UOB PRVI Miles Card: All you need to know

The United Overseas Bank, or more commonly known as UOB, has the PRVI Miles Card- a travel credit card that focuses on earning miles as you spend. The card lets you accrue miles as you shop locally in Singapore and additional miles as you spend overseas, which you can then cash in for additional travel bookings or redeem them towards existing purchases. It is a handy card that can be used anywhere Visa, Mastercard or American Express are accepted, even online. But while it promotes its ease of use and benefits, the charges and interest rate can easily rack up the cost of your international travel.

If you are looking for an easier way to live globally, Wise’s borderless account is on average 7x cheaper than banks with a fraction of the fees

How does the UOB PRVI Miles Card work

The UOB PRVI Miles Card works as a standard credit card, that can be used as a physical card, contactless and online. It comes in 3 different options of providers- Visa, American Express and Mastercard- and you will have to choose one of them when you apply. And while it can be used globally, it may be difficult to keep track of all the fees and charges that come with the card. Here is a quick breakdown of the major fees¹.

Annual fee

The fee is SGD 256.80, inclusive of GST., every year. The fee is waived for your first year. If you get supplementary cards, the annual fee is SGD 128.40, inclusive of GST.

Annual interest rate

The annual interest rate is 25.9% per year, but there may be changes in that rate when you apply and it is suggested you check the terms and conditions when you sign up.

Late payment fee

If you don’t make your minimum payment by the set date, you will be charged a late payment fee of SGD 100 for that month. On top of that, you will be charged an additional 3% rate on top of your interest rate on any remaining unpaid amount.

Minimum monthly repayment

Every month, you must pay your outstanding account balance or at least the minimum payment amount stated in the card statement. If your account is below SGD 50, your minimum payment will be the card account balance. Between SGD 50 and your credit limit, your minimum payment will be 3% of the outstanding card balance. You must pay the minimum amount to avoid being hit with a late fee.

Foreign currency transaction fee

Foreign transactions on the UOB PRVI Miles Card can feel a tad confusing. First, what happens is that any non-SGD/ USD/ AUD purchases are first converted from that currency into USD and then to SGD at the credit card company’s exchange rate. Any USD or AUD transactions are converted into SGD again at the same rate. The fees for this are²:

Transaction Type	Fee
A non-SGD transaction using Visa/Mastercard/JCB International or Union Pay International Cards	Administrative Fee of 3.1% on the converted amount
Non-SGD transactions using American Express	3.25% on the converted amount.

On top of this fee, if you do an SGD transaction using your Visa/ Mastercard and it is processed outside Singapore, you will also be charged an international transaction fee of 1%.

Cash advance transaction fee

If you are looking to withdraw cash at an ATM from your credit line with the UOB PRVI Miles Card, you will be charged a fee and an internet rate charge on the cash advance amount. The fee is 6% of the amount you have withdrawn, with a minimum fee of SGD 15. Then there is an interest rate of 28% per year on the amount until it is paid off.

Overlimit fee

If you go above your credit limit on the UOB PRVI Miles Card, you will be charged an overlimit fee of SGD 40 on your next account statement.

What is the eligibility for UOB PRVI Miles Card?

Singapore citizens, permanent residents, and foreigners can be eligible for the UOB PRVI Miles Card if they meet the criteria³:

Residency	Income	Collateral
Singapore Citizen	Minimum Annual Income of SGD 30,000 OR	Fixed Deposit Collateral of at least SGD 10,000
Permanent Resident	Minimum Annual Income of SGD 30,000 OR	Fixed Deposit Collateral of at least SGD 10,000
Foreigners	Minimum Annual Income of SGD 40,000, OR	Fixed Deposit Collateral of at least SGD 10,000

What can I do with UOB PRVI Miles Card?

The UOB PRVI Miles Card opens up the world for you with acceptance anywhere Visa/ Mastercard/ American Express is accepted, plus you can submit your miles towards further travel. This means shopping, restaurants, hotels, cafes, online shopping and more. With the card, you can also get travel insurance towards your trips, and also enjoy perks like free airport transfers and a travel butler.

