCBC 360 Account cuts interest rates (again!) from August 2025

By

Aaron Wong

-

Jun 28, 2025

2

The OCBC 360 Account is one of the few bank accounts out there that pairs well with a miles collecting strategy. By crediting their salary, spending on an OCBC credit card, and growing their average daily balance, account holders can earn 3.3% p.a. interest on up to S$100,000, without the need to buy overpriced insurance or investment products.

Unfortunately, less than two months after the last cut to its interest rates, OCBC has announced a further nerf to the 360 Account that takes effect from 1 August 2025.

This will reduce the realistic interest rate from 3.3% to 2.45% p.a., and at some point they really need to stop calling these “high yield savings accounts”.

OCBC 360 Account cuts interest rates (again!)

Here’s the OCBC 360 Account’s current interest rate structure, which is valid till 31 July 2025.

🏦 Current OCBC 360 Structure (Till 31 Jul 25)
	First S$75K	Next S$25K
Salary	1.6%	3.2%
Save	0.6%	1.2%
Spend	0.5%	0.5%
Wealth (Insure)	1.2%	2.4%
Wealth (Invest)	1.2%	2.4%
Base Interest	0.05%
Max EIR	6.30%
Additional Grow bonus of 2.2% p.a.* available if minimum ADB at least S$250,000*

From 1 August 2025, the interest rate structure will be revised as follows.

🏦 Revised OCBC 360 Structure (From 1 Aug 25)
	First S$75K	Next S$25K
Salary	1.2%	2.4%
Save	0.4%	0.8%
Spend	0.4%	0.4%
Wealth (Insure)	1.2%	2.4%
Wealth (Invest)	1.2%	2.4%
Base Interest	0.05%
Max EIR	5.45%
Additional Grow bonus of 2% p.a.* available if minimum ADB at least S$250,000*

With the revised structure, account holders can earn a maximum EIR of 5.45% p.a. on the first S$100,000 in the account, though keep in mind that figure can only be attained if you buy insurance or investment products from the bank.

Salary: Up to 1.5% p.a.

	Up till 31 Jul 25	From 1 Aug 25
Salary	2% p.a.	1.5% p.a.
Min. Salary	S$1,800 p.m.

Customers who credit a monthly salary of at least S$1,800 to the OCBC 360 Account will earn up to 1.5% p.a., down from the current 2% p.a.

As before, your salary must be credited via one of the following methods:

GIRO / PayNow via GIRO with transaction description “GIRO – SALARY” printed on the
monthly statement
FAST / PayNow via FAST with transaction code “SAL” or transaction description “SALARY /SALA / SAL”

Save: Up to 0.5% p.a.

	Up till 31 Jul 25	From 1 Aug 25
Save	0.75% p.a.	0.5% p.a.
Min. Increase of ADB	S$500 p.m.

Customers who increase their average daily balance (ADB) by at least S$500 in a month will earn up to 0.5% p.a., a 33% reduction from the current 0.75% p.a.

While this sounds relatively easy to do on paper, it can actually require a fair bit of finessing, especially if you use the OCBC 360 Account as your daily driver, with funds flowing in and out all the time.

Spend: Up to 0.4% p.a.

	Up till 31 Jul 25	From 1 Aug 25
Spend	0.5% p.a.	0.4% p.a.
Min. Credit Card Spend	S$500 p.m.

Customers who spend at least S$500 per month on eligible credit cards will earn up to 0.4% p.a., down from the current 0.5% p.a.

The list of eligible credit cards remains the same:

OCBC 365 Card
OCBC 90°N Visa
OCBC 90°N Mastercard
OCBC Infinity Cashback Card
OCBC NXT Card
OCBC Rewards Card

Both the OCBC 90°N Visa/Mastercard and OCBC Rewards Cards are viable options for miles chasers, and I’ve been regularly maxing out the S$1,000 monthly bonus cap on the latter thanks to the ongoing 6 mpd promotion on department store spending (extendable to many other categories via HeyMax). This is currently scheduled to end on 30 June 2025, but maybe we can pray for an extension?

Wealth (Insure): Up to 1.5% p.a.

	Up till 31 Jul 25	From 1 Aug 25
Wealth (Insure)	1.5% p.a.	1.5% p.a.
Min. Purchase	Regular Premium (Protection/Legacy): S$2,000 Regular Premium (Endowment/Retirement): S$4,000 Single Premium Insurance: S$20,000

There is no change to the Wealth (Insure) category, which remains the same at 1.5% p.a.

However, do note that bonus interest is only accorded for 12 months after the effective date of purchase, post the free look cancellation period or 14 days, whichever is longer.

Wealth (Invest): Up to 1.5% p.a.

