ANZ Travel Visa Signature Card Review

So you've started working for a couple of years and your travel habits have been pretty much the same since ten years ago. You go to the airport at least two hours before your flight, you sit in a cafe (most likely Starbucks) with your iPad or a book and wait for the time to check-in your luggage. You make your way through immigration and walk around aimlessly in Duty Free Galleria (or equivalent) before sitting outside of the boarding gate with hundreds of other people, waiting to board the plane. 

What if I told you a credit card from ANZ could change all that? 

The Good

The ANZ Travel Visa Signature Card gives you an array of benefits. The one I value most, since I do not have an elite airline status, is the free (and unlimited) usage of airport lounges. Click here for a full list of Veloce lounges. Sure, some credit cards come with two or four guest passes into certain airport lounges but this card gets you in them without limit for free (as long as you're holding on to the credit card of course). If you would like to bring a friend, you should be able to just pay the guest fee. Otherwise, get your friend or family member a supplementary card and you're all set. 

For those who enjoys cash rebates (certainly not me), this card gives you a flat 2.55% cash back for all expenditure made. You will receive 5.1% cash back if you purchase your flights directly with airlines, spend in Australia and New Zealand or if you shop at selected partners (e.g. HotelClub, AsiaTravel). For those who enjoy collecting miles, this card gives you 1.4 miles and 2.8 miles per dollar respectively. See the photo below for a full list of places where you can earn 2.8 miles per dollar. The best part of it is that you may choose to collect both miles and cash rebates and you can definitely do that by converting your Travel$ into respective redemption options. For more travel hacking tips on maximising your dollar, check out my previous post! 

If you charge S$1,500 to your ANZ Travel Visa Signature Credit Card within 30 days, you will receive a free limousine ride to Changi Airport. There's also complimentary travel and accident insurance of up to S$1 Million for yourself (and up to S$100,000 for your spouse/children) if you charge your travel purchases to this card. 

The annual fee for this card is S$200 (waived for the first year) but upon renewal, you will receive 12,000 Travel$ which is equivalent to 12,000 miles or S$215 cash rebate. Essentially, by paying the annual fee, you will earn S$15 on top of all the benefits the card gives you. 

The Bad

Of course, as much as I love this card, there's one thing that truly annoys me. There's no way you can view your transactions online. You actually do have to wait for your monthly statement by post. That being said, that's probably the only thing I cannot stand about it. Well, perhaps the design of the card can be better improved too. 

Successful applicants may also earn up to 4,750 Travel$ ($85 cash back or 4,750 miles) upon charging at least $700 to their card within 30 days from the date of approval. More information on the ANZ Travel Visa Signature Card here. 

Eligibility

Applicants must be between 21 and 65 years of age
Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents: Minimum income of S$60,000 p.a.
Foreigners: Minimum income of S$90,000 p.a.

Annual fee
Principal Card: S$200 p.a. (waived for the first year)
Supplementary Card: S$100 p.a. (waived for the first year).

InterContinental Singapore Weekend Offer S$255++

For Singaporeans and Permanent Residents of Singapore, enjoy a weekend staycation at the InterContinental Singapore at only S$255++ (S$300.14 NETT). You may wish to check out my trip report on this property. The promotional rate comes inclusive of the following: 

Deluxe room for two
Buffet breakfast for two at Olive Tree
S$50 (nett) dining credit for in-room dining or restaurants (excl. Chikuyotei)
Complimentary parking coupon
Complimentary internet access
Late checkout until 4pm (subject to availability) 

Click here for more details on the promotion (this will direct you to Facebook).

Terms and Conditions

Promotion is valid for stays between Friday to Sunday till 28 December 2014 and only applicable to Singaporeans and Permanent Residents. Valid Singapore Identification Card / FIN ID must be presented at check-in. Hotel credit is non-redeemable for cash or rate discount. Full prepayment is required upon reservation and is non-transferable and non-refundable. Rates are subject to 10% service charge and prevailing government taxes. Prior reservation is required and subject to availability. This offer is not valid in conjunction with other offers or promotions and is subject to availability.

American Express Rewards Card

I have recently gotten 21,000 Membership Rewards points credited into my account from American Express for the Rewards Card. Previously, I mentioned that unlike in the US where Hilton Honors points are comparatively easy to earn, most cards in Singapore give you a really weak base earning rate for these HHonors points. Today, I am reiterating my point about the American Express Rewards Card and how easy it is to earn these bonus points (and more importantly, what you can do with them). 

The AMEX Rewards Card is an entry-level American Express that most working adults will be able to qualify for. Unlike the Platinum or the Centurion Charge Cards, the Rewards Card requires only S$30,000 (or S$60,000 for foreigners) to apply. While it is true that AMEX is less widely accepted as compared to VISA/MasterCard, more and more merchants in Singapore are beginning to accept AMEX as a mode of payment. 

