Oct 31, 2014, 6:05 am
Last edit by: lifeonthego_k
I'm going to update this first post as more info flows in to create a 'master list' of all credit cards that offer a decent way of accruing miles - so please help out!
If you know of and/or use any other cards (or the ones already mentioned), please share your thoughts.
***ALL VALUES BELOW IN SINGAPORE DOLLARS (SGD)***
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In no particular order (apart from personal preference in terms of good-mileage opportunities):
============
1. UOB PRVI Miles VISA, MasterCard, AMEX
VISA:
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...iles_visa.html
MasterCard:
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...astercard.html
Amex:
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...amex_card.html
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...ard/microsite/
Mileage accrual:
The earn rate will be 1.4 miles for every $1 spent in multiples of S$10 (every multiple of S$5 gives 6 to 7 miles due to 3.5 UNI$ rounding off, every S$10 gives 14 miles), and 2.4 miles for every $1 spent OVERSEAS (every $5 gives 12 miles).
Requirements: min. income $80,000 (not strict).
Cost: First year free, then S$256.80 for main, first two supplementary always free. Annual fee waiver for Amex card if you charge $50,000 or more in a year.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion. UNI$ are combined in 1 cardholder's name/FIN Number/NRIC together for all UOB cards which earn UNI$.
Pros: Best mileage accrual rates for overseas spend only. 20,000 bonus miles and annual fee waiver with spend of $50,000 per year (both only for Amex card). $45 1-way airport transfer voucher for $1,000 overseas spend in a given quarter (Amex only).
Cons: AMEX not always accepted by merchants. Points allocated on every $5 spent, rounded down to next $5. Transfer in blocks of 5000 UNI$ points = 10,000 miles. Points are valid for 2 years (transfer before expiry and they will subsequently be valid for a further 3 years from the date of transfer to KrisFlyer).
2. UOB Preferred Platinum Visa
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards..._platinum.html
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...visa_card.html
Mileage accrual: Earn 4 miles for every $1 spent using ONLY MOBILE CONTACTLESS every $5 gives 10 UNI$ which equal 20 miles). Same incredible mileage-earning ratio for internet shopping with certain restrictions (travel-related, utilities, etc.). Earn 0.4 mile for every $1 for regular, signature-based payments AND ORPHAN SPEND DUE TO $5 ROUNDING OR EXCEEDING THE BONUS U$2000 SPEND (every $5 gives 1 UNI$ which equal 2 miles).
Earning 4 miles/$ is limited to the first S$1110 spent during the per calendar month (via Mobile Contactless). 2,000UNI$ refers to the extra 9UNI$ and does not include the normal 1UNI$.(Stop when you notice you earn 3UNI$ (1 + bonus 2) for the last S$5 transaction. ($1110/5)x9=1998UNI$, hence the last S$5 transaction will earn 2 bonus UNI$. The total bonus UNI$ awarded to you from qualifying spend on Selected Online Transactions and Mobile Contactless Transactions is capped at UNI$2,000 for each calendar month. THE CAP IS ON THE 9 UNI$ BONUS NOT 10UNI$ TOTAL YOU GET WITH BASE OF U$1 PER $ SPEND
Keep in mind that some merchants offer different, non-mileage accruing awards with UOB cards which are called SMART$. Some popular merchants include Cold Storage, Guardian and Giant Supermarket, ToastBox and Starbucks. A full list of merchants where Mobile contactless transactions will NOT earn miles can be found here: http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...smartclub.html
Requirements: min. income $30,000 ($60,000 for foreigners).
Cost: First year free, then $192.60 for main and $96.30 for supplementary. Annual fee waived off easily.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion, in blocks of 5000 UNI$=10,000 miles. UNI$ are combined in 1 cardholder's name for all UOB cards.
Pros: Incredible mileage accrual rates for Paywave transactions (not all merchants - some give SMART$ instead which are different rewards!) as well as internet transactions (some restrictions apply).
Cons: Points allocated on every $5 spent, rounded down to next $5. Transfer in blocks of 5000 UNI$ points = 10,000 miles. Points are valid for 2 years (transfer before expiry and they will subsequently be valid for a further 3 years from the date of transfer to KrisFlyer).
3. Citi PremierMiles MasterCard
https://www.citibank.com.sg/credit-cards/travel/premiermiles-card/?ecid=PSGONSGCCAENPM
Mileage accrual: Earn 1.2 miles for every $1 spent. Earn 2 miles for every $1 spent OVERSEAS. 10,000 bonus miles for each annual membership renewal.
Requirements: min. income $50,000 for VISA. Principal cardholder must be at least 21 years of age.
Cost: First year free, then $192.60 for VISA main, supplementary always free. Annual fee waiver available in exchange for forfeiting the 10,000renewal bonus.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion.
Pros: Decent all-rounder, good for overseas spend. Points never expire. Bonus miles for annual card renewal. 11 frequent flyer programs & 3 hotel programs to choose from, including EVA Air - only 25,000 miles for 1 way Business Class within Asia!!
Cons: No miles awarded for EZ-Link & Transitlink transactions. Miles awarded per S$1. Cents not included. 1.2 miles/S$1. Transfer in blocks of 10,000 miles.
4. DBS Altitude VISA/AMEX
http://www.dbs.com/sg/personal/cards...e/default.aspx
http://www.dbs.com/sg/personal/cards...e/default.aspx
Mileage accrual: Earn 1.2 miles for every $1 spent (every $5 gives 3 DBS points which equal 6 miles). Earn 2 miles for every $1 spent OVERSEAS.
Requirements: min. income $80,000.
Cost: First year free, then $180 for main and $90 for supplementary. Annual fee waiver if you charge $25,000 or more in a year.
Miles conversion fee: S$26.75 per transfer, redeem 1700 DBS points to waive off.
Pros: Points never expire. No rounding down transaction amount to nearest $5 (calculation is done as follows: DBS points = 'transaction amount' divided by 5, multiply by 3, after that round down to nearest whole number. Minimum spend is S$1.67. Each DBS point = 2 miles). Earn 3 miles per S$1 spent on all online Flight and Hotel transactions (capped at S$5,000 per month). 10,000 miles renewal bonus if you have to pay card renewal fees.
Cons: All local spend now down to 1.2 miles/$ (since Dec 1, 2013). AMEX not always accepted by merchants. Transfer in blocks of 5000 DBS points = 10,000 miles (on the plus side points don't expire). Per transfer of S$26.75, redeem 1700 DBS points to waive off.
5. Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa
http://info.maybank2u.com.sg/persona...visa-card.aspx
Earn 3.2 air miles (8X TREATS Points) with every dollar spent on dining, petrol, taxi fares and hotel bookings at Agoda.com/horizon
Earn 2 air miles (5X TREATS Points) with every dollar spent on air tickets, travel packages and foreign currency transactions, with a minimal S$300 in a calendar month
Earn 0.4 mile for every $1 spent elsewhere (1 mile for every $2.50 spent).
Requirements: min. income $30,000 ($80,000 for foreigners).
Cost: $150 for main, supplementary always free. Unsure of any annual fee waiver conditions.
Miles conversion fee: In blocks of 5,000 points to 2000 Asia Miles or KrisFlyer. S$26.75 fee applies.
Pros: Great for ticket purchases and overseas spend. Complimentary access to selected VIP airport lounges when you charge a minimum of S$400 in a single transaction on air tickets or travel packages to your Card 3 months prior to the date of travel.
Cons: Great ONLY for ticket purchases and overseas spend. Points are valid for 1 year only, expire either on 30 June or 31 December of the same year if not Rewards Infinite member.
6. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend AMEX
https://www.americanexpress.com/sg/s...nd-credit-card
Mileage accrual: Earn 1.2 KrisFlyer miles for every S$1 spent on all your eligible purchases with your Card
Earn 2 KrisFlyer miles for every S$1 equivalent in foreign currency spent overseas on eligible purchases during June and December
Requirements: min. income $50,000 ($60,000 for foreigners). Principal cardholder must be over 21 years of age.
Cost: First year free, otherwise $256.80 for main, 2 supplementary cards always free (more available at $80.25 each). Annual fee cannot be waived unless you spend alot.
Miles conversion fee: None - your KrisFlyer miles are transferred to your account directly with no conversion fees or charges.
Pros: None, except for welcome offers (4 complimentary airport lounge access vouchers, one complimentary night with Millennium Hotels and Resorts).
Cons: Simply nothing special - there are better cards available for all types of purchases, including flight tickets, even with all of the bonuses above applied. AMEX not always accepted by merchants.
7. Citibank Rewards Card
http://www.citibank.com.sg/gcb/credi...CACRENCCHOCALM
Earn 10X Rewards (10 Rewards Points or 4 Miles for every S$1 spent) when you shop for clothes, bags and shoes or at departmental stores or online shopping websites, including SingTel & M1 online bill payment!
Pros: Transfer to 11 FFPs & 3 Hotel programs in blocks of 25,000 points=10,000 miles; S$25 fee.
Cons: Points awarded per S$1 spend. Cents not included. Cannot combined Thank You Points across cards.
8. DBS Woman's World MasterCard® Card
http://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/cards...astercard-card
10X Rewards for Online Retail Purchases
T&C Here: https://www.dbs.com.sg/iwov-resource...s_card_tnc.pdf
Pros: Men also can get this card!! DBS points are combined in 1 cardholder's name. No rounding down transaction amount to nearest $5 (calculation is done as follows: DBS points = 'transaction amount' divided by 5, multiply by 10, after that round down to nearest whole number. Minimum spend is S$1. Each DBS point = 2 miles).
Cons: DBS points are valid for 1 year based on card anniversary date. The additional 9X DBS Points for online retail spend in a calendar month will be awarded on the 16th of the next calendar month. If the above days are not working days, the Points will be awarded on the next working day. The additional 9X DBS Points are only applicable to the first S$2,000 online retail spend every calendar month.
9. OCBC Titanium Rewards Card
https://www.ocbc.com/personal-bankin...astercard.html
10x OCBC$ on your shopping Local & Overseas Shopping Transactions, Local & Overseas Department Store Transactions and Local & Overseas Online Transactions.
The remaining 9 OCBC$ will be posted to the Card Account by the end of the next calendar month
https://www.ocbc.com/assets/pdf/card...ons.pdf?rand=1
10,000 KrisFlyer miles requires OCBC$ 25000, For each conversion of OCBC$ to KrisFlyer miles a fee of S$25 will be charged
10. UOB Lady's Card
https://www.uob.com.sg/personal/card...ard/index.page
============
If you know of and/or use any other cards (or the ones already mentioned), please share your thoughts.
***ALL VALUES BELOW IN SINGAPORE DOLLARS (SGD)***
============
In no particular order (apart from personal preference in terms of good-mileage opportunities):
============
1. UOB PRVI Miles VISA, MasterCard, AMEX
VISA:
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...iles_visa.html
MasterCard:
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...astercard.html
Amex:
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...amex_card.html
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...ard/microsite/
Mileage accrual:
The earn rate will be 1.4 miles for every $1 spent in multiples of S$10 (every multiple of S$5 gives 6 to 7 miles due to 3.5 UNI$ rounding off, every S$10 gives 14 miles), and 2.4 miles for every $1 spent OVERSEAS (every $5 gives 12 miles).
Requirements: min. income $80,000 (not strict).
Cost: First year free, then S$256.80 for main, first two supplementary always free. Annual fee waiver for Amex card if you charge $50,000 or more in a year.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion. UNI$ are combined in 1 cardholder's name/FIN Number/NRIC together for all UOB cards which earn UNI$.
Pros: Best mileage accrual rates for overseas spend only. 20,000 bonus miles and annual fee waiver with spend of $50,000 per year (both only for Amex card). $45 1-way airport transfer voucher for $1,000 overseas spend in a given quarter (Amex only).
Cons: AMEX not always accepted by merchants. Points allocated on every $5 spent, rounded down to next $5. Transfer in blocks of 5000 UNI$ points = 10,000 miles. Points are valid for 2 years (transfer before expiry and they will subsequently be valid for a further 3 years from the date of transfer to KrisFlyer).
2. UOB Preferred Platinum Visa
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards..._platinum.html
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...visa_card.html
Mileage accrual: Earn 4 miles for every $1 spent using ONLY MOBILE CONTACTLESS every $5 gives 10 UNI$ which equal 20 miles). Same incredible mileage-earning ratio for internet shopping with certain restrictions (travel-related, utilities, etc.). Earn 0.4 mile for every $1 for regular, signature-based payments AND ORPHAN SPEND DUE TO $5 ROUNDING OR EXCEEDING THE BONUS U$2000 SPEND (every $5 gives 1 UNI$ which equal 2 miles).
