Start here: DBS Points (Singapore) — earn, redeem and convert to miles

Step 1: What DBS Points are and who they suit

You will learn: what DBS Points are and whether your card belongs to the programme.

DBS Points are the points of the DBS Rewards Redemption Programme [1]. All principal cardmembers of American Express, Mastercard or Visa credit and charge cards issued by DBS Bank Ltd may participate, except cardmembers of the DBS Corporate Liability Card (Mastercard Corporate/Executive and Visa Corporate/Business), DBS Purchasing Card, Country Club Corporate Card, DBS Live Fresh Card, DBS yuu Card, DBS Takashimaya Card, DBS Esso Card, SAFRA DBS Credit/Debit Card and DBS Debit Cards, cardmembers of POSB Mastercard Credit/Debit Cards, and such cards as DBS may exclude from time to time at its discretion without prior notice [1]. A principal cardmember residing in Singapore whose card accounts are in good standing, as determined by DBS, is entitled to participate [1].

Keep DBS Points apart from airline currency: they belong to a bank programme, and a conversion into an airline programme is a separate transaction under that airline's own terms [1]. POSB Daily$ and SAFRA$ are separate balances with their own redemption routes and are not DBS Points [2].

Go deeper: DBS credit cards in Singapore, and the DBS Points programme hub.

Step 2: How to join

You will learn: what participation depends on, and what happens to your points if an account closes.

The terms describe no separate sign-up step: participation is stated as a right of all principal cardmembers of eligible DBS-issued American Express, Mastercard or Visa credit and charge cards, subject to the exclusions and to the account being in good standing [1]. If the principal card account is terminated or suspended at any time, for any reason, the principal and supplementary cardmembers are disqualified from the programme and all unused DBS Points accrued are cancelled immediately and cannot be transferred to any other card account [1]. Termination of a supplementary card does not, unless DBS specifies otherwise, disqualify the principal cardmember [1]. Points earned by a supplementary cardmember are credited to the principal cardmember's card account and may be used only by the principal cardmember [1].

Go deeper: DBS credit cards in Singapore, which sets out the card range this programme runs on.

Step 3: How earning works

You will learn: the base rate, the card-specific exceptions and the spend that earns nothing.

The base rate is 1 DBS Point for every S$5 of spend on each DBS credit card issued to the principal cardmember and to supplementary cardmembers, with named exceptions: DBS Altitude earns 5.5 DBS Points per S$5 equivalent of overseas spend and 3.25 per S$5 of local spend; DBS Insignia 5 and 4; DBS Treasures Black Elite 6 and 3; DBS Vantage 5.5 and 3.75; DBS Woman's Platinum 5 per S$5 of online spend, capped at S$1,000 of online spend per calendar month; DBS Woman's World 10 per S$5 of online spend with the same S$1,000 monthly online cap, plus 3 per S$5 equivalent of overseas spend; and DBS Chromo 3.25 per S$5 of local spend [1]. Local spend means transactions charged in Singapore dollars, and overseas spend means transactions charged in foreign currencies [1].

Points are awarded on retail purchases on a per-transaction basis, rounded down to the nearest whole number, and credited the next day when the transaction is posted, though DBS may postpone awarding for a reasonable period in unforeseen circumstances such as system issues [1]. Individual product terms apply alongside the DBS Rewards terms [1]. No points are awarded on payments made with the merchant category codes in the terms' Table 1, on transactions matching Table 2, on posted 0% interest instalment plan monthly transactions, on posted My Preferred Payment Plan monthly transactions, or on interest, finance charges, cash advances, cash withdrawal, balance transfer, smart cash, AXS payments, SAM online bill payments, bill payments via internet banking and all fees charged by DBS [1]. The points awarded and redeemed are stated in the card account statement and may be corrected or revised to remedy computation errors, and points earned on all of a cardmember's card accounts may be aggregated for redemption [1].

Go deeper: DBS credit cards in Singapore for how the card ranges differ.

Step 4: How to use DBS Points

You will learn: the redemption routes, the conversion mechanics and how expiry is worded.

DBS states that DBS Points, Daily$ and Safra$ can be redeemed via DBS PayLah!, digibank, the DBS Rewards website, or Pay with Points in store and online at participating merchants' websites and mobile apps [2]. In DBS PayLah! the route is Rewards, then Redeem, where the catalogue is browsed and an item selected before the terms are read and the order checked out [2]. Offsetting spending with DBS Points on DBS PayLah! requires a minimum of 100 DBS Points and a retail transaction of S$1 or more; the cashback is credited to the credit card's available limit immediately but appears in the card transaction history within three days [2]. DBS Points redemptions other than miles transfers take up to seven working days [2].

Conversion to KrisFlyer miles, Asia Miles or Air Asia points is available through DBS PayLah! or the DBS Rewards website, and the KrisFlyer Miles Auto Conversion Programme converts DBS Points to KrisFlyer miles automatically [3]. The terms set conversion rates of 5,000 DBS Points to 10,000 KrisFlyer miles, 5,000 DBS Points to 10,000 Asia Miles and 500 DBS Points to 1,500 airasia points [1]; the redemption page lists the same 5,000-point block converting to 10,000 KrisFlyer miles, Asia Miles or Qantas Points [2], while the conversion page names KrisFlyer miles or Asia Miles [3]. Each miles conversion carries an administrative fee of S$27.25 inclusive of GST charged to a DBS credit card [1], and the redemption page states the same fee applies to the selected card on successful air miles redemption [2]. Principal cardmembers in the KrisFlyer Miles Auto Conversion Programme are not charged that fee on further frequent flyer redemptions with DBS Points [1]. The transfer must go to an account bearing the cardmember's own name and is subject to any minimum transfer DBS states [1]. Processing takes up to 14 working days for a first-time transfer and up to 10 working days for subsequent transfers [1] [3]. No refunds are allowed once points have been successfully converted, and no urgent requests or cancellations are entertained [1]. Holders of the DBS Altitude, DBS Insignia or DBS Black Treasures Elite card may enrol in auto conversion, which carries a participation fee of S$43.60 inclusive of GST per annum and converts every 500 DBS Points to 1,000 KrisFlyer miles [1] [3]; the terms place that conversion at the end of each quarter, by the 10th day [1], while the conversion page describes it as at the start of each quarter [3].

Expiry depends on the card. The terms state that points awarded in the first year from the account open date are redeemable only during the period of up to 12 months from that date, reflected as the expiry date on the credit card statement, after which they expire and are reduced to zero [1]. Points earned in each successive year expire a year from the earned date, except that DBS Vantage points expire three years from the earned date and DBS Altitude, DBS Chromo, DBS Insignia and DBS Treasures Black Elite American Express points have no expiry [1]. The DBS Points expiry page words the later-year rule differently: points expire one year from the quarterly period in which they were earned, illustrated by points earned between 1 January and 31 March 2025 expiring on 31 March 2026 [4]. Expired points cannot be used under the programme or transferred to any loyalty or frequent flyer programme, cannot be transferred to another card account or a third party, and are not exchangeable for cash or credit [1]. To check expiry per card, DBS PayLah! shows the DBS Points expiry for individual cards under Rewards, then DBS Points [4].

Go deeper: How to redeem DBS Points, DBS Points to KrisFlyer transfers, card points expiry and the transfer ratio calculator.

Step 5: Status — what DBS Points does and does not give you

You will learn: why a bank points balance and an airline tier are two different things.

The DBS Rewards terms set out participation, the award and redemption of points, conversion into airline frequent flyer programmes and the auto conversion arrangement; they set out no member tiers or status levels [1]. Participation in the frequent flyer programme is subject to the terms and conditions of the individual airline's frequent flyer programme, and DBS states that it is not responsible for miles that have been successfully transferred or for the actions or failure of any participating airline in connection with its own programme [1]. Elite status is handled by the airline programme you fly with, under that programme's own rules, and KrisFlyer is a separate programme of Singapore Airlines [1].

Go deeper: the KrisFlyer status guide, Start here: KrisFlyer and the KrisFlyer programme page.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: how to check your points and their expiry today, and what to do before a date passes.

1. Confirm your card is a participating DBS card and is not on the excluded list in the terms [1].
2. Check your DBS Points and their expiry per card in DBS PayLah!, under Rewards and then DBS Points [4]; the card account statement also states the points awarded and redeemed [1]. The official steps are on the DBS Points expiry page.
3. If points are close to expiry, either redeem them in DBS PayLah! under Rewards and then Redeem [2], or convert them before the expiry date [1]. The redemption steps are on the DBS redemption page.
4. If you are converting to KrisFlyer, check that the receiving account bears your own name [1] and follow the conversion steps on the DBS conversion page.
5. Remember that no refunds are allowed once points have been successfully converted, and no urgent requests or cancellations are entertained [1].

Next: work through DBS Points to KrisFlyer transfers, which takes the conversion in this course to the level of blocks, fees and timing.