What makes this card so lucrative is the signing up bonus that comes with it. Upon spending S$1,500 within 3 months from the date of approval, you will receive 21,000 bonus Membership Rewards (MR) points. Coupled with the S$1,500 spend, you will have a minimum balance of 24,000 Membership Rewards points. 

Being a Gold Hilton Honors member, I will most likely transfer this 24,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 HHonors points (1,000 MR points = 1,250 HH points). This is sufficient for 3 free nights at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur or 6 + 1 nights free at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Johor Bahru (amongst hundreds of other properties that you may choose to redeem your points on). 

24,000 Membership Rewards points may be redeemed against:

1. Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG): 7,920 Starpoints
2. Singapore Airlines: Return trip to Bali on Saver (not inclusive of approximately S$150 tax)
3. S$110 Cash Credit: Approximately 7.3% Cash Rebate
4. River Safari (Adult Tickets): Six Tickets (to bring your friends and family)

For those of you who enjoy staying in SPG properties like Westin, W Hotel, Le Meridien, St Regis etc., do remember to check out this post to find out how you can earn yourself Gold status with just ONE qualifying stay (instead of the usual TEN) with a World MasterCard. 

Even without the signing up bonus, the American Express Rewards Card is a pretty decent card on its own (for some aspects). The base earning for this card is 1 MR point per S$1 spend. There's a 100% bonus earning for the first three months from the date of approval which essentially gives you 2 MR points per S$1 spend. Additionally, you will also earn 50% bonus points at 5 locations (which you can nominate) - giving you 2.5 MR points per S$1 during the first three months. 

Spending over S$5,000 in a year will earn you 50% bonus points on your base spending. For example, spending $1,000 each month for a period of twelve months will earn you the following:

Base Points: S$1,000 x 1 MR point x 12 Months = 12,000 MR points
First Three Months Bonus: S$1,000 x 1 MR point x 3 Months = 3,000 MR points
Welcome Bonus: 21,000 MR points
50% Bonus: S$1000 x 0.5 MR point x 12 Months = 6,000 MR points
TOTAL: 42,000 MR points 

42,000 MR points will be approximately enough for TWO return tickets to Bali via Singapore Airlines and you just have to pay roughly S$150 in taxes each. If you charge more to your card, you may end up with a free stay at the Conrad Bali (see review here) through HHonors Points redemption.

What I love about American Express is the brand that is both functional and aspirational. While it is undeniable that a lower acceptance rate can be troublesome at times, the credit cards offered are usually of greater standards (this applies to AMEX cards issued by other banks too!). While the three months promotional window has not even closed for me,  the bonus (21,000 MR) points have already been posted. Compared to other banks that take months to post promotional bonuses, AMEX is definitely one step ahead in terms of posting speed. Just do remember that you have to pay the Annual Fee (S$53.50) in order to qualify for this promotion. 

Also, you may also choose to register for a current American Express promotion that rewards you with a S$10 voucher (up to S$30 per registered card) per S$50 spend at participating outlets - you may consider buying vouchers if you do not have any immediate spend. Do note that you can register multiple AMEX cards.

Travel Promotion Round Up (April 2014)

It's time to reward yourself for working so hard. There are a few travel promotions that you can take advantage of right now in (or out of) Singapore! 

1. HotelClub - 15% off hotel stays with HOLIDAY13 
Booking Period: Before 28 April 2014
Travel Period: Before 31 May 2014
Note: If booking outside of travelling period, use HOLIDAY10 for 10% off. 

2. Zuji - 12% off hotel stays (+5% rebate for flights/travel booking) with MASTERCARDCHIC14 
Booking Period: Before 11 May 2014
Travel Period: Before 31 October 2014
Note: Payment must be made using a MasterCard. 

3. Tigerair - Fly out for free on any Standard Chartered Credit Card (pay only taxes)
Booking Period: Before 18 May 2014
Travel Period: 15 May 2014 to 20 December 2014
Note: More restrictive dates apply for some routes. Payment must be made using a Standard Chartered Credit Card. 

4. Singapore Airlines - Sale Fares with American Express
Booking Period: Before 20 May 2014
Travel Period: Before 21 June 2014
Note: Payment made using an American Express Credit Card stands a chance to win $1,000 KrisShop vouchers (30 winners).

Remember that there are always promotions around that you can take advantage of when booking for discounted flights or hotel stays. Also, you may combine some of these promotions with those explained in my previous article. 

OCBC 360 Account [Singapore] - 3.05% p.a.

