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The 'Best credit cards for KF miles accrual' master thread

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Old Oct 31, 2014, 6:05 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: lifeonthego_k
I'm going to update this first post as more info flows in to create a 'master list' of all credit cards that offer a decent way of accruing miles - so please help out!

If you know of and/or use any other cards (or the ones already mentioned), please share your thoughts.

***ALL VALUES BELOW IN SINGAPORE DOLLARS (SGD)***
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In no particular order (apart from personal preference in terms of good-mileage opportunities):
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1. UOB PRVI Miles VISA, MasterCard, AMEX

VISA:
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...iles_visa.html
MasterCard:
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...astercard.html
Amex:
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...amex_card.html
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...ard/microsite/



Mileage accrual:
The earn rate will be 1.4 miles for every $1 spent in multiples of S$10 (every multiple of S$5 gives 6 to 7 miles due to 3.5 UNI$ rounding off, every S$10 gives 14 miles), and 2.4 miles for every $1 spent OVERSEAS (every $5 gives 12 miles).

Requirements: min. income $80,000 (not strict).
Cost: First year free, then S$256.80 for main, first two supplementary always free. Annual fee waiver for Amex card if you charge $50,000 or more in a year.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion. UNI$ are combined in 1 cardholder's name/FIN Number/NRIC together for all UOB cards which earn UNI$.

Pros: Best mileage accrual rates for overseas spend only. 20,000 bonus miles and annual fee waiver with spend of $50,000 per year (both only for Amex card). $45 1-way airport transfer voucher for $1,000 overseas spend in a given quarter (Amex only).
Cons: AMEX not always accepted by merchants. Points allocated on every $5 spent, rounded down to next $5. Transfer in blocks of 5000 UNI$ points = 10,000 miles. Points are valid for 2 years (transfer before expiry and they will subsequently be valid for a further 3 years from the date of transfer to KrisFlyer).

2. UOB Preferred Platinum Visa


http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards..._platinum.html
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...visa_card.html


Mileage accrual: Earn 4 miles for every $1 spent using ONLY MOBILE CONTACTLESS every $5 gives 10 UNI$ which equal 20 miles). Same incredible mileage-earning ratio for internet shopping with certain restrictions (travel-related, utilities, etc.). Earn 0.4 mile for every $1 for regular, signature-based payments AND ORPHAN SPEND DUE TO $5 ROUNDING OR EXCEEDING THE BONUS U$2000 SPEND (every $5 gives 1 UNI$ which equal 2 miles).

Earning 4 miles/$ is limited to the first S$1110 spent during the per calendar month (via Mobile Contactless). 2,000UNI$ refers to the extra 9UNI$ and does not include the normal 1UNI$.(Stop when you notice you earn 3UNI$ (1 + bonus 2) for the last S$5 transaction. ($1110/5)x9=1998UNI$, hence the last S$5 transaction will earn 2 bonus UNI$. The total bonus UNI$ awarded to you from qualifying spend on Selected Online Transactions and Mobile Contactless Transactions is capped at UNI$2,000 for each calendar month. THE CAP IS ON THE 9 UNI$ BONUS NOT 10UNI$ TOTAL YOU GET WITH BASE OF U$1 PER $ SPEND

Keep in mind that some merchants offer different, non-mileage accruing awards with UOB cards which are called SMART$. Some popular merchants include Cold Storage, Guardian and Giant Supermarket, ToastBox and Starbucks. A full list of merchants where Mobile contactless transactions will NOT earn miles can be found here:
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...smartclub.html

Requirements: min. income $30,000 ($60,000 for foreigners).
Cost: First year free, then $192.60 for main and $96.30 for supplementary. Annual fee waived off easily.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion, in blocks of 5000 UNI$=10,000 miles. UNI$ are combined in 1 cardholder's name for all UOB cards.

Pros: Incredible mileage accrual rates for Paywave transactions (not all merchants - some give SMART$ instead which are different rewards!) as well as internet transactions (some restrictions apply).
Cons: Points allocated on every $5 spent, rounded down to next $5. Transfer in blocks of 5000 UNI$ points = 10,000 miles. Points are valid for 2 years (transfer before expiry and they will subsequently be valid for a further 3 years from the date of transfer to KrisFlyer).

3. Citi PremierMiles MasterCard

https://www.citibank.com.sg/credit-cards/travel/premiermiles-card/?ecid=PSGONSGCCAENPM

Mileage accrual: Earn 1.2 miles for every $1 spent. Earn 2 miles for every $1 spent OVERSEAS. 10,000 bonus miles for each annual membership renewal.

Requirements: min. income $50,000 for VISA. Principal cardholder must be at least 21 years of age.
Cost: First year free, then $192.60 for VISA main, supplementary always free. Annual fee waiver available in exchange for forfeiting the 10,000renewal bonus.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion.