	Up till 31 Jul 25	From 1 Aug 25
Wealth (Invest)	1.5% p.a.	1.5% p.a.
Min. Purchase	Unit Trusts: S$20,000 Structured Deposits: S$20,000 Bonds and Structured Products: S$200,000

Likewise, there is no change to the Wealth (Invest) category, which remains the same at 1.5% p.a.

Again, do note that bonus interest is only accorded for 12 months after the effective date of purchase, post the free look cancellation period or 14 days, whichever is longer.

Unfortunately, OCBC RoboInvest is not considered an eligible investment product (not enough margin!).

Grow interest cut, minimum balance increased

	Up till 31 Jul 25	From 1 Aug 25
Grow	2.2% p.a.	2% p.a.
Minimum MAB	S$250,000	S$250,000
Cap	S$100,000	S$100,000

The Grow category has never been particularly attractive, since the minimum MAB required is 2.5X that of the interest cap.

For example, those with a minimum MAB of S$250,000 currently earn an extra 2.2% p.a., but only on the first S$100,000. The next S$100,000 only earns the regular base interest of 0.05%, p.a., which pulls down the weighted average significantly.

That will get even worse from August, when the bonus interest is cut from 2.2% p.a. to 2% p.a.

How much less will you earn?

Under the current OCBC 360 interest structure, an account holder with a balance of S$100,000 could realistically look forward to S$3,300 of interest per year (assuming he/she meets the Salary, Save and Spend criteria).

Following the changes, the realistic interest falls to S$2,450 per year, a drop of roughly 25%.

🏦 OCBC 360 “Realistic” Interest (Based on S$100,000 balance)
	Up till 31 Jul 25	From 1 Aug 25
Salary	S$2,000	S$1,500
Save	S$750	S$500
Spend	S$500	S$400
Base Interest	S$50	S$50
Total Interest	S$3,300	S$2,450

Alternatives for miles chasers

If you’re pursuing a miles collection strategy and don’t want to take up a mortgage or buy insurance or investment products, here’s a quick rundown of the alternatives on the market:

Account	Max. Interest*	Cap
Maybank SaveUp	1.17% p.a.	S$75K
DBS Multiplier	1.8-2.2% p.a.	S$50K
BOC SmartSaver	3.25% p.a.	S$100K
OCBC 360	2.45% p.a.	S$100K
UOB One	3.3% p.a.	S$150K
*Assumptions: Max out salary credit and bill payment bonuses, where applicable, and spending only on miles-earning cards.

I’m still sticking to the UOB One Account, which offers a very easy 3.3% p.a. on up to S$150,000- just credit a salary of at least S$1,600 per month, and spend at least S$500 on an eligible UOB card (including all three UOB Lady’s Cards).

Despite swearing off BOC several years back, I have to admit that the BOC SmartSaver is starting to look more and more attractive, especially with the upcoming enhancements to the BOC Elite Miles Card. From 1 July 2025, this card will earn an uncapped 1.4/2.8 mpd on local/FCY spend, and by adding on salary crediting and bill payments, you could earn 3.25% p.a. on up to S$100,000. But do I dare deal with BOC again? Hmmmm.

Of course, now that OCBC has lowered its rates, it remains to be seen whether the rest of the banks monkey see, monkey do. I’d wait a couple of months more before making any big changes.

Conclusion

The OCBC 360 Account will be cutting its interest rates again from 1 August 2025, just a few months after the previous round of reductions on 1 May 2025.

This will reduce the maximum realistic interest rate from 3.3% to 2.45% p.a., and with this month’s SSB offering an average return of 2.49% p.a. over 10 years (starting at 2.06% in year 1), it might be better to just park money there and save yourself the hassle.

HSBC Premier Mastercard offering uncapped 1.8 mpd on travel, dining and entertainment

By

Aaron Wong

-

Jun 27, 2025

0

Earlier this year, the HSBC Premier Mastercard launched a new local spending promotion, which offers cardholders an uncapped 1.8 mpd on travel, dining and entertainment merchants in Singapore. While 1.8 mpd isn’t necessarily the best rate out there, the lack of a cap and HSBC’s wide range of transfer partners might make it worthwhile in certain cases.

This offer was originally supposed to lapse on 30 June 2025, but HSBC has now extended it till 15 August 2025. As a reminder, the HSBC Premier Mastercard is also offering an uncapped 2.8 mpd on all FCY spend during the same period, making this a good time to accumulate some valuable HSBC rewards points.

HSBC Premier Mastercard local spending promotion

From 9 April to 15 August 2025, HSBC Premier Mastercard customers will earn 1.8 mpd on SGD spend with travel, dining and entertainment merchants (defined below).

This consists of:

The regular 1.2 mpd on SGD spend (awarded in the form of 3X HSBC points per S$1)
A bonus 0.6 mpd on SGD spend (awarded in the form of 1.5X HSBC points per S$1)

No minimum spend is necessary, and there is no cap on the maximum miles that can be earned. Transactions must be made during the promotional period and posted by 15 August 2025 to be eligible.

