No More 3 MPD Earn Rate on Online Flight & Hotel Transactions with DBS Altitude Card - from 01 August 2023
The cat is finally out of the bag - the DBS Altitude Card will no longer offer 3 miles per dollar on online flight and hotel transactions from 01 August 2023, effective immediately. While the DBS Woman's World Card still offers 4 miles per dollar on eligible online transactions, the cap on bonus miles is a lot lower at S$2,000 per statement period (as compared to S$5,000 with the DBS Altitude Card, despite a slightly lower bonus earn rate). With the removal of this benefit, the DBS Altitude Card is now nothing more than a general spend credit card (even though there are plenty of better options in the market) until 31 January 2024 - we are not sure whether we will see further 'enhancements' but only time will tell.
Photo Credit: DBS
The DBS Altitude Card used to earn 1.2/2.0 miles per dollar on local- and foreign-currency transactions respectively. Effective from 01 August 2023 (that's today!), the card will now earn 1.3/2.2 miles per dollar instead - this is a slight boost but you are honestly much better off with the UOB PRVI Miles Card which offers 1.4/2.4 miles per dollar. Alternatively, you may also consider applying for the HSBC TravelOne Credit Card which offers a 1.2/2.4 miles per dollar earn rate but the points convert into a much wider range of programs (giving you access to more premium cabin products and free hotel stays) - there is also an ongoing sign-up offer with 20,000 bonus miles that you should not miss out on.
| OLD (until 31 July 2023) |
NEW (from 01 August 2023) |
|
| Local Spend | 1.2 MPD | 1.3 MPD |
| Foreign Spend | 2.0 MPD | 2.2 MPD |
| Online Hotel and Flight Transactions | 3.0 MPD | - |
It is interesting how cards are starting to converge towards becoming just general spending credit cards - there is absolutely no reason left to hold on to the DBS Altitude Card now that the 3 miles per dollar bonus earn rate has been removed since there are better credit cards in Singapore for miles. At the time of writing, it is unclear whether the DBS Altitude Card will get better or worse after 31 January 2024 but if history has taught us anything, things do not usually get better where credit card enhancements are concerned.
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