UnionBank’s Reserve Credit Card
The successor to Citibank’s Prestige credit card, UnionBank’s Reserve credit card retains most of the former’s benefits and more.
With Citibank Prestige, anyone could apply for the card as long as they meet the annual income requirements and were willing to pay the annual fee. However, with UnionBank, they changed this to be a by-invite only credit card. Talk about making this card even more Reserved!
Rumors are, one must be a UnionBank Elite* client (previously Citigold) in order to get an invitation for this card. However, if you are an existing Citi Prestige credit card holder, then you get the replacement UnionBank Reserve credit card with no additional requirements.
* PHP 5,000,000.00 total relationship balance or its foreign currency equivalent
What’s the UnionBank Reserve Credit Card?
Spend-to-Miles Ratio: PHP 18.00 per mile on 5x categories such as shopping, dining, and foreign currency transactions
Annual Fee: PHP 12,000.00
Lounge Access: Priority Pass (unlimited entry for the card holder, 4 entries for guests/companion per membership year)
Airline Partners: Air Asia, Asia Miles, KrisFlyer Miles, Mabuhay Miles, Miles & Smiles (Turkish Airlines)
Other Notes:
1% fee on foreign currency transactions. Currently the lowest in the market for Philippine-based cards. The 1% is a fee that Mastercard/Visa charges. UnionBank is also working on bringing the other airline partners that were once available in Citibank. You can find more information on the card’s benefits here.
Receiving the card and what it looks like
Unlike cards that usually arrive in an envelope, the UnionBank Reserve credit card deserves to be delivered in a premium packaging.
This is the box which holds the actual credit card and other pamphlets/brochures.
The first thing that pops up is a welcome message from UnionBank.
Beneath the welcome message on the right, you will find the Reserve credit card tucked away neatly in its own nook.
Under the card, you will find a number of brochures/booklets/pamphlets introducing you to the card’s promos, features and benefits. You will also find the letter where a card is usually attached to, indicating your credit limit, statement date, etc.
And here’s a side view of the card. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the card is actually metal! And not just a metal core similar to RCBC’s Visa Infinite credit card, but an actual, metallic credit card that weighs around 16.9 grams!
The Verdict? This card has a spot Reserved in my wallet.
Card appearance aside, the UnionBank Reserve credit card is the only card I know that has the lowest spend to miles ratio across multiple spend categories. Not only that, with the benefit provided by UnionBank on foreign currency transactions, the card has gone from being avoided on foreign transactions (when it was still with Citi) to being one of the best. Lastly, the PHP 12,000.00 annual fee is actually quite justifiable given the card’s benefits unlike BDO’s AmEx Platinum Charge Card and World Elite Mastercard. Granted, those 2 cards are quite obscure and would be nigh impossible to get.
Seems like I will be with UnionBank for a long time!
