Use a credit card when traveling abroad to make payments and earn rewards, as well as keep yourself aware of any applicable fees that might incur.
Credit cards designed specifically for travel in Singapore provide air miles and luxurious amenities like airport lounge access. Here, we look at four top travel cards as well as two debit cards tailored for use overseas.
1. AMEX HighFlyer Credit Card
This card is an ideal solution for small and midsized enterprises (SMEs) as it combines travel benefits with business expense management. With competitive miles earning potential and additional perks such as complimentary Accor Plus membership (including one complimentary hotel night per year) as well as zero interest for six months on purchases of Singapore Airlines tickets, this card stands out.
Contrary to other business credit cards, this card is tailored specifically for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) without requiring minimum turnover or employee numbers for approval. Furthermore, the AMEX HighFlyer Credit Card earns up to 8.5 points for every S$1 spent on Singapore Airlines or Scoot revenue tickets (excluding government taxes and airport fees), and up to 1.8 HighFlyer points per S$1 elsewhere in transactions; plus you get an impressive sign-up bonus of 40,000 Bonus HighFlyer Points when spending S$5,000 within three months of membership!
2. DBS Altitude Visa
DBS Altitude Visa stands out among Singapore’s travel credit cards as it provides a competitive base earn rate of 1.2 per day on local and overseas spend and 3 per day for online flight/hotel bookings up to an annual cap of S$5,000, in addition to offering accelerated earnings on retail purchases, and offering complimentary digital Priority Pass membership.
Singaporeans and Permanent Residents as well as foreigners with valid employment passes/work permits can all obtain this card which offers numerous travel-related advantages, including two complimentary airport lounge visits per membership year.
Supplementary cards for this credit card allow you to share its rewards and benefits with family or friends. Their annual fee of S$120 will be waived during their first year.
3. OCBC Titanium Rewards Credit Card
With its new look and mechanics, OCBC Titanium Rewards Credit Card remains competitive when it comes to shopping and department store spending while also providing some perks that appeal to travelers. It offers an attractive earn rate of 10 OCBC$ (equivalent to 4 air miles) per S$1 spent online or retail purchases made at merchants such as Qoo10, Shein, Amazon Shopee TANGS H&M with bonus of up to 10,000 OCBC$ per month available as cashback bonuses.
This card provides excellent dining and leisure benefits, such as complimentary travel insurance coverage and airport limousine services. The annual fee is generally comparable to other cards in Singapore; however, additional charges such as currency conversion fees or foreign transaction fees should be taken into consideration when applying.
4. Maybank Horizon Visa Signature
From 1 July to 30 September 2020, earn an extra 0.8 mpd with this card on all local spending (excluding GIRO payments for utilities, insurance top-ups and education fees ). This offer provides a welcome upgrade from its standard rate of 0.4 mpd for general spending.
This card is ideal for locals who travel regularly; however, if you aren’t from here and don’t spend a great deal on food or transportation costs, this might not be suitable. Furthermore, this card charges fees on foreign transactions and cash advances which could add significant costs for international trips as well as having an elevated minimum monthly spend requirement.
5. Enrich Money
Singapore offers several forms of travel money cards. These range from prepaid debit cards with linked accounts that hold various currencies – like the Wise card – to prepaid credit cards that provide great perks if you shop frequently at Aeon stores – like the Aeon Prepaid Mastercard.
Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich loyalty programme recently unveiled EnrichMoney, a multi-currency e-wallet and Visa prepaid card in partnership with Merchantrade Asia. This new product makes cashless purchases safer and more convenient both locally and abroad, providing travellers with various benefits; such as earning Enrich points while making local or overseas transactions and redeeming them for cashback at the end of a trip.
