General Travel

In light of the current global situation, the Singapore government last week issued a mandatory 14-day stay home notice for people returning to Singapore from other ASEAN countries, Japan, Switzerland or the UK effective 16th March 2020, 11:59PM. Only a few days later, the government expanded its scope and made it mandatory for residents returning from ANY country to stay home for 14 days. 

I was in another ASEAN country when I first heard about the stay-home notice affecting returnees from ASEAN countries. Although there was a bit of a grace period, I could not return to Singapore prior to it kicking in as I was overseas due to an urgent personal matter. I eventually returned to Singapore on the 19th March, days after the restriction kicked in. 

Update: As of 18th June 2020, there are now slightly different variations of the stay-home notice which depend on (a) which country you come from and (b) your residency status in Singapore. 

If you are arriving from these countries: Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, New Zealand, China (including Hong Kong and Macao), Taiwan, Japan and South Korea – you can serve your stay-home notice at your place of residence regardless whether you are a Singaporean/PR or a Long-Term Pass Holder. If you are a Long-Term Pass Holder, you should also possess a valid approval letter for entry into Singapore. In addition to the stay-home notice, all arriving passengers must also do a covid-19 test before the SHN ends and this is chargeable (S$200, regardless of residency status).

If you are arriving from a country other than what is mentioned in the preceding paragraph, then you can only do your stay-home notice in an approved facility. If you are Singaporean/PR, this is not chargeable if you last left Singapore prior to the 27th May 2020 travel advisory (chargeable at S$2,000 if you left Singapore after the travel advisory). If you are a Long-Term Pass Holder with valid approval letter to enter Singapore, the stay-home notice in a facility is also chargeable (S$2,000). Again, the covid-19 test is also required and is chargeable regardless of residency status.

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While there have been several news reports of countries opening up to tourism, most of such announcements are plans or proposals that have yet to be enacted or involve only a specific, essential type of travel. Moreover, many such intentions to open up involve travel bubbles where only people coming from selected countries are allowed to enter. Mostly, this would involve countries within the immediate periphery of the destination in question.

This list, on the other hand, aims to show countries which are currently open to visitors from all countries and nationalities without the abovementioned restrictions. I will update this article as and when new countries open up.

As a disclaimer, by coming up with this article, I am not necessarily endorsing leisure travel at this time. This is for informational purposes only. 

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Earlier in October, I had the pleasure of attending the Asia Super Team 2019. The almost week-long event is an annual affair geared towards corporate travelers and is usually held around Taiwan’s national day – 10th October. In it, teams from 8 countries go around various sights in the island and compete in a set of challenges for the grand prize. This year, that prize was US$50,000 worth of incentive travel for the winning team’s company.

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Samsonite’s trade in campaign is back. Simply trade-in your pre-loved luggage at any Samsonite outlet in Singapore and get 30% discount on the brand’s Aspero and Varro models (comes in three sizes for each model).

The campaign runs from now until the end of 31st March with prices for the luggage starting from S$280 after the 30% trade-in discount.

You can view the full list of Samsonite stores in Singapore here.

As for the pre-loved luggage, these will be recycled into fossil-free diesel. Samsonite will also donate S$10 to WWF for each trade-in made.

Here is a look at the models you can purchase at 30% off after the trade-in:

Samsonite Varro 

Coming in sizes of 55, 68 and 75; the Varro is notable for its split in the middle, with the design being inspired by the motion of an arrow. The model comes with matte textured grooves to reduce the visibility of scratches. 

Samsonite Aspero

The Aspero is Samsonite’s lightweight luggage with its stylish design as well as strong finish. Coming in sizes 55, 69 and 75; the Aspero weighs as little as 2.2kg for the 55 version.

Better late than never in getting this list up! This year marks the 10th year since I first developed the habit of optimizing credit card spend to earn miles so this list is way overdue. Contrary to what many readers might expect, the overwhelming majority of the flights reviewed here come from hard-earned miles from over the years. I am not a spendthrift and do keep a close eye on my expenditures, so I’m still happy to have racked up a decent amount of miles – at least it’s enough for minimally 1 long-haul round trip flight per year. I believe that’s enough for most white-collared workers in Singapore who have enough annual leaves for perhaps 1 long trip and a few short ones.

Without further ado, these are the top credit cards in my wallet (or saved into my mobile payments) right now!

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Singsaver has launched an enticing travel campaign this 2 to 29 September where new sign-ups (that are approved) for selected credit cards and travel insurance stand a chance to win S$1,000 in the lucky draw which will happen each week in September.

Here are the participating products:

You can also check out the full list of credit cards / travel insurance here and apply directly

Aside from the lucky draw, those who sign up are also eligible for the card-specific or insurance-specific bonuses which include rewards like cashback that can go up to S$250 or grab vouchers which are exclusive to those who sign up via Singsaver.

If you have not signed up for these cards yet, this is a good opportunity to do so due to the added lucky draw which is happening only this month. Cut off for the weekly lucky draw happens each Sunday at midnight and participants must have a card approved / travel insurance purchased by the time of the draw to be eligible. Users can only win once but those who don’t win during the week are still eligible for the next week, til end September 2019.

Of the participating credit cards, here are my personal picks:

OCBC 90N Card – This newly-launched card has an enhanced miles earning rate that applies until the end of February 2020 and that alone is reason enough to sign up for this card. Cardholders stand to earn 8 miles per S$1 on Expedia and Agoda hotel bookings, 4 miles per S$1 on Singapore Airlines flight bookings as well as 4 miles per S$1 on all overseas foreign currency spend.

Citi Rewards Card – For folks who do a lot of transactions with online retailers as well as shopping for clothes, shoes and bags (whether online or physical), the Citi Rewards Card is the right card to get for that coveted 4 miles per S$1. Other advantages for getting this card include Citi’s awarding of points on a per S$1 basis (rather than for every S$5) as well as Citi’s bigger number of airline redemption partners. New cardholders who sign up for the card will also receive S$250 via PayNow or S$30 for existing cardholders.

Citi Premiermiles Visa – For all other spend that do not fall into the travel or online shopping category, the Citi Premiermiles is a great “fallback” card with its base rate of 1.2 miles per S$1 spent. New cardholders who sign up for the card will also receive S$250 via PayNow or S$30 for existing cardholders.

Fancy an all expense paid trip to Taiwan? Asia Super Team could be your answer!

Just fill out this simple questionnaire to enter a lucky draw for a free trip to Taiwan.

Also, there is another competition happening similar to “Amazing Race,” Taiwan style! To participate, all you need is to organize yourselves into a team of four and submit your applications by 15th of August! The shortlisted teams will then travel to Taiwan in October for the competition. The winning team will be awarded an incentive trip to Taiwan worth US$50,000.

I will be there as well in October and hope to meet you and your team personally for the fun 5-day challenge. Hope to see you there!