Yay: UOB Lady’s Cards now open to Male Applicants

UOB Lady’s Cards, previously exclusively available to females, are now accepting male applicants too!

There are 2 versions of this card:

1. UOB Lady’s Card
2. UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card

Let’s have a look at the differences between both cards and find out if you should apply for one.

Fees and eligibility

The Solitaire card has a higher annual income requirement and annual fee.

Annual fees on both cards are automatically waived for the first year.

Earn rates

Depending on the card version, cardholders can choose 1 or 2 bonus categories where they can earn 6 miles per dollar, up to S$1,000 or S$3,000 per month.

No minimum spend is required to receive the bonus earn rate.

Bonus categories

Cardholders can choose/change their preferred bonus categories every quarter.

The 7 bonus categories available are:
1) Beauty & Wellness (e.g. cosmetic stores, hair salons, spas)
2) Fashion (e.g. clothing, shoes stores)
3) Dining (e.g. restaurants, food delivery)
4) Family (e.g. supermarkets, children clothing stores)
5) Travel (e.g. flights, hotels, duty-free stores)
6) Transport (e.g. public transport, taxi, petrol)
7) Entertainment (e.g. bars, night clubs, cinemas)

To check existing selected bonus categories, cardholders can do it by calling UOB.

Is this a Must-Have card?

Earning 6 mpd with no minimum spending requirement is fantastic, so yes! This is definitely a must-have card.

However, cardholders shouldn’t only look at the “mpd” value and consider other factors also.

Miles/Points flexibility

Even with a high earn rate of 6 mpd, one big “issue” remains, for most cards issued by UOB Singapore: There are only 2 Frequent Flyer transfer partners, KrisFlyer and Asia Miles.

If you’ve been accumulating miles long enough, you’ll probably agree that rule number 1 of the Miles Game is flexibility. By having credit card miles/points that can be transferred to many Frequent Flyer Programs, cardholders will have a greater chance of securing an available award seat for their travels.

With just 2 transfer partners and UNI$ that expires in 2 years, these Lady’s Cards do not give you much flexibility.

Bonus category limitation

As shared above, cardholders can only enjoy the earn rate of 6 mpd on 1 or 2 categories that can be chosen every 3 months. So, choose wisely!

Must-Have Cards in Singapore

💡Click on the + Card Summary buttons below to instantly view the key details of each card!

Amaze

Turn offline transactions online and minimize foreign transaction fees

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🎁 Sign-up bonusGet 225 InstaPoints (worth $2.25) when you sign up as a new cardholder.

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Amaze Mastercard

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
Amaze is an innovative Debit Card that does not require topping up of an e-wallet to reap great benefits. In fact, this card actually makes some credit cards better!

By linking a credit card to Amaze, cardholders can save about 1.5% in foreign currency fees, after considering the InstaPoints that can be earned (see below).

Key points to note about the card:

• Link up to 5 Mastercards in the Instarem mobile app
• Choose 1 of those cards before your next Amaze transaction
• All Amaze transactions will be charged in SGD, directly to the linked card
• All Amaze transactions will be seen as online transactions by the linked card
• All Amaze transactions will retain the actual Merchant Category Code (MCC) and will be seen by the linked card
• Get 0.5 InstaPoint per SGD (equivalent to 0.5% cashback) on foreign currency spending (min. S$10, max. S$1,000 per transaction)
• DBS/POSB cards do not award miles/points for Amaze transactions
• Avoid Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) fees (if any)
• From 1 Apr 2024, when Amaze is linked to a card, all SGD spending in excess of S$1,000 per month will incur a 1% fee.

Pro tip: Link the Citi Rewards card to this card and use it to earn 4 miles per dollar on general spending categories like dining, groceries and online/offline shopping (except flights/hotels). This pairing turns all your offline transactions “online” (to earn 4 mpd) and lowers your foreign currency charges!