Spending on supplementary cards will also be eligible to earn 1.8 mpd, with the points awarded to the principal cardholder.

What transactions are eligible?

Qualifying spend refers to SGD transactions (both online and offline) made at merchants with the following MCCs. If these transactions are made in FCY, they will earn 2.8 mpd per the current HSBC Premier Mastercard FCY spending promotion.

Travel

MCC	Description
3000-3299 4511 4582	Airlines
4411	Cruise Liners
3500-3999 7011	Hotels
4722	Travel Agencies and Tour Operators
4723	Package Tours Operators (Germany Only)
5962	Direct Marketing-Travel Related Arrangement Services

Dining

MCC	Description
5812	Eating Places and Restaurants
5462	Bakeries

Entertainment

MCC	Description
4899	Cable, Satellite and Other Pay Television/Radio/Streaming Services
5735	Record Stores
5815	Digital Goods Media- Books, Movies, Digital artwork/images, Music
7832	Motion Picture Theatres
7922	Theatrical Producers (Except Motion Pictures), Ticket Agencies

This would include all major airlines (except China Southern, which codes as MCC 3308), hotel chains and cruise liners, as well as Netflix, Spotify and Ticketmaster.

Do take care with the Dining category however, as it’s defined very narrowly and excludes some commonly-used dining MCCs such as:

MCC 5811 Caterers (e.g. Eatz, Neo Garden, Stamford Catering)
MCC 5813 Bars & Nightclubs (e.g. Brewerkz, Brotzeit, Harry’s)
MCC 5814 Fast Food (e.g. Burger King, McDonald’s, Starbucks)
MCC 5499 Misc. Food Stores (e.g. Crave, Famous Amos, Grain)

If you’re ever in doubt about the MCC of a transaction, here are three ways of checking it before actually spending.

Method	Ease of Use	Reliability
❓HeyMax	●●●	●
📱 Instarem app	●●	●●
🤖 DBS digibot	●	●●●
Note: “Ease of use” and “reliability” are all relative. HeyMax already provides a solid baseline for reliability, and the DBS digibot is still simple enough to use, despite requiring more steps than the other two methods.

“Up to” 1.8 mpd

At this juncture, I should point out that the rate may be more accurately described as “up to” 1.8 mpd.

Why? HSBC has different conversion ratios for different partners, and the actual earn rate depends on which partner you choose.

✈️ HSBC TravelOne Airline Partners
Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (HSBC Points : Partner)
	50,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	30,000 : 10,000
	30,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000

🏨 HSBC TravelOne Hotel Partners
Hotel Programme	Conversion Ratio (HSBC Points : Partner)
	30,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 5,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000

So the 1.8 mpd rate we’ve been referring to only applies if you choose a partner with a 25,000 points : 10,000 miles ratio. Otherwise, the earn rates change as follows:

Transfer Ratio (Points : Miles)	HSBC Premier MC (Local)^*	HSBC Premier MC (FCY)^{^}
25,000 : 10,000	1.8 mpd	2.8 mpd
30,000 : 10,000	1.5 mpd	2.33 mpd
35,000 : 10,000	1.29 mpd	2 mpd
40,000 : 10,000	1.13 mpd	1.75 mpd
50,000 : 10,000	0.9 mpd	1.4 mpd
*3 points per S$1 on local spend ^7 points per S$1 on FCY spend (temp. upsize till 15 Aug 25)

Note in particular that the transfer ratio for KrisFlyer has been devalued from 16 January 2025., and if you choose to convert HSBC points to KrisFlyer miles, the earn rate with this promotion is 1.5 mpd, instead of 1.8 mpd.

When will the bonus miles be credited?

Cardholders will initially earn the regular 1.2 mpd on SGD spend, with the bonus 0.6 mpd awarded within two months of the transaction.

Terms & Conditions

The T&Cs of this offer can be found here.

HSBC rewards points are among the best in Singapore

A 1.8 mpd earn rate doesn’t sound very impressive, especially when other cards offer up to 4 mpd for travel, dining and entertainment.

However, HSBC rewards points are extremely valuable, and probably the best rewards currency in Singapore right now.

Conversion fees are waived until further notice
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

So assuming you’ve maxed out the 4 mpd caps on other cards, this would be a good opportunity to earn some extra HSBC rewards points at an accelerated rate.

Overview: HSBC Premier Mastercard

HSBC Premier Mastercard
Card T&Cs
Income Req.	S$30,000 p.a.	Annual Fee	S$490.50*
Local Earn	1.2 mpd	FCY Earn	2.8 mpd^
FCY Fee	3.25%	Transfer Partners	20
Points Pool?	Yes	Transfer Fee	Waived
*Waived so long as HSBC Premier status maintained (min. AUM: S$200,000) ^Temporary upsize till 15 August 2025, otherwise 2 mpd

Back in October 2024, HSBC relaunched the HSBC Premier Mastercard and converted it from a cashback card into a miles-earning option. This came with a new look and additional benefits, such as airport lounge access, complimentary limo rides, and a badge upgrade to World Elite Mastercard.