Pros: Decent all-rounder, good for overseas spend. Points never expire. Bonus miles for annual card renewal. 11 frequent flyer programs & 3 hotel programs to choose from, including EVA Air - only 25,000 miles for 1 way Business Class within Asia!!
Cons: No miles awarded for EZ-Link & Transitlink transactions. Miles awarded per S$1. Cents not included. 1.2 miles/S$1. Transfer in blocks of 10,000 miles.

4. DBS Altitude VISA/AMEX

http://www.dbs.com/sg/personal/cards...e/default.aspx
http://www.dbs.com/sg/personal/cards...e/default.aspx



Mileage accrual: Earn 1.2 miles for every $1 spent (every $5 gives 3 DBS points which equal 6 miles). Earn 2 miles for every $1 spent OVERSEAS.

Requirements: min. income $80,000.
Cost: First year free, then $180 for main and $90 for supplementary. Annual fee waiver if you charge $25,000 or more in a year.
Miles conversion fee: S$26.75 per transfer, redeem 1700 DBS points to waive off.

Pros: Points never expire. No rounding down transaction amount to nearest $5 (calculation is done as follows: DBS points = 'transaction amount' divided by 5, multiply by 3, after that round down to nearest whole number. Minimum spend is S$1.67. Each DBS point = 2 miles). Earn 3 miles per S$1 spent on all online Flight and Hotel transactions (capped at S$5,000 per month). 10,000 miles renewal bonus if you have to pay card renewal fees.
Cons: All local spend now down to 1.2 miles/$ (since Dec 1, 2013). AMEX not always accepted by merchants. Transfer in blocks of 5000 DBS points = 10,000 miles (on the plus side points don't expire). Per transfer of S$26.75, redeem 1700 DBS points to waive off.

5. Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa

http://info.maybank2u.com.sg/persona...visa-card.aspx



Earn 3.2 air miles (8X TREATS Points) with every dollar spent on dining, petrol, taxi fares and hotel bookings at Agoda.com/horizon
Earn 2 air miles (5X TREATS Points) with every dollar spent on air tickets, travel packages and foreign currency transactions, with a minimal S$300 in a calendar month

Earn 0.4 mile for every $1 spent elsewhere (1 mile for every $2.50 spent).

Requirements: min. income $30,000 ($80,000 for foreigners).
Cost: $150 for main, supplementary always free. Unsure of any annual fee waiver conditions.
Miles conversion fee: In blocks of 5,000 points to 2000 Asia Miles or KrisFlyer. S$26.75 fee applies.

Pros: Great for ticket purchases and overseas spend. Complimentary access to selected VIP airport lounges when you charge a minimum of S$400 in a single transaction on air tickets or travel packages to your Card 3 months prior to the date of travel.
Cons: Great ONLY for ticket purchases and overseas spend. Points are valid for 1 year only, expire either on 30 June or 31 December of the same year if not Rewards Infinite member.

6. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend AMEX

https://www.americanexpress.com/sg/s...nd-credit-card



Mileage accrual: Earn 1.2 KrisFlyer miles for every S$1 spent on all your eligible purchases with your Card

Earn 2 KrisFlyer miles for every S$1 equivalent in foreign currency spent overseas on eligible purchases during June and December

Requirements: min. income $50,000 ($60,000 for foreigners). Principal cardholder must be over 21 years of age.
Cost: First year free, otherwise $256.80 for main, 2 supplementary cards always free (more available at $80.25 each). Annual fee cannot be waived unless you spend alot.
Miles conversion fee: None - your KrisFlyer miles are transferred to your account directly with no conversion fees or charges.

Pros: None, except for welcome offers (4 complimentary airport lounge access vouchers, one complimentary night with Millennium Hotels and Resorts).

Cons: Simply nothing special - there are better cards available for all types of purchases, including flight tickets, even with all of the bonuses above applied. AMEX not always accepted by merchants.

7. Citibank Rewards Card

http://www.citibank.com.sg/gcb/credi...CACRENCCHOCALM



Earn 10X Rewards (10 Rewards Points or 4 Miles for every S$1 spent) when you shop for clothes, bags and shoes or at departmental stores or online shopping websites, including SingTel & M1 online bill payment!

Pros: Transfer to 11 FFPs & 3 Hotel programs in blocks of 25,000 points=10,000 miles; S$25 fee.

Cons: Points awarded per S$1 spend. Cents not included. Cannot combined Thank You Points across cards.

8. DBS Woman's World MasterCard® Card

http://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/cards...astercard-card



10X Rewards for Online Retail Purchases
T&C Here: https://www.dbs.com.sg/iwov-resource...s_card_tnc.pdf

Pros: Men also can get this card!! DBS points are combined in 1 cardholder's name. No rounding down transaction amount to nearest $5 (calculation is done as follows: DBS points = 'transaction amount' divided by 5, multiply by 10, after that round down to nearest whole number. Minimum spend is S$1. Each DBS point = 2 miles).