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🔗 Great cards that can be linked to Amaze
Citi PremierMiles (1.2 mpd)
HSBC TravelOne (1.2 mpd)
Citi Prestige (1.3 mpd)
Citi Rewards (4 mpd)
UOB Lady’s (4 mpd)
OCBC Rewards (4 mpd)

💸 Annual fee
No annual fee, ever

💼 Income requirement
No income requirement

🤑 Foreign currency fee
No foreign currency fee. However, Amaze’s foreign exchange spread currently stands at around 2% more than spot rates. Cardholders can get 0.5% cashback in the form of InstaPoints when transacting in a foreign currency, for a total FX loss of about 1.5%. This makes the card better than most credit cards that charge over 3% in FX fees.

⏰ Points expiry
1 year from transaction

💯 Conversion ratio
2,000 InstaPoints = $20

❓ How/When points are credited
Get 0.5 InstaPoint per S$1 of foreign currency spending (min. S$10, max S$1,000 per transaction). InstaPoints are credited immediately upon spending.

📜 Terms & conditions

Citi Rewards

Earn 4 mpd on online spending, except travel-related

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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Citi Rewards Mastercard

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you a strong earn rate of 4 miles per dollar on online spending, up to $1,000 per statement month. This covers a wide range of spending categories like online shopping, ride-hailing, food delivery and even phone/internet bills.

Take note that cardholders will only earn 0.4 mpd on travel-related categories (e.g. flights and hotels) and spending above $1,000 per statement month.

Having many transfer partners and up to 5-year expiry term gives you fantastic flexibility. However, take note that your points’ expiry term starts from the date the card is opened (i.e. not from the transaction date).

Pro tip: Link this card to Amaze and use the Amaze card to also earn 4 mpd on general spending categories like online/offline shopping, dining and groceries! This pairing turns all your offline transaction “online” (to earn 4 mpd) and lowers your foreign currency charges!

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First year waived)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%
(Avoid this fee by linking this card to Amaze!)

⏰ Points expiry
Every 5 years from card opening date

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
Krisflyer, Asia Miles, Miles&Smiles, Privilege Club and more!

💯 Transfer ratio
2.5 points = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer block
25,000 points (10,000 miles)

💲 Transfer fee
$27 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card cannot be combined with those from other Citi cards and can only be transferred out separately.

❓ How/When points are credited
Earn 1 base point per dollar spent, plus 9 bonus points for online spending (equivalent to 4 mpd in total). Base and bonus points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

UOB Lady’s

Earn 4 mpd on chosen bonus category

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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UOB Lady’s Mastercard

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card, which is also available to men, gives you a great earn rate of 4 miles per dollar on your pre-selected bonus category, up to $1,000 per calendar month.

Take note that cardholders will only earn 0.4 mpd on other categories and spending above $1,000 per calendar month.

Cardholders can choose/change a preferred bonus category every quarter.

The 7 bonus categories available are:

1. Beauty & Wellness (e.g. cosmetic stores, hair salons, spas)
2. Fashion (e.g. clothing, shoes stores)
3. Dining (e.g. restaurants, food delivery)
4. Family (e.g. supermarkets, children clothing stores)
5. Travel (e.g. flights, hotels, duty-free stores)
6. Transport (e.g. public transport, taxi, petrol)
7. Entertainment (e.g. bars, night clubs, cinemas)

Cardholders may check existing selected bonus category by calling UOB.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First year waived)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%
(Avoid this fee by linking this card to Amaze!)

⏰ Points expiry
2 years from transaction

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer and Asia Miles

💯 Transfer ratio
1 UNI$ = 2 miles

🧮 Transfer block
5,000 UNI$ (10,000 miles)

💲Transfer fee
$25 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
UNI$ from this card can be combined with those from other UOB cards and transferred out together at once.

