Credit Cards Spending

DBS Altitude vs DBS Live Fresh – What’s The Difference?

DBS offers credit cards with great value for money. Two such cards are DBS Altitude and DBS Live Fresh, a miles rewards card and a cashback card, respectively. Both allow you to save money through cashback and rewards. Choosing which of the two is better for you depends on how you want to save.

Here, we share what each card offers to help you decide which one you should get.

The difference between DBS Altitude and DBS Live Fresh

While both DBS cards offer great options to save, DBS Altitude allows you to earn miles for your spending while DBS Live Fresh allows you to earn cashback for your spending.

Know how each card helps you save money below.

Rewards

DBS Altitude rewards miles for all local and foreign spending

Having a DBS Altitude credit card allows you to earn miles rewards for all local and foreign currency spending. These miles can be used to redeem vouchers or to convert to miles of popular airline mileage programs.

Here are the miles rewards you can earn from DBS Altitude:

Local Currency Spending1.2 miles/$1
Foreign Currency Spending2 miles/$1

You may want to note that these miles are rewarded in blocks of $5.

For online travel-related transactions, you can also earn up to 3 miles/$1 for online flight and hotel transactions!

Online Flight and Hotel Transactions*Additional MilesTotal Miles
Local Currency1.8 miles/$13 miles/$1
Foreign Currency1 mile/$13 miles/$1

*Online flight and hotel transactions are online retail transactions made on flight and/or hotel merchants.

Note that the additional miles you can earn for online flight and hotel transactions are rewarded only up to $5,000 worth of spending per month.

DBS Live Fresh offers cashback for all spending

DBS Live Fresh offers 0.3% cashback for all general spending. Furthermore, it offers an increased cashback rate of 5% for the following purchases:

  • Online Spending – purchases of goods or services over the internet
  • Visa Contactless Spending – purchases made through Visa contactless terminals using the card or mobile wallets (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay)

Note that there are transactions excluded from DBS’ online and contactless spending cashback as listed in the DBS Live Fresh’s Terms & Conditions.

DBS Live Fresh is great if you live an eco-friendly lifestyle as it offers an additional 5% cashback for sustainable spending from eco-eateries, retailers, and transport services on top of the online and contactless spending cashback.

Here is the list of businesses covered by the 5% additional cashback:

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Source: DBS

This means that using your Live Fresh card to purchase from any of the listed eco-businesses via online or Visa contactless will get you up to 10% total cashback!

DBS Live Fresh is also a great option if you frequently ride public transport as it offers 10% cashback from MRT and bus rides!

To use your DBS Live Fresh for MRT and bus rides, you will need to add them to your SimplyGo account first.

Minimum Spend

Collecting miles has never been easier as DBS Altitude does not have a minimum spend to earn miles. The miles rewards you earn from DBS Altitude also do not expire, so you can earn as much as you want and redeem them whenever you want to!

On the other hand, you will need a minimum spend of $600 to be eligible for the additional 5% cashback from DBS Live Fresh. However, if you do not meet this minimum spend, you are still eligible to earn 0.3% cashback.

Rewards Cap

You can earn as many miles as you want with DBS Altitude as it does not have a miles cap.

On the contrary, DBS Live Fresh has a cap of $75 cashback per month, allocated per transaction category as follows:

Online*$20
In-Store Contactless – Card*$20 (together with mobile wallet)
In-Store Contactless – Mobile Wallet*$20 (together with card)
Sustainable$15
All Others$20
TOTAL$75
*Minimum of $600 purchase amount

Rewards Redemption

DBS Altitude allows miles conversion to other partner mileage programs and redemption of vouchers

10,000 DBS miles can be converted to 10,000 miles of the following partner programs:

  • KrisFlyer Miles
  • Asia Miles
  • Qantas Points

You may also convert 1,000 DBS miles to 1,500 AirAsia BIG Points or 200 DBS miles to 170 KrisPay Miles.

Moreover, you may redeem your DBS miles as any of the following:

  • E-Vouchers
  • Payment for online purchases
  • Cash credits
  • Donations

You may view DBS’ Rewards Programme Terms and Conditions for a full list of redemption options.

DBS Live Fresh awards cashback each month

Cashback earned from DBS Live Fresh will automatically be awarded to you and will be reflected in your monthly account statement. The cashback will also be automatically applied to your billed amount for the month.

Eligibility

Since both cards are offered by DBS, they have the same eligibility requirements.

Age21 years old
Minimum Annual Income (Singaporeans)$30,000
Minimum Annual Income (Foreign Nationals)$45,000

Other Benefits

DBS Altitude offers travel-related benefits

DBS Altitude is surely the card for travelers! Having a DBS Altitude card allows you to get complimentary Priority Pass membership which will entitle you to 2 complimentary airport lounge visits per membership year.

In addition, when you purchase TravellerShield Plus using your DBS Altitude card, you are eligible for either of the following:

  • 60% off a single trip plan
  • 30% off an annual multi-trip plan + $50 Lazada voucher

You can also earn 10 miles/$1 on hotel bookings via Kaligo if you use your DBS Altitude card!

There are certainly a lot of ways to earn miles with your DBS Altitude as it also rewards a bonus of 10,000 miles on your card anniversary upon payment of the annual fees!

DBS Live Fresh offers eco-friendly benefits

DBS Live Fresh is the first eco-friendly card in Singapore, promoting eco-friendly and sustainable living. With your Live Fresh card, you can participate in the regular program called #FreshDropFriday wherein DBS offers raffle coupons for regular giveaways of eco-friendly items for cardholders who meet the minimum spend amount.

https://www.dbs.com.sg/iwov-resources/media/images/cards/promotions/livefresh-x-bike/livefresh-x-bike-img.jpg
Source: DBS

Fees

Both DBS cards have the same annual fees.

Annual Fee – Principal Card$192.60
Annual Fee – Supplementary Card$96.30

While both cards have the same interest rate for card transactions, DBS Altitude offers a lower rate for cash advance transactions

DBS AltitudeDBS Live Fresh
Interest – Card Transactions26.80% p.a.26.80% p.a.
Interest – Cash Advances26.80% p.a.28.00% p.a.

Final Verdict

Both DBS Altitude and DBS Live Fresh surely bring you great savings with their miles rewards and cashback rewards. Which card should you choose?

DBS Altitude is for the traveller

If you are a traveller-at-heart, DBS Altitude is a great option as it allows you to earn increased miles for travel-related transactions. The travel benefits you can get such as the complimentary Priority Pass membership and the TravellerShield Plus discount are great perks if you frequently travel!

DBS Live Fresh is for the regular spender

DBS Live Fresh is best for the regular spender as it offers cashback for any type of spending, with increased cashback for online and contactless transactions. For eco-warriors, it is a great option as you can earn increased cashback for eco-friendly spending and can participate in regular eco-friendly giveaways!

👉🏻 Credit Card Deals

Are you interested in signing up for a credit card? Check out some of the deals below!

DBS Altitude

DBS Altitude Amex Signature Card 1

DBS Live Fresh

dbs new live fresh student square 684x630 1

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