Hi Don, I've actually decided to switch to the Altitude Visa since I get the same miles/high travel insurance as with the Amex, and the 'verified by Visa' scheme for online transactions is something I like too.

I thought about the UOB card but the amount of extra miles and the sending through of all required documents all over again doesn't have me moving just yet.

I'm not too worried about the validity of points as KF will give you an additional 3 yrs which is plenty of time to do something with them. Not sure about the foreign fx rates as I hardly ever use my card abroad. I make the occasional purchase in USD so if you like I can let you know the purchase date and end fx rate from USD to SGD that was used.

Good, but just note the following points:

PRVI is an AMEX card, so acceptance will not be comparable to DBS Altitude or ANZ Travel Visa cards.

From my understanding, the fee/exchange rate used by AMEX is also usually higher than Visa.

Aster, I switched to the DBS Altitudes Visa six or so months ago as it gives the higher miles than the Citi Premiermiles Visa I was using and is more accepted than the DBS Altitudes Amex.

The UOB PRIVI looks attractive due to:

a) For DBS Altitude the $2,000 per month threshold means you will earn 9,600 krisflyer miles less than the UOB Privi for the same spend ( assuming spend higher than $2,000 per month):

b) For overseas spend the 2.5 miles for S$1 spend that UOB offers is really good. The only problem seems to be the higher FX fees AMEX seems to charge compared to Visa

I might apply for the UOB PRIVI. They are throwing in a free Kenneth Cole watch if you dont already have a UOB credit card. They have a one day approval process, so may not be too bad in terms of paperwork!

I've been considering it but I've managed to kept the number of CCs I have to a minimum, which is one. :) All my other cards are debit cards aimed at the various offers (dining or other) that numerous banks here have.

I would have gladly gone for the Citi Platinum card but they pulled it unfortunately. This UOB Amex card is certainly interesting, but if we look at the number of miles they give and take a round number for spend like S$10k then the difference is just under 5.3% extra miles:

S$10,000 charged to card per month (excluding the $5 issue):

1. DBS: 2,400 (first S$2k at 1.2) + 12,800 (1.6 miles thereafter) = 15,200 miles
2. UOB: 16,000 miles

That's 800 miles per statement period. If this was about DBS Altitude Amex vs UOB Privi Miles Amex it would be worth considering a switch. But I'm currently moving from the Altitude Amex to the Visa version, so I'm wondering whether the increase in transactions that I will be able to charge to my card will make up for those 800 miles? Technically if I add $500 extra spend to the Visa card then the number of miles will be equal. :)

Is it just DBS that won't let you change your address to a PO Box if you have credit cards with them? As soon as you do that you receive a letter asking you to revert back to a residential address or else they might have to cancel your cards. :)

The 'Best credit cards for KF miles accrual' master thread
 

UOB also have a year spending bonus of 20k miles for 50k SGD spending per membership year. But the foreign exchange fee is prohibitively high.

I have a question concerning the higher mileage rate for spend above $2000 per month for the DBS Altitude card. What if you already have the Altitude Amex card and go for the Altitude Visa one as well?

Will the higher 1.6 ratio apply for spend above $2k on each card or from the cumulative spend on all cards combined (Amex, Visa)? Because if they treat this separately on each card then it doesn't make sense to have both.

Hey Aster,

Someone replied in the HWZ forums pertaining to your same question. Unfortunately answer is no, both cards are treated separately.

Right, so as soon as I test out the new card and there are no issues with per transaction limits (like charging my monthly serviced apartment bill to it) then it'll be time to shut down the Amex one straight away. :)

DBS even shows the application status as "Successful" as soon as you apply for the card online (at least that's what I got).

You mentioned that they sent the card within a week, it's already been a week here and no card so I'm curious if the time-frame can change due to card-printing demand or not...

i applied for the woman's card.. not a bad deal if 4mile/S$1 for the online spends.

I'm still thinking about it. At the very least, I get all of my flight tickets online, and that's something like, 20 tickets per year. However, as a guy, I would dread the day when I have to call up to get my fee waived or cancel the card...

Well, you can always use the online banking email.

Do note that the S$1=4 miles is only applicable for first S$2000 charged per month. After S$2000, it goes back to S$1=0.4 miles.

Actually, the annual fee waiver is done through the automated voice response system. So far, based on my experience with other DBS cards, once I have inputted the card number, the system will respond with the message that the annual fee is waived. No need to speak to the CSO.

Isn't there a min. annual spend after which the renewal is automatically free? At least that's how it is with the Altutude card.