The HSBC Premier Mastercard is the companion card for the HSBC Premier priority banking programme. It has an annual fee of S$490.50, which is waived if the cardholder has a HSBC Premier relationship and maintains a total relationship balance of at least S$200,000.

Principal cardholders enjoy four (Premier) or six (Premier Elite) free lounge visits per membership year, provided by Priority Pass. They also enjoy one (Premier) or two (Premier Elite) free airport limo rides per calendar quarter, subject to a minimum spend of S$12,000 in the preceding calendar quarter.

As a World Elite Mastercard, all principal and supplementary cardholders also enjoy the following benefits.

🏨 Hotel Elite Status	Brilliant by Langham Ruby status CentaraThe1 Platinum status GHA DISCOVERY Titanium status I Prefer Titanium status (+25,000 IPrefer points after the first stay) My Millennium Prestige status ONYX Rewards Platinum status Swiss-Belexecutive Platinum Connoisseur status
🚗 Rental Car Elite Status	Avis President’s Club status
👍Other Perks	Annual 3GB Flexiroam data package HoteLux Elite Plus membership Complimentary golf games Complimentary travel insurance Held Tables at more than 1,000 restaurants worldwide

Conclusion

From now till 15 August 2025, HSBC Premier Mastercard customers can enjoy an uncapped 1.8 mpd on travel, dining and entertainment transactions charged in SGD.

If you’ve maxed out the bonus caps on higher-earning cards, or simply want to accrue some versatile HSBC rewards points, then this would be a chance to do so. Just remember that HSBC is not the bank you want to be earning KrisFlyer miles with, ever since the devaluation earlier this year.

2025 Edition: Best Credit Cards for Weddings

By

Aaron Wong

-

Jun 27, 2025

27

For those planning a wedding, perhaps the only question more important than who you’re marrying is what cards you’re using to pay. I mean, if your future spouse insists on putting everything on a cashback card, that’s about as red a flag as red flags get.

I distinctly remember heading down to the Grand Hyatt armed with a loaner Samsung phone to make MST payments for my banquet, back when the OCBC Titanium Rewards offered 4 mpd on such transactions. But that’s nothing compared to those who had the good fortune to get married during the insane Citi x Apple Pay promotion, where an uncapped 8 mpd was up for grabs!

That era is long over, sadly, but the good news is that unlike your wedding night, your miles haul doesn’t have to be disappointing.

In this post, I’ll walk you through a proposed miles strategy for the biggest expense of any wedding: the banquet. That’s likely to be a five-digit expense for most people, or even six digits in some cases. And to the extent that you can recoup some or most of that through hongbaos, it’s an opportunity to mint some miles for your honeymoon.

💳 What’s the Best Card for…
❓ Overall Guide
✈️ Air Tickets	🌎 Amaze	🛍️ Atome
💰 CardUp	🚗 Car Rental	💗 Charity
🍽️ Dining	🏫 Education	⚡ EV Charging
🥡 Food Delivery	🏨 Hotels	☂️ Insurance
📱 Kris+	⚕️ Medical	🏖️ Overseas
💊 Pharmacies	⛽ Petrol	🚍 Public Transport
🛒 Supermarkets	🚰 Utilities	💒 Weddings

Premarital text

For this article, I’m going to make several assumptions.

Your banquet venue allows you to split the expense onto different cards (and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t, really)
Your banquet venue allows you to pay in instalments, which is the standard practice in most places. This is crucial for optimising the monthly caps on specialised spending cards
Your banquet venue accepts in-person, contactless payments. The vast majority of places should by now, but it’s never a given

You might be concerned that some of the cards mentioned below have elevated income requirements. The key thing to remember, however, is that anything above the MAS-mandated S$30,000 is essentially arbitrary (it might affect the credit limit that can be granted, but not approval for a card per se).

It means there’s no harm submitting an application anyway, especially for cards which are known for not enforcing their official income requirements (e.g. UOB Visa Signature). The worst they can say is no.

Max out your sign-up bonuses

JW Marriott South Beach wedding banquet hall

A wedding banquet will be a big ticket expenditure, which presents an opportunity to clock some sign-up bonuses.

Sign-up bonuses regularly change, so there’s not much point copying and pasting a static table that will quickly go out of date. Instead, do visit the Credit Card Sign-up Bonuses page, or look out for the monthly sign-up bonus roundup for all the latest.