Earning 4 miles/$ is limited to the first S$1110 spent during the per calendar month (via Mobile Contactless). 2,000UNI$ refers to the extra 9UNI$ and does not include the normal 1UNI$.(Stop when you notice you earn 3UNI$ (1 + bonus 2) for the last S$5 transaction. ($1110/5)x9=1998UNI$, hence the last S$5 transaction will earn 2 bonus UNI$. The total bonus UNI$ awarded to you from qualifying spend on Selected Online Transactions and Mobile Contactless Transactions is capped at UNI$2,000 for each calendar month. THE CAP IS ON THE 9 UNI$ BONUS NOT 10UNI$ TOTAL YOU GET WITH BASE OF U$1 PER $ SPEND
Keep in mind that some merchants offer different, non-mileage accruing awards with UOB cards which are called SMART$. Some popular merchants include Cold Storage, Guardian and Giant Supermarket, ToastBox and Starbucks. A full list of merchants where Mobile contactless transactions will NOT earn miles can be found here: http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...smartclub.html
Requirements: min. income $30,000 ($60,000 for foreigners).
Cost: First year free, then $192.60 for main and $96.30 for supplementary. Annual fee waived off easily.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion, in blocks of 5000 UNI$=10,000 miles. UNI$ are combined in 1 cardholder's name for all UOB cards.
Pros: Incredible mileage accrual rates for Paywave transactions (not all merchants - some give SMART$ instead which are different rewards!) as well as internet transactions (some restrictions apply).
Cons: Points allocated on every $5 spent, rounded down to next $5. Transfer in blocks of 5000 UNI$ points = 10,000 miles. Points are valid for 2 years (transfer before expiry and they will subsequently be valid for a further 3 years from the date of transfer to KrisFlyer).
3. Citi PremierMiles MasterCard
https://www.citibank.com.sg/credit-cards/travel/premiermiles-card/?ecid=PSGONSGCCAENPM
Mileage accrual: Earn 1.2 miles for every $1 spent. Earn 2 miles for every $1 spent OVERSEAS. 10,000 bonus miles for each annual membership renewal.
Requirements: min. income $50,000 for VISA. Principal cardholder must be at least 21 years of age.
Cost: First year free, then $192.60 for VISA main, supplementary always free. Annual fee waiver available in exchange for forfeiting the 10,000renewal bonus.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion.
Pros: Decent all-rounder, good for overseas spend. Points never expire. Bonus miles for annual card renewal. 11 frequent flyer programs & 3 hotel programs to choose from, including EVA Air - only 25,000 miles for 1 way Business Class within Asia!!
Cons: No miles awarded for EZ-Link & Transitlink transactions. Miles awarded per S$1. Cents not included. 1.2 miles/S$1. Transfer in blocks of 10,000 miles.
4. DBS Altitude VISA/AMEX
http://www.dbs.com/sg/personal/cards...e/default.aspx
http://www.dbs.com/sg/personal/cards...e/default.aspx
Mileage accrual: Earn 1.2 miles for every $1 spent (every $5 gives 3 DBS points which equal 6 miles). Earn 2 miles for every $1 spent OVERSEAS.
Requirements: min. income $80,000.
Cost: First year free, then $180 for main and $90 for supplementary. Annual fee waiver if you charge $25,000 or more in a year.
Miles conversion fee: S$26.75 per transfer, redeem 1700 DBS points to waive off.
Pros: Points never expire. No rounding down transaction amount to nearest $5 (calculation is done as follows: DBS points = 'transaction amount' divided by 5, multiply by 3, after that round down to nearest whole number. Minimum spend is S$1.67. Each DBS point = 2 miles). Earn 3 miles per S$1 spent on all online Flight and Hotel transactions (capped at S$5,000 per month). 10,000 miles renewal bonus if you have to pay card renewal fees.
Cons: All local spend now down to 1.2 miles/$ (since Dec 1, 2013). AMEX not always accepted by merchants. Transfer in blocks of 5000 DBS points = 10,000 miles (on the plus side points don't expire). Per transfer of S$26.75, redeem 1700 DBS points to waive off.
5. Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa
http://info.maybank2u.com.sg/persona...visa-card.aspx
Earn 3.2 air miles (8X TREATS Points) with every dollar spent on dining, petrol, taxi fares and hotel bookings at Agoda.com/horizon
Earn 2 air miles (5X TREATS Points) with every dollar spent on air tickets, travel packages and foreign currency transactions, with a minimal S$300 in a calendar month
Earn 0.4 mile for every $1 spent elsewhere (1 mile for every $2.50 spent).
Requirements: min. income $30,000 ($80,000 for foreigners).
Cost: $150 for main, supplementary always free. Unsure of any annual fee waiver conditions.
Miles conversion fee: In blocks of 5,000 points to 2000 Asia Miles or KrisFlyer. S$26.75 fee applies.
Pros: Great for ticket purchases and overseas spend. Complimentary access to selected VIP airport lounges when you charge a minimum of S$400 in a single transaction on air tickets or travel packages to your Card 3 months prior to the date of travel.
Cons: Great ONLY for ticket purchases and overseas spend. Points are valid for 1 year only, expire either on 30 June or 31 December of the same year if not Rewards Infinite member.
6. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend AMEX
https://www.americanexpress.com/sg/s...nd-credit-card
Mileage accrual: Earn 1.2 KrisFlyer miles for every S$1 spent on all your eligible purchases with your Card
Earn 2 KrisFlyer miles for every S$1 equivalent in foreign currency spent overseas on eligible purchases during June and December
Requirements: min. income $50,000 ($60,000 for foreigners). Principal cardholder must be over 21 years of age.
Cost: First year free, otherwise $256.80 for main, 2 supplementary cards always free (more available at $80.25 each). Annual fee cannot be waived unless you spend alot.
Miles conversion fee: None - your KrisFlyer miles are transferred to your account directly with no conversion fees or charges.
Pros: None, except for welcome offers (4 complimentary airport lounge access vouchers, one complimentary night with Millennium Hotels and Resorts).
Cons: Simply nothing special - there are better cards available for all types of purchases, including flight tickets, even with all of the bonuses above applied. AMEX not always accepted by merchants.
7. Citibank Rewards Card
http://www.citibank.com.sg/gcb/credi...CACRENCCHOCALM
Earn 10X Rewards (10 Rewards Points or 4 Miles for every S$1 spent) when you shop for clothes, bags and shoes or at departmental stores or online shopping websites, including SingTel & M1 online bill payment!
Pros: Transfer to 11 FFPs & 3 Hotel programs in blocks of 25,000 points=10,000 miles; S$25 fee.
Cons: Points awarded per S$1 spend. Cents not included. Cannot combined Thank You Points across cards.
