Small Luxury Hotels of the Word (SLH): 3 Nights for the Price of 2

July 13, 2014 by Mark Chua in Deals

The Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) is a curated selection of some of the world's finest independent hotels. It comprises of over 520 properties in more than 70 countries. I have previously covered a promotion where one could benefit from 2-for-1 rates (50% off) for a limited time.

However if you own an American Express credit card (even the ones that are co-branded with banks), you will be able to access 3-for-2 rates from now until 28 December 2014 for stays until 31 December 2014 (summarised below).

Booking Period: until 28 December 2014
Travel Period: until 31 December 2014

Click HERE to access the promotional landing page from SLH.

This promotion is great if you have the UOB PRVI Miles Platinum Card (read my review of the credit card HERE) which will give you 2.5 Miles per S$1 spend (in foreign currency) and also a free limo transfer to Changi Airport.

Terms and Conditions: To be eligible for the offer, reservations must be made and paid for with an American Express Card. Cardmembers must book and pay for three consecutive nights to receive the complimentary third night. The third free night is reflected in the total price when booking three consecutive nights and is equal to a 33% discount. Offer is valid when you book and pay by December 28th 2014 and stay by December 31st 2014. Bookings are subject to availability. Black-out dates and restrictions apply and vary by property. Alternatively call SLH to make your booking quoting ‘N6B9’ to receive the 3 for 2 rate on participating properties. Prepayment/Deposit is required at time of booking and varies by property. No change or cancellation may be made after booking. The amount is non refundable in the event of cancellation or change of dates of stay. Available room categories vary according to each participating property. Rates are subject to local taxes and service charges. Offer cannot be combined with other offers or promotions, is non-transferable and valid for new bookings only.

UOB PRVI Miles Platinum Card Review

June 15, 2014 by Mark Chua in Deals

THE UOB PRVI Miles Platinum Card is one of my favourite cards in Singapore. This card is pretty straight forward - it earns you 1.6 miles per S$1 and 2.5 miles per S$1 if billed in a foreign (non-SGD) currency. However, foreign transaction fees are higher on AMEX and therefore you need to decide whether or not it is a good idea to do so for yourself. What's even more exciting for this card is that you get unlimited limousine rides to the airport (not from!) with eligible spend. I don't use it on a daily basis but when I do, I fully maximise the benefits that this card gives.

The Good

With no minimum spend to hit per month, this card gives you a straightforward method of earning miles.

When billed in local currency (SGD), you get 1.6 miles (4 UNI$ per S$5) per S$1. Otherwise, you get 2.5 miles (6.25 UNI$ per S$5) per S$1 (after conversion). The only thing to note that is that, similar to other UOB Credit Cards, you earn UNI$ (which can be converted into miles) in multiples of S$5. That is to say that an eligible spend of $2 will earn you zero miles (and zero UNI$). Depending on what you buy (especially for the much smaller purchases), you may be better off using the Citibank PremilerMiles Card for instance. However, the big expenses are the ones that matter. If you spend US$625 (approximately S$781.56 based on current FX rates and assuming there's no transaction fees for the purpose of this example) on this card, you will only earn miles (or UNI$) for S$780 of spend. However, because it was billed in US$, you will receive 4,875 UNI$ which is equivalent to 9,750 miles.

The second advantage of this card (and the one I utilise the most) is complimentary limousine transport to Changi Airport. To enjoy a complimentary one-way trip to the airport, you simply need to charge a travel-related transaction (e.g. air tickets, hotel bookings or any travel packages) of a minimum amount of S$500 in a single receipt to the card. I have personally utilised this service multiple times and I've been chauffeured in a Mercedes-Benz E Class as well as a black Mercedes-Benz van. The limousine booking form can be accessed easily online.

The third advantage applies to the higher spenders. If you spend more than S$50,000 per annum, you will receive 20,000 bonus miles (10,000 UNI$) as an incentive. If you do not meet this criteria, paying the annual fee will not award you the bonus miles.

You may also wish to check out UOB's Mileage Calculator to estimate the number of miles you can earn in a year based on average spending.

