5 Metal Credit Cards You Can Apply in Singapore (2024)

There's something unique about metal credit cards that sets them apart from their plastic counterparts. 

After all, the first-ever metal card was the American Express Centurion Card, issued in 1999 and held by celebrities and ultra-high net worth individuals. To own one was a statement in itself, and a symbol of the holder’s status and wealth. At the moment, Amex's Platinum Charge Card is leading the company's premium card line.

Today, though, the premium metal card trend has diffused downwards. It’s not quite mass market territory, but a number of high-end credit cards have switched to metal cardstock, providing a way for affluent-but-not-quite-loaded individuals to get in on the action too.

Note: Other metal cards in Singapore include the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card, Citi ULTIMA, American Express Centurion, DBS Insignia and UOB Reserve. However, since these are invite-only offerings, we won’t cover them in this article.

If you want to learn more about these cards, you can read this article. 

At the time of writing, the metal card with the lowest income requirement and annual fee is the OCBC VOYAGE (S$498 a year) assuming that you paid the first-time annual fee of S$3,278 (worth 15,000 VOYAGE Miles). Remember that, unlike regular plastic cards, it’s almost impossible to get an annual fee waiver on a metal card – the annual fee is part of the cost of entry. 

So there are more than a few options for metal cards. But how do they measure up in terms of features?

With options comes the need to take your pick. While these metal credit cards are all fancy to look at and packed to the brim with exclusive perks befitting those who enjoy the finer things in life, they aren’t created the same. Your wallet will thank you if you take the effort to pick one that best suits your lifestyle. 

The AMEX Platinum Charge Card is undeniably the priciest metal card in this bunch but this charge card is one to consider if you are on the lookout for tangible, money-saving luxury perks. 

For starters, it’s hard to beat the S$1,354 statement credits you’ll receive yearly, Fine Hotels & Resorts benefits worth S$800, and complimentary elite status for Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, Radisson Rewards, and Pan Pacific DISCOVERY hotel loyalty programs. Its free airport lounge access perk is one of the most generous on the market, too. 

Apart from exclusive golf privileges and complimentary access to the elite, members-only Tower Club Singapore, the AMEX Platinum Card also lets you enjoy all-day free parking at Great World City from Friday to Sunday.

Besides 1-for-1 drinks with the Chillax programme, you can also look forward to saving up to 50% on your food bills with the Love Dining programme.

Starting from early 2023, Platinum cardholders stand to earn new benefits up to S$1,354 a year, in addition to other existing privileges.

These perks include:

• Up to S$200 Global Dining Credits: Access to over 1,400 restaurants in 20 countries

• Up to S$200 Local Dining Credits: Access to over 25 local restaurants

• Up to S$204 Entertainment Credits: For streaming and news subscriptions, split across up to S$17 credits per month

• S$200 Airline Credits: With min. S$600 spend on Singapore Airlines or Scoot flights 

• S$400 Lifestyle Credits: Access to a slew of experiences and services (e.g. wine and spa services) with min. S$600 on participating lifestyle partners in a single receipt

• Up to S$150 Fashion Credits: Up to S$75 rebate in credits every 6-month redemption period with NET-A-PORTER and MR PORTER

• Complimentary 1-night stay: Click here for more details

Note: These statement credits require enrolment before redemption is permitted. Please head over to their Benefits page to find out how to enrol your credits.

In terms of flexibility, DBS Vantage allows cardholders to switch flexibly between 2.2 mpd or 2.2% cashback (for overseas spending). 

With an S$120,000 annual income requirement, this card may not be for everyone but consider getting this lifestyle travel card if you appreciate the finer things in life. 

For instance, apart from the exclusive DiningCity perks at 50 restaurants including Michelin-awarded restaurants, there is also a complimentary Accor Plus Explorer Membership which gifts you one hotel night stay. 

Car owners can also save up to 19% off on fuel spending at Esso. 

For avid travellers who relish planning your trips online, you'll earn up to 6 miles per S$1 on Expedia bookings. 

New cardmembers will also receive 80,000 miles upon card approval and activation.

As its name may suggest, the Citi Prestige Card offers spectacular travel and lifestyle perks that could possibly pay for itself in no time. Just to highlight a few, cardmembers can enjoy benefits such as unlimited airport lounge access worldwide, unlimited complimentary 4th-night free hotel or resort stay globally, complimentary golf games, welcome bonus of 50,000 bonus miles when you pay the annual fee, and more. 

While its miles earning rate stands at 1.3 mpd for local spend and 2 mpd for overseas spend, Citi banking customers with Citigold/Citigold Private Client relationship can receive up to 30% additional annual Relationship Bonus, depending on their spending and relationship built with the bank. 

Another point to note? You can earn unlimited, flexible, expiry-free ThankYou Points with the Citi Prestige Card. 

Want to dip your feet into the world of metal cards but aren’t quite ready to splurge on it just yet? Consider the OCBC Voyage Card. All you have to do is pick the S$492.50 annual fee option, which comes with 15,000 VOYAGE miles. The S$3,240 option comes with a whopping 150,000 VOYAGE miles! 