❓How/When points are credited
Earn 1 base UNI$ per $5 dollar spent, plus 9 bonus UNI$ for eligible transactions on the bonus category (equivalent to 4 mpd in total). Base and bonus points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

HSBC Revolution

Earn 4 mpd or 2.5% cashback on selected online/contactless spending

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🎁 Sign-up bonus

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HSBC Revolution Visa Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you a strong earn rate of 4 miles per dollar on online and contactless spending (in foreign currency too!) on certain spending categories like retail shopping, flight tickets, ride-hailing and dining (excl. fast food), up to $1,000 per calendar month.

Take note that cardholders will only earn 0.4 mpd on other categories and spending above $1,000 per calendar month.

This is a great fuss-free card that offers a great earn rate on key spending categories for most people, without any annual fee to worry about.

There’s a little quirk though. To transfer HSBC points to Frequent Flyer Programs, cardholders need to enroll in HSBC’s Mileage Programme, which costs $43.20 annually. Upon enrollment, cardholders can make unlimited points transfers, at no additional cost. (FYI: Most other cards charge about $25 fee per transfer)

Not into Miles or travel-hacking? Redeem your points for 2.5% cashback instead, on the aforementioned spending categories!

Cardholders also get complimentary access to the ENTERTAINER with HSBC app, where there are over a thousand 1-for-1 deals on dining, entertainment and hotels.

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💸 Annual fee
No annual fee, ever

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

⏰ Points expiry
3 years from transaction
(37 to 38 months to be exact)

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer and Asia Miles

💯 Transfer ratio
2.5 points = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer block
25,000 points (10,000 miles)

💲Transfer fee
$43.20 annually
(Unlimited transfers)

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card cannot be combined with those from other HSBC cards and can only be transferred out separately.

❓How/When points are credited
Earn 1 base point per dollar spent, plus 9 bonus points for eligible online/contactless spending (equivalent to 4 mpd in total). Base points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted, while bonus points are credited by the end of the following calendar month.

📜 Terms & conditions

Trust Link

Get great rates and unlimited free overseas ATM cash withdrawals

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonusGet $35 worth of NTUC FairPrice e-vouchers when you successfully apply as a new credit card customer and spend at least once (any amount). Use code V1WB7T8A during the application.

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Trust Link Visa Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you great foreign exchange rates and unlimited free overseas ATM cash withdrawals with no cap; and it does not come with an annual fee!

To avoid interest charges on ATM cash withdrawals, follow these easy steps:

1. Apply for the Trust card
2. Apply for a Trust Savings Account through the Trust app (instant approval). There is no minimum balance, monthly fee or lock-in period to worry about!
3. Deposit money into your Savings Account
4. Pair your Trust card with your Savings Account before any ATM withdrawals. Withdrawn cash amount will be automatically deducted from your Savings Account

As an added benefit, money in the Trust Savings Account earns 1.5% interest p.a. (up to S$125,000) with no strings attached! Account holders can earn a further 0.5% if they make at least 5 transactions on the card each month.

The Trust card comes with other unappealing benefits like 0.22% cashback on general spending and 0.5% cashback on FairPrice Group spending.

Because of the poor earn rates, I recommend using this card only for overseas ATM withdrawals.

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💸 Annual fee
No annual fee, ever

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
No foreign currency fee

📜 Terms & conditions

What will I use the card for?

For all non-travel expenses in any currency, up to S$1,000 per month, I will continue to use the Amaze + Citi Rewards combo for a lower earn rate of 4 mpd. This gives me the flexibility of having 10 transfer partners, plus points validity of up to 5 years.

Beyond that monthly cap, I would choose the Travel and Dining bonus categories and use the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card for those categories only. To save on foreign currency fees, I would also pair it to my Amaze card, when transacting in foreign currencies.

Bottom line

It is great news that UOB Lady’s Cards are now available for male applicants too.

While the 6 mpd earn rate is great, keep in mind the inflexibility of UOB UNI$. The post-COVID award crunch taught us the importance of having flexible miles/points. There is no point in earning miles by the half-dozens, only to redeem them for low-value “Advantage” KrisFlyer award rates.

H/T: The MileLion