As we kick start the new year, let’s have a look at the cards that you should have to earn you more miles in 2019. Generally speaking, I am an advocate of a specialised spending strategy, rather than a general spending one. For the former, you can maximise the miles earned through a portfolio of credit cards in specialised spending categories (e.g. contactless, online, foreign spend etc.). In contrast, the latter only presents itself as a convenient way to earn miles, albeit at a suboptimal rate, on all general spend.
That being said, here are the cards that you should be holding onto this year.
UOB Preferred Platinum Visa
This card is great for contactless payments and eligible online spending, where you’ll earn 4 mpd. Also combine this with Mileslife to earn more on dining and lifestyle spending, where you’ll earn 4 mpd over and above the miles earned on Mileslife. Do note that there is a cap of S$1000 for the 4 mpd earn rate per calendar month.
DBS Woman’s World Mastercard
Yes, men can apply. You’ll earn 4 mpd for all online spend, subject to a cap of S$2000 per calendar month. This means that you could potentially earn up to 96000 miles at the 4 mpd earn rate with this card, which has proven itself to be highly versatile since all online transactions qualify.
Maybank World Mastercard
Use this card to earn 4 mpd at all gas stations in Singapore. Also earn 4 mpd at selected dining and shopping establishments listed below.
OCBC Titanium Rewards Card
You’ll earn 4 mpd for all online and offline shopping, both locally and overseas, with this card. For the 4 mpd earn rate, there is a cap of 48000 miles per card anniversary year, but you can effectively double this by applying for both the blue and pink versions of the card.
UOB Visa Signature Card
You’ll earn 4 mpd for all overseas spending in foreign currency subject to a minimum of S$1000 and a maximum of S$2000 per statement cycle. You’ll also earn 4 mpd for all contactless payments subject to the same spending requirements as mentioned. The maximum number of miles you can earn per statement cycle at the 4 mpd earn rate is 8000, bringing your possible total to 96000 per year. Do note that for spend in foreign currency, the payment gateway must be outside Singapore to qualify for the 4 mpd earn rate.
BOC Elite Miles World Mastercard
This card deserves special mention as the best general spending card, with 1.5 mpd for local spend and 3 mpd for overseas spend. Provided that you can’t find any use for the aforementioned cards for any given transaction, you should be using this card.
How about the other cards?
You should take note that you can also earn miles with other credit cards not mentioned above. These tend to be from the general spend category. Both DBS Altitude and Citi Premiermiles cards earn you 1.2 mpd for local spend, and 2 mpd for overseas spend. Citi Prestige edges out a bit better with 1.3 mpd for local spend, and the same 2 mpd for overseas spend. The UOB PRVI Miles card earns you 1.4 mpd for local spend and 2.4 mpd for overseas spend. The Standard Chartered Visa Infinite card does well too, earning you 1.4 mpd for local spend, and 3 mpd for overseas spend, subject to a minimum spend of S$2000 per statement cycle. However, all of these cards have been surpassed by the BOC Elite Miles World Mastercard mentioned previously, which earns you 1.5 mpd for local spend and 3 mpd for overseas spend.
The American Express Platinum Charge Card deserves special mention here. Despite the hefty S$1712 annual fee, you’ll enjoy up to 50% off when you dine at their Love Dining establishments, as well as a whole host of other perks, such as access to Platinum Vibes and Tower Club in Singapore, and all American Express Centurion Lounges worldwide when you travel. This card isn’t great for earning miles, but it’s a great card to have when you take all the added benefits into account.
Wishing all of you more miles and smiles this year!