​​Apart from being the most affordable metal card in this crowd, the OCBC Voyage Card offers the most generous miles earning rate for overseas spend: it lets you earn 2.2 mpd on foreign currency spend and 1.3 mpd locally. OCBC Premier, OCBC Premier Private Client and Bank of Singapore VOYAGE Card will earn 1.6 mpd locally and 2.3 mpd on foreign currency spend. 

The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card offers 1.4 mpd for local spends and 2.4 mpd for overseas spend.

Aside from unlimited airport lounge access for you and one guest via Dragon Pass, you also enjoy a slew of benefits, including top-notch concierge and support services anywhere, anytime, and your dedicated UOB Visa Infinite Concierge, which is available 24/7 no matter where you are to assist you from reserving seats at Michelin-starred restaurants to purchasing luxury items. 

The UOB Travel Concierge can help you with anything travel-related while the UOB Medical Concierge offers 24-hour toll-free access to premier medical concierge services supported by Parkway Hospitals Singapore. Say hello to fast-tracked appointment scheduling, finding proper medical specialists and more. 

You can even consult a doctor without leaving the comfort of your home via the WhiteCoat app whenever you are feeling under the weather. How does this work? You’ll be connected to an in-house Singapore-registered GP in no time. The convenience doesn’t stop there. Within 90 minutes, you can expect to receive your prescribed medication at your doorstep. If that’s not impressive, I don’t know what else is.

Mile earning rates

Let’s first look at how many miles each of these cards earns for local and overseas spending. The numbers are quite tight here (except for the AMEX Platinum Charge, which clearly isn’t a miles-earning powerhouse), with local earn rates between 1.2-1.4 mpd, and overseas rates between 2.0-2.2 mpd. 

Miles with annual fee

In addition to earning miles from your everyday spending, you can also receive miles by paying the annual fee on most of these cards.

*Welcome offer: Spend min. S$2,000 in first 2 months of card application + pay annual fee. For new Citi Prestige cardmembers only.

The Citi Prestige and OCBC Voyage offer the lowest cents per mile between 1.09 to 3.32 cents. This is followed by the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card at 2.61 cents per mile. 

It’s worth mentioning that the AMEX Platinum Charge doesn’t actually offer miles with just the annual fee renewal. Instead, it typically comes hand-in-hand with a minimum spend requirement within the first 3 months of card approval too – S$15,000 for new-to-AMEX cardmembers and S$10,000 for existing cardmembers

Airport lounge access and limo benefits

Complimentary airport lounge access can be a great perk, especially when you’re flying economy or on a budget airline. But again, not all metal cards are made equal in this respect. Some offer extremely anaemic benefits, while others offer access to multiple lounge networks, complete with guest privileges.  

The strongest card here is undoubtedly the AMEX Platinum Charge card.

Cardmembers get to enjoy unlimited Priority Pass lounge visits as well as access to American Express and Centurion airport lounges, and Delta SkyClubs when flying on Delta Air Lines. What’s more, supplementary cardholders (the first two supplementary cards are free) enjoy the same lounge benefits. Not to mention, both you and one supplementary cardholder can bring a guest each. 

Complimentary airport transfers are another useful perk, although only two metal cards offer them at the moment – the Citi Prestige and OCBC VOYAGE.

Dining benefits

Dining benefits can take the form of discounts on F&B or outright dining credit through vouchers. 

Cardmembers can enjoy up to 50% off dining at selected hotels and restaurants with Love Dining benefits. This includes A-list restaurants like Brasserie Les Saveurs, SKAI Restaurant, Lantern, The Landing Point, Basilico, Yan Ting and Wooloomooloo Steakhouse.

To cap it off, they can get complimentary drinks under the Chillax programme at Botanico, Club 5, Portman's Bar, Smoke & Mirrors, Horse’s Mouth Bar, Monti and other drinking holes. 

Plus, with AMEX's revamp of statement credits earlier this year, Platinum Charge cardmembers now have S$200 worth of annual dining allowance for local and overseas restaurants each – making it S$400 in total every year.

All cards offer complimentary travel insurance (although the quantum and scope of coverage can differ significantly, so be sure to read the T&Cs!), but some go beyond that by offering unique perks. 

For example, the Citi Prestige gives you the fourth night free on hotel stays, which can potentially help to pay for the annual fee. The OCBC VOYAGE allows you to redeem VOYAGE miles for any cabin on any flight at a fixed cash value. The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card offers preferential yacht chartering packages with Valencia Yachts.

But it’s hard to compete with the AMEX Platinum Charge card, which offers S$800 of airline and hotel credits, Fine Hotels & Resorts benefits worth S$750, elite status with hotel chains like Hilton and Marriott, complimentary green fees, complimentary access into the elite, members-only Tower Club and much more.

The S$1,744 annual fee is the most expensive of all the metal cards here, almost three times as expensive in some cases. But if you’re willing to shell out that money, you’ll find the benefits to be pretty substantial — especially if you're looking forward to regular leisure travel again.  

If you choose to get a metal card, always remember the hefty annual fees that it comes with. This means it’s a good idea to do an analysis of the costs and benefits of owning one. A metal card is meant to make your pocket heavier, not lighter after all. 

Thinking of applying for a Premium Credit Card? Click below to compare and learn more about them!