Overview

Initial Impression: UOB Royal Orchid Plus (ROP) offers a solid entry point for Thai Airways loyalists, providing straightforward mile accumulation and essential travel perks without the premium price tag of higher-tier cards.

Benchmarking

Compared to peers, UOB ROP offers fewer airline transfer options, limiting flexibility for international travelers. Its 1:1 mile transfer ratio and access to Thai Airways lounges do give it an edge for loyal Thai Airways users. However, with slower earn rates and fewer bonus categories, it's less rewarding for general spending than some competing cards.

Earn Mechanism

UOB ROP is very straightforward with a simple base earn rate. Unlike, its big brother, UOB ROP Preferred, you won’t get any additional bonus categories. While there are some perks for purchases with Thai Airways there are conditions that don’t make it super relevant for the average Joe (see below).

• Base Earning Rate: Earn 1 UOB Reward Point for every 20 baht spend

You can see how this earn mechanism works in the examples below:

There is no general cap on bonus points you can earn on this UOB ROP Preferred. However, do take note that you will earn UOB point on up to 200,000 baht spent at supermarkets per billing cycle. While this is indeed a constraint, it is far from restrictive. To exceed this, you will need over 2.4 million baht spending at supermarkets over the course of one year. 

Maximum Spending Eligible for Points 

The 1:1 transfer ratio from UOB Rewards Points to ROP miles is attractive because it ensures full value conversion—for every point earned, you get one airline mile without any loss. Many other cards in Thailand offer less favorable rates (e.g., 2 or 4 points per mile), so this makes UOB’s card more efficient for earning flights.

However, having only ROP as a transfer partner is limiting. While Thai Airways is a strong carrier, relying solely on ROP means you're tied to one airline’s availability, blackout dates, and redemption pricing. Competing cards offer transfers to multiple programs (e.g., KrisFlyer, Asia Miles), giving you flexibility to hunt for better redemptions, routes, or availability across airlines—especially useful for international travel or frequent flyers who value optionality.

Note: For ease of comparison, all examples would refer to Thai Airways ROP miles unless otherwise stated.

Based on the points earn rate, we can infer the following miles earn rate for UOB ROP Preferred:

Getting Cashback

UOB ROP Preferred does not allow you to directly convert your UOB points to cashback. As an airline co-branded card, this is unlikely to be offered even as a campaign

When you use a credit card overseas, your purchases are charged in a foreign currency and then converted to Thai Baht. This conversion comes with a foreign exchange (FX) spread or fee—a hidden cost many cardholders overlook.

With UOB ROP, there are virtually no perks to spending in foreign currency. You can straightaway think of the ~3% FX fee as the cost of your convenience. One is highly recommended to use another card for this.

• Currency Conversion Fee: Foreign Currency Conversion Fee of ~2% on top of the Visa/Mastercard spread.

Exchange Spread: This refers to Mastercard’s spread that is built into their respective rates. This typically stands at ~1%.

Lounge Access

UOB ROP does offer lounge access, although the conditions to access this perk can be rather restrictive: you must be flying with Thai Airways out of Suvarnabhumi Airport or Chiang Mai to access it.

Other Perks

In addition to the typical miles earn and perks one can expect form a credit card, a co-branded cards also provide exclusive perks from the co-branded partner: Thai Airways. These include:

• Bonus Points: Receive 20% more miles when spending every 50,000 baht per sales slip for purchasing tickets from Thai Airways, Royal Orchid Holidays, and Thai Shop

Eligibility Criteria

To apply for the UOB ROP Preferred, you must meet specific eligibility criteria based on nationality, income, and employment status. Here's a breakdown of the requirements:

A. Ordinary Requirements:

Thai Nationals

Foreigner

B. Alternative Requirements:

No officially published alternative requirements have been announced by UOB. You can contact UOB directly regarding the possibility of using your AUM or fixed deposits and collateral for UOB credit cards.

Annual Fee

The annual fee for UOB ROP is steep for the type of card that it is, and has no officially published waiver conditions. While you can still get in touch with UOB every year to request one, this will not always be guaranteed.

Primary Card

Supplementary Card

UOB ROP supplementary cards will earn miles into the ROP account of the primary cardholder. While the miles may only be used by the primary cardholder, they can redeem tickets on another's behalf, which is equally useful.

For example, if both you and your spouse spend ฿15,000 per month, you’ll earn points as if you spent ฿30,000—reaching travel or cashback rewards much quicker.