Unlike most Singaporeans with a POSB/DBS account, I've grown up with an OCBC one. In fact, I do not even think I have a current POSB/DBS account. As a silent warrior of the banking industry, OCBC was never someone's first bank choice (unless of course like me, you enjoy a shorter ATM queue). However, all that is about to change with the new OCBC 360 Account. 

For all of you out there, your money generally grows at 0.05% per annum in a savings account (exceptions do apply). For the savvy consumers, many have turned to the Standard Chartered BonusSaver ("Bonus$aver") Account for a bonus rate of 1.88% p.a (up to S$25,000). However, this rate is only offered when you charge a mininum sum of $500 to your BonusSaver World MasterCard Credit or Debit Card.

To put things into perspective, a bank account with S$25,000 will earn an annual interest of $12.50 ($1.04 per month) with an ordinary savings account with most banks. Conversely, the same principal amount of money will earn $470 ($39.17 per month). As you can see, the difference in interest rate payments is substantially different! 

With the new OCBC 360 Account however, you will be able to earn a maximum of 3.05% p.a. (up to S$50,000). However, this bonus rate is not without its conditions. What really stands out for me is the progressive bonuses that one can enjoy from fulfilling a set of simple tasks. 

To further simplify the above diagram, you will earn the following interest on the OCBC 360 Account.

1. Do nothing and get 0.05% p.a.
2. Credit your monthly salary (at least S$2,000 after CPF) and get extra 1.00% p.a.
3. Pay 3 bills (e.g. Credit Card from other banks) and get extra 1.00% p.a.
4. Spend S$400 each month on your OCBC Credit Cards and get extra 1.00% p.a.

Essentially, if you complete only Task 1 to 3, you will get 2.05% p.a. interest on that month. If you complete all four tasks (although the first one doesn't really count), you get 3.05% p.a. interest for that month. Pretty straightforward!

Personally, getting 2.05% p.a. is already sufficient for me to make the switch. I do not own any OCBC Credit Cards since I think they generally do not appeal to me (with the exception of the FRANK! Card) but having 2.05% p.a. interest without doing anything extra is excellent for me. 

Using our previous example of having S$25,000, putting your money into the OCBC 360 Account can yield you an annual interest rate of $762.50 ($63.54 a month). If your principal sum is at S$50,000 it will yield you the following annual interest rates under the different deposit or saving accounts:

• Generic Savings Account (at 0.05% p.a.) - $25 (REALLY!) 
• Standard Chartered BonusSaver Account (at 1.88% p.a. for first S$25,000 then 0.10% p.a.) - $495
• OCBC 360 Account (at a maximum of 3.05% p.a.) - $1,525 

Do yourself a favour and make the switch. More details (including everyone's favourite terms and conditions) can be found via this link. 

TravelPony - A Hidden Oasis (for Some Cities and Some Hotels)

While I am sure that many of us travellers are familiar with the big names of Online Travel Agencies (e.g. Expedia, Booking, Hotels, HotelClub), many are not aware of TravelPony.

TravelPony is extremely different from other OTAs for various reasons and I definitely will not suggest this as a substitute over the aforementioned agencies for the exact same reasons.

1. Only some major cities are covered. For example in Asia, only hotels in Hong Kong and Singapore are bookable. 
2. Only a very limited number of hotels within these limited cities are covered. 
3. You can only pay in USD (as of now) which is not a bad thing if you have Credit Cards that gives you bonuses for transactions in a foreign currency. 

In the following example, I will look at one-night accommodation available in Singapore three days later (29 March to 30 March). At TravelPony, I am presented with only five properties that are available (click on the image below). 

View fullsize

These rates are in USD and for some reason, applicable taxes and service charges are included in some of the listed prices. Looking at the prices for Hilton Singapore hotel, it is currently USD$222 before taxes (and USD$240 after) for a Deluxe bed without breakfast.

However, on Booking.com, it is USD$232 before taxes (and USD$273 after) for the same room without breakfast. Therefore, booking on TravelPony essentially gives you a rate that is 14% lower. 

Additionally, when you book on TravelPony for the first time using my affiliate link, you get USD$35 off your first booking (with no minimum spend). Essentially this reduces the amount you have to pay to approximately USD$205, giving you an estimated overall saving of 25%.

It's sometimes incredible how low the room rates can go on TravelPony and I have used it with my previous stay at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport with absolutely no issues. It seems like the rate gets better as the date draws nearer. If you're paranoid about things, go ahead and email the hotel in advance to confirm. However do remember the limitations with using this over the major OTAs as covered above. 

