Another week, another new credit card launch. Hot on the heels of the HSBC TravelOne Credit Card from last week, this week Standard Chartered just announced the launch of their new Standard Chartered Journey Credit Card. Or should I say relaunch?
Standard Chartered has decided to rebrand its existing Standard Chartered X Card into the Journey Card, with various changes to its perks and earn rates.
| Features of Standard Chartered Journey Credit Card |
|---|
| 3 mpd on bonus category spend, up to S$1,000 per month |
| 2 free airport lounge visits per year |
| Non expiring points |
Sign up bonus
By signing up for the Standard Chartered Journey Credit Card, you’ll get to earn up to a total of 45,000 bonus miles.
| Sign up bonus breakdown |
|---|
| 10,000 miles after paying the annual fee of S$194.40 |
| 10,000 miles with foreign spend of S$5,000 |
| 25,000 miles, extra 5 mpd capped at a spend of S$5,000 within first 30 days of card approval |
On first look, the signup bonus looks really juicy. On further observation, you’ll notice that it’s not really much in terms of “free” signup bonus miles.
A significant part of it requires the paying of close to S$200 in annual fees. Another 10,000 miles is from foreign currency spend which you would have gotten anyway as a normal card benefit. Lastly, the extra 5 mpd during the first 30 days of card approval gives the card an effective earn rate of 6.2 mpd to 8 mpd on your first S$5,000.
Although this is fairly significant, it starts to pale in comparison when cards like the UOB Lady’s Cards are already giving up to 6 mpd non-promotional rates.
This is, in my opinion, a fairly weak signup bonus offered by Standard Chartered in recent years.
In addition, if you sign up with our exclusive link here, you’ll get to receive an additional S$20 via Paynow and a Rebound Tag. This offer is available until 31st May 2023.
Miles Earn Rate
| Earn Rates |
|---|
| 3 mpd for online transportation, food delivery, groceries and food stores |
| 2 mpd for foreign transaction spend |
| 1.2 mpd for local spend |
The Standard Chartered Journey Card has a standard earn rate of 2 mpd for foreign transaction spend and 1.2 mpd for local spend. This puts it firmly in line with the likes of the HSBC TravelOne Card and the DBS Altitude Card.
Its standout feature in terms of miles earned is its extra 3 mpd bonus for various online transactions. This is also a very short list of bonus categories. If you’re someone who takes a lot of Grab rides or orders Grabfood deliveries, this card might be good for you.
However, it pales in comparison to many 4 mpd credit cards in the market where you’ll earn miles 30% faster. Therefore, it’s unlikely I’ll get this card just for its miles-earning capabilities.
Free Airport Lounge Access
The credit card comes with a Priority Pass membership that has 2 complimentary lounge access per year. This is fairly standard and very similar to other general travel credit cards.
With the Priority Pass membership, you can visit 1000s of airport lounges around the world just before your flight. We think it’s a good idea to sign up for cards just for their Airport Lounge benefits as that has been the single biggest game-changer to our travel experience.
Non-Expiring Points
Points earned on the Standard Chartered Journey Card will never expire. This is similar to other general-purpose travel cards such as the DBS Altitude Card and Citi Premiermiles Card.
This is a great feature to have, especially if you’re not a huge spender and are unable to rack up huge swaths of points in a short amount of time.
No Foreign Transaction Fee (For Now)
As a limited-time promotion, the Standard Chartered Journey Card will not charge any foreign transaction fees between 1st June 2023 to 31 July 2023, and 1st November 2023 to 31 December 2023.
The way this works is that Standard Chartered will reimburse 3.5% of the charges to you as cashback. This effectively cancels out any existing fees on foreign currency charges.
These 2 periods of time coincide perfectly with the Singapore school holiday periods where families typically travel overseas for vacation. This makes the card a great option when overseas as you can earn miles without paying extra fees for them. As a recap, you’ll earn 2 mpd on all foreign currency spent on this card.
Existing Standard Chartered X Cardholders
All existing Standard Chartered X cardholders will be automatically converted into Standard Chartered Journey cardholders. If you have the Standard Chartered X Credit Card, you can continue using the physical metal card until it expires. Any digital wallets should continue to work without hiccups.
The benefits and card features will immediately switch over to those of the Standard Chartered Journey Card.
Requirements
The Standard Chartered Journey Card is an entry-level credit card. Therefore, it has the same income requirements as other similar cards.
For Singaporeans and permanent residents, a minimum of S$30,000 annual income. For foreigners, you’ll require a minimum of S$60,000 annual income instead.
Fees
The Standard Chartered Journey Card has an annual fee of S$194.40 which is waivable for the first year. However, if you choose to waive it, you’ll not receive the 10,000 miles for the signup bonus.
This is effectively buying miles at S$0.0194 per mile, which is quite a steep price to pay for a mile. If you’re able to redeem it for a valuable premium cabin flight, then it’s definitely worth it. Personally, I would not choose to pay the annual fee for the signup bonus.
Our Thoughts
We are in full travel season, with back-to-back travel credit card launches! I have never been more excited than before with regard to the Singapore credit card scene. It’s always refreshing to see banks come up with new products that keep up with the current travel landscape.
Although there are clear attempts by Standard Chartered to improve their card offerings with the Journey, I doubt I’ll be taking my travel journey with the bank. At least right now, there aren’t any standout features of the Journey Card that will make me apply for it immediately. The signup bonus is also not enticing enough for me to take advantage of.
I’m really glad Standard Chartered is rebranding its X Card, which at this point has started to become a bit of an old joke because of its various policy changes. I am optimistic for what the bank has to offer in the coming years!
