This is our full review of the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card.
The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card is UOB’s offering for the crowded 120k credit card space. In this segment of the market, banks are targeting higher-income earners looking for benefits that can elevate their lifestyle. These cards typically provide better card benefits over their ability to earn frequent flyer miles.
For folks who are in the market for shiny metal credit cards, UOB’s got your back. It even deliberately named it the “Metal Card” probably for SEO purposes.
The card has undergone some big transformations to its benefits in June 2023. Prior to that, it had never been the most exciting credit card in the 120k category. However, because of the change, it has become more enticing and provides a lot more value for the high annual fee that it charges. We’ll see if it now deserves a coveted spot in your wallet.
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card
Earning Miles
⚠️ mpd stands for “miles per dollar”. It’s the number of miles you’ll earn per dollar spent on the card.
| 1.4 mpd on local spend |
| 2.4 mpd on foreign currency spend |
You’ll earn UNI$ when you spend with the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card. These UNI$ can then be transferred into frequent flyer programs for flight redemptions.
The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card has a reasonable mpd earning rate for a general spending card. Unfortunately, it does not have any bonus categories that can let you earn more miles for your spending.
In general, this is not a card that you’ll want to use to accumulate miles for your next free business-class flight.
UOB Transfer Partners
| Transfer Partner | Transfer Ratio (UNI$ : Frequent Flyer Miles) |
|---|---|
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 5,000 : 10,000 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 5,000 : 10,000 |
| AirAsia | 2,500 : 4,500 |
The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card does not boast the most transfer partners compared to its competition from other banks. It only has the standard KrisFlyer and Asia Miles programs that most other credit cards have.
As a UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card cardholder, all transfers from UNI$ to frequent flyer miles are free of charge. This can amount to a substantial saving as those ~S$25 transfer fees can add up over time.
Does UOB Pool Points Together?
Yes, UOB allows you to pool your hard-earned UNI$ across different UOB credit cards together when making a redemption.
This is great if you have other UOB cards like the UOB Preferred Platinum Card or the UOB Lady’s Cards which are amazing cards for earning a ton of FFP miles. Remember, as a card member of the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card, you do not need to pay any fees to transfer UNI$ over to FFP miles.
Therefore, having the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card can be a great amazing hack to avoid paying those S$25-27 fees to transfer UNI$ earned through other UOB cards.
Expiry of UNI$
UNI$ earned from the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card will expire 2 years after the end of the quarter from which they were earned. This is quite a mouthful, so let’s break it down with a simple example.
| Miles Credited | Quarter | Expiry Date |
|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2023 | Q1 2023 | 31 March 2025 |
| 1 August 2023 | Q3 2023 | 30 September 2025 |
Earn an additional 15,000 miles Every Year
You can earn an additional 15,000 miles at card renewal every year if you’ve spent a minimum of S$100,000 in the previous membership year.
S$100,000 is a considerable sum of money to spend every year on a single credit card. Moreover, the standard earning rates of the UOB Visa Infinite are not high enough for me to even recommend them for regular spending. The opportunity cost of using this card for spending is too high, considering there are many cards out there that provide 4-6 mpd on bonus category spending.
Therefore, I would imagine this is a benefit that will be applicable to a very small subset of individuals only.
Sign Up Offer
| Offers Available |
|---|
| 80,000 miles for new UOB cardholders |
| 40,000 miles for existing UOB cardholders |
The sign-up offer is available to new and existing UOB credit card members. The main difference lies in the number of miles awarded.
You are considered a new UOB credit card member if you do not currently have any UOB credit cards and have not cancelled any UOB credit cards within the last 12 months before your application.
For both sign-up offers, cardholders must pay the 1st year annual fee of S$648 and spend S$4,000 within 30 days of your card approval.
Monthly GrabGift Vouchers
You’ll receive 2 S$5 GrabGift vouchers every month for being a UOB Visa Infinite cardholder. The voucher codes will be sent via SMS and they can be used across various Grab services like Transport, Food, Mart and Express.
Over the course of a year, that adds up to S$120 in value. If you’re a frequent user of Grab services, you should be able to use the vouchers with ease and can count them at face value.
Unlimited Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card provides unlimited complimentary airport lounge access for the primary cardholder and 1 guest via Dragon Pass.
This is one of the most generous lounge offerings out of most other credit cards in the market. The only other card that comes close would be the Citi Prestige Card which has similar complimentary limits but is provided by the Priority Pass program instead.
Personally, I’d choose Priority Pass over Dragon Pass because Priority Pass has a restaurant program that gives you complimentary meals in select airport restaurants.
Pan Pacific DISCOVERY Platinum Status
UOB Visa Infinite Metal cardholders will be upgraded to Pan Pacific’s DISCOVERY Platinum Status.
| Early check-in from 9 am and late check-out until 3 pm, subject to availability |
| Guaranteed room availability |
| Double room upgrade, subject to availability |
| Choice of local amenity |
| 10% off best available rate and members exclusive offers |
The Pan Pacific Group has 550 hotels that span across 77 countries.