Cons: DBS points are valid for 1 year based on card anniversary date. The additional 9X DBS Points for online retail spend in a calendar month will be awarded on the 16th of the next calendar month. If the above days are not working days, the Points will be awarded on the next working day. The additional 9X DBS Points are only applicable to the first S$2,000 online retail spend every calendar month.

9. OCBC Titanium Rewards Card

https://www.ocbc.com/personal-bankin...astercard.html

10x OCBC$ on your shopping Local & Overseas Shopping Transactions, Local & Overseas Department Store Transactions and Local & Overseas Online Transactions.
The remaining 9 OCBC$ will be posted to the Card Account by the end of the next calendar month

https://www.ocbc.com/assets/pdf/card...ons.pdf?rand=1
10,000 KrisFlyer miles requires OCBC$ 25000, For each conversion of OCBC$ to KrisFlyer miles a fee of S$25 will be charged

10. UOB Lady's Card
https://www.uob.com.sg/personal/card...ard/index.page

============

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The 'Best credit cards for KF miles accrual' master thread

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Old Jul 5, 2015, 3:13 am
  #4426  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 819
Originally Posted by carrotjuice
I combed through the ANZ terms, they don't seem to preclude this.

Calling vsepr - the guru of ANZ cards!
I don't know about road tax because I don't own a car.

From my knowledge, road tax can only pay with Diners Club card, but no points, or at AXS machines with Citibank or DBS cards but no points. Cannot pay with credit cards at anywhere.
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Old Jul 5, 2015, 3:25 am
  #4427  
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN (LEJ once a year)
Programs: SQ, LH, BA, IHG Diamond AMB, HH Gold, SLH Indulged, Accor Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,738
On the Imagine Amex I didn't have much luck with it right from the start and ditched it after 2 weeks later. 3 failed top up attempts where my CC had been charged and for reversal I had to call to get it processed. Dumped it right away. Even though I think Fevo runs on the same platform so far all the top ups and local + foreign transactions tallied though it something one needs to keep an eye on. I hope the "charge" reverses soon as Ezlink customer service can be quite "hapless" when it comes to resolving issues.
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Old Jul 5, 2015, 5:40 am
  #4428  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 12
Originally Posted by vsepr
I don't know about road tax because I don't own a car.

From my knowledge, road tax can only pay with Diners Club card, but no points, or at AXS machines with Citibank or DBS cards but no points. Cannot pay with credit cards at anywhere.
You can pay via cc on onemotoring website. I have tried it previously with Citi PM and can confirm that points were not awarded. As for whether DBS cards will work, I think I read somewhere on HWZ that no points are awarded but can't recall whether that's through AXS or onemotoring website. Torn between using ANZ Travel card for miles or OCBC 365 card to gain extra 0.5% on 360 account.
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Old Jul 5, 2015, 7:41 am
  #4429  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Anywhere
Posts: 6,575
Originally Posted by demue
On the Imagine Amex I didn't have much luck with it right from the start and ditched it after 2 weeks later. 3 failed top up attempts where my CC had been charged and for reversal I had to call to get it processed. Dumped it right away. Even though I think Fevo runs on the same platform so far all the top ups and local + foreign transactions tallied though it something one needs to keep an eye on. I hope the "charge" reverses soon as Ezlink customer service can be quite "hapless" when it comes to resolving issues.
Indeed, over a year ago, dealing with the problem of having my UOB PPV being charged but my Imagine Amex balance wasn't updated - was painful. I remember having to call Imagine customer service each time to have those errant charges reversed. Subsequently after I switched to DBS WWMC as my top-up card the problem still happened occasionally, but I noticed (through DBS online banking) that these are always reversed on the same day - hence no need to call Imagine customer service anymore.

The Imagine app is actually very easy to use. Topping up through the app is a breeze. You just need to record the card that you use to top up within the Imagine app, a few key strokes, receive OTP, input OTP, and it's done! I have 6 Imagine Amex cards which I split between myself and my spouse... we charge at least $100 per card each month and receive total $30 worth of rebates in return. Well... I convince myself that it's 6 free lattes a month and that made the minimal effort worthwhile.

Aside from that, my spouse and I have an M1 MC each... to cater to merchants that don't accept Amex. Even though there's a 1% top-up fee, I gather that this works out to be still worthwhile to earn the extra miles using the DBS WWMC. But the M1 MC app is horrendous, at least on Android. You can never top up using the app because when the app sends you the OTP for a top-up transaction, you have to exit the app to read the OTP from your text messages, but when you go back to the app to input the OTP, the screen would've disappeared! So topping up is done solely through the M1 MC website.

