DBS Vantage Sign Up Promotion:
- Receive up to 60,000 miles when you spend S$4,000 within 30 days of card approval to be eligible for reward
- Promotion is valid for new and existing DBS credit cardmember
- New DBS cardmembers will receive 60,000 miles
- Existing DBS cardmembers will receive 40,000 miles
- Promotion is valid until 31 January 2025
- Read Terms and Conditions here
DBS Vantage Card Overview:
- DBS Vantage Card is a premium credit card that offers excellent benefits for frequent travellers and discerning lifestyle seekers. With this card, you can switch flexibly between up to 2.2 miles per dollar or 2.2% cashback on your spending, depending on your preference.
Local Earn Rate | 1.5 miles per dollar |
Foreign Currency Earn Rate | 2.2 miles per dollar |
Foreign Currency Fees | 3.25% |
Min. Miles Transfer | 5,000 DBS Points (10,000 miles) |
Transfer Fee | S$27.25 (inclusive of GST) |
Points Pooling | Yes |
Lounge Access | Yes (10x Priority Pass) |
Airport Limo | No |
Eligibility & Fees:
- Minimum Age: 21 years old
- Minimum Annual Income: S$120,000 (locals/PRs & foreigners)
- Unfortunately with this card, the bank is strict in implementing the minimum income requirement; you must update your income records on DBS before you can avail of this card.
- Annual Fee: S$599.50 (incl. of GST)
- The first year’s fee is non-waivable. Subsequent years’ fees can be waived if cardholders spend at least S$60,000 per membership year.
- When the annual price of S$599.50 is charged, the 25,000 miles (in the form of 12,500 DBS points) will be credited to you then that’s around 2.35 cents per mile which is not a great deal. You can ask for a waiver for this card by hitting the spend requirement.
Key Benefits:
- Earn 1.5 miles or 1.5% cashback per dollar; 3.75 DBS Points for every S$5 spent locally, such as groceries, shopping and more
- Earn 2.2 miles or 2.2% cashback per dollar; 5.5 DBS Points for every S$5 spent on overseas purchases in foreign currency
Miles | Cashback | DBS Points | |
Local | 1.5 miles | 1.5% cashback | 3.75 Points per 5 dollars |
Overseas | 2.2 miles | 2.2% cashback | 5.5 Points per 5 dollars |
- Get up to 19% savings at Esso stations
- No minimum monthly spend requirement
- No maximum spending cap
- Points can be pooled with DBS Points Earning Credit Cards like Woman’s World Card and pay a single conversion fee
How to Best Optimise it:
Best Used with Cardup to “buy” miles cheaply:
- By using CardUp to pay for expenses that typically don’t earn miles, you can pay a service fee to charge those payments to your DBS Vantage card and accumulate rewards. It is akin to “buying” mile. This service is only worth paying for if you desire to redeem business class flight tickets. You may read “How to use Cardup to pay for your insurance” if you wish to find out more. I will usually share in my telegram channel if there are good promotions for Cardup.
Utilise Complimentary Accor Plus Explorer Membership
- You are entitled to a complimentary Elite Silver membership status in Accor Live Limitless wherein you can access over 1,000 participating Accor hotels and resorts, and 1,400 Accor hotel restaurants across 20 countries. You are also entitled to up to 50% discount on room offers and dining. This applies for principal cardholder only, the membership is given per year. It will automatically renew annually on the anniversary of your DBS Vantage Card’s opening date.
How to Register:
- Once you receive your DBS Vantage Card, visit the DBS webpage to apply for your Accor Plus membership. Within 3 working days of a successful application, you’ll receive a registration email from Accor Plus.
- Follow the instructions in the registration email to complete your registration on the Accor Plus website.
- After successfully registering, Accor Plus will send you a welcome email with instructions on activating your membership and downloading your digital card.
- You will also receive a physical membership pack with dining vouchers from Accor Plus via mail within 10 to 15 working days after successful completion
Utilise Ten Free Airport Lounge Visits Per Membership Year
- Enjoy complimentary digital Priority Pass™ membership as a Principal Cardmember, with access to participating airport lounges worldwide. Simply apply at prioritypass.com/vantagecard and present your digital membership card upon entry. Benefit from up to 10 complimentary lounge visits per Card Year, whether visiting solo or with a guest. You have the freedom to choose either separate member visit or concurrent member and guest visit— for instance, the cardholder may bring four family members, using five visits simultaneously. Once the free passes are exhausted, additional visits will be charged at $32 per person per visit.
How to Register:
- Go to www.prioritypass.com/vantagecard to register for your digital Priority Pass™ membership card. After completing the registration, you’ll receive a welcome email confirming your account setup.
- Once your account is created, you can log in using the username and password you set up during enrollment to access your membership details and digital card through the Priority Pass™ app or website.
