Comparing the PHP 30.00/mile Credit Cards

Without any multipliers or promos, the lowest spend-to-mile ratio for credit cards in the Philippines is PHP 30.00/mile.

There are plenty of cards that let you earn points, cashback, or miles—but to really make the most out of your spending, it’s best you go for cards with the lowest spend-to-miles ratio. Even outside of miles, this same logic applies to points and cashback: maximizing returns with minimal spend.

What Are These Cards?

Here is a quick comparison of the four cards that currently offer the PHP 30.00/mile baseline.

	BDO AmEx Explorer	BDO Diners Club Premiere	Chinabank Destinations World Mastercard	Metrobank Travel Visa Signature
Card Design
Annual Fee	PHP 4,000.00	PHP 4,500.00	PHP 6,000.00	PHP 5,500.00
Annual Fee Reversal Request	✅ Easy Has automatic and/or conditional waivers	❌ Difficult Does not usually offer even conditional waivers	✅ Easy Spend 2X the annual fee or PHP 12,000.00 in 30 days	❓Unknown Haven’t reached 1 year yet; will update when available
Airline Partners	1. Cathay Pacific 2. Philippine Airlines 3. Singapore Airlines 4. Delta SkyMiles 5. Royal Orchid Plus 6. Enrich by Malaysia Airlines	1. Cathay Pacific 2. Philippine Airlines	1. Air Asia 2. Cathay Pacific 3. Philippine Airlines 4. Singapore Airlines 5. Qatar Airways 6. Gulf Air 7. Garuda Indonesia	1. Cathay Pacific 2. Philippine Airlines 3. Singapore Airlines
Lounge Access	Unlimited – PAGSS (cardholder only)	2 per year via Priority Pass	DragonPass (no free entries; USD 32/visit)	Unlimited – PAGSS (cardholder only)
Foreign Transaction Fee	1.85% (Effective Nov. 1, 2025)	1.85% (Effective Aug. 1, 2025)	1.70%	1.68% (Until Nov. 19, 2025)
Travel Insurance	Up to PHP 10M	Up to PHP 20M	Up to PHP 20M	None
Notable Features	2000 bonus miles when reaching an annual spend of PHP 600,000.00	PHP 15.00/mile on dining transactions	Free 1 year Accor Plus Explorer Membership	None

Note: BDO’s AmEx Explorer will start to earn miles at PHP 30.00 starting Nov. 1, 2025. This is for any and all transactions; not just those in foreign currencies.

Which Card Should You Get?

If I had to pick only one, I’d go with either Chinabank’s Destinations World Mastercard or Metrobank’s Travel Visa Signature. They’re generally more accepted compared to BDO’s AmEx Explorer and Diners Club Premiere, which has limited merchant coverage.

Nevertheless, I’ll be going out of my way and say that having both Chinabank’s and Metrobank’s travel credit card is actually a good idea. Here’s why:

• Chinabank gives you a solid list of airline transfer partners, but offers no free lounge access.
• Metrobank gives you unlimited lounge access, but no travel insurance—a strange omission for a travel card.

On the other hand, if you frequent SM malls or places that use BDO POS terminals, BDO’s Diners Club Premiere or the American Express Explorer is worth picking up too.

On top of the 2x miles on dining, you can access both BDO’s promos and Diners Club promos; which sometimes offer 3x–8x bonus miles on online, retail, and travel transactions. As for AmEx Explorer, the bonus miles you get when you reach PHP 600,000.00 spend per year effectively brings down your spend-to-miles ratio to PHP 27.3/mile! Similar to Diners Club, AmEx credit cards also have their own set of additional promos.

✈️ My Take

Personally, I keep and use all four specially since they cover different payment networks.

• American Express (BDO)
• Diners Club/Discover (BDO)
• Mastercard (Chinabank)
• Visa (Metrobank)

Anyway, here’s how I decide which card to use for my transactions:

1. Diners Club Premiere – For dining transactions, if accepted.
2. Cards with Active Promos – If any of my cards have ongoing promos, I’ll prioritize those.
3. AmEx Explorer – If there are no promos and AmEx is accepted, I’ll use this until I reach the PHP 600,000 annual spend requirement.
4. Chinabank Destinations World Mastercard – If there are no promos and AmEx isn’t accepted, I’ll use this since it has more airline partners.

If your goal is to fly farther without spending more, these cards are hard to beat. But, if we’re considering multipliers, then we’d have to discuss a totally different set of credit cards!

👥 Referral Instructions (If You’d Like to Support Me!)

If you found this comparison helpful and plan on applying for any of these cards, here’s how you can list me as your referrer — it helps keep posts like this coming. ✨

💼 Chinabank Destinations World Mastercard

1. Download the Chinabank referral form here: https://tinyurl.com/CBCmgmform
2. On the lower part of the form (just below the signature line), write:
   • Referrer Name: Kevin Ong
   • Referrer Code: DESTINATIONS:1454O1KE13
3. Email the completed form to mgm@chinabank.ph
   • Use the subject line: MGM: LAST NAME, FIRST NAME Example: MGM: DELA CRUZ, JUAN)

🧳 Metrobank Travel Visa Signature

1. Apply online via this link: https://tinyurl.com/mbtapply
2. When prompted, enter ARC457 as the referral code