Standard Chartered Debuted an Amazing Credit Card in Singapore
- Refined Points
- Mar 27
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 28
A few months ago, Standard Chartered launched an impressive new credit card in Singapore—the Standard Chartered Beyond World Elite Mastercard.
This card has been widely covered by prominent miles bloggers, including The MileLion, so rather than rehashing its details, I want to focus on a different discussion: why can’t we have something similar in Malaysia?
A High-Value Proposition for Singaporean Customers
The Standard Chartered Beyond World Elite Mastercard is structured to offer tiered benefits based on a cardholder’s banking relationship with the bank.
At the top tier, Priority Private customers can earn an outstanding 8 miles per S$1 (MPD) on overseas spend, a figure that puts many other premium cards to shame. Even without Priority Private status, the card remains highly rewarding—non-AUM cardholders earn 1.5 MPD on local spend and 3 MPD on overseas spend, making it a competitive offering in Singapore’s already fierce airline miles credit card market.
This strategy aligns with the typical AUM-based approach adopted by global banks like Standard Chartered and HSBC, where premium banking customers receive significantly enhanced credit card perks.
The MileLion has a full review on this credit card here, so be sure to check it out if you were curious about how it stacks up in Singapore.
The Stark Contrast in Malaysia
In Malaysia, the landscape is far less rewarding for miles collectors. The HSBC Premier Travel Mastercard offers a decent 0.25 MPR on local spend, but only for Enrich miles—other frequent flyer programs earn at an even lower rate.
Meanwhile, the Standard Chartered Priority Banking Visa Infinite, which I’ve reviewed before, provides a seriously disappointing 0.14 MPR on local spend and an even poorer 0.71 MPR on overseas spend, which falls substantially behind the likes of CIMB, UOB and HSBC.
Low local earn rates in Malaysia can largely be attributed to capped interchange fees on domestic transactions, which reduce the margins banks can earn on local spend. Malaysia’s interchange fees are regulated and capped at 0.60% for domestic credit card transactions, significantly lower than Singapore, where interchange fees are not subject to regulatory caps and typically range between 1.5% to 3.5%.
This allows Singaporean banks to generate higher revenue per transaction, enabling them to offer more generous rewards and miles accrual rates.
However, even considering this limitation, the discrepancy between Malaysia’s airline miles credit cards and those available in Singapore is glaring, with Singaporean cards consistently offering superior earn rates across various spending categories.
Somehow, only UOB, which is considered more of a regional bank rather than a global one, has a substantially decent credit card for those in the Private Banking space, in the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card which requires an RM 3 million AUM commitment and a minimum annual income of RM300k.
Perks Malaysians Would Love—but Can’t Have
Beyond its high MPD rates, the Standard Chartered Beyond World Elite Mastercard offers a suite of premium perks, including unlimited airport lounge access with the ability to bring up to six guests. Given how obsessed Malaysians are with lounge access, this feature alone would make the card highly desirable if it were available locally.
For comparison, the Standard Chartered Priority Banking Visa Infinite in Malaysia does provide unlimited lounge access—but only to those with a minimum of RM3 million in assets under management (AUM) with the bank.
Additionally, the Standard Chartered Beyond World Elite Mastercard includes business class upgrades and other premium interesting benefits, but I won't be touching upon that here to keep the discussion within the topic of the article.
Even with capped interchange rates, there are honestly plenty of ideas that could be implemented in Malaysia when it comes to unique benefits. I'd reckon that the UOB Private Lounge was a pretty good standout idea in the lounge scene.
Not to mention, the CIMB Visa Infinite's tiered bonus structure idea was pretty brilliant in my eyes, dampened only by its own policies when it comes to points crediting, which I've detailed in my article here.
The Trade-Off: A Hefty Annual Fee
With such premium benefits, it’s no surprise that the Standard Chartered Beyond World Elite Mastercard comes with a non-waivable annual fee of S$1,635. While this may seem steep, it’s not the most expensive credit card in Singapore, and the value it offers arguably justifies the price.
In Malaysia, many consumers remain highly sensitive to annual fees, often prioritizing fee waivers over benefits. However, I believe this hesitance is largely due to lower financial literacy and a failure to differentiate between value and cost.
The success of the CIMB Travel World Elite, which carries a RM1,215 annual fee, proves that there is indeed a segment of Malaysian cardholders willing to pay for premium perks. In fact, had it not been for CIMB’s restrictive and frustrating miles conversion policies, the CIMB Travel World Elite could have been Malaysia’s ideal miles credit card.
Final Thoughts
It’s high time Malaysia saw the introduction of a credit card that truly caters to airline miles enthusiasts—one that learns from the success of the Standard Chartered Beyond World Elite Mastercard in Singapore while improving upon the flaws of the CIMB Travel World Elite.
I firmly believe there is a massive untapped market of affluent Malaysian consumers who would be willing to pay premium annual fees for a credit card that delivers exceptional rewards and top-tier travel benefits.
If banks recognize this demand and launch a competitive miles-earning credit card, it could revolutionize the premium credit card landscape in Malaysia.
For now, however, we can only watch enviously as Singapore continues to enjoy far superior options while Standard Chartered Beyond World Elite cardholders with Priority Private status cross the border and earn 8 MPD on Oriental Kopi in Malaysia!
