Book Hotel, Flights and Rentals via Travel with OCBC - Earn 8 Miles per Dollar with OCBC 90°N Visa Card
With more Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) announced in the past couple of weeks, the world is starting to open up once again, and the brand new Travel with OCBC portal will allow customers to easily book their flights, hotels, and car rentals with one of the best rates on one integrated platform. OCBC credit and debit cardholders can enjoy discounted rates on eligible travel bookings and also use their OCBC reward points to offset the total cost and enjoy immediate savings on their bookings. More importantly, holders of the new OCBC 90°N Visa Card will be able to earn 8 miles per dollar of eligible spend (on top of exclusive savings) made during the promotional period.
What Is Travel with OCBC?
Traveling internationally in a post-COVID world can be rather complicated with health and travel requirements that differ from country to country. The newly-launched Travel with OCBC portal allows customers to plan and book their upcoming trips easily via a unified platform. Regardless of whether you are looking for the best deals on local staycations or international accommodation, you will be able to filter through results by review scores as well as hotel star ratings to find a property that suits your needs and budget. OCBC cardholders can enjoy exclusive deals on accommodation, so make sure you log-in to the portal in order to unlock these savings.
Apart from booking accommodation, the Travel with OCBC portal will also allow you to make flight bookings, as well as car rentals via the same platform. All bookings made on the portal will be easily accessible via the same centralised booking management system.
Pay Using OCBC Cards via the OCBC Pay Anyone™ App
While OCBC customers have the option of paying using their credit card information directly, they can also check-out via the OCBC Pay Anyone™ App where their OCBC credit and debit cards will be provisioned for use. This will allow them to enjoy greater convenience and security, without having to remember their card details.
Ability to Use Different OCBC Reward Currencies
One of the most unique features of the Travel with OCBC portal is the flexibility to use different OCBC reward currencies to offset the total cost of booking at the time of reservation. This means that you will be able to use your Travel$, VOYAGE Miles, and OCBC$ to reduce the cash component of the reservation - you may also opt for a 0% cash option where you go for a full redemption (if you hold sufficient reward points).
OCBC Cardholders have the option of picking one of the three aforementioned reward currencies making a booking on the platform. Do note that only one reward currency can be utilised per reservation which means that you will not be able to mix and match different currencies (i.e. using Travel$ and OCBC$) in the same transaction.
Based on their personal preferences, cardholders can select their preferred cash component (in 5% intervals) via the slider located on top of the search results. Someone with plenty of points to burn may consider a 0% Cash booking (which means that the entire booking will be paid for using points) while someone who is new to OCBC may choose the 100% cash option with no points required. The best part about using your reward points this way is that there are no blackout dates for redemption as you are simply using them to offset the cash component on your booking(s).
OCBC does not publish the number of points required for a S$1 rebate when you use them to offset the total cost of your booking, but based on a few iterations and queries on the platform, I have found the following valuations to be largely accurate. Do note even though there are three major reward currencies, they can be accrued and pooled together over different credit cards (with different earn rates).
| Using OCBC Reward Points to Offset Bookings on Travel with OCBC Portal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Cards |
90°N Visa Card 90°N Mastercard |
VOYAGE Card Premier VOYAGE Card Premier Private Client VOYAGE Card Bank of Singapore VOYAGE Card |
Titanium Rewards Card Premier Visa Infinite Best Denki Card |
| Reward Currency | Travel$ | VOYAGE Miles | OCBC$ |
| Required Points for S$1 | 114.78 | 108.4 | 278.75 |
| Value per Point | 0.87 cent | 0.92 cent |
0.36 cent |
As mentioned above, OCBC reward currencies can be accrued across different credit cards at different accrual rates so for the sake of simplicity, I am only using the most accessible credit card (e.g. OCBC VOYAGE Card as opposed to the Bank of Singapore VOYAGE Card) in each category for comparison.
My stand on points has been clear from the start - convert them in airline miles and use them for redemption flights in First Class and Business Class to get the most value out of them. With that said, it is understandable that customers sometimes prefer to choose statement credits (or cash rebates) over award flights. Not many people know this but OCBC cardholders have the flexibility of converting their reward points into statement credits if they deem fit. Based on the number of points required for the corresponding statement credits, the value per point for each reward currency are as follows:
| Using OCBC Reward Points for Statement Credit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Reward Currency | Travel$ | VOYAGE Miles | OCBC$ |
| Statement Credit | S$10 | S$50 | S$500 | S$10 | S$20 | S$50 |
| Required Points | 1,000 | 5,000 | 50,000 | 3,600 | 7,200 | 18,000 |
| Value per Point | 1.0 cent | 1.0 cent | 0.28 cent |
As you can see in the table above, you can actually get more value out of your Travel$ and VOYAGE Miles if you were to redeem them for statement credits, as opposed to using them on the Travel with OCBC portal directly. In these instances, you are better off making a 100% cash booking on the portal and then using your accrued points for statement credits later.
With that said, it is interesting to note that OCBC$ is actually worth more per unit on the portal (0.36 cent) when compared to redeeming them for statement credits where they are worth less (0.28 cent). My rule of thumb is that you should always redeem your points for miles but if you have expiring OCBC$ that does not meet the minimum threshold for transfer (or if the conversion fees do not make sense at a low quantum), you may consider using them on the portal directly. Alternatively, you may also consider other options on STACK which is a multi-partner loyalty platform that brings your reward points together - you can convert your OCBC$ into a different reward currency, or redeem them for other loyalty points as well as vouchers.
Exclusive Savings on Travel Insurance (with COVID-19 Coverage)
Worry less and enjoy more with new COVID-19 coverage on the Explorer Travel Insurance Essential and Ultimate Plans – it will also cover eligible travel inconveniences that arise from the diagnosis of COVID-19. This coverage comes with 24-hour emergency overseas assistance and it also covers cruises to nowhere. Vaccinated travellers will also be eligible for 35% discount on single-trip plans, as well as 10% savings on an annual plan.
Earn 8 Miles Per Dollar with OCBC 90°N Visa Card
If you have the latest OCBC 90°N Visa Card (which was only launched last month), you will be able to earn up to 40 Travel$ per S$5 (equivalent to a staggering 8 miles per dollar!) that you spend on the Travel with OCBC portal - this is capped at the first S$1,000 spent for the first 5,000 cardmembers. Do note that the booking has be done by 15 January 2022, and the completion of stay, flight, and car rental must be done before the end of 30 June 2022.
Now if you do not have the OCBC 90°N Visa Card yet, you should know that this card comes with an annual fee waiver in the first year (if you apply and obtain approval before 15 January 2022) and you can earn 20 Travel$ per S$5 (equivalent to 4 miles per dollar) across selected everyday spend categories/merchants from now until the end of the promotional launch period.
S$100 Discount (Min. Spend of S$500) for New Customers
The Travel with OCBC platform is accessible by everyone but non-Bank customers will be able to make bookings on the online portal once they sign-up for any OCBC Bank credit or debit card(s). The first 2,500 new-to-card OCBC customers who sign-up for the OCBC 90°N Visa Card before 31 January 2021 will receive a S$100 welcome voucher via STACK upon card approval - this voucher is valid for eligible bookings made on the portal with a minimum spend of S$500. As a quick reminder, new-to-card OCBC customers must not currently hold an existing OCBC Credit Card, and must not have held an OCBC Credit Card in the previous twelve (12) months.
Black Friday Offer – S$80 Discount (Min. Spend of S$250)
In conjunction with Travel with OCBC’s Black Friday sale, OCBC cardholders will be able to enjoy S$80 off eligible bookings with a minimum spend of S$250 when they use the promo code ‘Ocbc80’ (do note that the promo code is case-sensitive). Regardless of whether you are booking a staycation or a travel getaway, you will be able to enjoy this exclusive discount if you are amongst the first 300 customers to make a booking from now to 6 December 2021 so make sure you lock-in those bookings quickly!
Conclusion
Cutting through the noise to find the best deals is not always easy but the new Travel with OCBC portal helps you get there quicker. It is not only the perfect companion to the OCBC 90°N Visa Card, but it can also provide you with the ease of booking the crucial bits of your travel (e.g. flights and accommodation) under one unified platform. Regardless of whether you are planning to use your reward points on the portal or not, the new features in the pipeline (e.g. buying travel insurance and booking COVID-19 tests) will definitely continue to deliver value and convenience to OCBC customers.
This sponsored post was created in collaboration with OCBC, but opinions remain those of The Shutterwhale.
Travel with OCBC is developed, operated, and maintained by a third party provider. All products and services made available through Travel with OCBC are provided by third party providers. T&Cs apply.
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