After the devaluation of what I consider the best travel credit card in the Philippines, the EastWest Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer World Mastercard, I decided to rethink my miles-earning strategy since it was my go-to credit card.
The Chinabank Destinations World Mastercard was the one I immediately thought of since I had been eyeing this card since late last year. I just never applied for it because I didn't find the need for it that time before the devaluation.
However, now that the SIA KF credit card has been devalued my best miles earning card (not including multipliers) was my BDO-issued American Express Explorer credit card at Php 40 spend per mile. Although quite good compared to other travel credit cards here in the Philippines, the problem was that American Express is not yet widely accepted here.
So how good of a travel credit card is the Destinations World? Here are the pros and cons as I see them
Pros
Low Spend-to-Mile Ratio of Php 30 Spend Per Mile
Low Foreign Transaction Fee of 1.7% (Same as the EastWest SIA KF World)
Up to Php 20M Travel Insurance
Mastercard Travel and Lifestyle Services (Same as the EastWest SIA KF World)
Good Amount of Airline Transfer Partners (9 Airlines)
Cons
No Complimentary Airport Lounge Access, just a Mastercard Travel Pass membership
A high Annual Fee of Php 6,000
Low-Value Welcome Gift of a 1-Year Accor Plus Membership
The Mobile App is Trash
As you can see the best perk is really its low spend-to-mile ratio, which is the same as the old Citi Premier Miles before the devaluation. The low foreign transaction fee is great too as it matches the EW SIA KF World, although it is still better to use the EW SIA KF World card for foreign transactions since it gets you the multiplier making it Php 12 per mile.
Surprisingly Chinabank has several airline partners to choose from making its miles more valuable since it offers flexibility just in case you prefer another airline or when an airline program devalues its miles.
Most of the cons are a no-brainer since there is no complimentary access to any lounge and you still have to pay to enter the lounge even with the membership. Let's be real, nobody wants to pay to get in the lounge if we can get in for free. The EW SIA KF World offers 10 free complimentary lounge access a year before you'll be charged per entry and the annual fee is cheaper than the Chinabank Destinations World.
If you're a Chinabank account holder you'll know their mobile app sucks and I can't even add my credit card to the app so I can't see any details or transactions of my card through the app. I called customer support and they mentioned that I really can't add it and to wait for a new Chinabank digital app to launch soon, but based on what other people say it's been a year in the making.
You might be wondering why I put the welcome gift of 1 year Accor Plus membership as a con, well it's because an Accor Plus membership is only worth at most Php 9,900. I would know since I've recently switched my hotel loyalty from Marriott Bonvoy to Accor Live Limitless since it fits my travel lifestyle more with my Accor Plus membership. Also, the fact that the membership goes on sale multiple times a year from 10% to 40% depending on the promo makes it less valuable compared to other credit card welcome gifts.
For those of you wondering, I was not a Chinabank account holder when I applied for the card but I did open a savings account the same day and got approved.
Bottomline
The EW SIA KF World Mastercard still holds the title of "Best Travel Credit Card in the Philippines" even after the devaluation because the multipliers are still there for travel and they added more complimentary lounge access, you could argue that UnionBank's Reserve credit cards (formerly Citi Prestige) is the best but its branded more as a rewards card than a pure travel credit card.
I was going to say that the Chinabank's Destinations World Mastercard takes the no. 2 spot, but Metrobank just launched its Travel Signature Visa this past month which directly competes with the Destinations World with a Php 30 spend to mile ratio.
However the Destionations World is still definitely worth getting especially if you don't have any of the EW SIA KF credit cards and could be a coin flip with the Metrobank Travel Signature as their perks seem extremely similar.
Since it is a fairly new card and was just launched last 2023, expect the miles earning rate to devalue in the future once they have enough card holders. Just like the EW SIA KF World, after 5 years or so they've devalued the card since itsbecome extremely popular among travel credit card enthusiasts like me.
Looking at the other travel credit cards still available, like the PNB Mabuhay Miles cards and the RCBC Preferred Miles, this was the clear choice to add to my wallet.
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