UOB PRVI Miles Card Review: Too Many Red Flags

The UOB PRVI Miles Card is one of many traditional miles-focused credit cards in Singapore that offer low but unlimited earn rates on your spending. Let’s find out how it fares against other Miles credit cards.

Here’s my complete analysis of the UOB PRVI Miles Card.

Note: There are 3 variants of the UOB PRVI Miles Card (Visa, Mastercard and American Express). All 3 come with similar benefits, with the AMEX version offering a (minor) additional perk.

Key information

Here’s a quick rundown of the important details of the UOB PRVI Miles Card.

Pros and cons

Here are the pros and cons of the UOB PRVI Miles Card, as compared to other Miles credit cards in Singapore.

Annual fee

The UOB PRVI Miles Card comes with a higher-than-usual annual membership fee of S$261.60, which is automatically waived for the first year.

Unlike other general spending Miles credit cards, paying the annual fee on this card in subsequent years does not come with any miles.

Related: Best Credit Cards with No Annual Fee

Is the annual fee worth it?

Absolutely not!

The UOB PRVI Miles Card doesn’t offer unique features or benefits that justify its hefty annual fee, which doesn’t even come with any miles. Cardholders should keep track of the card anniversary date and request an annual fee waiver every single year.

Free Google Sheet Template: Suitesmile’s Credit Card Management Sheet

How to request an annual fee waiver?

UOB credit card annual fee waivers can be done via one of the following methods:

1. UOB TMRW app (instant)
2. UOB hotline
3. UOB chat assist

Complete guide: UOB Credit Card Annual Fee Waiver

What if the annual fee waiver request is rejected?

Tracking your credit card anniversary gives you time to react if/when an annual fee waiver is not granted. It’s best to request a waiver as early as possible (i.e. when the annual fee is posted in your card’s latest transactions, before you receive the latest statement).

If the initial annual fee waiver request is rejected, cardholders can attempt the following steps:

1. Try submitting another request through a different method
2. Still rejected?
   • If you have another miles-earning UOB credit card: Go to step 5
   • If you don’t have another miles-earning UOB credit card: Go to step 3
3. Redeem/Transfer out all remaining miles (UNI$) immediately
4. Wait for the miles transfer to complete
5. Pay off the latest bill and unbilled transactions (incl. miles transfer fee), excluding the annual fee
6. Call to cancel the card, and confirm that you wouldn’t have to pay the annual fee
7. If it was your only UOB credit card, apply for the card 6 months later to enjoy another UOB credit card sign-up promo

Airport lounge entitlement

UOB PRVI Miles cardholders receive 4 free airport lounge visits (via Priority Pass) per calendar year. This is probably the main reason why most travel hackers hold this card.

However, unlike most other cards that come with complimentary airport lounge access, the entitlement on the UOB PRVI Miles Card can only be used by the principal cardholder (i.e. not for guests).

If you hold more than 1 variant of the UOB PRVI Miles Card, you’ll still have the same lounge entitlement of 4 visits per calendar year.

Note: If you utilize more than 4 airport lounge visits within a calendar year or include guests on your visits, a fee of US$35 per person, per visit will be charged to your card (not worth it).

Priority Pass entitlement can be used for free food, drinks, haircuts, massages, manicures and pedicures at lounges, restaurants and spas worldwide, as described on the Priority Pass website.

🛋️ Credit cards with free airport lounge access

How to use your free Priority Pass entitlement

To use the free Priority Pass entitlement, UOB PRVI Miles cardholders will first need to register for a new Priority Pass membership through this link; even if you already have a Priority Pass account for another credit card.

Once registered, you’d have to wait at least 12 hours before your first visit. Simply show your QR code in your Priority Pass app to access an eligible airport lounge, restaurant or spa.

Complete guide: How to use UOB PRVI Miles Airport Lounge Access

Earn rates

UOB PRVI Miles Card cardholders can receive miles on their spending based on the following earn rates:

Currency	Payment Processed In?	Earn Rate	FX Fee
Singapore Dollars (SGD)	Singapore	1.4 mpd	–
Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) Thai Baht (THB) Vietnamese Dong (VND)	Overseas	3 mpd	3.25%
Other Foreign Currencies	Overseas	2.4 mpd	3.25%

No minimum spending is required, and there is no cap on how many miles you can earn on the card at these rates.

To be a successful travel hacker, earning a lazy 1.4 or 2.4 mpd on your spending is no longer okay. Always aim to use better Miles credit cards to earn 4 mpd. Earning 3 mpd on MYR, IDR, THB and VND spending is a little more acceptable, but you’re really paying for those miles due to the hefty 3.25% FX fee; 4 mpd cards should be prioritized.

There are no bonus earn rates on this card, aside from periodic Agoda and Expedia promos, which you should probably avoid due to inflated rates (instead, book hotels with the instant discounts shared here).

