The UOB World Card can add a boost to your miles balance
While the UOB World Card does not look exciting on the surface, it can be a smart way to add sizeable amount of miles and additional lounge accesses to your portfolio.
Overview
Update: UOB has announced devaluation of UNIRM effective 23 Sep 2024. This article has been updated to reflect the reduced earning rate.
| BolehMiles Rating | |
| Miles Per Ringgit (MPR) |
0.62 MPR (Selected eWallet & Apple services) 0.25 MPR (Selected Department Stores) |
| Lounge Access | 6 x Per year Plaza Premium Lounges (Malaysia only) |
| Other Perks | None |
| Income Requirement | RM60,000 p.a |
| Annual Fee |
RM600 for primary cardholder RM150 for supplementary cards |
| Welcome Bonus / Renewal Bonus | Bonus 6250 Miles with RM48,000 annual spend |
| Payment Network | World Mastercard |
| Terms and Conditions | Link to T&C here. |
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Apply Now
New cardmembers get 1 year annual fee waiver |
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Who is this card for?
Firstly, we recommend using this card only if you can get the annual fee waived.
And with the recent devaluation, we would say this card is just an optional addition to your portfolio, to add a little boost to your miles balance. You don’t really miss out much without this card.
There’s an on-going promotion offering a 3-year annual fee waiver which ends in Jan 2025 for new-to-bank UOB customers, which is quite generous and we do recommend taking advantage of it if you can.
If you don’t qualify for a wee waiver, you can try requesting for one through the customer service hotline. If you can’t get one, we don’t think the annual fee justifies the benefit of this card.
How do I use of this card?
Here’s a summary of the MPR of this card:
| # | Category | MPR | Monthly Cap | Annual Cap | Monthly Miles | Yearly Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | eWallet Top Up Bonus | 0.62 MPR | RM900 | RM10,800 | 558 | 6,696 |
| 2 | Apple Services | 0.62 MPR | RM300 | RM3,600 | 186 | 2,232 |
| 3 | Grocery/Department Stores | 0.25 MPR | RM3,000 | RM36,000 | 750 | 9,000 |
| Total | RM50,400 | 1,494 | 17,928 |
Category#1 will be a no-brainer as we can easily spend e-wallet balances anywhere in Malaysia.
Category#2 will be a no-brainer for Apple users.
Category#3 should be used strategically to meet the annual spend bonus of 6250 miles (RM48,000 annual spend).
The maximum miles earning potential for this card is ~24000 miles. (17,928 + 6250 annual spend bonus) per year, which is a decent boost to your miles balance.
#1: eWallet Reload
The card offers a 0.62 MPR (Miles Per Ringgit) rate for eWallet reloads, specifically for Touch ‘n Go (TNG), Boost, and BigPay, with a cap of RM300 each which adds up to RM900.
You can spend on everyday purchases in Malaysia while adding 558 miles per month and 6,696 miles per year to your miles balance.
#2: Apple Services
If you’re an Apple user, you’ll be pleased to know that most Apple services are coded as APPLE.COM/BILL ITUNES.COM IRL. This includes app purchases, in-app purchases, and subscriptions like YouTube Premium, ChatGPT, Apple iCloud+, Apple TV, and Apple Music.
By maxing out the cap as an Apple user, you can add another 186 miles per month, or 2232 miles per year.
#3: Grocery/Department Stores
The card offers a 0.25 MPR (Miles Per Ringgit) rate, capped at RM3,000 each month.
The eligible departmental stores are AEON, Marks & Spencer, Isetan, Metrojaya, and Parkson. This is a very low MPR, as we should strive for at least 0.5 MPR these days.
The eligible grocery stores are B.I.G (Ben’s Independent Grocer), Cold Storage, Everise, Giant, Jasons Food, Hall, Jaya Grocer, Servay and Lotus’s Village Grocer
If you do manage to hit the RM3,000 cap, you’re looking at earning 750 miles each month, or 9,000 miles a year.
How about Overseas Spending?
The card offers 0.25 MPR capped at RM24,000 per year for Overseas spending. This is a very low MPR for overseas spend. Additionally, you still have to pay for foreign currency transaction cost of UOB which is known to be on the higher side.
Therefore, we would not recommend using this card for overseas spending, unless you are spending it to meet the annual bonus.
Annual Renewal Bonus
If we meet the spend of RM48000 per year, we will get 6250 Miles bonus.
Lounge Access
The card provides 6x Lounge Access at Plaza Premium Lounges at KLIA T1 and T2 only, and cannot be used to enter lounges outside Malaysia. So use this card to enter Malaysia lounges, and save your other more precious access passes (such as the PRIV Miles Elite) to enter lounges outside Malaysia.
Note that you cannot access Plaza Premium First at KLIA with this card, however you do get access to a special zone in the lounge dedicated to UOB cardholders.
Payment Network
The card is on World Mastercard tier. You get the perks of World Mastercard listed on this website.
Transfer Partners and Mile Conversion Rate
UOB offers access to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Miles and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, both of which are more valuable compared to Enrich Miles.
We recommend converting UNI$ to Krisflyer Miles and Asia Miles for the best value.
Income Requirement and FD Pledge
This card has an annual income requirement of RM60,000. Alternatively, those who do not meet the income requirement or do not have the required credit background can apply for this card via FD Pledge. The FD Pledge option is not advertised or officially mentioned by the bank, but we have unofficial reports of people getting it with RM20,000 in FD Pledge.
Is the annual fee worth it?
UOB is currently giving 3-years annual fee waiver until 31 Jan 2025 for new cardholders, so getting this card is a could be good to add some miles to your balance without much cost involved.
If you are not eligible for the RM600 annual fee waiver, the annual fee is not worth it.
Conclusion
| Pros |
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| Cons |
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Overall, this is an optional card to earn some miles with e-Wallet reloads and Apple Services. Good if you have it, but it’s not a big deal even if you don’t.
BolehMiles categorizes this card under ‘Macam Boleh’— it’s not essential, but it provides a decent boost to your miles balance, depending on your spending habits.