Cancel your ANZ Travel Card Now - No More Renewal Miles and Lounge Benefits

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The ANZ Travel Visa Signature Credit Card was one of my favourite credit cards in Singapore when I first starting working - it once offered complimentary and unlimited lounge access, limousine transfer after spending a reasonable amount and paying the annual fees (S$200) for 10,000 miles seem to be pretty reasonable. Starting from 01 April 2017 however, the ANZ Travel Visa Signature Credit Card will no longer offer lounge access (yes not even the horrible DragonPass Airport lounge access) and there will no longer be anymore renewal miles when you pay the annual fee - how is this even a travel card anymore?!

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11.5 Miles per S$1 on Hotel Bookings with Kaligo with DBS Altitude Card (Minimum Spend Required)

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If you are not too concerned with hotel loyalty programs and you simply want to earn the most miles on hotel stays, Kaligo is truly the way to go (so long the price difference between Kaligo and a bigger OTA is not too drastic) to chalk up those valuable miles. If you are based in Singapore and have been put off by the upcoming KrisFlyer Miles devaluation, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are something worth looking into. 

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My Thoughts on the VOYAGE Exchange Concierge - OCBC VOYAGE Card

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When I wrote about the OCBC VOYAGE Card last month, I mentioned that cardholders will have access to a dedicated concierge that can assist you in making restaurant reservations, travel itinerary planning and also provide to you a range of other services (so long it is legal!) that cardholders like myself can enjoy. One of the feedback that I have gotten from that article was that the Visa Infinite brand itself has a concierge that cardholders can benefit from - as such, I felt the desperate need to basically compare both the Visa Infinite Concierge and the VOYAGE Exchange (private concierge service for OCBC VOYAGE Card) to find out whether or not the higher annual fee (after factoring in the value of renewal miles) is justified.

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Buy Back SPG Gold for 25,000 Marriott Rewards Points (9,000 SPG Points)

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I have only recently lost my Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Gold status that I have gotten with just one qualifying stay when I paid for it using a World MasterCard. One of the things that I truly appreciated with SPG Gold was the 4PM guaranteed late checkout benefits at most properties. Last evening, I received my new Marriott Rewards Silver card in the mail and got the offer to buy back my Gold Elite status for 25,000 Marriott Rewards Points. Now that Marriott Rewards and SPG have integrated, buying back Gold Elite would also mean another year of SPG Status which I wouldn't mind at all. Also, as you may already know, there is currently a sale of up to 30% off on Starpoints purchases which you can in turn convert into Marriott Rewards Points in blocks of 1,000 at a conversion rate of 3:1.

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Redeem For Vouchers and Products with Arrture at Plaza Premium Lounges (Free Entry Counts Too!)

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I have previously written about the opportunity to earn points for simply visiting participating Plaza Premium Lounges around the world through a membership called Arrture. At that point of writing, the only redemption option was a lounge-access voucher for 2,000 Arrture Points. This has changed recently however as you are now able to redeem your Arrture Points for a range of vouchers and products (with the latter being a work-in-progress still) online.

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Fly 7,000 Miles in Asia on JAL's Business for US$670 - 40% off Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles

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Receive up to 40% bonus Mileage Plan miles when you purchase at least 30,000 miles before 06 April 2017. There are some sweet spots on using Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles and if you live in Asia and wish to check out the business cabin on Japan Airlines, you can do so for just US$670 (approx S$945). Read on to find out how you can get up to 17 hours worth of flight time by redeeming the Mileage Plan miles on Japan Airlines.

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Devaluation of KrisFlyer Miles (Singapore Airlines) and Upcoming Changes - Effective 23 March 2017

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KrisFlyer has just announced some important changes that will be happening on redemption and redemption upgrade bookings that are ticketed from 23 March 2017 onwards. While the changes seem to be a devaluation of KrisFlyer miles, travellers may be able to gain some out of these changes on short-haul flights and those with high YQ surcharges. Read on to find out what are the upcoming changes and how will they affect you as a whole.

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Summary of Changes to the OCBC 360 Account - Effective 01 April 2017

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The OCBC 360 Account is a dream account that every young adult should have. When it was first launched in Singapore back in 2014, it offered the best interest rate on any savings plan that was available at that time. Ever since then, the OCBC 360 Account has been given a refresh and other banks have started launching competing products (e.g. UOB One Account) which in my opinion, are inferior of OCBC's longstanding savings account. There are a number of changes to the OCBC 360 Account that will be effective from 01 April 2017 so make sure you read though them thoroughly before deciding whether the product is still a good fit for your spending habits and banking goals.

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