UOB rewards exclusions

UOB shares a list of transactions that are excluded from earning rewards miles and points. Using the UOB PRVI Miles Card for the following transactions will not earn any miles:

tl;dr: Aside from Amaze transactions, which are still accepted by other banks like Citibank and Maybank, there’s nothing out of the ordinary here. Most of these transaction types are also excluded from earning miles/cashback on other credit cards.

When are miles credited?

Cardholders will receive miles for their spending as soon as transactions are posted to the account. Typically, this happens 2 to 4 days after the transaction date.

Miles expiry

Miles earned on the UOB PRVI Miles Card expire just 2 years after they are earned, which is really poor. With low earn rates, it’s useful to have non-expiring miles, as with many other general-spending Miles credit cards.

UOB miles/points pooling

Miles earned on the UOB PRVI Miles Card can be pooled together with those of other miles-earning UOB cards, like the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa and UOB Lady’s cards.

Related: Best UOB Credit Cards in Singapore

Miles pooling gives you 2 key advantages:

• If/When an annual fee waiver is not granted, you can cancel the card and keep the miles, as long as you’re still holding on to at least 1 other miles-earning UOB credit card
• If/When transferring miles to a frequent flyer program, you’ll only need to pay the S$27 transfer fee once.

UOB transfer partners

Points earned on the UOB PRVI Miles Card can be converted to miles on only two useful FFPs, making UOB miles/points the least flexible in the Singapore market.

Looking to redeem miles for a trip? If there’s no availability via KrisFlyer Saver or Asia Miles, you’d be left with nothing or low-value options like KrisFlyer Advantage, or worse, hefty KrisFlyer Access award rates.

In comparison, if you’ve been using the Citi PremierMiles Card instead, you’d earn 0.2 mpd fewer (on SGD transactions) but gain the option of checking for award availability on 7 other useful FFPs. Choosing the UOB PRVI Miles Card for that extra 0.2 mpd would be a classic example of being penny-wise, pound-foolish.

Note: UOB UNI$ can also be converted to AirAsia Rewards, but that’s not the reason to accumulate miles. Paying the cash fare for AirAsia flights is always better.

Related: Credit card transfer partners in Singapore (all banks)

Frequent Flyer Program	Conversion Ratio & Block
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	UNI$ 5,000 to 10,000 miles
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	UNI$ 5,000 to 10,000 miles

How to transfer UOB miles?

UOB credit cardholders can convert UNI$ to miles via two methods: one-time conversion or auto-conversion (KrisFlyer only).

One-time conversion

Before converting your miles, you’d need to enrol for a one-time conversion to KrisFlyer or Asia Miles via this page. To prevent delays, accurately enter your frequent flyer number, first name, last name, mobile number and UOB credit card number.

Then, follow these steps in your UOB TMRW app:

1. Tap on Accounts
2. Tap on a credit card
3. Tap on Details
4. Tap on Browse rewards
5. Tap on Travel
6. Tap on KrisFlyer or Asia Miles
7. Tap on Redeem now
8. Confirm total UNI$ to convert and tap Next
9. Choose which card to charge the conversion fee to and tap Confirm

Here are some screenshots of how to convert UNI$ to miles via the UOB TMRW app:

Auto-conversion

Another way to convert UNI$ to miles is via the auto-conversion method, which is currently available only for KrisFlyer miles.

With this method, whenever you’ve accumulated at least UNI$15,000 (30k miles), it’ll be automatically converted to KrisFlyer miles in blocks of UNI$2,500 (5k miles).

Is this a good idea? Not in my opinion. While you can possibly save on conversion fees through the auto-conversion method, it’s not a good idea to dump all your miles into one basket (KrisFlyer), especially when the FFP has a fixed miles expiry term of 3 years and lower Saver award availability since the recent devaluation.

✍️ KrisFlyer Award Charts: Saver, Advantage & Access (Hidden)

That said, if you’re earning hundreds of thousands of miles on UOB cards every month and travel long haul frequently, they are probably worth less to you, and this method can save you time.

How much do UOB miles transfers cost?

One-time conversions from UNI$ to miles cost S$27. This fee is waived if you are holding one of these cards:

• UOB Visa Infinite Card
• UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card
• UOB Privilege Banking Card
• UOB Reserve Card

Auto-conversion (KrisFlyer only) costs S$50 per year.

How long do UOB miles transfers take?

Miles transfers to KrisFlyer typically take 2 calendar days.

However, transfers to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles can take up to 3 weeks, or even be quietly reverted back to your account after a month or so. This can be problematic when you’re trying to take advantage of an Asia Miles transfer bonus.

Best ways to redeem UOB miles

As mentioned earlier, miles earned on UOB credit cards have very little flexibility, with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles as the only transfer partners.

