Credit Card Review

DBS Altitude Visa Card
Key benefits at a glance:

• Earn 1.2 miles per S$1 spent locally
• Earn 2 miles per S$1 spent overseas.
• Earn 3 miles per S$1 spent on online flight & hotel transactions (capped at S$5,000 per month).
• Bonus miles with exclusive merchants.
• Free priority pass membership with 2 complimentary airport lounge access per year.
• Free travel insurance coverage of up to S$1 million.

Looking for a travel card that gives you all-round benefits on top of just earning air miles? Unlike other travel credit cards, the DBS Altitude Visa Card gives you a free priority pass membership that lets you enjoy the perks of its exclusivity on your travelling journey.

Mileage Earning

When you spend on your DBS Altitude card, you earn DBS points which can then be converted into miles. Effectively, your S$1 spending equates to:

• Local spend: S$1 = 0.6 DBS Points or 1.2 KrisFlyer miles
• Overseas spend: S$1 = 1 DBS Point or 2 KrisFlyer miles

These DBS points can then be exchanged into three different frequent flyer programmes: KrisFlyer, Asia Miles and Air Asia Big. Unfortunately the miles you earn do expire, . However, you may wish to enrol in the KrisFlyer Miles Auto Conversion Programme at just S$42.80 (inclusive of GST) and your DBS Points will be automatically converted to KrisFlyer miles in blocks of 500 DBS Points.

You also get to accelerate the earning of miles when you charge your Online flight and hotel transactions (capped at S$10,000 per month) to the card, earning you 3 miles per S$1 spent.

Travel Privileges

One of the more attractive features of the card is the complimentary Priority Pass membership with your Altitude Visa Signature Card. You’d get to experience VIP treatment, excellent leisure and working facilities at over 700 participating airport lounges worldwide. You get two free entries a year which you can choose to visit twice on your own or once with an accompanying guest.

As a DBS Altitude cardholder, you also enjoy a dedicated digital concierge service and travel insurance coverage. DBS offers you up to S$1 million in travel accident insurance coverage, as well as a travel concierge service with a dedicated hotline which you can call for travel assistance from anywhere in the world. The concierge service can help with flight, hotel, insurance and car rental bookings.

Fees And Charges

DBS charges $192.60 for its principal card and $96.30 per supplementary card. However, there’s a fee waiver for the first year for the principal card.

Some travel credit cards also offer bonus miles when you spend a minimum annual amount or pay your card fees. These usually work well if you are a big-spender. For instance, UOB PRVI Miles AMEX cardmembers will receive UNI$10,000 or an equivalent of 20,000 miles if you spend more than S$50,000 in a year. For the DBS Altitude card, your annual fee is waived if your annual spend exceeds S$25,000.