OCBC 90°N Card Review: No Minimum Spend & Attractive Foreign Currency Spending Rates

OCBC has pulled out all its stops for the OCBC 90°N Credit Card as it has increased the miles rate on local spending. Find out how else this miles card could serve your lifestyle needs, especially when it comes to travelling!

Best miles cards: UOB Lady’s Card | UOB Lady's Solitaire Card | HSBC Revolution | Citi Rewards | DBS Woman’s Card | DBS Woman’s World Card | UOB KrisFlyer Card | UOB PRVI Miles MasterCard | Citi PremierMiles Card | DBS Altitude Card

When it comes to rates, credit cards are always changing their terms and conditions without any prior notice. But thankfully, it’s good news this time! OCBC’s tweak in rates for their 90°N card is definitely great for us!

Offering higher rates for local currency, makes local spending a little more rewarding.

What stands out is their higher miles when it comes to foreign currency spending, at 2.1 miles per dollar (mpd), and up to 7 mpd for bookings made with Agoda.

Planning your next vacation soon? Read on to find out why this card should be your new must-have!

Table of contents:

• What can the OCBC 90°N card do for you
• Why should you choose the OCBC 90°N card
• For whom is the OCBC 90°N card best suited for?
• Charges, fees and eligibility
• How to apply?

What the OCBC 90°N Card can do for you

OCBC 90°N card product summary:

• Up to 7 mpd on bookings made with Agoda
• 2.1 mpd on spendings in foreign currency
• 1.3 mpd on spendings in local currency
• No cap on miles earned
• Income requirement: S$30,000 for Singaporeans and PRs, S$45,000 for foreigners
• Annual fee: S$54 (waived for the first year)

How are miles earned and redeemed?

90°N Miles are earned in blocks of S$5 per transaction.

This means that person A who spent S$14.90 compared to person B who spent S$10 would have earned the same amount as 13 90°N Miles. 

It also means that each transaction has to be at least S$5, if not you wouldn’t earn any miles on your purchase.

When it comes to redeeming miles, you can do so in blocks of as few as 1,000 miles.

There are countless ways to use your 90°N Miles via OCBC Rewards.

If you want to convert them to KrisFlyer miles, the conversion rate is 1 90°N Mile = 1 KrisFlyer Mile.

Why should you choose the OCBC 90°N Card?

#1 Attractive rates for foreign currency spending

One of the biggest draws for the OCBC 90°N card is its significantly higher miles rates when you compare the rate for foreign currency spending and local spending.

At present, you’ll be able to earn 2.1 mpd on all foreign currency purchases, and 1.3 mpd for local spending, which has already increased from 1.2 mpd only recently. So it’s definitely a no-brainer that this card is much better at helping you earn miles when you’re overseas.

However, before you jump the gun and click “apply”, you’ll also need to remember that you’ll still have to pay for the foreign currency exchange rates when you spend on this card for overseas purchases, which stands at 3.25%. On top of that, there might still be other currency conversion fees charged by Visa or MasterCard on your transactions, usually at 1%.

💡Pro tip: To negate the fees, you can pair your OCBC 90°N card (mastercard) with the Instarem Amaze Card to pay for any overseas purchases. Do note that it only pairs with MasterCards at the moment.

Though overall it is a decent card for overseas spending, there are still other cards that offer higher miles earning rates. Here’s how it compares with the rest:

See also: Instarem Amaze Card Review (2023)

#2 Earn unlimited miles

Don’t you just hate it when you miss your minimum spending by a couple of dollars?

You could have hit it if you'd known, instead of wasting a whole month’s worth of expenses earning the base rate miles. 

With no minimum spend and no cap on miles earned features, the OCBC 90°N card has got your back.

This makes the perfect card to spend on big purchases locally or overseas.

Let’s see how this might be a game-changer when it comes to other miles cards:

#3 Miles won’t expire

What’s better than earning a high miles rate on all your expenses? Knowing that the miles earned will never expire.

Though miles are the best for redeeming flights because it feels like you’re getting a free ticket (but no, it doesn’t work that way), you can also redeem your miles on a ton of other things including: 

- hotel purchases

- car rental bookings

- vouchers from popular retailers

- cash rebates on your credit card bills, and much more!

Check how else you can redeem your 90°N Miles!

Here is a comparison of other cards and their miles expiration periods:

#4 Suitable as an everyday card for general spending

Because the OCBC 90°N card doesn’t limit the categories you can earn bonus miles in (only in currencies), this makes it a great card for general spending. 

This is unlike UOB Lady’s, which requires you to choose a category to qualify for the bonus miles, or HSBC Revolution, which adopts a whitelist approach (meaning that they specifically list merchants that are eligible for the bonus rewards).

With the OCBC 90°N card, You won’t have to fish out the millions of cards in your wallet just to switch out to a different card every time you spend on dining, shopping or groceries since this card gives the same miles for all spending.

However, there are some exceptions that do not qualify for miles to be earned, like utilities, insurance, tuition fees, medical bills and dental expenses. You can refer here to the full list.

Read more:

UOB Lady’s & UOB Lady’s Solitare Card Review (2023)
HSBC Revolution Card Review (2023)

For whom is the OCBC 90°N Card best suited for?

If you’re a frequent traveller who wants a no-frills card suitable for general spending, The OCBC 90°N card is for you!

The greatest perk is that it offers 7mpd for all bookings on Agoda, which means that you can earn a ton of miles through your accommodation alone. 

It also serves as a great travel card if you pair your OCBC 90°N card (Mastercard) with the Instarem Amaze card to eliminate all foreign currency exchange fees, as it offers 2.1 mpd on foreign currency expenses.

However, there are certainly other cards that offer much higher rates. So get this card if you’re not too invested in the miles game but want to at least clock a decent miles rate when you spend.

What charges or fees should you look out for?

Eligibility criteria

How to apply?

Click on the ‘Apply Now’ button and complete the application form on SingSaver site. You might need to prepare the following documents for the application process:

• Front and back of NRIC/Passport/Employment Pass
• Salaried employees: Past 12 months CPF statement (Singaporean/PR) or latest Income Tax Notice of Assessment and latest original computerised payslip
• Self-employed: Latest Income Tax Notice of Assessment and latest original computerised payslip

Read these next:
OCBC 365 Credit Card Review (2023)
UOB One Credit Card Review (2023)
POSB Everyday Card Review (2023)
HSBC Revolution Credit Card Review (2023)
Instarem’s amaze Card Review