8. DBS Woman's World MasterCard® Card
http://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/cards...astercard-card
10X Rewards for Online Retail Purchases
T&C Here: https://www.dbs.com.sg/iwov-resource...s_card_tnc.pdf
Pros: Men also can get this card!! DBS points are combined in 1 cardholder's name. No rounding down transaction amount to nearest $5 (calculation is done as follows: DBS points = 'transaction amount' divided by 5, multiply by 10, after that round down to nearest whole number. Minimum spend is S$1. Each DBS point = 2 miles).
Cons: DBS points are valid for 1 year based on card anniversary date. The additional 9X DBS Points for online retail spend in a calendar month will be awarded on the 16th of the next calendar month. If the above days are not working days, the Points will be awarded on the next working day. The additional 9X DBS Points are only applicable to the first S$2,000 online retail spend every calendar month.
9. OCBC Titanium Rewards Card
https://www.ocbc.com/personal-bankin...astercard.html
10x OCBC$ on your shopping Local & Overseas Shopping Transactions, Local & Overseas Department Store Transactions and Local & Overseas Online Transactions.
The remaining 9 OCBC$ will be posted to the Card Account by the end of the next calendar month
https://www.ocbc.com/assets/pdf/card...ons.pdf?rand=1
10,000 KrisFlyer miles requires OCBC$ 25000, For each conversion of OCBC$ to KrisFlyer miles a fee of S$25 will be charged
10. UOB Lady's Card
https://www.uob.com.sg/personal/card...ard/index.page
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The 'Best credit cards for KF miles accrual' master thread
Jun 16, 2011, 11:05 pm
#241
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,803
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.11))
But some banks use bait and switch on the standard non-promotional earn rate too. I dunno about Standard Chartered Singapore, but SCB HK can be expected to keep a "normal" rate only for 18 months before they devalue it and introduce another new product with worthwhile earning rate.
Originally Posted by aster
But the promo would only be for new cardholders so you would have to cancel anyway. I don't waste my time on cards with rubbish mileage-earning ration simply because they give me a bonus for the first 3 months, I only go for the cards that I can use every day and get the most miles for my regular spend.
Jun 17, 2011, 12:11 pm
#242
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Singapore, Warsaw, Surfers Paradise
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold>>>Silver>>>Blue, Finnair Silver, Royal Caribbean Diamond
Posts: 5,174
Even Citi had an improved rate last year but chose to go back to its original ratio on Jan 1 of this year.
The DBS Altitude Amex though is moving ahead at full speed, with the highest mileage earning ratio and I have not seen any notion of it being just "temporary." It really is the must-have card here in Singapore. ^
The DBS Altitude Amex though is moving ahead at full speed, with the highest mileage earning ratio and I have not seen any notion of it being just "temporary." It really is the must-have card here in Singapore. ^
Jun 20, 2011, 1:50 am
#243
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 819
Citibank does not issue Citi Platinum VISA/MasterCard anymore!!
Even Citi had an improved rate last year but chose to go back to its original ratio on Jan 1 of this year.
The DBS Altitude Amex though is moving ahead at full speed, with the highest mileage earning ratio and I have not seen any notion of it being just "temporary." It really is the must-have card here in Singapore. ^
The DBS Altitude Amex though is moving ahead at full speed, with the highest mileage earning ratio and I have not seen any notion of it being just "temporary." It really is the must-have card here in Singapore. ^
Just learnt that Citibank does not issue the Citi Platinum VISA/MasterCard anymore. The one that earn 5x Citidollars at supermarkets!! (S$1 = 2 miles)
http://www.citibank.com.sg/gcb/credi...erCode=SGCPCWA
Those who have it can continue to earn the 5x Citidollars at supermarkets. The next best card at supermarket for those who cannot get the card would be the Citi Premiermiles card, S$1 = 1.2miles! Or use the AMEX Rewards card or other AMEX cards on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays for 5x points at Cold Storage/Marketplace! (Rewards card- S$1 = 3.125mile or 3.438mile for favourite 5, other AMEX Cards- S$1 = 1.9531mile)
https://www.americanexpress.com/sg/p....shtml?page=PR
Jun 20, 2011, 3:09 am
#244
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Switzerland
Programs: Bonvoy LT Gold, IHG Gold, BAEC Silver, TP Silver
Posts: 1,495
I got a question on how they calculate your annual salary (minimum of $80,000 for the Amex Altitude at DBS). Do bonuses count towards that? Or do they simply look at the base salary?
My guess would be the second answer....?
My guess would be the second answer....?
Jun 20, 2011, 3:13 am
#245
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 819
It's the entire salary including bonuses. But banks do not follow the $80,000 guidelines strictly. So long as you have a stable job with $30,000 annual income, they will issue the card to you. Don't believe you try to apply...
Jun 20, 2011, 3:52 am
#246
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Switzerland
Programs: Bonvoy LT Gold, IHG Gold, BAEC Silver, TP Silver
Posts: 1,495
Thanks. I was eyeing the CitiBank PremierMiles and the DBS AmEx Altitude cards which both require a minimum of $80k. I'll check that when I get to SG next month then.
Jun 21, 2011, 1:27 am
#248
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Switzerland
Programs: Bonvoy LT Gold, IHG Gold, BAEC Silver, TP Silver
Posts: 1,495
That's good to know. I'll wait for one of those credit card roadshows in Singapore to see if there are any extra perks for signing up ^
Jun 21, 2011, 10:40 pm
#249
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 819
Haha...Thanks!
Haha....Thanks! Have been flying Business Class since 2000 (11 years), thanks to mileage redemption on FFPs with credit cards...Since you consider me the guru, let me share this with you all, I usually send this as email to my friends who are interested to earn miles...
From the Guru: 6 must have credit cards to earn the most miles (Keep for reference)
Delta SkyMiles, KrisFlyer, THAI’s Royal Orchid Plus:
1. Citi PremierMiles Card: $1 = 1.2 miles (OR $0.83 = 1 mile, usually is $2.50 = 1 mile hence 3x) on ALL your spending at anywhere. Note: S$25 admin fee applies for each mileage transfer. Transfer in any amount greater than 500 miles, eg: 1234 miles, hence more flexible than transferring in blocks of 500/1,000/2,000/10,000 miles.
Delta SkyMiles, KrisFlyer, THAI’s Royal Orchid Plus & Asia Miles:
(Discontinued, not available for application.) Citi Platinum Visa/MasterCard: 5x rewards at departmental stores and supermarkets. If you have it, promotion still on, you are very lucky!! Because it’s the only card that earns 5x rewards points at supermarkets in Singapore!!