On occasion you do encounter errant merchants who, whether known or unknown to them, can cause this problem of not "reversing" the "settled" transactions on the same day, thus end up blocking a huge chunk of your available credit limit on the Imagine Amex or M1 MC... which is annoying. A local merchant known to do this is Cold Storage.
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Old Jul 5, 2015, 8:23 pm
  #4430  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 92
Originally Posted by 5h4n3
You can pay via cc on onemotoring website. I have tried it previously with Citi PM and can confirm that points were not awarded. As for whether DBS cards will work, I think I read somewhere on HWZ that no points are awarded but can't recall whether that's through AXS or onemotoring website. Torn between using ANZ Travel card for miles or OCBC 365 card to gain extra 0.5% on 360 account.
used PM card last month on lta website and points awarded.
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Old Jul 5, 2015, 8:38 pm
  #4431  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 819
Just found out this method to earn free miles by chance because I made a refund at IKEA lately.

Go get a purchase order for large items at IKEA for items to purchase. After that use a VISA credit card to pay. Receipt put "VISA Credit". Do not collect the goods. For large bulky items, you have to pay first, get a receipt and collect the goods at a collection point. Go to the refund counter and take a Q number.

Give the receipt and purchase order to the refund counter staff. Give them a VISA DEBIT card to make a refund. The $$ will go to your bank account and you can keep the points/miles in the VISA credit card. Works for MasterCard credit & debit card.

Last edited by vsepr; Jul 5, 2015 at 9:04 pm
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Old Jul 6, 2015, 3:52 am
  #4432  
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN (LEJ once a year)
Programs: SQ, LH, BA, IHG Diamond AMB, HH Gold, SLH Indulged, Accor Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,738
Haha, awesome. Not that I plan on using it, but your attention to detail is impressive. Not sure I would have spotted this "gap" Though if you want to keep it "open" you may want to remove the details here and only share via PM. Your call.
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Old Jul 6, 2015, 4:01 am
  #4433  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 129
Anyone tried using the DBS WWMC on Lazada? Does it qualify for the bonus points?
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Old Jul 6, 2015, 8:58 am
  #4434  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 106
Originally Posted by demue
Haha, awesome. Not that I plan on using it, but your attention to detail is impressive. Not sure I would have spotted this "gap" Though if you want to keep it "open" you may want to remove the details here and only share via PM. Your call.
This gap has been around for quite a while and is not only confined to IKEA. The only problem is that when the merchants tally up their transactions, there will be a charge slip mismatch and that's when they will start digging. Hence the usual practice is to refund back only to the original card.

ps: its on HWZ as well and drawing alot of flak.
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Old Jul 6, 2015, 11:53 am
  #4435  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 87
Originally Posted by Fly-Swiss
A joke? A card whose fee can be waived, which gives unlimited access to many lounges as well as the best miles ratio on the market. What else do you want for free? Free travel, business upgrade? Let's chill out folks. This is just a credit card. The miles alone is already more than 2% cash back if you assume 2 cents a mile. The money cannot be created out of thin air by ANZ.
I guess not every market the annual fee of this card can be waived like Singapore right? Also did you know that some guests complained that they have been denied access by some of the lounge at the list without any prior notice from ANZ or Veloce last year?

Last edited by ronaldko; Jul 6, 2015 at 12:02 pm
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Old Jul 6, 2015, 11:58 am
  #4436  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 87
Seems like HSBC Advance Visa Platinum no more 10x online spending on this card, no point to keep deposit of $30K for the Advance a/c, conisder to cancel it.
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Old Jul 6, 2015, 8:37 pm
  #4437  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Singapore
Posts: 43
It's till end of this month right? Confirmed no extension?
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Old Jul 8, 2015, 9:24 pm
  #4438  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 62
Does paying via mobile apps considered online booking for DBS WWC for example purchasing ticket via airasia apps or things from lazada apps ? If not very bad i just made huge purchase from those apps last month
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Old Jul 9, 2015, 10:39 pm
  #4439  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP
Posts: 1,799
Originally Posted by laurent_rio
Does paying via mobile apps considered online booking for DBS WWC for example purchasing ticket via airasia apps or things from lazada apps ? If not very bad i just made huge purchase from those apps last month
The extra miles are posted around the 16th, so you'll find out very soon...
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Old Jul 9, 2015, 10:53 pm
  #4440  
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ Krisflyer, Hilton Gold, Best Western Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 155
anyway..a friend just mentioned to me that the Maybank Horizon card is giving 8X air miles for agoda booking(promotional) and 2x air miles for telco payment. This is in addition to the normal 2x air miles for travel expenses. Pretty decent.

http://info.maybank2u.com.sg/persona...visa-card.aspx

in addition, citibank is not receving anymore new applications for Citibank Platinum Clear Card. Any substitutes that you guys can think of. ?
kt85 is offline  


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