But just in case you were wondering, at the time of writing, a couple who qualified for every sign-up bonus could generate about 865,000 miles from S$35,000 of spending. That’s enough for four round-trip Business Class tickets between Singapore and the USA (people bring their in-laws on their honeymoon, right?).

A few general points to know about sign-up bonuses:

Most sign-up bonuses will only be available to new-to-bank customers. However, some banks also offer sign-up bonuses (usually smaller) to existing customers too
“New-to-bank” typically means that you do not hold any principal credit cards with a given bank, and have not cancelled any in the past 12 months. The exact definition will vary from bank to bank
If you apply for two cards from the same bank at the same time, you’ll only enjoy the bonus on the first approved card

Therefore, part of your pre-marriage prep should be doing a credit card audit and cancelling any unused cards, especially if it’s the only card you have with a given bank. This will then start the clock on resetting your new-to-bank status, which will hopefully refresh in time for the actual payments.

You should also look at your expected total outlay, and decide whether it’s better for you and your partner to each sign up for a card, or for one of you to sign up and then give the other a supplementary card.

If you’re confident that you and your partner can both hit the spending threshold, get one card each so you can enjoy the same bonus twice
If you think you’ll have difficulty hitting the spending threshold, then get your partner a supplementary card so that his/her spending will pool with yours

Max out your category bonuses

After the sign-up bonuses are exhausted, you can then focus on maxing out the category bonuses offered by your cards. Unlike sign-up bonuses, which are one-time, category bonuses are evergreen features that can be enjoyed month after month.

The most important thing to do is confirm the MCC of your banquet venue. While I doubt your wedding coordinator will be able to answer this question, you can look up the MCC of a given merchant using any of the methods below:

Method	Ease of Use	Reliability
❓HeyMax	●●●	●
📱 Instarem app	●●	●●
🤖 DBS digibot	●	●●●
Note: “Ease of use” and “reliability” are all relative. HeyMax already provides a solid baseline for reliability, and the DBS digibot is still simple enough to use, despite requiring more steps than the other two methods.

Given that this is a big-ticket item, I highly recommend using the Instarem or DBS digibot method to be extra sure.

There are two main possibilities:

Your banquet venue codes as a hotel (MCC 3500-3999, 7011)
Your banquet venue codes as a restaurant (MCC 5812)

If the venue codes as a hotel

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Apply	4 mpd	Cap S$1.1K per c. month. Must use mobile contactless
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	Cap S$1K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$1K, max S$2K per s. month. Must use contactless
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd	Cap S$2K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category
c. month= calendar month, s. month= statement month

If the venue codes as a restaurant

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	2.4 mpd	Min. S$1K spend *on SIA Group in m. year, no cap
Citi Rewards + Amaze Apply	4 mpd	Cap S$1K per s. month. 1% admin fee for SGD transactions
UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Apply	4 mpd	Cap S$1.1K per c. month. Must use mobile contactless.
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	Cap S$1K per c. month. Must choose Dining as bonus category
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$1K, max S$2K per s. month. Must use contactless
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd	Cap S$2K per c. month. Must choose Dining as bonus category
c. month= calendar month, s. month= statement month, m. year= membership year
*Min SIA Group spend of S$800 per year if your membership year ends before 1 November 2025

Regardless of whether your banquet is in a hotel or restaurant, here’s a few common points to note:

All of the cards above offer first year fee waivers
Don’t let the income requirements deter you; as mentioned earlier, income requirements may not be strictly enforced
You can only get either the UOB Lady’s Card or UOB Lady’s Solitaire, and will need to select a bonus category (one for Lady’s, two for Lady’s Solitaire). If your banquet is in a hotel, choose “Travel”; if it’s in a restaurant, choose “Dining”
The UOB Visa Signature and UOB Preferred Platinum Visa all require you to pay via contactless to earn the bonus:
- For the UOB Visa Signature, you can either tap the physical card or add it to your mobile wallet and tap your phone to pay
- For the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, you must add the card to your mobile wallet and tap your phone to pay
You can’t use the Citi Rewards Card with hotels because the MCC falls under the general exclusion for travel

Breaking it up

In an ideal situation, both you and your spouse-to-be will get all the cards above, and then make lump sum payments each month towards your banquet expense.

For example, if your wedding is in a hotel, the monthly payment plan would look something like this.

🧾 Monthly Banquet Payments
	🤵 Him	👰 Her
UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Apply	S$1,110 4,440 miles	S$1,110 4,440 miles
UOB Visa Signature Apply	S$2,000 8,000 miles	S$2,000 8,000 miles
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	S$2,000 8,000 miles	S$2,000 8,000 miles
Total Spend	S$5,110	S$5,110
Total Miles	20,400 miles	20,400 miles

You’d be looking at 40,880 miles for spending S$10,220 each month, which is a very tidy return.

