General Travel

Many of my long trips over the past five years have been in Europe and since I require a Schengen visa to enter most countries in the continent, I have applied in various embassies here in Singapore. Generally, my experiences applying for a Schengen tourist visa have been very procedural. Several documents are required for presentation but as long as one manages to fulfill them, there are barely any questions asked — unlike the application process for other countries for example.

In this guide, I aim to show how nationalities such as Filipinos, Indonesians, Indians and others that are not visa-exempt can get a Schengen visa in Singapore.

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DBS has launched the Vantage Card as its attempt into the mass affluent income cards segment. The other DBS “exclusive” credit card is the DBS Insignia which is more geared towards high net worth individuals with a 500k per year income requirement. The new DBS Vantage Visa Infinite Card requires much less – 120k annual income.

As with other credit cards for the affluent such as the Citi Prestige or the UOB Visa Infinite, the DBS Vantage Visa Infinite Card comes with a host of benefits. In summary these are:

• 1.5 mile per S$1 local spend / 2.2 miles per S$1 overseas spend
• Ability to switch to cashback (2.2 miles = 2.2%)
• Accor Plus Explorer Membership (worth S$408)
• Dining privileges (through partnership with Dining City)
• 10 complimentary airport lounge visits per year with Priority Pass
• Visa concierge

The DBS Vantage Card also normally comes with a sign-up bonus of 25,000 miles applicable for both new-to-DBS and existing DBS cardholders with every payment of the S$5894 annual fee. Until 30th June 2023 (11:59PM), DBS is giving an extra 35,000 miles (new cardholders) / 15,000 (existing cardholders) upon signing up after payment of the annual fee and spending S$4,000 within 30 days of receiving the card. This adds up to 60,000 / 40,000 miles.  You can sign up here.

You can also check the latest credit card sign-up promotions from other banks here

Let’s take a closer look at the benefits:

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If you are reading this well before the mad Christmas rush of 2022, kudos to you. With Singapore’s continued reopening, this holiday season is expected to be particularly busy with gatherings even more commonplace after the quieter Christmas of the past 2 years. With larger gatherings and reunions, there is a greater need for better and more impressive Christmas decor – the heart of which is the Christmas tree. 

For fuss-free Christmas decorations and trees that can be delivered right to your doorstep, look no further. This list has you covered. 

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One of the consequences of higher inflation is an increase in interest rates. Although we have been seeing a marked increase in consumer prices for the past 9 months, Singapore banks have only started to hike interest rates of savings/checking accounts recently. UOB has recently adjusted the interest rates of its popular UOB One Account by increasing the interest rates of its S$75k to S$100k tier and giving a direct incentive to depositors for crediting their salary to the UOB One Account.

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Update: The promotion is now revised as follows. There is a new Citibank promotion where new cardholders can receive a Dyson V8 Slim Fluffy Vacuum (worth S$549), Tilt 500XS Folding Bike (worth S$369) or Ergotune Supreme V3 (worth S$850) or S$350 cash. New Citibank cardholders (those who have not held a Citibank card in the past 12 months) who apply for a credit card and get approved can choose to receive one of the aforementioned gifts. Existing cardholders receive S$30 via PayNow. Spend S$500 within 30 days to receive the sign-up gifts. Sign-up here or through the individual card links below. Promotion ends 31st October 2022 (11:59PM).

Annual fee is waived for the first year for all the cards listed below except for the Citi Prestige. Citibank usually waives the annual fee for succeeding years as long as you actively use the card but if not, you can always cancel to avoid paying the annual fee. You can even cancel the credit card after receiving the reward if you wish.

Note that this offer is valid only if you apply via the below exclusive links (direct application with Citibank doesn’t count for the promotion). Why is that so? Singsaver actually acts as an aggregator and partner for Citibank cards and from time to time, Singsaver and Citibank may jointly fund the gift in order to split the marketing expense between them. 

Similar offers have been running for the past couple of months, with the gift going as low as S$200. The current S$350 cash offer is at the higher end, historically, for the cash sign-up reward. In terms of the gadget, Citibank rarely features the Xbox S so if you have been eyeing this console, this is your chance.

After clicking submit on your credit card application, make sure to take note of your Application Reference Number. You will have to fill out a redemption form (automatically sent to your email once you make a card application) in order to be registered.

Once your card is approved, remember to spend at least S$500 (can be in multiple transactions) within 30 days of receiving your card in order to receive the reward. You will get an email within 60 to 90 days with instructions on how to claim your gift.

Here are the Citibank cards that qualify for the promotion:

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With travel resuming, I find myself revisiting some of my age-old travel habits. Cameras, selfie sticks and tripods are a must for me. Given that I also tend to visit a lot of offbeat countries, one of the things in my checklist is getting a VPN.

Given that we are now in the age of media streaming and online shopping, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is no longer something too high-tech for average users. It is, in fact, internet security 101, especially while traveling. It masks your device’s IP address, encrypts your data, and reroutes it through secure networks, allowing anonymous and secure browsing.

What does this mean for you? In this article, we’ve listed five reasons explaining how these VPN features help you when you’re traveling. From bypassing internet censorship to preventing frozen bank accounts, we’ve covered everything. Let’s dive right in.

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With the gradual resumption of international travel and removal (or reduction) of mandatory quarantine in several popular destinations, more Singapore residents are spending their holidays overseas. That being said, international travel is still not totally like what it was in the past and many countries now require pre-purchased travel insurance for entry, whereas travel insurance was just an optional thing in the past.

If you are browsing through travel insurance plans, here is a handy list of those that provide Covid-19 coverage and have some ongoing promotions at the same time. I will also try to expand this list as I get information from more providers. Freebies range from cash rebates to free PCR testing, depending on the plan. 

Note that this offer is valid only if you apply via the below exclusive links (direct application with the insurance provider doesn’t count for the promotion). Why is that so? Singsaver actually acts as an aggregator and partner for these insurance plans and from time to time, Singsaver and the insurer may jointly fund the gift in order to split the marketing expense between them. Instead of hiring an insurance agent, part of the savings gets channeled as an incentive to the customer.

To be eligible for the S$10 or S$20 cash rebate, you will be asked to register your email address with Singsaver, who will fulfill the payout. After clicking submit on your travel insurance application, make sure to take note of your Application Reference Number. You will have to fill out a redemption form (automatically sent to your email once you make an insurance application) in order to be registered.

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Pelago is a travel experiences platform launched by Singapore Airlines in 2021 with more than 450 curated experiences under its wing. Many of the travel activities they offer were carefully chosen and a large chunk can’t be found in other major travel booking platforms. In Singapore for instance, some of the notable experiences include a Nyonya heritage tour led by an actual SIA cabin crew or an eye-opening tour around the back streets of Geylang. 

As they form the online travel arm of Singapore Airlines, one can expect the bulk of the carrier’s routes peppered with similarly carefully chosen activities – from an in depth tour of Kuala Lumpur’s last centrally located kampong to a sunrise trek to Bali’s Mount Batur or even a tour of Phillip Island in Australia’s Victoria state by helicopter.

Booking is straightforward. Activities are grouped by destination and travelers get to choose the date and time (where applicable) for the experience of their choice. Do note that for first-time bookings, Pelago offers a 10% discount with the promo code: PELAGOWELCOME10

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