Nerfed (And a Tiny Bit Buffed): UOB Visa Signature Adds SimplyGo For 4 Miles Per Dollar, But Introduces Category Sub-Limits
In case you haven’t noticed, the past couple of days have been rough. Banks are wielding the Nerf Hammer indiscriminately and smashing things left and right (stay subscribed for a summary piece on recent changes). UOB Visa Signature is one such casualty of recent nerfs as the card will see sub-limits imposed on both of its spend categories. A silver lining is that SimplyGo transactions are added to the card’s 4 miles per dollar earn rate. The overall monthly cap is also going up, but this isn’t really good news because of the category sub-limits as we will see later.
New cardholders whose cards are approved from 1st July 2025 onwards will be affected immediately. Existing cardholders whose cards were approved before 1st July 2025 will have the changes effected from their September 2025 statement, though the new addition of SimplyGo transactions will happen immediately.
The good news: SimplyGo transactions now earn 10X UNI$ per S$5 (or 4 miles per dollar)
The buff that UOB Visa Signature has received its the ability to now earn UNI$10 per S$5 or 4 miles per dollar on SimplyGo transactions. This will fall under the card’s Petrol and/or Contactless Transactions category. As usual, a minimum monthly spend of S$1,000 within this category is required to earn 4 miles per dollar, failing which the earn rate is just 0.4 miles per dollar.
Cardholders should also not be too worried about SimplyGo transactions being only a couple of dollars each ride (note to Ministry of Transport: this is not a challenge for another fare hike) because for SimplyGo transactions, UOB will award points based on the entire month’s accumulated spend on such transactions. Also, UOB Visa Signature isn’t that affected by UOB’s S$5 spending blocks, so the amount of miles lost is negligble.
Miles cards that give good rewards on bus and MRT rides are pretty rare — perhaps because people who chase miles for business class don’t take public transport? I kid, of course — so having this additional option should be great news.
The bad news: UOB Visa Signature says hello to category sub-limits
Unfortunately, that was not the only thing that UOB changed about the card. UOB Visa Signature is introducing category sub-limits for the card now, where previously there was only an overall limit to worry about.
UOB Visa Signature has two categories:
- Overseas Transactions
- Petrol Spend and/or Contactless Payment (now with SimplyGo)
Each category will have its own cap of 4,800 miles for 4 miles per dollar per statement month. This means that the maximum spend that will earn 4 miles per dollar is now capped at S$1,200 per category. Any amount exceeding this will earn just 0.4 miles per dollar.
Cardholders will still need to spend at least S$1,000 within the category they wish to unlock 4 miles per dollar on.
Bigger spenders are now affected
Pre-nerf, both categories had a shared, overall cap of 8,000 miles (or S$2,000 spend) per statement month. This means that if you wanted to, you could spend up to S$2,000 within Category 1 (if you’re having a holiday) or Category 2 (you’re living your best life in Singapore) and get the full 8,000 miles on the 4 miles per dollar earn rate.
Post-nerf, this will no longer be possible as you can only get 4 miles per dollar on a maximum of S$1,200 of spend within a single category.
| Scenario | Pre-Nerf Miles | Post-Nerf Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Spending S$1,800 during holiday (Overseas Transactions Category) | 7,200 miles (4 miles per dollar on S$1,800) | 4,800 miles for the first S$1,200 (4 miles per dollar) + 204 miles for remaining S$600 (0.4 miles per dollar) |
| Or, buying a S$2,000 laptop (Contactless Payment Category) | 8,000 miles (4 miles per dollar on S$2,000) | 4,800 miles for the first S$1,200 (4 miles per dollar) + 320 miles for the remaining S$800 (0.4 miles per dollar) |
Cardholders should thus only spend between S$1,000 to S$1,200 in either category and move on to other cards once they reach this amount.
Maxing out the card would be difficult
With the changes, the overall spend capacity of the card would be raised from S$2,000 per month to S$2,400 per month, or an increase from 8,000 miles to 9,600 miles. While it seems like good news, making full use of this larger overall cap rate requires both categories to be maxed out — you need to spend S$1,000 to S$1,200 in the contactless payment category plus another S$1,000 to S$1,200 in the foreign currency category within a statement month. It’s not impossible, but clearly more difficult than before where cardholders just needed to clock spend in just one category.
As a reminder, the two categories are not interchangeable. If your transaction is in foreign currency, it will not be counted as contactless payment even if you paid by tapping your card or phone against a contactless payment terminal.
Summary of Changes
For new cardholders whose cards are approved from 1st July 2025 will be using the revised card features. Existing cardholders (cards approved before 1st July 2025) will have most of the changes beginning from their September 2025 statement, though they can start enjoying 4 miles per dollar on SimplyGo transactions immediately.
| Pre-Nerf | Post-Nerf | Effective Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overseas Transactions | Shared cap of S$2,000 across both categories | Capped at S$1,200 individually | Maximum spend cap reduced by S$800 |
| Petrol / Contactless | Shared cap of S$2,000 across both categories | Capped at S$1,200 individually | Maximum spend cap reduced by S$800 |
| SimplyGo | 0.4 miles per dollar | 4 miles per dollar | Included under Petrol / Contactless Category (effective immediately) |
| Minimum Spend | S$1,000 in one category for 4 miles per dollar on that category | S$1,000 in one category for 4 miles per dollar on that category | No change |
| Total Possible Spend at 4 Miles Per Dollar | S$2,000 combined | S$2,400 total (S$1,200 + S$1,200) | S$400 more spend, but split between 2 categories |
| Maximum Miles | 8,000 miles (UNI$4,000) | 9,600 miles (UNI$4,800) | 1,600 more miles, but much harder to achieve in reality |
When exactly is your September 2025 statement?
Generally speaking, your spend in July 2025 should form your August 2025 statement. This means that spending in August (but not all) will fall under September 2025’s statement.
Check out this article to find out the exact dates:
Nerf survival guide
It’s difficult to replace UOB Visa Signature’s S$2,000 monthly cap for 4 miles per dollar, but I don’t think all hope is lost. If you have been regularly clocking more than S$1,200 of spend on UOB Visa Signature each month, a simple workaround of sorts would be to stop using this card after you have reached S$1,200 of spend, then swap over to your UOB Preferred Platinum Visa card for your remaining expenses. Combined, both cards can give you 4 miles per dollar on S$2,310 of spend each month.
When it comes to larger transactions, politely asking the cashier to split payments across 2 cards usually works for me. Some places may refuse, of course, but it doesn’t hurt to ask before deciding to make your purchase or take your business elsewhere.
Besides the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, you may also wish to consider HSBC Revolution which was recently buffed to offer 4 miles per dollar on contactless payments with an increased cap of S$1,500 per month. Given the lack of conversion fees and small conversion blocks, it’s worth switching over even temporarily provided you are okay to explore beyond KrisFlyer miles.
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From the September 2025 statement onwards, UOB Visa Signature cardholders who have been used to the roomy S$2,000 per category limit will soon see a huge 40% cut to the maximum amount of spend they can put on their card for 4 miles per dollar. Having SimplyGo can prove useful for some, but given the relatively low amount of spend most people have in this area, these changes are an overall knock to the card’s usefulness.
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Seth Wee was a licensed financial adviser representative from 2009 to 2025, with over 16 years of experience in Singapore’s financial advisory industry.
He started Sethisfy.com in 2019 to share practical insights on credit cards, banking products, and miles strategies, helping readers identify financial products that deliver the best value. Seth has been featured in CNA, Channel 8, Today, and a host of other publications. In 2025, he was also part of a panel at CPF’s Ready For Life festival.
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