If your wedding is in a restaurant, the main difference is that you can add the Citi Rewards + Amaze pairing, though remember, there’s a 1% fee for all SGD-denominated transactions from 10 March 2025.

Alternatively, you can also utilise the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card. By spending at least S$1,000 on Singapore Airlines, Scoot and KrisShop in a membership year, you will get an uncapped 2.4 mpd on dining. However, only 1.2 mpd is awarded upfront; you’ll need to wait up to two months after the end of the membership year for the remaining 1.2 mpd to be credited.

How does the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card’s Accelerated Miles feature work?

In that sense, it might be “better” (from a miles-earning perspective at least!) to have your wedding banquet in a restaurant, since you can tap an uncapped 2.4 mpd with the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card instead of dealing with the monthly limits you’ll encounter with hotel venues.

What if you can pay online?

If your banquet venue provides you with an online payment link, the first thing to do is to check the MCC by making a dummy transaction with a blocked Amaze/DBS card. Do not assume that an online payment link provided by a hotel/restaurant will code as a hotel/restaurant transaction!

If the MCC is correct, you can utilise the following cards.

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd Restaurants	Cap S$1K per s. month
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd Restaurants	Cap S$1K per c. month
UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Apply	4 mpd Restaurants	Cap S$1.1K per c. month
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd Restaurants Hotels	Cap S$1K per c. month. Select Dining or Travel as bonus category
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd Restaurants Hotels	Cap S$1.5K per c. month*
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd Restaurants Hotels	Cap S$2K per c. month. Select Dining or Travel as bonus category
*Max S$1K per c. month from 1 August 2025

Bonus miles from Kris+


S$5 for new Kris+ Users
Get S$5 (in the form of 750 KrisPay miles) when you sign-up with code W644363* and make your first transaction*

If you’ve been considering the PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering as your wedding venue, you might like to know that Kris+ users can earn an extra 9 mpd from Kris+ for wedding banquet payments, on top of credit card miles.


PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering
Earn Rate	9 mpd
Payment by	31 Dec 2025
Payment Cap	S$20,000
Wedding by	Not stated

Andaz Singapore used to offer wedding payments via Kris+ too, but it’s since been discontinued.

Conclusion

A wedding banquet will be a hefty expense, but it can also be a great source of miles. Therefore, it’s well worth taking the time to sit down and strategise. How much do you expect to spend overall? When will those payments need to be made? Which cards are you eligible for sign-up bonuses with? Which cards do you need for category bonuses? Should each of you apply for your own set of cards?

Fumbled wedding nights are forgivable. Fumbled miles strategies, less so.

MileLion Weekly Deal Summary [21-27 Jun 25]

By

Aaron Wong

-

Jun 27, 2025

0

Welcome to The MileLion’s Weekly Deal Summary, a round up of all the latest deals and promotions for credit cards, airlines and hotels. Get these posts pushed to your phone by subscribing to our Telegram Channel.

Credit Card/Banking Deals

💳 [Updated] Get Dyson Airwrap Origin, Apple iPad (A16) 11″ Wi-Fi 128GB, or S$390 cash with a new HSBC Advance, HSBC Live+, or HSBC Revolution and min. spend of S$500 by end of month after approval [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 Citi Prestige Card offering 50,000 miles welcome bonus with min. spend of S$2,000 [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 Get Apple AirPods 4, Shark Wandvac Handheld Vacuum WV203, S$180 Shopee voucher or S$150 cash with a new OCBC 90°N Visa Card, OCBC 90°N Mastercard, OCBC Rewards Card or OCBC 365 Card and one transaction of any amount [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 Get S$360 cash with a new StanChart Simply Cash Card and a min. spend of S$500, for new-to-bank customers [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 AMEX Platinum Charge offering 95,000 bonus MR points and 4.7 mpd on FCY spend, or 150,000 bonus MR points and S$50 statement credits for new-to-AMEX and existing AMEX cardholders [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 AMEX Platinum Credit Card offering S$250 statement credits (new-to-AMEX) or S$200 statement credits (existing) with a min. spend of S$1,000 within 60 days. Enjoy additional perks like a S$200 annual Lifestyle Credit and a Comoclub C4 membership [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend offering new-to-AMEX cardholders 37,600 bonus miles + S$50 with min. S$2,000 spend within 90 days [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 UOB PRVI Miles Cards offering 5 mpd on overseas shopping and dining. Registration required. Must spend at least S$1,500, capped at S$4,000 [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 DBS Takashimaya AMEX offering S$60 welcome gift for existing cardholders [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 StanChart Beyond and Visa Infinite Cards offering S$300 cashback on admin fees for income tax payments, limited to the first 50 customers per month [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 SC EasyBill offering S$200 cashback on admin fees for income tax payments, limited to the first 50 customers per month [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 DBS Altitude Card offering 5 mpd on in-person overseas spend in Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. Min. spend of S$2,000 in SGD/FCY required, capped at S$1,200 of FCY spend [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 Get up to 33,600 bonus miles with a new HSBC TravelOne Card and a minimum spend of S$1,000 [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 Get 50,000 miles with a new StanChart Visa Infinite Card and a minimum spend of S$2,000 within 60 days of approval, for both new-to-bank and existing customers [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 Get up to 30,000 miles & Samsonite Straren Spinner 67/24, 12,000 Max Miles, S$250 Shopee vouchers or S$180 cash when you sign-up for a StanChart Journey Card and spend S$800 within 60 days of approval. For new-to-bank customers only [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 Get up to S$80 Grab vouchers, Accor Plus Explorer membership, Samsonite luggage, and bonus miles or points with the purchase of AMEX MyTravel Insurance [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card offering up to 80,000 miles for new sign-ups with S$4,000 spent within 30 days of approval and payment of S$654 annual fee [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 HSBC Premier Mastercard offering uncapped 1.8 mpd on selected SGD spend, and uncapped 2.8 mpd on all FCY spend [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 OCBC Rewards Card offering 6 mpd on department stores and Watsons, capped at S$1,000 per month [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 StanChart Beyond Card offering 100,000 miles welcome bonus with payment of annual fee and S$20,000 spend in the first 90 days of approval [Expires 30 Jun 25]