Enjoy 24/7 personal Visa Concierge Services
- Restaurant reservations
- Bookings for staycations, tickets to local attractions, and domestic or international flights
- Limousine experiences with exclusive Visa discounts on retail rates
What to Avoid:
Exclusion List:
MCC | Description |
4784 | Toll and Bridge Fees |
4829 | Money Transfer |
4900 | Utilities – Electric, Gas, Water, Sanitary |
6010 | Financial Institutions – Manual Cash Disbursements |
6011 | Financial Institutions – Automated Cash Disbursements |
6012 | Financial Institutions – Merchandise, Services and Debt Repayment |
6051 | Non-Financial Institutions – Foreign Currency, Liquid and Cryptocurrency Assets, Money Orders (not Money Transfer), Account Funding (not Stored Value Load), Travelers Cheques, and Debt Repayment |
6211 | Security Brokers/Dealers |
6300 | Insurance Sales, Underwriting, and Premiums |
6381 | Insurance Premiums |
6399 | Insurance, Not Elsewhere Classified |
6540 | Non-Financial Institutions – Stored Value Card Purchase/Load |
7523 | Parking Lots, Parking Meters and Garages |
7995 | Betting (including lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, off-track betting, and wagers at race tracks) through any channel; |
8062 | Hospitals |
8211 | Elementary and Secondary Schools |
8220 | Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools, and Junior Colleges |
8241 | Correspondence Schools |
8244 | Business and Secretarial Schools |
8249 | Vocational Schools and Trade Schools |
8299 | Schools and Educational Services (Not Elsewhere Classified) |
8398 | Non-profit Organisations |
8661 | Religious Organisations |
9211 | Court Costs, Including Alimony and Child Support |
9222 | Fines |
9223 | Bail and Bond Payments |
9311 | Tax Payments |
9399 | Government Services (Not Elsewhere Classified) |
9402 | Postal Services – Government Only |
9405 | Intra-Government Purchases – Government Only |
AMAZE* | AXS BizPay* | AXS PTE LTD* |
BAGUS* | CANTINE* | EZLINK* |
EZ-LINK* | PAYPAL *AXS PTE LTD* | RAZERPAY* |
SAM -* | SAM PAYMENTS* | SEDAP* |
SGEBIZ* | SHOPEEPAY* | SINGAPORE E-BUSINESS* |
SINGTEL DASH* | TRANSIT 3* | YOUTRIP* |
Is it Worth it:
Advantages:
- Complimentary Accor Plus membership
- 10 free Airport Lounge Visits per membership year
- No minimum monthly spending required
- No maximum spending cap
- Available for points pooling with other DBS Points Earning Credit cards such as DBS Woman’s World Card, DBS Altitude— pooling means that if you have points on your DBS Altitude Card and you have points on other DBS credit card such as the DBS Woman’s World Card, then you can consolidate them for you to redeem all the points
- DBS Points can be converted to cashback or miles
Disadvantages:
- Relatively low earn rate
- Points are earned every S$5 spend, instead of every S$1 spend – therefore S$4.99 will earn you no points
- No free travel insurance or limousine rides
- No unlimited complimentary airport lounge passes unlike the Citi Prestige Card for the same card tier of S$120K income
Frequently Asked Questions:
- When are the DBS Points credited: This usually credits when the transaction posted, usually takes 24 hrs or in some, it could take 2-3 days.
- How long are the DBS points valid for: Points earned in this card expires in 3 years
- How does switching rewards work: Switching rewards is available exclusively to Principal Cardmembers through the DBS digibank app. To make a switch, first download the DBS digibank app from the App Store, Google Play, or AppGallery, and then sign in with your DBS digibank account. Reward switching is limited to once per calendar month. If a switch is made within the current calendar month, cardmembers must wait until the next month to make another switch.
Final Thoughts:
- The DBS Vantage Card offers good perks for a $120k card, with the Accor Plus Explorer Membership as the main highlight since it helps offset the annual fee. It’s good for the first year, however, from the second year onward, it’s worth evaluating if the Accor Plus membership, lounge visits, and welcome bonus are enough to justify the annual fee. Nevertheless, I love the point pooling feature across other DBS cards. Apart from that, though, as far as premium credit cards go, the DBS Vantage Card offers considerably good benefits.
Credit cards change their T&Cs every so often and it is difficult to stay updated. That’s why I created a Telegram Broadcast where you can receive timely bite-sized updates to get the most out of your spending.
DBS Vantage Sign Up Promotion:
- Receive up to 60,000 miles when you spend S$4,000 within 30 days of card approval to be eligible for reward
- Promotion is valid for new and existing DBS credit cardmember
- New DBS cardmembers will receive 60,000 miles
- Existing DBS cardmembers will receive 40,000 miles
- Promotion is valid until 31 January 2025
- Read Terms and Conditions here
We believe in always paying our credit card bills on time and in full. It is only by doing that, can we fully maximise our credit card benefits.