Every $1 spent get 5 Citidollars = 2 miles, ie: $1 spent = 2 miles, compared to Citi Premiermiles: $1 = 1.2 miles
Citibank 5X Rewards Merchants
Department Stores (Note: Citi Rewards Card awards 10x points)
Tangs . Isetan . John Little . Marks & Spencer . Metro . OG . Robinsons . BHG . Takashimaya Department Store.
Supermarkets/Hypermarket
Carrefour . Cold Storage . Giant . Market Place . NTUC Fair Price . Shop N Save . Singapore Meidi-Ya. Sheng Siong
2. Citi Clear Platinum Card:
5X Rewards at:
Nightspots - Zouk, Butter Factory, Wala Wala Café Bar, Helipad, Timbre, Brewerkz, St James Power Station and more
• Cinemas - Cathay, Golden Village, Shaw, Eng Wah and more
• Cafes - Starbucks, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf ®, TCC, Spinelli, Coffee Club and more
• Book Stores - Borders, Kinokuniya, MPH, Times, POPULAR Bookshop and more
• Music Stores - Gramaphone, That CD Shop, HMV and more
3. Citi Rewards Card: Enjoy rewards X10 (S$ 1 spend = Citi$ 10) whenever you shop for shoes, bags or clothing (Eg: BATA, Giordano, Hang Ten, World of Sports etc) or at department stores, locally & overseas. S$1 spent = 4 miles!
Department Stores
Tangs . Isetan . John Little . Marks & Spencer . Metro . OG . Robinsons . BHG . Takashimaya Department Store.
Note: UOB Preferred Platinum American Express® Card also earn 10x points for every S$5 spent at any department store or any retail store worldwide that sells clothes, shoes, or bags as its main business activity. But it awards points for every S$5 spent. If you spend S$9.99, you will lose out the points for the balance S$4.99 part & miles are transferred in blocks of 10,000 miles, S$20 admin fee per transfer, so no good. Same for DBS Altitude Card, 3x points are awarded for every S$5 spent and transferred in blocks of 2000 miles, S$42.80 annual fee applies, so no good.
Can combine Citidollars from Clear Platinum, Platinum Visa/Mastercard & Citi Rewards Card and transfer them to Frequent Flyer programs so that you pay the S$25 admin fee once, by calling Citibank at 6225 5225. Quote Clause 3.7 in the Terms & Conditions. Transfer in any amount greater than 500 miles, eg: 1234 miles. Every 5 Citidollars = 2 miles, eg: 3085 Citidollars = 1234 miles, hence more flexible than transferring in blocks of 500/1,000/2,000/10,000 miles.
KrisFlyer, THAI’s Royal Orchid Plus, Asia Miles & Others:
4. American Express Rewards Card:
(1.6 MR points = 1 mile) Welcome bonus of 21,000 Membership Rewards Points = 13,125 miles: A welcome bonus of 21,000 Membership Rewards points will be credited into Cardmember’s Account upon reaching S$1500 spend in the first 3 months. To qualify for this welcome offer, the annual Card fee payment of S$50 is required to be paid on the American Express Rewards Card. 24,000 Membership Rewards points = 15,000 miles: 24,000 Membership Rewards points include all of the followings:
a) the welcome bonus of 21,000 points (credited into Cardmember’s Account upon reaching S$1,500 spend in the first 3 months)
b) 1,500 points earned on the S$1,500 spend (S$1 = 1 point) and
c) 1,500 points earned (100% bonus in the first 3 months)
KrisFlyer only:
5. American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold Credit Card: (1st year free, no fee to transfer miles for 1st year)
The very first time you charge to your American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold Credit Card, we will give you an activation bonus of 5,000 KrisFlyer miles. So…use once and can throw away..because S$1.60 = 1 mile..no good. Want the 5000 bonus only. Need minimum spending of $12k or $5k for bonus 50% + 50% miles, no good.
KrisFlyer & Malaysia Airlines (Enrich):
6. Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa Card: (free conversion to KrisFlyer)
Earn 5x tr'eats Points (redeemable for 2 air miles) with every S$1 charged for air ticket / travel packages (Airlines eg: Singapore Airlines, Tiger Airways, Jetstar etc & travel agent charges eg: Chan Brothers, Nam Ho Travel, ASA Holidays), purchases at Perfumes & Cosmetics outlets at Singapore Changi Airport, and overseas foreign transactions.
• Flexibility to covert tr'eats Points to frequent flyer miles for Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer) or Malaysia Airlines (Enrich)
o Attractive conversion rates – 1,250 tr'eats Points = 500 KrisFlyer miles
– 2,500 tr'eats Points = 1000 Enrich miles
• Free conversion fee of tr'eats Points to KrisFlyer miles and Enrich miles for Maybank MasterCard Platinum and Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa Card;
Sign up for REWARDS INFINITE VALUE (1st year free, 2nd year onwards $10.70 annual fee)
Application form at:
http://info.maybank2u.com.sg/pdf/car..._enrolment.pdf
10x tr’eats Points ▪ Petrol & EZ-link auto top up
▪ F&B outlets
▪ Ben & Jerry’s
▪ Breeks! Café
▪ Crystal Jade
▪ Dian Xiao Er
▪ Din Tai Fung
▪ Ichiban Boshi
▪ Jack’s Place
▪ Kuishin-Bo
▪ Sakura International Buffet
▪ Seoul Garden
▪ Soup Restaurant
▪ Sushi Tei
▪ Thai Express
• Fashion outlets
o Bossini
o Fox Fashion
o G2000
o Giordano
o Hang Ten
o Mango
o ZARA
o Topshop/Topman
10x treats point => S$1 spent= 4 miles!!
From the Guru: 6 must have credit cards to earn the most miles (Keep for reference)
Delta SkyMiles, KrisFlyer, THAI’s Royal Orchid Plus:
1. Citi PremierMiles Card: $1 = 1.2 miles (OR $0.83 = 1 mile, usually is $2.50 = 1 mile hence 3x) on ALL your spending at anywhere. Note: S$25 admin fee applies for each mileage transfer. Transfer in any amount greater than 500 miles, eg: 1234 miles, hence more flexible than transferring in blocks of 500/1,000/2,000/10,000 miles.
Delta SkyMiles, KrisFlyer, THAI’s Royal Orchid Plus & Asia Miles:
(Discontinued, not available for application.) Citi Platinum Visa/MasterCard: 5x rewards at departmental stores and supermarkets. If you have it, promotion still on, you are very lucky!! Because it’s the only card that earns 5x rewards points at supermarkets in Singapore!!
