Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card: All you need to know

The Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card is a travel-focused credit card that helps you gain air miles as you spend locally and overseas. You can use the miles to then put towards future flights and travel. You also get rewards like access to lounges and travel insurance. But with all that, you also get a high annual fee, interest rate, and charges when you make purchases as you travel.

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How does the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card work

The Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card works like a typical credit card. Once you are approved, you are given a credit line that you can then make purchases against. Once a month you will receive a statement with the amount to pay back. If you aren’t able to pay the full amount, you are charged with their interest rate. Let’s break down the other fees and charges that go along with this card.¹

Annual fee

Every year as a cardholder, you must pay the annual fee of SGD 588.50 including GST. Unlike other cards that provide ways to get around this, this card requires you to pay the amount every year no matter how much you spend or do with the card.

Annual interest rate

The interest rate on the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Card is a minimum of 26.9% per annum. This can change if you miss payments and don’t keep your card in good standing.

Late payment fee

In the case that you miss your monthly payment, you will be automatically charged a late payment fee of SGD 80. There is also a likelihood that your interest rate will then jump up to 28% per annum for either the next statement or the next few months until it is paid in full.

Minimum monthly repayment

You are expected to make the minimum monthly payment by the due date stated in your statement. The minimum amount is calculated by taking 1% of your principal balance and then adding interest and any fees or charges you may have gotten. If you have gone above your credit limit then your next minimum payment will include paying the full amount that is above the limit. If your account balance is below SGD 50, your minimum monthly payment will be the account balance.

Foreign currency transaction fee

Like many other banks and credit cards, Standard Chartered first converts any foreign transactions from their home currency to USD and then to SGD. The exchange rate that is used is set by Visa, instead of the real mid-market exchange rate. And in this way, they are able to skim a cut of the transaction through the exchange rate.

Next, you will be charged fees for your overseas spending. This also means that you are charged fees for any online shopping you do from online stores abroad, even if you are in Singapore. These fees are:

• 1% fee by Visa
• 2.5% administrative fee by Standard Chartered

This comes to a total of 3.5% on every transaction in non-SGD currency. And this percentage is put against the converted SGD amount.

Cash advance transaction fee

You can take cash out against your credit line with the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card, but it is not cheap. You will first be hit with a fee of SGD 15 on any amount you withdraw, with an additional fee of 6% per transaction. And there will also be a finance charge of .077% per day until the amount you’ve withdrawn is fully paid off.

Overlimit fee

Spent more than your credit limit? You will get an overlimit fee of SGD 40 on your account.

What is the eligibility for Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card?

To qualify for the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card you must be between the ages of 21-65, and have an annual income of at least SGD 150,000.

If you are a Private Banking or Priority customer with Standard Chartered, the income requirement is reduced to:

• SGD 30,000 for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents
• SGD 60,000 for Foreigners with Employment Passes

If you are a Foreigner living in Singapore, you will need to be holding a P1, P2 or Q type employment pass to apply. The Q type employment pass must be valid for at least the next 1 year.²

What can I do with Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card?

The Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card gives you plenty of options for rewards, perks, discounts. and benefits. Right here in Singapore, you can get 15% off spa treatments at The Westin, Singapore. Or an additional month of membership at the spa at The Ritz when you purchase a 12-month package. You can get upgrades when you use the card at the Mandarin Oriental, St Regis, and Shangri La hotels. You also have access to concierge and emergency services 24 hours a day. But let’s take a deeper look at their other major rewards like air miles, travel insurance, and airport lounge access.

Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card air miles

You can accumulate miles as you spend using your Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card, that you can put towards future travel. But to really get the most bang for your buck, you will need to spend at least SGD 2,000 on qualifying transactions in each statement period. By doing so you’ll be able to accumulate more miles per SGD spent:³

Type of transaction	Miles for every 1 SGD Spent
Spent locally in SGD	1.4 miles
Spent Overseas	3 miles

If you don’t spend SGD 2,000 on the card every statement cycle, you will only accrue 1 mile for every SGD 1 spent.

Standard Chartered does provide a sign-on bonus of 35,000 miles to your account when you apply and qualify for the card.

Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card travel insurance

Travel insurance can be handy when you are abroad, and the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card provides it for free for cardholders. By partnering with Allianz, the card lets you use it for medical and accidents while traveling with coverage up to SGD 1,000,000. Plus you get coverage for delayed baggage, loss of baggage and travel assistance for medical evacuation and repatriation.⁴

Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card lounge access

With this credit card, you can get a membership to Priority Pass for free. With your Priority Pass card and your Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card, you can access airport lounges across the globe. You also get 6 complimentary visits every year, that can be shared with anyone you are traveling with as long as you are there as a cardholder. Any additional visits to the lounge will cost USD 32 per person per visit.⁵

Overseas spend with Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card

Spending overseas can really add up with the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card. Between the annual fee, the weak exchange rate, and the 3.5% added to every transaction, you are spending more out of your pocket when you travel. And unless you are using the card a lot, you may not be able to hit the threshold for getting fast accumulating miles.

Why spend more for foreign travel when you can get a Wise account that doesn’t charge annual fees or foreign transaction fees and can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted? Start keeping more money in your wallet when you travel with Wise.

Get your Wise borderless card - a multi-currency account that is on average 7 times cheaper than banks

The Wise borderless card is unlike anything out there. You can spend in 150+ currencies around the world, while also holding over 40 currencies in your account, ready to be used. There is only 1 low conversion charge when you transfer from SGD to another currency, and you always get the mid-market exchange rate. That is the rate you see on Google.

By using smart technology, Wise is able to be 7x cheaper than the banks. And you are never charged extra for shopping online globally, so you can use the same account to shop on Alibaba, Amazon, Qoo10 and Grab at the mid-market exchange rate. And you will always be kept up to date with real-time notifications of spending from your account.

Sources used for this article:

1. Fees
2. Eligibility
3. Air Miles
4. Insurance
5. Lounge