DBS Altitude cardholders can earn an enhanced 5 mpd on in-store FCY spend in Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand, capped at S$1,200 per month, in both May and June 2025.
From 1st May 2025 to 30th June 2025, DBS Altitude cardholders can earn up to 5 mpd on in-store foreign currency (FCY) transactions in four popular regional countries – Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. To participate, cardholders must register through the DBS PayLah! app, and note that only the first 10,000 to do so will be eligible.
To qualify for the bonus, cardholders must spend a minimum of S$2,000 each calendar month (in either SGD or FCY) on their card, with the enhanced 5 mpd earn rate applicable only to the first S$1,200 per calendar month of eligible FCY spend made in-store in the aforementioned countries.
DBS Altitude in-store FCY Spend promotion
From now until 30th June 2025, DBS Altitude cardholders can earn 5 mpd on in-person FCY spend in the following countries:
🇦🇺 Australia
🇯🇵 Japan
🇲🇾 Malaysia
🇹🇭 Thailand
Here’s how the bank outlines the deal.
A minimum total spend of S$2,000 (in SGD or FCY) in each calendar month is required to unlock the bonus, and the 5 mpd earn rate applies to a maximum of S$1,200 in eligible spend per month.
The 5 mpd rate is made up of the regular year-round uncapped 2.2 mpd earn rate for FCY spend with these cards, plus a 2.8 mpd bonus component.
DBS Altitude
In-store Foreign Spend Promotion
Miles Earned
Regular Miles
2.2 mpd
Bonus Miles
2.8 mpd
Total Miles
5 mpd
That translates to a maximum of 6,000 miles per month for this spend (S$1,200 x 5 mpd), or 12,000 miles in total if you meet the criteria and maximise the FCY spend in both May and June.
However, only up to 3,360 miles – or up to 6,720 miles if you participate in both months – are bonus miles, since you can earn 2.2 mpd with this card year-round for all eligible FCY spend anyway, even for in-store transactions and online spend in countries not included as part of this deal, such as the UK and the USA.
Registration required
Advance registration is mandatory for this offer, and can be completed through the DBS PayLah! app under the “Rewards” tab. There are 10,000 registration slots available each month, and a tracker shows the remaining slots in real time.
Register from 1st May 2025 for the 1st May 2025 – 31st May 2025 spend period
Register from 1st June 2025 for the 1st June 2025 – 30th June 2025 spend period
Do note: spend is only eligible after successful registration. If you register on 12th May, for example, only transactions from that point onward will count, both for the minimum retail spend requirement and the bonus spend element.
If you register in May, don’t forget you’ll need to register again in June if you wish to benefit from the promotion in both months.
One bonus cap, shared between cards
Unlike the previous round of this promotion in 2024, the bonus cap is shared across both the AMEX and Visa versions of the Altitude Card on this occasion.
In other words, you cannot double your bonus cap by splitting spend across both cards – it’s a per customer cap.
When will the bonus credit?
You’ll earn the regular base 2.2 mpd for FCY transactions with your Altitude card when the transaction posts, or within around three days.
The 2.8 mpd bonus component will be credited (as DBS Points) within 60 days after each month’s end, provided you fulfilled the promotion criteria:
1st – 31st May 2025 spend: By 30th July 2025
1st – 30th June 2025 spend: By 29th August 2025
Cost per mile
With a 5 mpd earn rate and FCY fees of 3% (DBS Altitude AMEX) or 3.25% (DBA Altitude Visa), your cost per mile works out as follows:
DBS Altitude AMEX: 0.64 cents
DBS Altitude Visa: 0.69 cents
These costs also assume an additional 0.3% ‘spread’ over money changer currency rates, though this doesn’t apply to all banks and all foreign currencies, so is a worst-case scenario.
As you can see, you really can’t go wrong with earning 5 mpd even paying the card’s FCY fee – it’s very competitive.
Which FFPs can you transfer into?
You can transfer DBS Points into Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and Qantas Frequent Flyer Points.
You can also transfer your DBS Points to Air Asia BIG Points, here 500 DBS Points will transfer into 1,500 BIG Points (a 3:1 ratio), though it won’t be much interest to our readers – BIG Points are worth only about $0.0034 each (0.34 cents), or about a fifth of the value of a KrisFlyer mile / Asia Mile.
Since Air Asia BIG Points is effectively a cashback programme, this is even worse value than cashing out your DBS Points for shopping vouchers!
Eligible vs ineligible spend
Only in-person transactions made in local currency in the four specified countries are eligible for the bonus miles once you have successfully registered for the promotion.
The following spend is excluded:
FCY transactions charged in SGD
Online and in-app purchases (e.g. QR code menus, food delivery apps)
Transactions under excluded MCCs or conditions per DBS Rewards T&Cs
Instalment plans (IPP or MP3)
Bank fees, interest, cash advances, AXS or SAM bill payments
Cancelled or refunded transactions
The S$2,000 minimum spend on the card in SGD or FCY necessary to unlock the bonus miles can be met with retail spend, subject to the same exclusions.
Supplementary cardholder spend counts towards the minimum and the bonus, but there is only one bonus cap per principal cardholder, regardless of how many Altitude cards or supplementary cards are held.
Terms and conditions
You can find the full terms and conditions for this promotion, plus a list of FAQs, at the following links:
The DBS Altitude Card’s latest promotion offers a decent opportunity to maximise miles on in-store foreign currency spending in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Do note, however, a minimum of S$2,000 retail spend in any currency is required to unlock the deal, which is limited to S$1,200 of in-store per month in these four countries.
Remember you’ll need to register separately for each month of the promotion, if you wish to participate in both May 2025 and June 2025.
(Cover Photo: EDITION Hotels)
AloJapan.com