Every $1 spent get 5 Citidollars = 2 miles, ie: $1 spent = 2 miles, compared to Citi Premiermiles: $1 = 1.2 miles
Citibank 5X Rewards Merchants
Department Stores (Note: Citi Rewards Card awards 10x points)
Tangs . Isetan . John Little . Marks & Spencer . Metro . OG . Robinsons . BHG . Takashimaya Department Store.
Supermarkets/Hypermarket
Carrefour . Cold Storage . Giant . Market Place . NTUC Fair Price . Shop N Save . Singapore Meidi-Ya. Sheng Siong
2. Citi Clear Platinum Card:
5X Rewards at:
Nightspots - Zouk, Butter Factory, Wala Wala Café Bar, Helipad, Timbre, Brewerkz, St James Power Station and more
• Cinemas - Cathay, Golden Village, Shaw, Eng Wah and more
• Cafes - Starbucks, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf ®, TCC, Spinelli, Coffee Club and more
• Book Stores - Borders, Kinokuniya, MPH, Times, POPULAR Bookshop and more
• Music Stores - Gramaphone, That CD Shop, HMV and more
3. Citi Rewards Card: Enjoy rewards X10 (S$ 1 spend = Citi$ 10) whenever you shop for shoes, bags or clothing (Eg: BATA, Giordano, Hang Ten, World of Sports etc) or at department stores, locally & overseas. S$1 spent = 4 miles!
Department Stores
Tangs . Isetan . John Little . Marks & Spencer . Metro . OG . Robinsons . BHG . Takashimaya Department Store.
Note: UOB Preferred Platinum American Express® Card also earn 10x points for every S$5 spent at any department store or any retail store worldwide that sells clothes, shoes, or bags as its main business activity. But it awards points for every S$5 spent. If you spend S$9.99, you will lose out the points for the balance S$4.99 part & miles are transferred in blocks of 10,000 miles, S$20 admin fee per transfer, so no good. Same for DBS Altitude Card, 3x points are awarded for every S$5 spent and transferred in blocks of 2000 miles, S$42.80 annual fee applies, so no good.
Can combine Citidollars from Clear Platinum, Platinum Visa/Mastercard & Citi Rewards Card and transfer them to Frequent Flyer programs so that you pay the S$25 admin fee once, by calling Citibank at 6225 5225. Quote Clause 3.7 in the Terms & Conditions. Transfer in any amount greater than 500 miles, eg: 1234 miles. Every 5 Citidollars = 2 miles, eg: 3085 Citidollars = 1234 miles, hence more flexible than transferring in blocks of 500/1,000/2,000/10,000 miles.
KrisFlyer, THAI’s Royal Orchid Plus, Asia Miles & Others:
4. American Express Rewards Card:
(1.6 MR points = 1 mile) Welcome bonus of 21,000 Membership Rewards Points = 13,125 miles: A welcome bonus of 21,000 Membership Rewards points will be credited into Cardmember’s Account upon reaching S$1500 spend in the first 3 months. To qualify for this welcome offer, the annual Card fee payment of S$50 is required to be paid on the American Express Rewards Card. 24,000 Membership Rewards points = 15,000 miles: 24,000 Membership Rewards points include all of the followings:
a) the welcome bonus of 21,000 points (credited into Cardmember’s Account upon reaching S$1,500 spend in the first 3 months)
b) 1,500 points earned on the S$1,500 spend (S$1 = 1 point) and
c) 1,500 points earned (100% bonus in the first 3 months)
KrisFlyer only:
5. American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold Credit Card: (1st year free, no fee to transfer miles for 1st year)
The very first time you charge to your American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold Credit Card, we will give you an activation bonus of 5,000 KrisFlyer miles. So…use once and can throw away..because S$1.60 = 1 mile..no good. Want the 5000 bonus only. Need minimum spending of $12k or $5k for bonus 50% + 50% miles, no good.
KrisFlyer & Malaysia Airlines (Enrich):
6. Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa Card: (free conversion to KrisFlyer)
Earn 5x tr'eats Points (redeemable for 2 air miles) with every S$1 charged for air ticket / travel packages (Airlines eg: Singapore Airlines, Tiger Airways, Jetstar etc & travel agent charges eg: Chan Brothers, Nam Ho Travel, ASA Holidays), purchases at Perfumes & Cosmetics outlets at Singapore Changi Airport, and overseas foreign transactions.
• Flexibility to covert tr'eats Points to frequent flyer miles for Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer) or Malaysia Airlines (Enrich)
o Attractive conversion rates – 1,250 tr'eats Points = 500 KrisFlyer miles
– 2,500 tr'eats Points = 1000 Enrich miles
• Free conversion fee of tr'eats Points to KrisFlyer miles and Enrich miles for Maybank MasterCard Platinum and Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa Card;
Sign up for REWARDS INFINITE VALUE (1st year free, 2nd year onwards $10.70 annual fee)
Application form at:
http://info.maybank2u.com.sg/pdf/car..._enrolment.pdf
10x tr’eats Points ▪ Petrol & EZ-link auto top up
▪ F&B outlets
▪ Ben & Jerry’s
▪ Breeks! Café
▪ Crystal Jade
▪ Dian Xiao Er
▪ Din Tai Fung
▪ Ichiban Boshi
▪ Jack’s Place
▪ Kuishin-Bo
▪ Sakura International Buffet
▪ Seoul Garden
▪ Soup Restaurant
▪ Sushi Tei
▪ Thai Express
• Fashion outlets
o Bossini
o Fox Fashion
o G2000
o Giordano
o Hang Ten
o Mango
o ZARA
o Topshop/Topman
10x treats point => S$1 spent= 4 miles!!
Last edited by vsepr; Jun 21, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Jun 22, 2011, 10:47 am
#250
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Singapore, Warsaw, Surfers Paradise
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold>>>Silver>>>Blue, Finnair Silver, Royal Caribbean Diamond
Posts: 5,174
Citibank tried to compete LAST YEAR by raising its mileage accrual ratio, but on Jan 1st they reverted to their old, LOWER ratio simply because they could not keep up and compete with DBS.
The DBS Altitude Card is the only must-have one in Singapore, the rest are only secondary considerations... ^
Jun 22, 2011, 7:05 pm
#251
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 819
Why DBS Altitude Card is not recommended.
