Why I’m Using StanChart Journey For My Holidays

Travel season is upon us and the number of “which card should I use overseas” queries has been increasing in frequency over at the Telegram. Well, I’m also travelling right now, so I’ll postpone a “what card to use for travel” piece. To keep things short: I’ve chosen to use the StanChart Journey for the recent two trips I’ve been on.

Fuss-free miles card for travelling in November and December 2023

The StanChart Journey card is offering a very simple and fuss-free deal: get 100% of the foreign currency fee incurred in November and December 2023 rebated in full by 29th February 2024. There is no registration required, no minimum spend, no maximum cap. It’s a pretty straightforward promo and my card of choice for my holiday spend. See the terms and conditions here.

The fuss-free nature of the promo also broadens its appeal. Not having to care about MCCs, caps or minimum spends frees up mental bandwidth which is important when it comes to travelling. But this is just my preference and as you’ll see there are plenty of good options too.

Compared to other miles options

Compared to other common miles options, I think StanChart Journey’s promo holds up pretty well. A common way to earn miles overseas would be to use Instarem Amaze + Citi Rewards for 4 miles per dollar which works for almost all areas of spend or even UOB Lady’s for 6 miles per dollar for selected categories.

Card	Visa/Mastercard Spread	Other Spread	Earn Rate	Cost Per Mile
StanChart Journey	~0.5%	0% (rebated in full)	2 miles per dollar	0.25 cents
Amaze + UOB Lady’s	~0.5%	~1.5% (Amaze linked card rate of around 2% minus 0.5% InstaPoint rebate*)	6 miles per dollar	0.33 cents
Amaze + Citi Rewards	~0.5%	~1.5% (Amaze linked card rate of around 2% minus 0.5% InstaPoint rebate*)	4 miles per dollar	0.5 cents

While StanChart Journey will provide the cheapest way to earn miles, it might not be everyone’s preferred method. Paying a bit more for more miles is an entirely reasonable option to go for.

To illustrate, for a S$1,000 purchase, a StanChart Journey user will incur about S$5 of fee and get 2,000 miles. A UOB Lady’s will incur about S$20 of fees and get 6,000 miles (assuming the transaction is within the UOB Lady’s user’s chosen categories). This means that the UOB Lady’s user has paid about S$15 more for 4,000 more miles. It is actually a very decent rate and something well worth considering if you want more miles and willing to pay a bit more for it.

Personally I don’t want to have to worry about MCCs which means UOB Lady’s is out of the picture, and my Citi Rewards’ S$1,000 cap is reserved for recurring expenses each month. StanChart Journey is thus a good option for my travel spend, especially since I already have a bunch of points with the card from other non-travel related uses.

If you’re not a miles person

If you’re not into miles (which is kinda like saying no to USD because you only spend SGD), there are plenty of other options available. Personally, I am thinking of using my UOB EVOL for a bit during my trip to meet the minimum spend for the card’s cashback and my UOB One account’s bonus interest.

Other usual cashback cards like Citi Cashback and Maybank Family and Friends work almost as well overseas as they do in Singapore assuming you can meet the cards requirements. As Mastercard cards, you should also pair it with Amaze to get a lower foreign currency fee.

Again, these options don’t appeal to me much because of the more troublesome nature of the conditions. To me, these cards are better used for predictable monthly expenses which travel expenses don’t fall under.

Travel wallet apps

There are of course wallet apps like YouTrip and newly released iChange that you can count on for your travel expenditure. As someone interested in card rewards, I don’t find much use from them, but those who just want something simple with good rates can compare between those two.

Have a safe trip

Okay incredibly jet-lagged so see you in the Telegram (hopefully tomorrow over hotel breakfast).

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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