UOB PRVI Miles Card air miles

You can accrue air miles quite quickly with the UOB PRVI Miles Card. Currently, you can receive 10,000 welcome miles when you sign up and then gain miles as you shop overseas and at home. Here is a breakdown of current miles promotions⁴:

Transaction type	Miles per SGD 1 spent (upto)
Overseas shopping, dining, and stay- including online	4.4
Local bus/train rides with contactless payment	4.4
Purchases on Klook	3
Purchases on major airlines and travel sites	6
Spend locally in Singapore	1.4

If you have the UOB PRVI Miles American Express Card, then you can also get:

• 4.4 miles per contactless SGD 1 spent on groceries
• 20,000 miles when you spend at least SGD 50,000 a year

You can then redeem your miles for airline tickets, cash or travel packages.

UOB PRVI Miles Card travel insurance

Travel insurance is one of the perks of holding the UOB PRVI Miles card. You get personal accident coverage and emergency medical assistance for up to SGD 500,000. To qualify, you must charge the entire travel fare on the card.⁵

UOB PRVI Miles Card Travel Butler & Airport Transfer access

Last but not least, cardmembers can get access to a Travel Butler, and American Express cardholders also get complimentary airport transfers every year. The Travel Butler is a dedicated hotline for travel assistance, like for hotels, flights, insurance, travel packages, and car rental bookings. You can reach them during business hours at 6302 5993.

For American Express cardholders, you get up to 8 complimentary airport transfers to Changi airport in a year if you spend at least SGD 1,000 overseas on the card each quarter. It breaks down to 2 complimentary airport transfers to Changi every quarter, if you hit the spend minimum on the card.⁶

Overseas spend with UOB PRVI Miles Card

Let’s take a look at how much it costs to use the UOB PRVI Miles Card when traveling abroad. Say you stay on top of your payments to the card, and go on to spend 100 Euros at dinner with the UOB PRVI Miles Visa Card in Italy. You will be charged an administrative fee of 3.1% plus an international processing fee of 1%, so a total of 4.1% On top of that, the 100 Euros dinner would be converted once into USD and then SGD, all at the exchange rate set by Visa.

Fees and cost	UOB PRVI Miles Card
Cost of Dinner	100 Euros
Visa Exchange Rate⁷	1 Euro = 1.51 SGD
Cost of Dinner in SGD	151 SGD
Fees at 4.1%	6.19 SGD
The total cost of Dinner	157.19 SGD

But your dinner doesn’t need to cost that much. Unlike the fees and rates of the UOB PRVI Miles Card, Wise uses the mid-market rate and has one low fee. Look how much you can save just by using a Wise borderless card:

Fees and cost	Wise Platinum Debit Card
Cost of Dinner	100 Euros
Wise Midmarket Exchange Rate:	1 Euro = 1.51 SGD
Cost of Dinner in SGD	151 SGD
One time SGD to EUR fee	1.13
The total cost of Dinner	152.13 SGD

With a simple switch to the Wise borderless account, your dinner Italy will cost you over SGD 5 less, and that means more money for gelato while on your holiday.

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

The Wise borderless card is not a credit card, but rather a global Mastercard that lets you load up on currencies and spend abroad. No heavy interest rates or additional fees here. With just one low fee plus the mid-market rate on currency conversions, your travel gets 7 times cheaper than the bank.

The Wise borderless card also lets you shop online abroad on sites like Alibaba, Amazon, Qoo10, and Grab. And with the award-winning app, you can easily keep track of your global spending with instant notifications when purchases are made, wherever you are. Leave the fees behind, and join Wise’s borderless account and have more to spend on your global holidays.

Sources used for this article:

1. Fees & Charges
2. Foreign Transaction Fee
3. Eligibility
4. Miles
5. Insurance
6. Perks
7. Visa Exchange Rate

All sources checked as of 28 November, 2019