UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card – MoneySmart Review 2022

The UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card is such an unglam credit card that it looks like a debit card. But underneath that boring-ass navy blue exterior is a pretty good rewards card that lets you earn 4 miles per $1 on most of your daily expenses, both online and offline.

Intrigued yet? Let’s examine what this credit card has to offer.

Contents

1. 1. 1. UOB Preferred Platinum Card Summary
      2. UOB Preferred Platinum Annual Fee, Minimum Income
      3. UOB Preferred Platinum Card Minimum Spend
      4. UOB Preferred Platinum Card Benefits
      5. UOB Preferred Platinum Card Terms and Conditions
      6. How to maximise my UOB Preferred Platinum Card?
      7. UOB Preferred Platinum Card vs HSBC Revolution
      8. Should I get the UOB Preferred Platinum Card?
      9. UOB Preferred Platinum Card Promotions
      10. Is Buy Now Pay Later good?

1. UOB Preferred Platinum Card Summary

The UOB Preferred Platinum Card is a rewards card that lets you rack up rewards points as you spend.

You can then exchange the rewards points for gifts and vouchers in the UOB rewards catalogue. Alternatively, you can also choose to exchange them for air miles or cashback.

Despite its blah appearance, the card actually offers a great bonus earn rate on some types of local expenditure—up to UNI$10 per $5 spent on online shopping, entertainment and mobile contactless spending.

2. UOB Preferred Platinum Card Annual Fee, Minimum Income

	UOB Preferred Platinum Card
Annual Fee	$196.60
Annual Fee Waiver	First year
Supplementary Card Annual Fee	$96.30 (waived for one year, first card free)
Interest Free Period	21 days
Annual Interest Rate	26.9%
Late Payment Fee	$100
Minimum Monthly Repayment	3% or $50, whichever is higher
Foreign Currency Transaction Fee	3.25%
Cash Advance Transaction Fee	8%
Overlimit Fee	$40
Minimum Income	$30,000 (Singaporeans and PRs) / $40,000 (non-Singaporeans)
Card Association	Visa
Contactless Payment	Visa payWave, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Android Pay, Mighty Pay, Fitbit Pay, Good Pay

3. UOB Preferred Platinum Card Minimum Spend

There is no minimum spending requirement in order to receive the accelerated earn rate on online shopping, entertainment and mobile contactless spending. So you can benefit from this card even when you’re pinching pennies.

4. UOB Preferred Platinum Card Benefits

The main reason you’re reading this is to find out what’s in it for you if you sign up for this card. So here’s a rundown of the card’s main benefits.

	UOB Preferred Platinum Card
Base Reward Points	UNI$1 = $5
Bonus Reward Points	UNI$9 = $5 on online shopping, entertainment and mobile contactless

 

When you spend on online shopping, entertainment and mobile contactless transactions, you will receive a total of UNI$10 per $5 spent. This consists of UNI$1 base reward point and UNI$9 bonus reward points.

Bonus points are capped at UNI$2,000 per calendar month. That’s equivalent to $1,111.11 worth of eligible spending—spend more than that and you’ll just get the base UNI$1 reward point.

5. UOB Preferred Platinum Card Terms and Conditions

According to the terms and conditions, certain types of transactions are excluded from earning any rewards points—not even the base rate.

Here are the key exclusions:

• NETS transactions
• Stored value top-ups including EZ-Link
• Wire transfer/remittance
• Utilities
• Insurance
• Financial or non-financial institutions
• Securities brokers and dealers
• Rent
• Parking
• Gambling
• Hospitals
• Schools
• Charitable, social service, religious and political organisations
• Court costs, bail and bond payments
• Fines
• Taxes
• Postal services
• Government services

6. How do I maximise my UOB Preferred Platinum Card?

The UOB Preferred Platinum Card is pretty straightforward. To make the most out of it, just remember to use it whenever you spend in the categories that give the accelerated earn rate—namely online shopping, entertainment and mobile contactless payments.

Just remember that you can only earn a maximum of UNI$2,000 per calendar month, which can be had on up to $1,111.11 worth of spending. Spend any more than that and you’re wasting your time as you only get the base earn rate.

