7 best travel credit cards for your next holiday

1. For those looking for lounge access: HSBC TravelOne Credit Card

Credit: HSBC

1/7

The breakdown
- 2.4 miles for every S$1 spent overseas

- 1.2 miles for every $1 spent locally

- 4 complimentary airport lounge visits for primary cardholders

Other information
Principal HSBC TravelOne Cardholders enjoy four complimentary lounge visits per year, provided via DragonPass.

Four visits is relatively generous for an entry-level credit card – the TravelOne offers almost double what most of the other credit cards are offering. The main catch is that these visits cannot be shared with a guest, unlike some of the other credit cards lounge visits.

Allowances are awarded by calendar year, and allowances cannot be rolled over, so be sure to fully utilise your visits by the end of the calendar year.

2. For those who are seeking miles: UOB PRVI Miles Credit Card

Credit: UOB

2/7

The Breakdown:
- 6 miles for every $1 you spend with major airlines and major hotels worldwide.
- 2.4 miles for every $1 spent overseas (including online shopping on overseas websites).
- 1.4 miles for every $1 spent locally in Singapore. The miles are paid to you in UNI$ (UOB’s rewards points). You must then convert your UNI$ to air miles at the conversion rate of UNI$1 = 2 miles, paying a $25 conversion fee each time.

Other information:
The card comes in three variants: Mastercard, Visa, and American Express; the three cards’ basic miles earn rate are the same.

3. For those who want cashback: OCBC Frank Credit Card

Credit: OCBC

3/7

The Breakdown:
- 8% in cashback when you make foreign currency transactions (earnings are capped at a maximum of $25 each month).
- The 8% in cashback is also applicable to online purchases made in foreign currency.

Other information:
Other local currency transactions made online, or via Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Fitbit Pay or Garmin Pay will also be applicable for the 8% cashback.

Earn an additional 2% in cashback (also up to $25 a month) when you shop at selected green merchants. This means you can earn as much as 10% in cashback for the above categories.

4. For those who travel frequently on Singapore Airlines: American Express Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Credit Card

Credit: American Express

4/7

The Breakdown:
- 3.4 Krisflyer miles for every $1 spent on eligible Grab Singapore transactions (up to $200 spend in each calendar month).
- 2 Krisflyer miles for every $1 spent on eligible purchases made on Singaporeair.com, Singaporeair mobile app and Krisshop (in-flight and online), with no cap.
- 2 Krisflyer miles for every $1 spent equivalent in foreign currency on eligible purchases during June and December each year.
- 1.1 Krisflyer miles for every $1 spent locally in Singapore. Enjoy hassle-free conversion as all Krisflyer miles earned with this card are conveniently credited directly into your Krisflyer account.

Other information:
When you purchase your air tickets with this card, you’ll also receive free Travel Inconvenience & Travel Accident Benefits of up to $350,000. You can also enjoy rental car service Hertz’s Gold Plus Rewards loyalty programme, with a range of exclusive benefits at over 8,500 participating locations across 150 countries around the world.

5. For miles that never expire: DBS Altitude Visa Signature Card

Credit: DBS

5/7

The Breakdown:
- 10mpd on hotel transactions at Kaligo
- 6mpd on flight, hotel and travel packages at Expedia
- 3mpd on online flights and hotel transactions (capped at S$5,000 per month)
- 2mpd for every $1 spent overseas
- 1.2mpd for every $1 spent locally in Singapore

Cardmembers who hold the DBS Altitude Visa Signature Card can take advantage of the two complimentary visits to Priority Pass lounges within every 12 months of their membership.

Other information:
A card with non-expiring miles is particularly useful if you're a recent graduate or someone who tends to be frugal and doesn't have significant upcoming expenses. This card offers perks like priority pass lounge access at airports, travel insurance, online booking promotions, and miles that never expire. Miles will be awarded in the form of DBS Points. The miles that you can earn on the DBS Altitude Visa card do not have an expiry date.

6. For those who are looking for a credit card without the annual fee: HSBC Revolution Credit Card

Credit: HSBC

6/7

The Breakdown:

- 1 HSBC Point (the equivalent earn rate of 0.4 mpd) for every $1 spent locally in Singapore
- 1 HSBC Point (the equivalent earn rate of 0.4 mpd) for every $1 spent overseas
- Earn an additional 9 HSBC Points for every $1 spent on selected online and offline contactless payments, whether in local or foreign currency. This brings up the total earn rate to 10 HSBC Points per $1 spent (4 mpd). Only available on the first $1,000 spent online or via contactless spending each month. Categories of merchants that are applicable can be viewed here.

Other information:
The credit card used to have a $160.50 annual fee, but it was removed on 1 August 2020 for both principal and supplementary cards. This makes the HSBC Revolution one of the few credit cards in Singapore without an annual fee.

There's also no minimum spend requirement to start earning the 4mpd.

7. For those looking to maximise their travel expenses (flight tickets and hotel bookings): Citi PremierMiles Card

Credit: Citi

7/7

The Breakdown:

- 1.2 miles for every $1 of local spending
- 2 miles for every $1 spent on foreign currency spending
- 10 miles per S$1 spend on Kaligo bookings
- 7 miles per S$1 spend on Agoda bookings

Other information:
If you travel frequently and make bookings on travel platforms such as Kaligo and Agoda, the PremierMiles card will definitely be up your ally with its extensive bonus points awarded. Additionally, you can quickly accumulate Citi air miles, Citi ThankYou Points, or Cash Back using Citi PayAll when you use your Citi PremierMiles card to pay for significant bills such as rent, insurance premiums, education costs, taxes, utilities, and more.