My Take On The DBS Woman’s World Card and UOB Lady’s Card Devaluations

If you have a DBS Woman’s World Card or UOB Lady’s Card (which, despite their names, are actually open to both genders – how egalitarian!), it’s safe to say that 2024 hasn’t gotten off to the best of starts. 

These two cards, which have been fixtures in the wallets of male and female miles chasers alike, have undergone or will soon undergo devaluations, which reduce the earn rates and/or maximum bonus miles cardholders can earn per month.

See also: Kris+ Guide: How to Earn Maximum KrisFlyer Miles With Credit Cards

As a heavy user of both cards, I’m well aware of the pain you must be feeling. But what’s done is done, and a better alternative to complaining on the internet would be to start thinking of a post-nerf game plan, namely: how should your accumulation strategy adapt to the revised circumstances?

A quick summary of what’s going on, for those of you out of the loop.

Effective 1 March 2024, the DBS Woman’s World Cardholders will earn 4 mpd on up to S$1,500 of online transactions per calendar month, cut from S$2,000 before. This means that over the course of a year, assuming you max out the cap each month, you’d earn 24,000 fewer miles, equivalent to a one-way Business Class ticket to Bangkok. 

There’s worse still to come from 1 April 2024, when UOB Lady’s Cardholders will see their promotional 6 mpd rate on a choice of up to two bonus categories revert to the regular 4 mpd. That’s still a decent earn rate, mind you, though obviously not as good as before. 

And if you’re a UOB Lady’s Solitaire Cardholder or UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Cardholder, your monthly bonus cap will be cut from S$3,000 to S$2,000 per calendar month from the same date. You’ll still be able to earn bonuses on two categories of your choice as before, though it does mean 48,000 fewer miles over a year – enough for a Suites Class ticket to Hong Kong (ouch).

It’s natural to be upset or disappointed when banks call time on generous promotions or nerf card benefits, but in the cold light of day, I’d still consider both cards to be crucial parts of any miles chaser’s strategy. 

Therefore, there should be no talk of cancelling either card. Even with their reduced caps (and earn rates, in the case of the UOB Lady’s Cards), there’s still plenty of use cases for both.

What you do need to think about, however, is how to adapt your spending strategy to accommodate the revised caps.

The key advantage of the DBS Woman’s World Card is its versatility, since it doesn’t matter whether you’re spending on food delivery, groceries, movie tickets, airfares, or shopping. So long as the transaction is processed online and doesn’t run afoul of general exclusions like insurance or charitable donations, you’re able to earn 4 mpd.

However, with a 25% reduction in its bonus cap, you will need to be a bit more judicious about which transactions you put on this card.

For example, food delivery could earn 4 mpd with the DBS Woman’s World Card, but why not charge it to the HSBC Revolution or UOB Preferred Platinum Visa instead? Likewise, Shopee purchases would earn 4 mpd with the DBS Woman’s World Card, but why not charge it to the Citi Rewards or OCBC Rewards Card instead?

Check out these other 4 mpd-earning miles credit cards!

• HSBC Revolution Card: 4 mpd on eligible online and contactless transactions
• UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card: 4 mpd on mobile contactless, online shopping, and entertainment transactions
• Citi Rewards: 4 mpd on eligible online transactions
• OCBC Rewards Card: 4 mpd on eligible online and in-person retail purchases

Either way, your earn rate would be the same, and offloading these transactions to other cards frees up the DBS Woman’s World Card’s bonus cap for other uses. For example, furniture purchases at Courts or IKEA fall under MCC 5712, an MCC which isn’t on the bonus list of any rewards card on the market. That would be justification to put it on the DBS Woman’s World Card (assuming you’re transacting online).

As sad as I am to see the upsized 6 mpd earn rate revert to the regular 4 mpd, it’s not the real headline for me because:

1. We always knew from the start that it was meant to be a limited-time offer (in fact, UOB extended the offer by a further month; it was originally slated to end on 29 February 2024)
2. A 4 mpd earn rate is still on par with the best rewards cards on the market

The bigger issue is the reduction in bonus cap for the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card/UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card. Back when the cap was S$3,000 per month, you could select Travel as your quarterly bonus category and soak up big-ticket purchases like airfares, hotel bookings, and cruises.

Now that the cap is S$2,000, you’ll need to exercise more caution. Just like the DBS Woman’s World Card, it’s all about finding alternatives: the HSBC Revolution earns 4 mpd on airfare and cruises, and the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card earns an uncapped 3 mpd on all Singapore Airlines and Scoot tickets. If you’re paying your hotel bill overseas, then the UOB Visa Signature is an option with its 4 mpd on all foreign currency spending, with a minimum spend of S$1,000 per statement month

Similar logic applies to other bonus categories as well.

The overall idea here is diversification, using other cards to soak up any spend that would overshoot the bonus cap on the UOB Lady’s Card.

Assuming you don’t mind earning a slightly reduced rate, the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card is actually a great option to have, because you earn an uncapped 3 mpd on dining, food delivery, online shopping, travel and transport. The main hurdle is that you have to spend at least S$800 on SIA Group transactions (Singapore Airlines, Scoot or KrisShop) in a membership year to qualify, but once that’s out of the way the bonuses are retroactive to the start of your membership year.

The reduced bonus caps on the DBS Woman’s World Card and UOB Lady’s Cards are certainly unwelcome, but if it’s any consolation, there’s no shortage of alternatives on the market that help you keep your average earn rate up. 

If you’re a DBS Woman’s World Cardmember, try and conserve its more flexible bonus cap for transactions that aren’t on the “whitelist” of other rewards cards on the market. If you’re a UOB Lady’s Cardmember, look for other rewards cards which can help pick up the slack for your bonus spending category.

Above all, breathe. Devaluations are part and parcel of the miles game, and there’ll always be other promotions to look forward to!