7. UOB Preferred Platinum Card vs HSBC Revolution

The HSBC Revolution is one of the most similar rewards cards to the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card, but how do the two really stack up against each other?

	UOB Preferred Platinum Card	HSBC Revolution
Base Earn Rate	UNI$1 = $5 (UNI$0.2/0.4 miles = $1)	1X reward point (0.4 miles)
Bonus Earn Rate	UNI$10 = $5 (UNI$2/4 miles = $1)	10X reward points (4 miles)
Bonus Categories	Online shopping, entertainment and mobile contactless	Online and contactless spending

 

As you can see, the two cards offer very similar perks and earn rates, but the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card has the upper hand in terms of bonus categories, as it offers bonus rewards points for entertainment. There’s nothing like racking up rewards points while you’re having fun, whether that means catching a movie or making your friends go deaf in a KTV lounge.

The HSBC Revolution does, however, have the advantage of charging no annual fee. So you might want to opt for this card if you have the tendency to forget to beg for fee waivers.

8. Should I get the UOB Preferred Platinum Card?

The UOB Preferred Platinum Card can be useful if you shop online quite a bit and/or have high entertainment expenditure, and like using rewards points to exchange for freebies and miles.

Best of all, you don’t have to be a high spender to benefit. Even modest spenders can get some utility out of this card as there is no minimum spending requirement.

If you’re using the card mainly for frequent flyer miles, the UOB Preferred Platinum could actually be a good alternative to traditional air miles cards as it lets you earn miles locally at a decent rate thanks to the wide range of categories in which you can get bonus points.

Do note, however, that UOB’s miles expire within 2 years, so you’ll have to earn enough to redeem something meaningful in that time.

9. UOB Preferred Platinum Card Promotions

Be within the first 100 new-to-UOB customers to apply for a UOB credit card this month and spend a minimum of $1,500 within 30 days, and you receive a $150 cash credit.

In addition, UOB has a bunch of dining and travel promotions here.

How does this compare to competitors’ promotions?

Rewards Credit Card	Promotion	Base Earn Rate
UOB Preferred Platinum Card	$150 cash credit if you spend $1,500 within 30 days	UNI$1 = $5 (UNI$0.2 /0.4 miles = $1) UNI$10 = $5 (UNI$2/4 miles = $1)
DBS Woman’s World Card	–	10X DBS Points (20 miles) = $5 (2X DBS Points/4 miles = $1) on online purchases 3X DBS Points (6 miles) = $5 (0.6 DBS Points/1.2 miles = $1) on overseas purchases 1X DBS Points (2 miles) = $5 (0.2 DBS Points/0.4 miles = $1) on other purchases
OCBC Titanium Rewards Card (Pink)	–	10X points (4 miles) = $1 on eligible online and retail purchases like Apple, Shopee, H&M and more 1X rewards = $1 on other eligible purchases 2% cashback at BEST Denki
HSBC Revolution Credit Card	$50 cashback for new sign ups	10X rewards points (4 miles or 2.5% cashback) = $1 on online purchases and contactless payments 1X reward point on other spend

UOB is offering one of the most generous sign-up bonuses—they’re literally giving away $150 worth of free cash. But you have to remember to sign up early in the month in order to be within the first 100 sign-ups, and be sure to spend $1,500 within the first 30 days.

10. Alternatives to UOB Preferred Platinum Card

Unsure about the UOB Preferred Platinum Card? Here are some alternatives to consider:

DBS Woman’s World Card – Attractive earn rate of 2X DBS Points/4 miles = $1 on online purchases and okay earn rate of 0.6 DBS Points/1.2 miles = $1 on overseas purchases. Pales in comparison to UOB Preferred Platinum.

OCBC Titanium Rewards Card (Pink) – 10X points (4 miles) = $1 on eligible online and retail purchases at Apple, Shopee, H&M and more. Comparable earn rate but does not reward you for contactless payments.

HSBC Revolution Card – 10X rewards points (4 miles) = $1 on online purchases and contactless payments. Really similar benefits but does not reward you for entertainment.