It does not have the footprint of more prominent hotel brands like Marriott or Hilton, but if you stay at Pan Pacific hotels frequently, this status upgrade can be fairly useful for you.
Dining Benefits
The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card offers various discounts across various dining establishments. These restaurants are mostly situated within hotel properties.
| Hotel | Restaurants | Discount |
|---|---|---|
| Sheraton Towers Singapore Hotel | – The Dining Room – Lobby Bar – Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant | 30% off a la carte food bill |
| Pan Pacific | – Edge – Hai Tien Lo – Keyaki | 50% off a la carte food bill for 2 diners on weekdays, 30% off a la carte food bill for more than 2 diners |
| PARKROYAL | – Lime – Club 5 – Ginger – Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant – Spice Brasserie | 50% off a la carte food bill for 2 diners on weekdays, 30% off a la carte food bill for more than 2 diners |
| The Ritz Carlton, Millenia Singapore | – Colony: Lunch Buffet – Republic: Afternoon Tea | 30% off total bill on weekdays |
| The Fullerton Hotels Singapore | – The Courtyard – Town Restaurant – Jade – The landing Point – La Brasserie | 50% off dining bill for 2 diners or 30% off dining bills for more than 2 diners |
COMO Group Benefits
It appears that UOB has struck a good deal with the COMO Group. There are multiple COMO Group-related deals for card members.
- 10% off at Club21 and Kids21 Stores
- 4th night free at select COMO Hotels and Resorts
- 20% off COMO Shambhala Anywhere App annual subscription
These are very specific benefits and can only really benefit you if you’re already a COMO group patron.
As for the 4th night free at select COMO Hotels and Resorts, there are some valuable properties in the Maldives that this offer applies to. A night at any of these hotels easily goes for S$1300, so you’re making a huge saving if you can take advantage of this. This promotion only lasts until 31 December 2023.
Golf Benefits
As a luxury credit card, it provides several golfing benefits and discounts around Singapore and the region.
| Complimentary weekday green fees with 1 fee-paying guest at Sentosa Golf Club |
| 50% off weekday green fees at 50 golf clubs across Southeast Asia |
For the overseas golf benefits, it has to be booked through Visa’s booking portal here.
Personally, I’m not a golfer, so this benefit does not apply to me. Doing a quick search on the green fees for Sentosa Golf Club for a weekday reservation, it easily goes for S$240 per person for members and S$370 per person for visitors. This can be a huge saving if you are able to take advantage of this benefit.
Travel Insurance
The UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card provides up to US$1,000,000 in personal travel accident insurance for the primary cardholder and a spouse. This includes accidental death or permanent disability that arises due to a covered trip.
In addition, it also provides travel inconvenience coverage such as lost baggage, flight delays and missed connections. This travel inconvenience coverage is quite extensive and contains most of what other common travel insurance has.
To be eligible for travel insurance, you’ll have to charge the airfare of the trip to the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card.
As a rule, we always advocate to not solely rely on a credit card’s travel insurance for travel. It’s always better to purchase a standalone travel insurance package as most credit card insurances are not extensive. However, the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card’s coverage is one of the best we’ve seen out there and can easily stand in for those short trips to nearby countries.
Eligibility
You’ll need to have a minimum annual income of S$120,000 to be eligible for the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card.
This makes the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card a mid-tier credit card when it comes to its eligibility criteria.
Fees
| Fee Type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual Fee | S$648 |
| Supplementary Card | Free for the first card, subsequent cards S$290.69 |
The annual fee of S$648 is strictly non-waivable.
For paying the annual fee every year, you’ll receive 25,000 miles. That translates to purchasing the miles at 2.59 cents per mile which is very steep when compared to similar cards. However, we have to take into account other benefits provided to get a holistic view of the card.
My Verdict – Should you get the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card?
It depends. Personally, it’s hard for me to justify owning the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card.
It has a higher annual fee than the other 120k credit cards. With that, it needs to have more benefits that can help me “recoup” the annual fee. For me, the most applicable benefits would be the Grab Gift Vouchers and the very generous lounge access policy.
It’s unlikely I’d take advantage of the other benefits it offers as they do not apply to my usual lifestyle. I do not golf, I do not regularly patronize COMO establishments and I do not frequently dine in hotel restaurants if I’m not staying there.
Ultimately, I believe it depends a lot on your lifestyle and whether these benefits apply to you.
As a comparison, I would think that the Citi Prestige Card offers more bang for the buck within this category of credit cards.
Subscribe to us on Telegram
Join JS and Marilyn on Telegram to receive insider travel hacking tips and exclusive deals. Subscribe to unlock a world of wanderlust.