💳 DBS yuu Cards offering S$300 cashback to new-to-bank customers who spend S$800 within first 60 days of approval [Expires 31 Jul 25]

💳 Get 16,000 miles with a new Citi Rewards Card and S$800 min. spend in the first 2 months. Must be new-to-bank [Expires 31 Jul 25]

💳 Amaze offering 6 InstaPoints per S$1 (2 mpd) on wallet-linked spend on dining, hotels and travel [Expires 31 Jul 25]

💳 Get 30,000 miles when you sign up for a Citi PremierMiles Card as a new-to-bank customer and spend S$800 in the first 2 months [Expires 31 Jul 25]

💳 [New] HSBC Premier Mastercard offering 65,000 miles welcome bonus with min. spend of S$4,000, for both new and existing HSBC customers [Expires 15 Aug 25]

💳 Buy unlimited miles from 1.7-2.2 cents each with the UOB Payment Facility [Expires 31 Aug 25]

💳 DBS Vantage Card offering 60,000 bonus miles with min. spend of S$4,000 in 30 days, for new-to-bank customers [Expires 31 Aug 25]

💳 DBS Altitude Cards offering 28,000 bonus miles with min. spend of S$800 in 30 days, for new-to-bank customers [Expires 31 Aug 25]

💳 Citi PayAll offering 1.8 mpd on tax payments and 1.6 mpd on non-tax payments, with a minimum spend of S$6,000 on non-tax payments (waived for customer with a Citi banking relationship) [Expires 31 Aug 25]

💳 Pay your income taxes with CardUp and Visa cards with a 1.75% fee using the code MLTAX25R [Expires 31 Aug 25]

💳 Pay your income taxes with CardUp and Mastercard with a 1.55% (new) or 1.67% (existing) fee using the code MCTAX25N or MCTAX25. Limited redemptions [Expires 31 Aug 25]

💳 CardUp offering 1.79% admin fee with promo code SAVERENT179 for all rental payments. Not valid for AMEX cards [Expires 31 Jan 26]

💳 CardUp offering 2.25% admin fee with the promo code OFF225 for all payments. Not valid for AMEX cards [Expires 31 Jan 26]

💳 CardUp offering 1.55-2% admin fees for OCBC credit cards, buy miles from 0.95 cents each [Expires 31 Mar 26]

💳 UOB One Account offering 6% rebate on tax payments made through GIRO [Expires 31 Mar 26]

Airline Deals

✈️ [New] Pelago offering 35% off KrisFlyer miles redemptions, or 1.03 cents each [Expires 30 Jun 25]

✈️ KrisShop offering 30% off redemptions with KrisFlyer miles [Expires 30 Jun 25]

✈️ KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes: Save 30% off selected Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class awards for travel between 1-31 July 2025 [Expires 30 Jun 25]

✈️ Earn an extra 5 mpd on Pelago bookings via Kris+ [Expires 30 Jun 25]

✈️ Kris+ Feast to Fly: Earn an extra 10 mpd at 46 participating restaurants, on top of credit card miles [Expires 30 Jun 25]

✈️ Save 20% off Pelago activities (capped at S$15) with a valid Scoot PNR [Expires 31 Dec 25]

✈️ Save 10% off Pelago activities (capped at S$50) with a valid Singapore Airlines PNR [Expires 31 Dec 25]

Hotel Deals

🏨 GHA DISCOVERY offering D$150 after four stays of at least two nights each [Expires 30 Jun 25]

