Standard Chartered Launches X Card with 100,000 Miles Sign-up Bonus - Lowest Income Required for Visa Infinite Card in Singapore

[1/8/2019 Update: Standard Chartered has now cut the sign-up bonus to 60,000 miles]

After weeks of speculation from the public, Standard Chartered has officially made the brand new (metallic) X Card available to everyone - as you may already know, everyone who is approved for this credit card before 31 August 2019 will also be able to take advantage of the 100,000 miles sign-up bonus (this is quite possibly the largest sign-up bonus I have seen for a mass market credit card in Singapore).

Click HERE to find out more about the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite X Credit Card!

Photo Credit: Standard Chartered

Let's get right down to the specifics - the annual fee of S$695.50 (inclusive of GST) is strictly non-waivable and you will get 30,000 miles (in the form of equivalent 360° Rewards Points) in the first year. To take advantage of the amazing sign-up offer to unlock 70,000 additional bonus miles, you will be required to spend S$6,000 within the first 60 days from the date of card approval. Do remember that you will have to apply (and receive approval) for the X Card by 31 August so your spend has to be posted within 60 days from the date of card approval. Spending S$6,000 to unlock 100,000 miles gives you 16.7 miles per dollar which is incredible and unheard of in this part of the world!

This is how you can snag up at least 100,000 miles with the new X Card at launch:

• Pay Annual Fee of S$695.50: 30,000 Miles

• Spend S$6,000 within 2 Months from Card Approval Date: 70,000 Miles

• Base Earn Rate on S$6,000: 7,200 Miles (SGD transactions) or 12,000 Miles0 (non-SGD transactions)

• Total Miles: 112,000 (assuming non-SGD transactions were made)

• Total Spend: S$6,695.50 (inclusive of annual fee)

• Miles per Dollar: 16.7mpd

Unlike most Visa Infinite credit cards in Singapore, the income requirement for this card (for Singaporeans) is S$80,000 this is significantly lower than the S$120,000 average that most credit cards officially require. If you have been wanting a Visa Infinite credit card for the longest time, this card might just be a great way to access that.

Photo Credit: Standard Chartered

Earn Rate of the Standard Chartered X Card

The X Card offers a base earn rate of 1.2 miles per dollar (or 1.2% cashback if that is preferred) in equivalent 360° Rewards Points on all eligible local currency (SGD) transactions. Transactions charged in a foreign currency (non-SGD) will earn 2.0 miles per dollar (or 2.0% cashback) in equivalent 360° Rewards Points. There will be no required minimum spend required, no cap and no expiry on the 360° Rewards Points that are accrued on the X Card. This earn rate is on par with various credit cards in Singapore (e.g. Citi PremierMiles Visa Card) so there is not much to shout about.

Airport Lounge Access - Priority Pass

The X Card comes with two complimentary lounge visits with the Priority Pass lounge programme - this is not great (considering how the annual fee for this card is S$695.50) and there are plenty of better credit cards available in Singapore for airport lounge access.

Offset Travel Purchases with Points

Cardholders of the X Card will be able to use their 360° Rewards Points to offset qualifying travel transactions (based on MCC). The conversion rate is exactly the same as the cashback rate (250 points = S$1 credit) but the only advantage is that cardholders are able to redeem it at 'smaller blocks' as compared to a generic cash credit redemption. These are the minimum number of 360° Rewards Points required for each 'cashback':

• Offset Travel Credit: 250 Points = S$1

• Cash Credit: 25,000 Points = S$100

New Hotel and Airline Redemption Partners

Standard Chartered used to offer only KrisFlyer as the airline redemption partner but with the launch of the X Card, they will be introducing some new airline and hotel partners. Much like what Citibank is doing, cardholders of the X Card will be able to redeem their 360° Rewards Points for miles and points in the relevant programs. At the time of writing, participating hotel loyalty programs include ALL (Accor Live Limitless) which is also known as Le Club AccorHotels right now, and IHG Rewards Club.

Photo Credit: Standard Chartered

100,000 Additional Miles with New Priority Banking Relationship

If you would like to pick-up more miles along the way, you can also get an additional 100,000 additional miles if you place a minimum of S$300,000 in fresh funds to start a Priority Banking relationship with Standard Chartered. Since I personally do have an existing Priority Banking relationship with the bank, I will not be able to take advantage of this offer. Besides, you are probably better off with the cash credit instead (hit me up for a referral if you are interested!).

50% off Dining at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore and The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore

While this benefit is not specific to the X Card, cardholders will continue to enjoy up to 50% off dining across all the participating dining establishments in The Fullerton Hotel Singapore and The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore.

Signing-up for the X Card is extremely easy and you can even get instant approval (and access a Digital Credit Card immediately). In order to access the card immediately, you will have to click on the green button on the instant approval screen - following which, you will be able to add it to your digital wallet (e.g. Apple Pay).