Should I Use DBS Altitude American Card To Accumulate Air Miles?

Hi Friends,

There are several popular credit cards in the market that you can use to accumulate air miles. Should I use DBS Altitude American card to accumulate air miles? Interesting to compare this credit card to Citi PremierMiles credit card which I am using now.

I have listed some details of the DBS Altitude American Express Card:-

1) Application eligibility

1.1) Must be 21 years old and above

1.2) Earn minimum annual income of SGD80,000

2) DBS Altitude American Express Card Conversion

2.1) For the first SGD1000 per month, every SGD1 spent earns you 1.2  Mile.

Subsequent spending beyond first SGD 1000, every SGD1 spent earns you 1.6 Miles.

Miles conversion:
S$0.83 = 1 mile (S$5 = 3 DBS points = 6 SQ miles) for first S$1,000 per month
S$0.63 = 1 mile (S$5 = 4 DBS points = 8 SQ miles) after first S$1,000 per month

Please note that DBS points are earned in S$5 blocks.

Actual rates are lower because  a S$9.99 purchase is still only 6 or 8 miles and you lose on average S$2.50 in spending per transaction.

2.2) DBS miles can be exchanged for air miles of 39 participating airlines.

2.3) No expiry date of  Miles.

2.4) When you pay annual membership subscription of approx SGD180 (subject to prevailing GST, therefore SGD192.60), you earn Miles of 10,o00

So 1000 Miles or Krisflyer Miles will cost SGD19.30

This is cheaper than buying Krisflyer Miles from Singapore Airlines.

1000 Krisflyer Miles cost approximately SGD50

2.6) If you spend more than SGD25,000 per year, your annual membership is free. There is no mention though whether you still get your 10,000 miles if your membership fee is waived.

2.7) Miles conversion fee is charged at S$42.80

3) Other Benefits of DBS Altitude American Express Card

3.1) Enjoy complete peace of mind with travel insurance of up to S$1 million by charging the full travel fare to your DBS Altitude American Express card.

4) Tips In Maximizing DBS Altitude American Express Card

4.1) Great to have this care if your average spending exceeds SGD1000 per month.

For the first SGD1000 spending, both DBS and Citi PremierMiles card earns the same 1.2 miles.

However, once the spending exceeds SGD1000, DBS card conversion rate increases from 1.2 miles to 1.6 miles.

4.2) As much as possible, spend to round to S$5 because every S$5 spent will be converted to 3 DBS points or 6 air miles. So if you happen to charge a spending of  SGD9.99 to the card, just grab a sweet or something to make it cross SGD10

Overall, DBS Altitude American card seems a good card to accumulate air miles, especially on point 4.1

If however if your spending is usually falls below SGD1000 / month, Citi PremierMiles card is a good option too. It has lower conversion fee charge when you convert citi miles into air miles. It gives 2 complimentary pass to airport lounges each year, which really makes travel in style a reality.

So consider it, and pick your favorite credit card to accumulate the air miles.
Cheers,
Karen