Unlock 5 Miles Per Dollar on Travel & Foreign Currency with DBS Altitude Cards
- valuevaulter
- Aug 28, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 29, 2024
DBS has announced an exciting new promotion for the DBS Altitude Card, offering cardholders 5 miles per dollar (mpd) on online travel and foreign currency (FCY) spend from September to December 2024.
To participate in this promotion, cardholders must meet a minimum spend requirement of S$1,000 each month. However, there's a monthly bonus cap of S$2,000, allowing you to earn up to 10,000 miles per month, or a total of 40,000 miles over the entire four-month promotional period.
Despite the attractive rewards, the promotion's structure is unnecessarily complex, and the DBS website offers little clarity. The provided infographic is particularly confusing, making it difficult to understand how to fully benefit from this offer.
TL:DR
Starting in September and October 2024, you'll earn 5 miles per dollar (mpd) on online travel bookings with the DBS Altitude Card.
Then, from November to December 2024, the focus shifts, offering 5 mpd on foreign currency (FCY) spending.
Essentially, DBS encourages cardholders to use their Altitude Card for purchasing flights and booking hotels first, and then for spending abroad during year-end holidays.
Maximize Miles: DBS Altitude AMEX & Visa Offer 5 mpd on Travel and FCY Spend (Sept-Dec 2024)
From 1 September to 31 December 2024, DBS Altitude AMEX and DBS Altitude Visa cardholders can earn 5 miles per dollar (mpd) on online travel bookings and foreign currency (FCY) spend. However, note that the eligibility periods for these categories differ, meaning you won't earn 5 mpd on both simultaneously—details on this are explained below.
To participate, registration is required through the DBS PayLah! app. Simply navigate to the Rewards tab and look for the campaign banner to sign up.
Each calendar month, there are a total of 10,000 slots available for this promotion, but no need to worry—a tracker will indicate how many slots remain.
Keep in mind, you’ll need to re-register for the promotion each month to stay eligible. To add to the complexity, the registration start date changes every month! Also, your minimum and eligible spend will only start counting from the moment you register, so it's best to sign up as early as possible.
For instance, if you register on 15 September 2024, any spending made between 1-14 September 2024 will not count towards your minimum or eligible spend.
Earn Up to 5 mpd on Online Travel Spend with DBS Altitude Card (Sept-Oct 2024)
From 1 September to 31 October 2024, registered DBS Altitude Cardholders can earn up to 5 miles per dollar (mpd) on online travel spend. To qualify, cardholders must meet a minimum retail spend of S$1,000 each calendar month, with a cap of S$2,000 per month.
You can choose to meet the minimum spend and earn bonus miles in September, October, or both. If you maximize this promotion across both months, you could earn a total of 20,000 miles from online travel purchases.
DBS defines online travel spend as transactions made online in SGD or FCY across specific categories, as outlined below.
Earn Up to 5 mpd on FCY Spend with DBS Altitude Card (Nov-Dec 2024)
From 1 November to 31 December 2024, registered DBS Altitude Cardholders can earn up to 5 miles per dollar (mpd) on in-store and online foreign currency (FCY) spend. To qualify, cardholders must meet a minimum retail spend of S$1,000 each month, with a cap of S$2,000 per calendar month.
Cardholders have the option to meet the minimum spend and earn bonus miles in November, December, or both. If you maximize the promotion in both months, you could earn a total of 20,000 miles from FCY transactions.
DBS defines FCY spend as any online or in-person transaction made in foreign currency, with the following exceptions:
Transactions made overseas but charged in Singapore dollars
Payments with specific Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) as detailed in Table 1 and other excluded transactions per DBS Rewards Terms and Conditions
0% interest-free installment plan payments (IPP)
My Preferred Payment installment plan transactions (MP3)
Interest, finance charges, cash advances, balance transfers, Smart Cash, AXS payments (except Pay+Earn), SAM online bill payments, internet banking bill payments, and all fees charged by DBS
Any transaction that is later canceled, voided, refunded, or reversed
Other transactions excluded by DBS from time to time
This exclusion list typically includes transactions like charitable donations, education, and insurance payments.
What Qualifies as Minimum Spend?
The minimum spend requirement includes all retail transactions charged to your DBS Altitude Card, with the following exceptions:
0% interest-free installment plan payments (“IPP”)
My Preferred Payment installment plan transactions (“MP3”)
Interest, finance charges, cash advances, cash withdrawals, balance transfers, Smart Cash, AXS payments (except Pay+Earn), SAM online bill payments, internet banking bill payments, and all fees charged by DBS
Any transaction that is later canceled, voided, refunded, or reversed
Retail spend can include eligible spend, meaning purchases like air tickets and hotels (for September/October) or foreign currency (FCY) transactions (for November/December) will count toward the minimum spend.
Additionally, spending by supplementary cardholders contributes toward the minimum spend requirement and can earn 5 mpd, as long as the principal cardholder has successfully registered for the campaign. However, supplementary cardholders do not have their own separate bonus cap.
What If I Have Both the DBS Altitude AMEX and Visa?
If you hold both a DBS Altitude AMEX and a DBS Altitude Visa, you can benefit from the promotion on each card individually, as confirmed by a DBS spokesperson.
In this scenario, you'll need to meet the minimum spend of S$1,000 separately on each Altitude card to qualify for the 5 mpd rate, with a monthly cap of S$2,000 per card.
To clarify, there is no “cross accumulation” of spending between the two cards. For example, if you spend S$600 on the Altitude AMEX and S$400 on the Altitude Visa, you won’t meet the minimum spend requirement, even though your combined spending is S$1,000.
When Will Bonus Miles Be Credited?
During the promotional period, cardholders will earn the standard DBS Altitude rates of 1.3 miles per dollar (mpd) for local spend and 2.2 mpd for foreign currency (FCY) spend.
Bonus miles will be credited in the form of DBS Points by the 16th of the month following the promotional period.
Terms and Conditions/FAQs
The T&Cs for this campaign, as well as FAQs can be found via the links below:
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