The Bad

There are not many disadvantages that I can attribute to this card (apart from it being an AMEX). Don't get me wrong though, I'm personally a huge fan of AMEX but I know it can sometimes be exasperating because not all businesses take AMEX as a form of payment.

Casting the AMEX acceptance limitations aside, the first bad point about this card is one that I have previously mentioned - there are no bonus miles being awarded when you pay the annual fee if you do not meet the S$50,000 spend requirement. However with that being said, most of the people I know with this card do not have trouble waiving the annual fees off as long as you utilise it.

Like all other credit cards, this card isn't a one stop solution in maximising miles (unfortunately I don't think there is one). It is however a seriously strong contender if you want a card with complimentary limousine transfer service. Plus if you do spend on miscellaneous items that are generally not in the bonus earning list (with 4 miles/S$1) , this card can seriously help to fill those gaps up.

Eligibility

Applicants must be at least 21 years of age
Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents: Minimum income of S$80,000 p.a.
Foreigners: Minimum income of S$80,000 p.a

Annual fee
Principal Card: S$256.80 p.a. (waived for the first year)
Supplementary Card: S$128.40 p.a. (first two supplementary cards are complimentary for life).

Cathay Pacific Sale Fare for UOB Card Holders

June 11, 2014 by Mark Chua

Cathay Pacific has a current promotion which offers exclusive Economy Class fares to the following countries for UOB cardholders:

Hong Kong (from S$278)
Bangkok
Colombo
Taipei
Japan
Korea
China
North America
Europe

Booking Period: until 07 July 2014
Travel Period: 11 June 2014 to 13 November 2014

Do consider using a UOB PRVI Miles Platinum American Express card to get a free limousine ride to the airport (while earning decent miles). I will be reviewing this credit card soon over the next couple of days.

Sale fare is also applicable to the aforementioned destinations in Business Class or Premium Economy. Special two-to-travel fares for Business Class begin from S$468 and are mileage accruable. A minimum of two persons traveling together in one booking is required for the special Business Class fares.

The Cathay Pacific runs many promotions throughout the year for holders of Credit Cards from different banks so it's always good to keep a lookout for them.

Click here for the link to UOB promotion on Cathay Pacific.

Miles Chasing: A Perspective

March 30, 2014 by Mark Chua in Points

Credit cards provide mile collectors a wide range of earning opportunities base on the category of expenditure. Whilst many has turned to simple to manage credit cards that promote cash backs (e.g. UOB One Card), the rest of us dwell in an ominous area of points or miles maximisation. Mile collectors know that 1,000 miles can fetch approximately $20 in the virtual black market which is equivalent to 8% cash back at optimal earning capacity. In the case of redeeming a First Class or Suites ticket, this value increases drastically.

For example, a return ticket from Singapore to Paris costs $12,300 ($13,062.10 incl. taxes) on Singapore Airlines some time in April. It costs 215,000 miles to redeem the fare portion of this ticket ($12,300). However, redeeming for miles online gives you a 15% discount on total miles required. Essentially this equates to requiring only 182,750 miles. Simple mathematics will value 1,000 miles in this scenario at roughly $67.31.

Neglecting conversion fees, this is equivalent to 26.9% cash back at optimal earning capacity for almost all credit cards. In fact, some credit cards targeted at extremely high spenders or high income earners (e.g. American Express Centurion) can earn up to 7-8 miles per $1 when spending at platinum partners (almost doubling the aforementioned cash back rate!).

To put it in another perspective for the same example, you would need to spend $372,727 on a credit card (giving you 3.33% cash back) in order to have $12,300. Whereas if you were earning miles at an average optimal rate (where $1 = 4 miles), you only need to spend $45,688.

That being said, air miles are only valued the most with the redemption of First/Business class tickets. It's a arduous journey for many of us and it's easy to lose sight of things when you are bent on maximising miles. Unless you're willing to strategise and spread categorical spending across different banks and credit cards, it is best to stick to one or two cards for ease of payment and usage. After all, most would agree that credit cards are supposed to make your life easier and not become an instrument for making money out of it.