Triple Dipping in Credit Card Promotions

Cards Required:

1. New ANZ Travel Visa Signature Card
2. Registered EZ-Link Imagine American Express® Prepaid Card
3. Amazon Account (Optional)

Applicants who apply for the ANZ Travel Visa Signature Card under the promotion from 01 February 2014 to 31 April 2014 can qualify for 2,750 Travel$ (which can be redeemed for $50) and an additional bonus 2,000 Travel$ after $700 of eligible spend within 30 days from the date of approval. For the full terms and conditions of this offer, please click here. Redeeming the bonus Travel$ for cash rebate will give me $100 back for $700 spend with 230 Travel$ remaining (approximately 14.9% rebate). 

However, since I do not have any planned expenses of $700 or more coming up, I decided to top up $700 to my Imagine Prepaid AMEX Card to hopefully qualify for this promotion. The second promotion is offered by the Imagine Card. A pair of Shaw Movie Vouchers will be issued to registered customers upon a minimum of SGD $100 spend in a non-SGD currency. The accumulated spend needs to fall between 11 to 20 March 2014 (settled by 25 March 2014) - full details here. 

Once again, I have no immediate plans to spend more than SGD $100 in foreign currency and therefore I decided to send myself a gift card on Amazon in order to qualify for this promotion. I have chosen a slightly higher value - USD $83 (approximately SGD $105) to make sure that the order exceeds SGD $100. It is worth noting that these gift cards have no expiry dates. 

Additionally, spending on the AMEX purse of the Imagine Card grants me 5% rebate (for up to $5 each month). Essentially, this gives me $5 back for the $105 spent on redeeming the USD $83 Gift Card on Amazon. 

In conclusion, charging my Imagine Card with SGD $700 and then spending SGD $105 on the gift card will potentially give me SGD $105 (from ANZ and Imagine Card) in cash back and two Shaw Movie Vouchers. 

Hilton Honors Points for Singaporeans (Credit Card Spend)

As covered in my previous entry, Hilton Honors Points are incredibly difficult to earn in Asia. In Singapore, there are only two credit card companies that allow you to earn Hilton points from spending (albeit still at a very low rate). A reader recently brought the American Express Rewards Card to my attention. The low fee credit card allows for an excellent chance at earning HHonors Points (or miles, if you prefer). 

There are a couple of requirements you have to fulfill before you are eligible for the bonus points:

1. Annual Income needs to be greater than SGD$30,000.
2. You need to be a new American Express Rewards Card applicant (it is ok if you are currently holding a Platinum or Krisflyer card).
3. You need to pay the annual fee of $53.50 (inclusive of GST). 
4. You need to spend $1,500 from the date of approval. 

Upon spending $1,500 within three months from the date your credit card was approved, you will receive 21,000 bonus Membership Rewards Points. On a normal rate of earning, this card gives you 1 Membership Rewards Point per SGD$1 spent. As a bonus, you get 100% bonus points for the first three months of your new account. Therefore spending $1,500 would normally give you 1,500 points but you will receive 3,000 points should you spend this amount within this time frame. Combined with the 21,000 bonus points, you will receive a total of 24,000 Membership Rewards Points for spending $1,553.50 [$1,500 + $53.50 (Annual Fee)]. 1 Membership Rewards Point is equivalent to 1.25 HHonors Points. Therefore, this opportunity will present you with $1 to 19.31 HHonors Points for the first $1,500 spent (within the first 3 months), leaving you with 30,000 HHonors Points. 

This truly is an exceptionally rare opportunity and I beseech everyone who is a HHonors Points collector to make use of it. 

Citibank is the other bank that allows consumers to earn Hilton Honors Points from spending. The Citibank Rewards Card provides 10x base earning bonus when you shop for clothes, bags and shoes or at departmental stores (e.g. Tangs) or online shopping websites (e.g. Amazon). With a base earning of 0.4 HHonors Points per dollar, this is equivalent to 4 HHonors Points (or 4 Miles) per SGD$1 when you shop and these locations. 

Alternatively, the Citibank Premiermiles (VISA) allows you to earn 1.2 Citi Miles per SGD$1 spent on anything (or 2.0 Citi Miles per dollar in Foreign Currency). 1 Citi Mile is equivalent to 1.5 Hilton Honors Points, and therefore:

Local Currency (SGD): $1 = 1.8 Hilton Honors Points
Foreign Currency (SGD - after conversion) = $1 = 3.0 Hilton Honors Points

There is an American Express version of this Citibank Premiermiles card with slightly higher earning rate but I personally think the AMEX version is more restrictive and you generally end up paying more after currency conversion due to higher charges. For those that are interested, here are the conversion rates:

Local Currency (SGD): $1 = 2.1 HHonors Points
Foreign Currency (SGD - after conversion): $1 = 3.0 HHonors Points
Singapore Airlines/SilkAir (SGD): $1 = 3.75 HHonors Points