They say that Halloween is a time when certain supernatural phenomena may be observed.
That’s certainly true in the credit card world, because the BOC Elite Miles World Mastercard has just been resurrected with welcome offer of up to 60,000 miles.
And you know what? Compared to the previous welcome offer we saw back in December 2022, there have been improvements: no more “first X” cap, and no more sending in a physical redemption letter to claim your miles!
But don’t lose heart, fans of the paranormal. This being BOC, there’s still plenty of unusual things lurking in the T&Cs…
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| Apply Here |
From 16 October to 31 December 2023, customers who apply for a BOC Elite Miles Card with the promo code BOCEM will be eligible for the following welcome offer:
| New-to-bank | New-to-card | |
| Pay S$205.20 annual fee | 20,000 miles | 10,000 miles |
| Qualifying spend of ≥S$1,000 ≥S$2,000 | 20,000 miles 40,000 miles | 10,000 miles 20,000 miles |
| Total | Up to 60,000 miles | Up to 30,000 miles |
In addition to applying with the promo code, cardholders must also register by sending the following SMS to 75665:
| 📱 SMS to 75665 |
| BOCEMLast 4 characters of NRIC or passportFrequent Flyer Programme Number (Example: BOCEM 234A 848583883) |
You might find the extra step annoying, but I assure you: registration by SMS is space age stuff as far as BOC is concerned!
New-to-bank customers are defined as those who:
New-to-card customers are defined as those who:
Unfortunately, BOC is sticking with its punitive definition of “new”, because holding a supplementary card will disqualify you from enjoying this welcome offer!
BOC is the only bank on the market to have such a policy, and it really makes you wonder why. It can’t simply be the case that their system is unable to distinguish between principal and supplementary cardholders, right?
New-to-bank and new-to-card customers will receive 20,000 and 10,000 miles respectively for paying the first year’s S$205.20 annual fee.
The annual fee cannot be waived for the first year. It might be possible for the second year onwards, but (clickbait alert) BOC’s idea of a fee waiver WILL SHOCK YOU!
New-to-bank and new-to-card customers will receive additional miles for meeting a minimum qualifying spend as follows:
| New-to-bank | New-to-card | |
| Qualifying Spend ≥S$1,000 | 20,000 miles | 10,000 miles |
| Qualifying Spend ≥S$2,000 | 40,000 miles | 20,000 miles |
For avoidance of doubt, customers can only qualify for the ≥S$1,000 or ≥S$2,000 tier, but not both.
The minimum qualifying spend needs to be made by 31 December 2023, regardless of when the approval date is.
That’s weird, to say the least. It’s the first time I’ve heard of a bank using a fixed cut-off date for spending; normally there’s a 30-90 day qualifying period that starts from the date of approval.
I suppose the intention is to incentivise people to apply sooner rather than later, but that can cut both ways. If I learned about this promotion in mid-December, for instance, I wouldn’t feel particularly inclined to participate (unless I didn’t read the fine print, in which case this is a UOB-level gotcha).
Let’s not forget that BOC isn’t particularly known for rapid card approvals. If past performance is any indicator of future returns, you might have less time to meet the qualifying spend than you think!
Here’s another head-scratcher. BOC is defining qualifying spend very narrowly. The only transactions that will count as qualifying spend are:
Hopefully you’re making plans to visit the Time to Fly Travel Fair…
For most banks, it’s a given that supplementary cardholder transactions will count as the spend of the principal cardholder.
BOC is not most banks.
During last year’s welcome offer, supplementary cardholder spend was explicitly excluded. This year, BOC is sending mixed messages:
Which one is it? Your guess is as good as mine.
Last year, in a lionhearted attempt to re-establish physical communication in a world that has gone coldly digital, BOC sent qualified customers a physical redemption letter in the mail. Customers would need to fill this out and send it back within a month to receive their bonus points.
This year, sadly, BOC has done away with the letters and gone high tech. Customers will receive the bonus points credited to their account within 60 days from the end of the “calendar month.”
I assume they meant “promo period”, but with BOC you never really know.
BOC Points can be transferred to either KrisFlyer or Asia Miles at the following ratios:
| Frequent Flyer Programme | Conversion Ratio (BOC Points: Miles) |
| 45,000: 10,000 | |
 | 27,000: 6,000 |
However, BOC Points earned under this promotion can only be transferred to KrisFlyer.
It’s not clear how exactly they’ll enforce this, since points are fungible and customers will end up with promotional and non-promotional points comingled in the same account.
In any case, the usual BOC shenanigans regarding points transfers applies. You can only transfer a maximum of 10 blocks in a single conversion, either:
Why? Because BOC said so. There’s absolutely no reason why a transfer of 11 blocks of miles should cost more than 10 blocks; it’s a pure money-grab on their part.
Each conversion has an admin fee of S$30.28.
The T&Cs of this sign-up offer can be found here.
Assuming you’re willing to navigate the aforementioned hoops, you’ll find that this offer is actually none too shabby.
Given the annual fee of S$205.20, your cost per mile ranges from 0.34 to 1.03 cents.
| ✈️ Cost Per Mile (Unadjusted) | ||
| New-to-bank | New-to-card | |
| Qualifying Spend ≥S$1,000 | 40,000 miles (0.51 cents ea.) | 20,000 miles (1.03 cents ea.) |
| Qualifying Spend ≥S$2,000 | 60,000 miles (0.34 cents ea.) | 30,000 miles (0.68 cents ea.) |
Granted, this figure should be adjusted for opportunity cost, since that spend on Singapore Airlines, Scoot, KrisShop or Pelago could earn up to 6 mpd with the UOB Lady’s Card. If you use the BOC Elite Miles, you’ll earn just 1 mpd (assuming SGD spend).
But even so, you’re talking a difference of 5,000/10,000 miles (5 mpd at S$1,000/S$2,000), which won’t change the picture dramatically: 0.41 to 1.37 cents.
| ✈️ Cost Per Mile (Adjusted for opportunity cost) | ||
| New-to-bank | New-to-card | |
| Qualifying Spend ≥S$1,000 | 35,000 miles (0.59 cents ea.) | 15,000 miles (1.37 cents ea.) |
| Qualifying Spend ≥S$2,000 | 50,000 miles (0.41 cents ea.) | 20,000 miles (1.03 cents ea.) |
The bigger issue is that outside the sign-up bonus, there’s no reason at all to stick with the BOC Elite Miles Card.
Do I need to count the ways?
For other delightful BOC shenanigans, be sure to read the full review below.
At most I could see someone taking advantage of this for a quick pump-and-dump, especially if they qualify for the new-to-bank offer. But be careful not to cancel your card too soon- Clause 19 of the T&Cs gives BOC the right to claw back the welcome gift if you cancel your card before 30 June 2024.
The latest welcome offer for the BOC Elite Miles Card is a strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
On the Dr. Jekyll side:
On the Mr. Hyde side:
I leave it to you to decide whether the bonus is worth it, hoping you’ll also factor in the quantum of hair you’re likely to lose during your tenure with BOC.
Just look at me.
BOC Elite Miles welcome offer. Yes or no?