Well, you certainly aren't any guru, especially since for some strange reason you left out the #1 must-have credit card in Singapore: the DBS Altitude AMEX card. @:-)
Citibank tried to compete LAST YEAR by raising its mileage accrual ratio, but on Jan 1st they reverted to their old, LOWER ratio simply because they could not keep up and compete with DBS.
The DBS Altitude Card is the only must-have one in Singapore, the rest are only secondary considerations... ^
Citibank tried to compete LAST YEAR by raising its mileage accrual ratio, but on Jan 1st they reverted to their old, LOWER ratio simply because they could not keep up and compete with DBS.
The DBS Altitude Card is the only must-have one in Singapore, the rest are only secondary considerations... ^
Note: UOB Preferred Platinum American Express® Card also earn 10x points for every S$5 spent at any department store or any retail store worldwide that sells clothes, shoes, or bags as its main business activity. But it awards points for every S$5 spent. If you spend S$9.99, you will lose out the points for the balance S$4.99 part & miles are transferred in blocks of 10,000 miles, S$20 admin fee per transfer, so no good. Same for DBS Altitude Card, 3x points are awarded for every S$5 spent and transferred in blocks of 2000 miles, S$42.80 annual fee applies, so no good.
DBS did follow Citi Premiermiles by changing the rules such that there is no expiry date for the points earned. Before that DBS points expire by the annual fee due date, which was only 1 year.
Anyway, DBS Altitude card is good for earning points (3x) to redeem vouchers remaining for other spending (like bills) except supermarkets, dept stores. Not so for miles, due to the fact that they transfer in blocks of 1000 DBS Points (2000miles), what if you need only 1234 miles? The balance 766 miles are wasted.
Jun 22, 2011, 9:29 pm
#253
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Singapore, Warsaw, Surfers Paradise
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold>>>Silver>>>Blue, Finnair Silver, Royal Caribbean Diamond
Posts: 5,174
vsepr, unfortunately you're wrong here as the DBS Altitude AMEX remains the #1 card to use in Singapore for mileage-accrual.
First S$1,000 spend per month:
------------
DBS Altitude: 1.2 miles/S$
Citi PM: 1.2 miles/S$
Spend above S$1,000+ per month:
------------
DBS Altitude: 1.6 miles/S$ :-::-::-::-::-:
Citi PM: 1.2 miles/S$
This is where the DBS card ^ surges ahead of Citi. Last year Citi tried to keep up and increased their offer... but unfortunately couldn't keep the pace and since Jan 1st Citi is back down to 1.2 miles compared to 1.6 with DBS.
Add to that excellent travel insurance with DBS for this card, the highest that they offer.
For redeeming miles Citi makes you pay $25 for every transfer to KF, whereas DBS charges just under $43 but gives you unlimited free transfers all-year-round.
First S$1,000 spend per month:
------------
DBS Altitude: 1.2 miles/S$
Citi PM: 1.2 miles/S$
Spend above S$1,000+ per month:
------------
DBS Altitude: 1.6 miles/S$ :-::-::-::-::-:
Citi PM: 1.2 miles/S$
This is where the DBS card ^ surges ahead of Citi. Last year Citi tried to keep up and increased their offer... but unfortunately couldn't keep the pace and since Jan 1st Citi is back down to 1.2 miles compared to 1.6 with DBS.
Add to that excellent travel insurance with DBS for this card, the highest that they offer.
For redeeming miles Citi makes you pay $25 for every transfer to KF, whereas DBS charges just under $43 but gives you unlimited free transfers all-year-round.
Jun 22, 2011, 10:11 pm
#254
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 819
Let's discuss...
vsepr, unfortunately you're wrong here as the DBS Altitude AMEX remains the #1 card to use in Singapore for mileage-accrual.
First S$1,000 spend per month:
------------
DBS Altitude: 1.2 miles/S$
Citi PM: 1.2 miles/S$
Spend above S$1,000+ per month:
------------
DBS Altitude: 1.6 miles/S$ :-::-::-::-::-:
Citi PM: 1.2 miles/S$
This is where the DBS card ^ surges ahead of Citi. Last year Citi tried to keep up and increased their offer... but unfortunately couldn't keep the pace and since Jan 1st Citi is back down to 1.2 miles compared to 1.6 with DBS.
Add to that excellent travel insurance with DBS for this card, the highest that they offer.
For redeeming miles Citi makes you pay $25 for every transfer to KF, whereas DBS charges just under $43 but gives you unlimited free transfers all-year-round.
First S$1,000 spend per month:
------------
DBS Altitude: 1.2 miles/S$
Citi PM: 1.2 miles/S$
Spend above S$1,000+ per month:
------------
DBS Altitude: 1.6 miles/S$ :-::-::-::-::-:
Citi PM: 1.2 miles/S$
This is where the DBS card ^ surges ahead of Citi. Last year Citi tried to keep up and increased their offer... but unfortunately couldn't keep the pace and since Jan 1st Citi is back down to 1.2 miles compared to 1.6 with DBS.
Add to that excellent travel insurance with DBS for this card, the highest that they offer.
For redeeming miles Citi makes you pay $25 for every transfer to KF, whereas DBS charges just under $43 but gives you unlimited free transfers all-year-round.
If you charge everything to DBS Altitude card, you will miss much better miles earning opportunities at supermarkets, departmental stores, where you earn 10x and 5x (bonus points given once charge is posted), or $0.25/mile or $0.50/mile, no minimum spending required, but for DBS, you need to spend $1000, first $1000 get 3x and the balance after the first $1000 (ie $1001 onwards) get only 4x!! (Details can be found in earlier posts). Further, the bonus 1x points is awarded based on the Cardmember's statement cycle, not instantly. What if you need the points urgently?
If you use Citibank's card, you need not spend $1000 monthly and can get more miles compared to DBS Altitude card, if you have expenses at selected merchants like shopping, supermarkets, cafes, cinemas etc. Well, you have to carry 4 cards: Citi Premiermiles card, Citi Platinum VISA (Discontinued), Citi Clear Platinum and Citi Rewards Card. Citidollars earned can be combined to do a redemption by calling the customer service hotline and they will merge the Citidollars for you to 1 card.
I'm not saying Citi Premiermiles Card is #1 card to use in Singapore for mileage-accrual. Every card has its strong points, hence there is no #1 card to use in Singapore. Yes, DBS Altitude Card is better IF you charge everything to it and it amounts to more than $1000 a month. But if you analyse it's points earning and redemption details carefully, you will realise that DBS Altitude card has more bad points than Citi Premiermiles card, especially if you don't charge more than $1000 a month to it.
