SINGAPOREDiscovers Vouchers: Important Things to Note (PSA: Expires in less than 6 months!)

So I got my physical mailer notification containing instructions on how to redeemSingapoRediscovers vouchers in the mail the other day:

I wish that we could cut down the use of paper here, but hey, it’s Merli on an envelope!

1. PSA: MUST Redeem by 30th June 2021

The redemption process will be from 1st December 2020 to 30th June 2021. As you probably would have seen with the media on this, most vendors are already gearing up for the redemptions starting 1st December 2020.

I am personally guilty of letting vouchers expire without utilizing them – so keep the date in mind guys. 30th June 2021! For parents, you could plan ahead for June holidays if you plan to stay in Singapore.

2. Competitive Tender for the 5 SINGAPOREDiscovers Merchants

As of writing, there are 5 merchants that support the use of SINGAPOREDiscovers vouchers:

• Changi Recommends by Changi Travel Services

• GlobalTix

• Klook & UOB Travel Planners (representing a consortium)

• Traveloka

• Trip.com

Note that these 5 merchants are the outcome of a competitive tender that closed 1st October 2020 – so these merchants definitely did their homework and had to go through a tender process to be on the initial list of 5 merchants. Additionally, attractions that have received approval to resume operations can apply to STB to increase their operating capacity from 25 per cent to up to 50 per cent from 18th September onwards, subject to approval by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

3. Preferably Redemption is Done Online, But Physical Redemption is Also Available

4. NO STACKING / All Purchases Must Be Kept Separate

This was done to prevent abuse eg. people selling vouchers on 3rd party platforms like Carousell.

Your SingapoRediscovers Vouchers cannot be stacked or combined with another person’s vouchers (even if they are your family members) within the same redemption. This means that if you have 6 people with a total of $600

SINGAPOREDiscover vouchers, you cannot make a $600 2D1N booking at the hotel you wanted to staycay at.

AND – don’t forget the 8-person limit for private gatherings.

How I Plan to Use These Vouchers

Truth be told, I have always enjoyed discovering Singapore on foot to explore different parts of Singapore, and was a little dumbfounded when I was asked about how to use the vouchers. As of 24th November, the list of merchants include:

• 39 attractions

• 178 hotels

• 91 tours

Clearly, it’s very heavy on the hotels/staycation group, with 178 hotels making up 58% of the 308 merchants. However, with staycations, you very likely will use all of the $100 vouchers in one fell swoop, instead of spreading it amongst 3-4 experiences.

So, I did some research to see what might be some good lobangs to use the SINGAPOREDiscovers vouchers on:

• Mandarin Oriental – this is not bad if you are a staycation kind of person, because they offer an additional $100 dining credit if you book with them with your SingapoRediscovers voucher. This is for the ‘SingapoRediscovers Vouchers’ accomodation package’ at $299 per night (which means you will effectively pay $199) which includes breakfast for 2, complimentary bed and breakfast for 3rd and 4th occupants, and late check-out at 6pm. $100 dining credit is only applicable for bookings with SingapoRediscovers Vouchers from 1 to 21 December 2020 and valid for stays from 1 December 2020 to 30 June 2021. I would not find it surprising it other hotels follow suit with the additional $100 dining credit promo deal.

• Hotels under $100 for a staycation effectively for free: Places like RedDoorz, Venue Hotel, Hotel Boss, XY Hotel and Hotel 81 (which is surprising to me at least) are on the list. For example, a non-cancellation 1 night booking at Venue Hotel for 2 as of time of writing this post is S$67.12. You could even book for 2 nights and just top up around S$30.

• NERF Action Xperience (from $29) – perfect for parents with kids, or people like myself who want to try it out. We have 3 NERF guns at home, but NERFing is always more fun with more people. Check out NERF Action Xperience at Marina Square.

• Curated tours by Tribe: This is something that I will be keen to try with my family, for the walking tours and game tours! They currently have a 牛车水 Murders which is priced at $50 for a two-hour – I do wish they added more game tours. Otherwise – the SingapoRediscover vouchers would be good for around 2 tours.

With that said, here’s the list that STB continually updates on the list of approved vendors: https://www.stb.gov.sg/content/stb/en/trade-events-and-resources/SingapoRediscovers-Vouchers/list-of-merchants.html