A common pitfall for the uninitiated: The issues with Agoda links.

In our review of the UOB PME card, we gave the card a solid Boleh rating for its strong miles earning rate (MPR), plus the additional bonus for spend in 4 ASEAN currencies (SGD, THB, IDR, VND).

Review: UOB PRVI Miles Elite (A Great Travel Card, Now Even Better in 2025)

This post doesn’t change that. The UOB PME is still one of the best overseas spending miles cards in Malaysia (if not the best.)

But a question we get constantly from our BolehMiles members is: “Should we use the UOB PME for the 2.4 MPR rate on Agoda?”

While other content creators may disagree, our answer has been a “no”. To be fair, it is a “no” about 90% of the time. There’s a 10% window where it will actually make sense, but for the most part, we don’t recommend it because of 2 big issues.

The first issue is the “inflated” UOB-Agoda link, where you are paying a premium to acquire the miles at about 7 to 13 CPM in many cases.

Since day one, BolehMiles has been grounded in miles valuation. We value KrisFlyer at 5 to 10 CPM, but we only recommend acquiring miles at 5 CPM or less. Using the UOB–Agoda link often ends up at 7–13 CPM premium which exceeds our 5CPM threshold. Therefore we don’t recommend it.

You might say that your valuation is higher because you are working towards that SQ First/Suites, or you know how to use the Scoot sweetspots. Therefore the cost is justified. And that’s fine. Miles valuation is inherently subjective.

But even then, you still need to clear the T&C hurdles to actually get the 2.4 MPR. We’ll go through those next.

The juice isn’t worth the squeeze

Where is the UOB 2.4MPR Banner?

The first thing you need to look for is the “UOB earn 2.4 MPR” banner on the property’s room-type results page.

When the UOB PME card was upgraded in Jan 2025, our members noticed that the banner was nowhere to be found. Peter went on a call with UOB for an hour explaining and asking why there is no 2.4 MPR banner for any hotels. A few hours later the problem was fixed and the banner suddenly appeared.

But right now in October 2025, the banner is no where to be found again. So there is no way to technically meet the requirement. You could argue this is Malaysia, and it’s just a minor UI issue therefore no worries as long as you are using the UOB-Agoda link. Maybe, but wait till you see the next problem.

Prepaid rates only

You must select “Pay-Now” prepaid rooms for the 2.4 MPR. “Pay Later at Hotel” does not qualify, and prepaid rooms are usually non-cancellable.

But the Pay-Now rooms are also often eligible for the 20% Mastercard–Agoda discount. This is why you need to compare both links.

This is where the inflated pricing comes in. See example below Hotel Tranz in Bangkok for 6 Nov 2025:

The UOB link price is THB 3011 vs Mastercard link at THB 2546, which is about 18% premium for the same room. That 18% premium buys you an extra 1.4 MPR, instead of 1 MPR from the Mastercard link.

In other words, you are paying 12.8 CPM premium to acquire the additional Krisflyer miles.

Here’s another example for Parkroyal Collection in Singapore on 6 Nov 2025, when the Mastercard 20% is not eligible:

In this case, both links give you the same room prepaid room price at SGD602. So you get the additional 1.4MPR for free. Great deal right? Wait till you see below.

You also need to check whether other OTAs are cheaper

The cost at Trip.com for the same Parkroyal Collection is not only cheaper at SGD542 room on the same date, but also better with Free Cancellation. Therefore the same prepaid room from Agoda incurs a premium of 11%, or 7CPM vs Trip.com

Okay Peter. So when does it actually make sense to use UOB–Agoda link? I want that 2.4MPR please!

For the 2.4 MPR UOB–Agoda link to make sense, you need all the stars to align:

1. You don’t mind booking prepaid room rates
2. Agoda rate must cheaper than other OTAs or the hotel’s own site, and
3. Both the UOB and Mastercard links have the same price (this is when the specific hotel is not eligible for the 20% Mastercard discount)

And, as we noted in our OTA vs Direct Booking article, you also the lose hotel elite benefits, upgrades, and breakfast when booking this way.

With that said, we did find an example below where everything lines up. These cases exist, but they’re rare. Whether you want to hunt for them is up to you. For us, the time cost isn’t justified.

But even when all the stars are aligned, the UOB PME 2.4 MPR banner is still missing on the property room-type result page. If the UOB PME Product Manager is reading this, please get this fixed with Agoda.

Conclusion – Just save your time

Optimizing Agoda for 2.4 MPR just takes too much effort than it’s worth. If you value your time or hotel elite benefits, skip the UOB-Agoda link route.

If you still need to use Agoda, just grab the extra earning rate of 1 MPR (for SGD, THB, VND and IDR) by using the Mastercard-Agoda link instead.

That’s all for this post. Have you tried getting the extra miles from the UOB–Agoda promo? Share your experience in the BolehMiles Telegram below.

Until next time.