The #1 way to earn the most miles is to use strategies, with the inconvenience of carrying a few cards, by combining the strengths of each card. The strategy is not charge everything to Citi Premiermiles or DBS Altitude Card. Yes, you need to pay 2 times the $25 admin transfer fee for Citi Premiermiles plus Citi Reward card. But you can use part of the points from Citi Reward card to redeem vouchers to offset the $50 admin fee with some points. After deducting say 10000 points for $50 voucher, the remaining points transferred to FFPs converted to miles is still higher than charging everything to 1 card.
Eg: You spend about $20,000 a year, $5,000 on shopping, $5,000 at supermarkets, $2,500 at cafes, movies, balance $7,500 on bills and other merchants.
Shopping total Citidollars: 5,000x10 = 50,000 = 20,000miles (Every 5 Citidollars = 2 miles, hence divide by 2.5 or amount spent x 4= number of miles earned)
Supermarket total Citidollars: 5,000x5 = 25,000 = 10,000miles
Cafes, movies: 2,500x5 = 12,500 = 5,000miles
Bills and others: 7,500x1.2 = 9,000miles
Total number of miles earned: 44,000miles, compared to if you charge everything to CitiPremiermiles card: 20,000x1.2 = 24,000miles, a difference of 20,000miles!! (Pay $25 admin fee 2x = $50)
For $20 dining voucher, you can redeem with 4,800 Citidollars (or 1,920miles), for $20 shopping voucher, need 4,900 Citidollars (or 1,960miles). Redeem vouchers to “offset” the $25 admin transfer fee!! From previous eg, even after deducting 4,800 Citidollars for $20 dining voucher, you still have 87,500-4,800 = 82,700Citidollars, = 33,080 + 9,000 (from CitiPremiermiles) = 42,080miles! Still better than charging everything to CitiPremiermiles!!
Moreover, DBS awards points for every $5 spent. You will certainly lose out part of your spending unless you charge in multiples of $5. This is where Citibank is better. They award points for every $1 spent. Consider a charge of $19.99. For DBS, you are sure to lose out the points for the $4.99 part, same for UOB cards. For Citibank cards, you just lose out the $0.99 part. Of course, there are cards like Maybank, Standard Chartered, AMEX, OCBC that awards points by rounding up, say $9.80, they award 10 points instead of 9. But their bonus points are not as good as Citibank's.
Yes, I admit that I'm a bit stingy or a miser because every cent or dollar that I spent must be turned into miles, that why I don't like to see wastage. Especially if you transfer to FFPs in blocks of 2000miles like DBS, you are sure to lose out some small amount of Rewards points (eg: 1050 DBS points, waste 50 points) or forced to spend more to round up to blocks of 2000miles (Eg: 4500 DBS points, need to spend more to round up to 5000 DBS points). Citibank allows you to transfer to FFPs in any amount greater than 500 miles, eg 12346 miles.
These are the reasons I strongly recommend using Citibank cards and Maybank Horizon VISA Platinum card.
Last edited by vsepr; Jun 23, 2011 at 12:17 am
Jun 23, 2011, 2:14 am
#255
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,803
Although I'm not a Singaporean, I've always wondered what would DBS Altitude look like if they introduced it here. The best DBS product we currently have here is Black - HK$6(S$1)/mile.
DBS HK is about to move from a HK$1 spending=1pt simple system to a HK$250 spending = 1 DBS$ system. However, it is explicitly stated that the DBS$ calculation is done on each statement rather than each transaction and orphan spending on each statement (i.e. <HK$250) will be carried forward to next statement http://hk.dbs.com/en/consumer/creditcards/notice_DB$_2011.htm. In this respect, DBS HK's DBS$ is less harsh than DBS SG's bonus points.
We have the Citi Rewards supermarket, dept store promotions here too but I tend to ignore those - my spending there is immaterial. It's really dining out and travel where I earn really serious miles.
I'm trying to work out the point of spending where DBS Altitude exceeds Citi Premiermiles, adjusted for the effect of DBS rounding. Let y be the equilibrium amount of spending:
1.2y = 1.2x1,000 + 1.6 x (y-1,000) - 1.6 x 2.5 x 45
1.2y = 1,200 + 1.6y - 1,600 - 180
0.4y = 580
y = S$1,450.00
(fees not considered in this equilibrium calculation)
1.6 x 2.5 x 45 attempts to quantify the number of miles lost due to DBS SG's rounding rule. In hongkongcard.com we assume the transaction rounded down has the average of the interval that the transaction can be rounded down for (being S$2.5), times the earn rate and the number of times it happens (for me in HK, I run about 45 Amex transactions a month on average).
So after $1,450.00, DBS Altitude clearly wins by earning 33% more than Citi PM. Haha that's roughly what I spend in a month when I don't splurge - it gets a lot worse if I do...I'd go for DBS Altitude if it was offered here.
DBS HK is about to move from a HK$1 spending=1pt simple system to a HK$250 spending = 1 DBS$ system. However, it is explicitly stated that the DBS$ calculation is done on each statement rather than each transaction and orphan spending on each statement (i.e. <HK$250) will be carried forward to next statement http://hk.dbs.com/en/consumer/creditcards/notice_DB$_2011.htm. In this respect, DBS HK's DBS$ is less harsh than DBS SG's bonus points.
We have the Citi Rewards supermarket, dept store promotions here too but I tend to ignore those - my spending there is immaterial. It's really dining out and travel where I earn really serious miles.
I'm trying to work out the point of spending where DBS Altitude exceeds Citi Premiermiles, adjusted for the effect of DBS rounding. Let y be the equilibrium amount of spending:
1.2y = 1.2x1,000 + 1.6 x (y-1,000) - 1.6 x 2.5 x 45
1.2y = 1,200 + 1.6y - 1,600 - 180
0.4y = 580
y = S$1,450.00
(fees not considered in this equilibrium calculation)
1.6 x 2.5 x 45 attempts to quantify the number of miles lost due to DBS SG's rounding rule. In hongkongcard.com we assume the transaction rounded down has the average of the interval that the transaction can be rounded down for (being S$2.5), times the earn rate and the number of times it happens (for me in HK, I run about 45 Amex transactions a month on average).
So after $1,450.00, DBS Altitude clearly wins by earning 33% more than Citi PM. Haha that's roughly what I spend in a month when I don't splurge - it gets a lot worse if I do...I'd go for DBS Altitude if it was offered here.
Last edited by percysmith; Jun 23, 2011 at 9:27 pm Reason: Arithmetic error