Related: Best ways to redeem KrisFlyer miles

Here are some of the lowest award rates to redeem your UOB miles for:

Destination (to/from SIN)	FFP	Miles Required (Economy)	Miles Required (Business)
Hong Kong, Taipei	KrisFlyer	15.5k	35.5k
	Asia Miles	9k	28k
Beijing, Shanghai	KrisFlyer	20.5k	45k
	Asia Miles	20k	58k
Japan, S. Korea	KrisFlyer	25.5k	54.5k
	Asia Miles	20k	58k
Melbourne, Sydney	KrisFlyer	29k	72k
	Asia Miles	27k	63k
Europe	KrisFlyer	44k	108.5k
	Asia Miles	40k	89k
US/Canada	KrisFlyer	44k	112.5k
	Asia Miles	47k	115k

Read more about the cheapest ways to fly to the following destinations, in any cabin class, using miles earned from Singapore credit cards:

• Japan, South Korea
• Europe
• US/Canada

20,000 loyalty miles

UOB PRVI Miles American Express cardholders (not Visa or Mastercard) will also receive UNI$10,000 (20k miles) when they spend S$50,000 or more in a card membership year.

If you spend exactly S$50,000 within the card membership year (~S$4,167/month), it’s equivalent to receiving an additional 0.4 mpd on your spending.

This is another good benefit, but again, keep in mind that this card does not have good earn rates in the first place, and most merchants outside the US, Canada, UK and Australia do not accept AMEX cards.

Sign-up promotion

UOB rarely offers guaranteed credit card sign-up promos as they are usually limited to the “first xxx” cardholders.

However, SingSaver occasionally runs limited-time promotions for UOB cards, where new cardholders can receive cash after meeting the minimum spending requirement.

🎁 Check the latest UOB PRVI Miles Card sign-up promotion

UOB PRVI Miles Card’s competitors

As a reminder, the best Miles credit cards in Singapore award 4 miles per dollar on your spending, albeit with monthly caps.

So, are there any alternatives to the UOB PRVI Miles Card for general spending with no limits on earn rates? Let’s have a look at its key competitors:

Card	Earn Rate	Transfer Partners (useful ones)	Miles Expiry	Annual Fee (miles inclusion)
Citi PremierMiles	1.2 mpd (SGD) 2.2 mpd (FCY)	9	Never expire	S$196.20 (10k miles)
Citi Prestige	1.3 mpd (SGD) 2 mpd (FCY)	9	Never expire	S$651.82 (32k miles)
DBS Altitude	1.3 mpd (SGD) 2 mpd (FCY)	3	Never expire	S$196.20 (10k miles)
HSBC TravelOne	1.2 mpd (SGD) 2.4 mpd (FCY)	7	3 years	S$196.20 (12k miles)
Standard Chartered Journey	1.3 mpd (SGD) 2 mpd (FCY)	2	Never expire	S$196.20 (10k miles)
OCBC 90°N	1.3 mpd (SGD) 2.1 mpd (FCY)	2	Never expire	S$196.20 (10k miles)
UOB PRVI Miles	1.4 mpd (SGD) 2.4 – 3 mpd (FCY)	2	2 years	S$261.60 (no miles)
AMEX KrisFlyer	1.1 mpd (SGD) 1.1 mpd (FCY)	1	Automatically transferred to KrisFlyer	S$179.85 (no miles)
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend	1.2 mpd (SGD) 1.2 mpd (FCY)	1	Automatically transferred to KrisFlyer	S$397.85 (10k miles)

Should you get the UOB PRVI Miles Card?

With insane credit card nerfs and award devaluations in recent years, earning a mere 1.4 mpd on SGD spending and 2.4 mpd on foreign currency spending (with a 3.25% FX fee) will not make you a successful travel hacker, as you’d take forever to accumulate enough miles for a decent award redemption.

The correct way, for most, is to spend with better Miles credit cards to earn 4 miles per dollar, or just forget about miles and check out the best cashback credit cards instead.

Even if you consistently have tens of thousands of dollars in monthly spending and are looking for a “lazy” Miles card with no cap on earn rates, the UOB PRVI Miles Card offers really poor flexibility when compared against its competitors. Consider the Citi PremierMiles Card or Citi Prestige Card instead.

There are limited use cases of the UOB PRVI Miles Card, which should be the main reason(s) why you get it in the first place.

✅ Get the card if you:

• Travel at least once a year to enjoy the free airport lounge entitlement
• Use UOB Payment Facility to buy miles
• Use CardUp to pay bills
• Can’t get approval for better “lazy” cards for spending like Citi PremierMiles, Citi Prestige, HSBC TravelOne or DBS Altitude cards

❌ Don’t get the card if you:

• Don’t need the free airport lounge entitlement
• Are looking for a “lazy” miles card for day-to-day spending (use better Miles cards)
• Only want cashback
• Don’t want the trouble of requesting an annual fee waiver every year (consider credit cards with no annual fee)

✍️ Apply for the UOB PRVI Miles Card (Visa)
✍️ Apply for the UOB PRVI Miles Card (Mastercard)
✍️ Apply for the UOB PRVI Miles Card (American Express)

Terms and conditions

Here are the official terms and conditions of the UOB PRVI Miles Card: