UOB PRVI Miles Elite

Average MPR: 0.83

Recommendation: Consider

Annual Fee

RM600

Annual Income

Airport Lounge Access

8X access per year
International Lounges
Supplementary Access

RM100,000 per annum

Airline Miles Earn Rate

Local: 1 Airline Mile = RM9.00

Airlines: 1 Airline Mile = RM1.80

Overseas: 1 Airline Mile = RM0.90

Payment Network

Review | UOB PRVI Miles Elite Credit Card

The UOB PRVI Miles Elite Credit Card is officially one of the best credit cards for accumulating air miles overseas. Read on to understand why and how you can take advantage of this spectacular credit card.

Back in June 2023, UOB showcased three new credit cards as part of its acquisition of Citi Malaysia's consumer banking business. Notably, these new offerings from UOB bear striking resemblances to certain Citi cards:

UOB Zenith aligns with Citi Prestige
UOB PRVI Miles Elite mirrors Citi PremierMiles
UOB World is comparable to Citi Rewards World Mastercard.

I have reviewed each of these credit cards separately to provide additional insights on whether they deserve to be in your wallet, but for now, we will focus on the UOB PRVI Miles Elite card.

Before I continue, please take note that the UOB PRVI Miles and the UOB PRVI Miles Elite are two completely separate credit cards! I've had several emails regarding this confusion, and I thought that I should make that clear:

The UOB PRVI Miles Elite is a RM100,000 annual income credit card.
The UOB PRVI Miles is a RM60,000 annual income credit card.

Air Miles Conversion

At first glance, the metrics aren't impressive. You attain 1X points for every RM1 spent locally, which puts it amongst the worst credit cards for earning air miles locally. Let me be clear from the get-go: if you don't travel overseas often, then the UOB PRVI Miles Elite is not the credit card for you.

There are substantially better credit cards in UOB's lineup that offer better local spend rewards, whether for airline miles or cashback.

Given UOB's airline miles conversion rate, you essentially have the following:

1 Enrich Mile = RM9.00
1 KrisFlyer Mile = RM9.00
1 Asia Mile = RM9.00

This translates to a measly 0.11 MPR for local spend. The good news is that spend on airlines also grant you 5X UNIRM, which is equivalent to 0.55 MPR, half of what you earn for overseas spend.

Now, the good news is that there is no capping for earning 5X points on airlines. Since UOB distinguishes airline spend using Merchant Category Code (MCC), it is important that you understand that third-party websites selling flight tickets are likely not included in this list. For example, purchasing a flight ticket on Expedia, Trip.com or Agoda will likely only earn you 1 UNIRM for every RM spent.

Now, let's move on to the highlight of the UOB PRVI Miles Elite credit card. With 10X points for every RM1 spent overseas, the calculation places us with 1 Airline Mile for every RM0.90 spent overseas.

1 Enrich Mile = RM0.90
1 KrisFlyer Mile = RM0.90
1 Asia Mile = RM0.90

This translates to an earning rate of 1.11 MPR, effectively making the UOB PRVI Miles Elite the best credit card for accumulating airline miles via overseas spend in it's income category.

Conversely, the UOB PRVI Miles Elite also offers the same 1.11 MPR on online purchases done in foreign currency. This is especially useful if you have several monthly subscriptions that are charged in a foreign currency like USD.

If that doesn't sound like much to you, this earning rate beats out even the best of the CIMB Travel World Elite credit card and the RHB Premier Visa Infinite credit card for overseas spend, of which both have an MPR of 0.8 and 1.00 respectively.

In fact, at 1.11 MPR, the UOB PRVI Miles Elite is tied with the HSBC Premier Travel Mastercard which now requires a minimum AUM of RM3 million. The difference is that the HSBC Premier Travel Mastercard has a capping of 20,000 points monthly, whereas the UOB PRVI Miles Elite does not!

However, you might be wondering how UOB is able to give you such substantially high airline miles earning rates for a mere RM100,000 annual income credit card. Always remember that in the airline miles accrual game, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Rumour has it that the UOB PRVI Miles Elite overseas spend have significantly higher foreign transaction fees compared to other credit cards. This has been reported several times across credit card forums and chat groups. What this means is simple. UOB needs to find a way to recoup the cost of offering these airline miles at such a lucrative rate, and the best way to do so is by raising the foreign transaction fees for overseas spend.

Hence, you should keep this in mind when looking at the UOB PRVI Miles Elite as your main overseas credit card. I've read reports that people are seeing an average fee of 2.4-2.9%, compared to below 2.1% for other credit cards.

For the ultra-affluent who don't need to bother with airline miles redemption because you're used to paying cash for your business class and first class tickets, the CIMB Travel World Elite, which waives 1% of its overseas transaction fees, may be a more suitable option.

Be sure to check out my Enrich Ultimate Guide, KrisFlyer Ultimate Guide and Asia Miles Ultimate Guide for comparisons on the airline miles earning rates for various credit cards.

Special Deep Dive | Local Spend Strategy

Given that the UOB PRVI Miles Elite card is primarily beneficial for overseas spending, it is crucial to have a reliable credit card for your local expenses. The UOB PRVI Miles Elite is ideal only if you spend at least 10% of your time abroad. Otherwise, a different credit card strategy might be more beneficial.

If you frequently travel overseas, are an expat working in Singapore or if you make online purchases in foreign currency regularly, the UOB PRVI Miles Elite card is perfect for you. To complement this, it’s essential to remember that UOB pools UNIRM points together. Therefore, having a credit card that aligns with your primary spending categories while in Malaysia is advantageous.

For those who dine out often, the UOB Visa Infinite is an excellent choice, earning you 0.55 MPR on dining expenses. If you prefer cooking at home, the UOB World Card is ideal, offering 0.55 MPR on groceries. This combination with the UOB PRVI Miles Elite significantly enhances your earning potential, increasing your grocery points from 0.33 MPR to 0.55 MPR.

The UOB World Card alone provides a conversion rate of 15,000 UNIRM to 1,000 Airline Miles. However, with the UOB PRVI Miles Elite, which offers a conversion rate of 9,000 UNIRM to 1,000 Airline Miles, you automatically qualify for the higher conversion rate. This synergy maximizes your points and rewards, making your credit card strategy more efficient and rewarding.

By combining it with the UOB Visa Infinite or the UOB World Card, you can optimize your points for both overseas and local spending. Ensure your credit card strategy aligns with your spending habits to maximize your rewards and benefits.

Airport Lounge Access

I know how important it is to obtain information about lounge access at a glance, so if you're queuing up to enter a lounge in ASEAN, here's the important details about the UOB PRVI Miles Elite credit card:

Number of Lounge Access Passes: 8X per year
Supplementary Access: Yes, quota is separate from principal cardholder
Spend Conditions: No spend conditions

Lounge Access List in Malaysia:

Plaza Premium Lounge KLIA Terminal 1 Main Terminal Building
Flight Club Signature KLIA Terminal 1 Satellite Terminal
Plaza Premium Lounge KLIA Terminal 2 (Gateway@klia2)
Plaza Premium Lounge, International Departures, Penang International Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge, Domestic Departures, Penang International Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge, Langkawi International Airport

For the full list of lounges, please click here to visit UOB's website.

Cardholders will be pleased to know that their RM100,000 per annum UOB credit card has decent lounge access compared to other credit cards in Malaysia.

I've recently written an article titled "Top 10 Best Credit Cards for Airport Lounge Access", and the UOB PRVI Miles Elite makes the cut.

8X access to lounges with no conditions is definitely a solid positive, especially since many credit cards nowadays attach various spending conditions for lounge access. For example, the CIMB Travel World Mastercard which also requires a minimum income of RM100,000 requires you to spend a whopping RM6,000 to receive 3X lounge access every quarter!

I've included a small list of eligible lounges you can access with your UOB PRVI Miles Elite credit card above, but for the full list, you can check out UOB's lounge access list here. Keep in mind that different credit cards from UOB may have different lounge access lists.

Despite the decent lounge access passes given per year, I find the list of available lounges to be quite lacklustre. Nevertheless, I acknowledge UOB's efforts in expanding the list of available lounges, and the list is noticeably growing day after day.

I find it somewhat strange that the Singapore's SATS lounges and other Singapore Changi Airport lounges are not in the list above, despite UOB being a Singaporean bank.

For supplementary cardholders, for now, it seems that UOB has no mention whatsoever in their T&C on whether supplementary cardholders are entitled for airport lounge access or other benefits such as the complimentary limo ride home from KLIA, but it seems that we can take the benefit of the doubt and assume that supplementary cardholders are entitled to lounge access.

Based on commentary by Lowyat forumers, it appears that each supplementary cardholder has an individual lounge access benefit, meaning each cardholder is entitled to 8X lounge access.

Check out my Ultimate Airport Lounge Guide to compare the airport lounge access benefits from various credit cards in Malaysia.

Here's also a pro tip: Your UOB PRVI Miles Elite is guaranteed lounge access to the Travel Club Lounges at KLIA Terminal 1 and KLIA Terminal 2. The latter remains the only lounge available at the P, Q gates which are for international departures and is a long walk from the lounge that everybody visits, the Plaza Premium Arrivals Lounge opposite Aerotel at Gateway@KLIA2.

Final Thoughts

The UOB PRVI Miles Elite Credit Card emerges as a formidable contender for those eyeing maximum mileage on their overseas expenses.

With its unmatched rate of 1 Airline Mile for every RM0.90 spent overseas, it outpaces even some of the most esteemed cards in the segment. This lucrative conversion rate, combined with UOB's laudable move to maintain uniform conversion rates across its airline partners, truly sets the card apart in terms of overseas spending advantages.

However, a discernible shortcoming presents itself in the local spend airline miles earning rate department. It's disheartening to see a card with such a hefty annual income prerequisite offer a surprisingly low local miles earning rate. The brevity of this is quite glaring, especially when compared to offerings from other cards in the Malaysian market.

To sum up, while the UOB PRVI Miles Elite Credit Card dazzles with its overseas mileage accrual rate, it decidedly underwhelms in the realm of local mileage accrual rate.

Be sure to check out my Enrich Ultimate Guide, KrisFlyer Ultimate Guide and Asia Miles Ultimate Guide to compare the various credit cards for accumulating airline miles in Malaysia.

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