Most people jump straight to comparing earn rates. Four miles per dollar here, ten times points there. But if you book travel that way, you are leaving the biggest savings on the table before the card even comes out of your wallet.
Platform discounts come first. Always. A 50% off promo on Traveloka is instant cash. Miles are a slow accumulation. Both matter, but the order matters more.
Start here: platform deals before cards
Traveloka runs a 50% off every Thursday from 12am for DBS cardholders, capped at $50. So on a $100 booking you walk away paying $50. That is real money, not points. And one of the best cards to pair with this is the DBS Women World Card, which earns 4 miles per dollar on online spending.
Traveloka also has a Citi promo, though it is less generous at the time of recording: $60 off a minimum spend of $600, starting every Wednesday at 12am. The cards that still earn points on travel with Citi are PremierMiles and Prestige. Citi Rewards and SMRT exclude travel bookings entirely, so those two do not apply here.
Before clicking through to Traveloka, also consider going via Heymax or ShopBack first. Heymax stacks miles on top of your card earn. ShopBack gives cashback. Both work as a click-through layer before you land on the platform. I have referral links for both in the resources section below.
Card 1: HSBC Revolution
The Revolution is on the list because of the Revo-up promo, which gives 10X points or 4 miles per dollar on online travel up to $1,500 spend per month. That promo was running until 28 Feb 2026 at the time of recording, subject to any extension.
The key thing to know: it covers airlines and hotel bookings made online, but not travel agents or travel platforms. Check the MCC before spending. Heymax has a merchant code lookup tool that is useful here.
One note on HSBC points: most people default to converting to KrisFlyer but the transfer ratio is not the best. EVA Air Infinity MileageLands gives a better conversion. Worth checking before you redeem.
HSBC also tends to have competitive sign-up offers via SingSaver. Check what is live before you apply.
🎻 HSBC Revolution – Two ways to sign up. SingSaver usually has the best welcome gift. HSBC official has existing cardholder offers too.
HSBC Revolution via SingSaver →HSBC Official Card Offers →
Card 2: DBS Women World Card
This card earns 4 miles per dollar or 10X points on all online spending, which includes travel. No minimum spend required, which is a genuine advantage. The catch is the $1,000 per calendar month cap. For a solo traveller that is often fine. For a family booking flights and hotels in one go, it can fill quickly.
A simple workaround: split your bookings across two months. Book flights in one month, hotels the next. It takes a little planning but keeps you within the cap each time.
Points expire in roughly one year so do not let them sit too long. Check the expiry via your DBS PayLah app.
This card also stacks cleanly with the Traveloka DBS Thursday promo. Book through Traveloka, get up to $50 off, then earn 4 miles per dollar on what you actually pay. That combination is one of the best setups available for travel bookings right now.
🏠 DBS Women World Card – Apply via my referral link. Stack it with the Traveloka Thursday promo from day one.
DBS Women World Mastercard →Card 3: UOB Lady's / Lady's Solitaire
These two cards share the same mechanic but differ in income requirement and category flexibility. The Lady's Card requires $30,000 annual income. The Solitaire requires $120,000. Both earn 4 miles per dollar when Travel is selected as the bonus category.
The key difference from DBS Women World: UOB Lady's works for both online and offline travel transactions. So if you walk up to a hotel front desk and pay there, the 4 miles per dollar still applies as long as Travel is your selected category.
Lady's Card allows one bonus category, capped at $1,000 per month. Solitaire allows two categories, but the cap drops to $750 per category. If you are spending close to $1,000 on travel alone each month, the standard Lady's Card actually gives you more room than the Solitaire.
There is also a bonus: if you maintain at least $10,000 monthly average balance in a UOB Lady's Savings Account, you earn an extra 2 miles per dollar on top. And there is no minimum spend requirement, which keeps it flexible for smaller bookings too.
👑 UOB Lady's / Solitaire – Apply via my referral link. Remember to select Travel as your bonus category right after activation.
UOB Lady's Card →Card 4: KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card
This one is for a specific type of traveller. If you are loyal to Singapore Airlines or Scoot and already spend on them regularly, it makes a lot of sense. If not, it probably does not.
The headline rate is 3 miles per dollar on Singapore Airlines, Scoot, KrisShop and Pelago with no monthly cap. You also earn 2.4 miles per dollar on dining, food delivery, online shopping, online travel and transport. But that 2.4 rate only unlocks after you hit $1,000 spend per year across SIA, Scoot or KrisShop. Before that threshold, the fallback rate is 1.2 miles per dollar.
The standout benefit is that miles transfer directly to KrisFlyer with no conversion fee. Every other bank card charges a fee when you move points to an airline programme. This card skips that step entirely.
✈️ KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card – Apply via SingSaver or UOB direct. No transfer fee to KrisFlyer means your miles credit automatically every month.
SingSaver – KrisFlyer UOB →Card 5: Maybank XL Card
This is the newer card in my wallet and it earns 4 miles per dollar or 5% cashback on flights, hotels and travel agencies. What sets it apart is the foreign currency spend: it earns at the same rate when you spend overseas or make foreign currency transactions online. Most travel cards stop rewarding you the moment you leave Singapore.
There is an age requirement though. You have to be 39 or below when you apply. If you are 40 or above, this card is not available to you.
There is also a minimum spend of $500 per calendar month to unlock the bonus earn. The rewards cap works out to roughly $1,000 spend for the miles version and $1,600 for the cashback version. That is higher than both the DBS Women World and the UOB Lady's Card.
Because it is a Mastercard, you can also link it to Instarem Amaze to reduce foreign currency fees on other spend categories like dining and shopping overseas. The combination gives you coverage across both your travel bookings and your on-the-ground spending when you actually travel.
💳 Maybank XL Card – Age 39 and below only. Check whether you want the miles or cashback version before applying.
Maybank XL via SingSaver →My actual strategy
When I am booking travel, the first thing I check is whether Traveloka has a promo that week. If it does, I book through Traveloka on Thursday 12am, pay with my DBS Women World Card, get up to $50 off the booking, and earn 4 miles per dollar on what I actually pay. That is the lowest effort, highest value move available.
When Traveloka does not apply, I go to the Maybank XL Card. The higher spend cap and the foreign currency earn rate make it the most versatile card for travel overall. It covers your bookings before the trip and your spending during it.
For everything else, it depends on which bank you are already accumulating points with and whether pooling makes more sense than spreading across programmes.
If you want to see how these cards fit into a broader credit card strategy for 2026, my credit card strategy post covers the full picture.