🏨 Mastercard World and World Elite cardholders enjoy instant I Prefer Titanium status, with an extra 25,000 points on your first stay for World Elite [Expires 30 Jun 25]

🏨 Accor Live Limitless offering 20% bonus points for app bookings [Expires 30 Jun 25]

🏨 Accor Plus offering 3,000 bonus points (worth S$89) for new Accor Plus Explorer memberships [Expires 2 Jul 25]

🏨 Hilton Points Plus: Get 1,000 bonus points on every stay [Expires 15 Aug 25]

🏨 Hilton for Business offering 5,000 bonus points per stay, capped at 15,000 bonus points [Expires 27 Aug 25]

🏨 IHG One Rewards Pick Your Points promo: Choose between 2,000 bonus points per 2 nights, or 8,000 bonus points per 4 nights [Expires 31 Aug 25]

🏨 GHA DISCOVERY offering 3X D$ at Pan Pacific and PARKROYAL hotels worldwide [Expires 31 Aug 25]

🏨 World of Hyatt offering 16,000 bonus points for Hyatt Place, Hyatt House and Hyatt Studio stays [Expires 7 Sep 25]

🏨 IHG One Rewards dining discount: Save 20% off F&B and earn bonus IHG points [Expires 30 Dec 25]

🏨 Hilton Dine Like a Member: Save 10-25% off F&B and earn 500 points per bill at participating restaurants [Expires 31 Dec 25]

🏨 GHA DISCOVERY Titanium status for all Visa Infinite cardholders [Expires 31 Dec 25]

🏨 World of Hyatt offering instant Explorer status for 90 days, with further upgrade to Globalist with 20 qualifying nights during this period. For employees of selected companies only [Expires 31 Dec 25]

🏨 Enjoy a 12-month upgrade to elite status with ONYX Rewards via Mastercard [Expires 31 Dec 25]

🏨 Mastercard offering fast track to Wyndham Rewards elite status [Expires 31 Dec 25]

🏨 Enjoy instant Brilliant by Langham elite status with Mastercard [Expires 28 Feb 26]

🏨 Enjoy a 12-month upgrade to elite status with MyMillennium via Mastercard [Expires 31 Oct 26]

🏨 Buy Hilton Honors points at 50% off, or 0.5 US cents each [No expiry]

🏨 Hilton status match: Get instant Hilton Gold for 90 days, with fast-track to Diamond. Status valid till 31 March 2026, existing status with competing chain required [No expiry]

THE MILELION

THE MILELION

THE MILELION

Enhancements to HSBC Revolution Card

Monthly bonus cap increased to S$1,500

Bonuses for travel-related spending restored

Bonuses for contactless spending restored

Travel

Department Stores & Retail

Dining

Transport & Membership Clubs

Terms & Conditions

What can you do with HSBC points?

Finally, some good news!

Conclusion

American Express to discontinue Amex Pay

How many miles can you earn with Amex Pay?

How else can you earn miles at QR-code only merchants?

Conclusion

Why did UOB$ merchants use to be a problem?

How do UOB$ work?

Changes for June 2025

New UOB$ merchants

Removed UOB$ merchants

Full list of UOB$ merchants

Dining

Lux Retail

Retail and Services

Travel and Entertainment

Conclusion

Earn a bonus D$5 on all app bookings

Terms & Conditions

How do D$ work?

What cards should I use for hotel bookings?

Overview: Citi PremierMiles Card

How much must I earn to qualify for a Citi PremierMiles Card?

How much is the Citi PremierMiles Card’s annual fee?

Sign-up bonus

New-to-bank

Existing

How many miles do I earn?

SGD/FCY Spending

Bonus miles on Kaligo & Agoda

When are Citi Miles credited?

How are Citi Miles calculated?

What transactions aren’t eligible for Citi Miles?

What do I need to know about Citi Miles?

Expiry

Pooling

Partners and Transfer Fee

Transfer Times

Other card perks

Two free lounge visits

Citi PayAll

Complimentary travel insurance

Terms and Conditions

Summary Review: Citi PremierMiles Card

What does “zero FCY fees” actually mean?

Credit cards

Zero FCY fees

Rebate of FCY fees

Debit cards

Zero FCY fees

Multi-currency debit cards

Drawback of debit cards

What’s the trade-off?

Conclusion

OCBC 360 Account cuts interest rates (again!)

Salary: Up to 1.5% p.a.

Save: Up to 0.5% p.a.

Spend: Up to 0.4% p.a.

Wealth (Insure): Up to 1.5% p.a.

Wealth (Invest): Up to 1.5% p.a.

Grow interest cut, minimum balance increased

How much less will you earn?

Alternatives for miles chasers

Conclusion

HSBC Premier Mastercard local spending promotion

What transactions are eligible?

Travel