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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):
============

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 May 24, 2016, 8:50 pm
  #5686  
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Singapore
Programs: Krisflyer Gold, Starwood Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 444
Apple Pay has launched on UOB, DBS/POSB and SC today with 20% cashback. Seems to be limited to $10 rebate per bank, but if you have a few cards might be able to get a few $ back. Limited to first xx000 customers of course...
w4rd is offline  
Old May 24, 2016, 9:01 pm
  #5687  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 129
So which card should we use for Apple Pay to maximise miles earning?
vade is offline  
Old May 24, 2016, 9:16 pm
  #5688  
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Singapore
Programs: Krisflyer Gold, Starwood Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 444
Originally Posted by vade
So which card should we use for Apple Pay to maximise miles earning?
Assuming its treated like Paywave then UOB PPV for 4miles/$ is going to be best.
w4rd is offline  
Old May 24, 2016, 10:14 pm
  #5689  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
Programs: Nothing anymore after 20 years
Posts: 6,900
Originally Posted by Awesom Andy
Here is a link without "addictives"
https://www.kaligo.com/altitude

Full T&C are at the bottom of that site.
It is just me, or their prices for hotels are 25-35% higher comparing to other OTAs?
invisible is offline  
Old May 24, 2016, 10:34 pm
  #5690  
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Singapore
Programs: Krisflyer Gold, Starwood Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 444
Originally Posted by invisible
It is just me, or their prices for hotels are 25-35% higher comparing to other OTAs?
Yes, can be high, but not always. No such thing as a free mile.
w4rd is offline  
Old May 24, 2016, 11:17 pm
  #5691  
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: SIN
Programs: KF, MPC, BAEC // Bonvoy, WoH, Honors
Posts: 1,464
Originally Posted by vade
Bro, have the points been posted? I have a couple of rather large payments due soon
Can confirm that the transaction reverted back to "AXS PAYMENT SINGAPORE SG" and bonus points have been credited.
Kilian Zoll is offline  
Old May 24, 2016, 11:58 pm
  #5692  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Programs: HH Diamond, GHA Titanium
Posts: 1,961
A little off topic -- DBS UOB OCBC and SCB Visa & Mastercards are Apple Pay compatible now. I don't know about the other banks, but DBS has a "$10 cashback with $50 total spend" for first 50k customers. Did my first $8.80 transaction at a sandwich shop, $41.20 to go!

[edit] eh, I see w4rd beat me to it by half a day.
shuigao is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 8:23 am
  #5693  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: SIN
Posts: 352
Originally Posted by w4rd
Apple Pay has launched on UOB, DBS/POSB and SC today with 20% cashback. Seems to be limited to $10 rebate per bank, but if you have a few cards might be able to get a few $ back. Limited to first xx000 customers of course...
UOB is so UOBish!!!
(how can they not be..)

“Promotional Period” means the period from 25 May 2016, 12:00 am until 25 May 2016, 11:59
pm (Singapore date/time).


icing on the cake:
The Prize will only be credited on or before 31 August 2016.


lol they aint even sure on credit date- "on or before"
ExSin is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 8:27 am
  #5694  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: SIN
Posts: 352
Originally Posted by suitespin
Wanted to add another data point.. I made my payment on the 17th and it showed up as AXS PTE LTD SGP as well with 0 points (much to my chagrin) awarded. But a quick check earlier today saw it somehow adjusted to the usual AXS PAYMENT SINGAPORE SG with the 10x points
Just to confirm - is the 10x via AXS with Rewards Visa card or Rewards Mastercard or both?
ExSin is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 9:33 am
  #5695  
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Singapore
Programs: Krisflyer Gold, Starwood Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 444
Originally Posted by ExSin
Just to confirm - is the 10x via AXS with Rewards Visa card or Rewards Mastercard or both?
AXS does not accept Visa...
w4rd is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 10:05 am
  #5696  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 129
Originally Posted by staff
Can confirm that the transaction reverted back to "AXS PAYMENT SINGAPORE SG" and bonus points have been credited.
Noted and thanks for updating!
vade is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 12:53 pm
  #5697  
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SIN
Programs: CX DM, SQ KF Gold
Posts: 980
Originally Posted by vade
My latest payment was on 17 May, and it shows as AXS PAYMENT SINGAPORE SG. Checked the Citi Rewards portal and that qualified for 10x bonus points.
Apologies if I am a bit dim, but I just looked at the Citibank SG websiteand on the site for the Rewards card it doesn't mention anything about such charges qualifying... Could you kindly show me where you found that? Am thinking of applying simply so that I can pay SPS charges through that, so would be keen to know!
NetJets Germany is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 7:05 pm
  #5698  
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: KrisFlyer
Posts: 6
Up to 42,000 mile... (sign up bonus + spend $10,000)
new promotion from Citibank...

https://www.citibank.com.sg/gcb/cred...CA1TENCCMMMPAN
wikitraveller is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 11:03 pm
  #5699  
 
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: 7,739
If we keep asking and discussing on this AXS topic much further it will definitely shorten the likely "limited" timespan that this opportunity has. Even the dullest folks at the bank in question will eventually wake up and ensure that points issued align to what their T&Cs says.

Last edited by demue; May 26, 2016 at 3:13 am
demue is offline  
Old May 26, 2016, 6:50 am
  #5700  
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: SIN
Programs: KF, MPC, BAEC // Bonvoy, WoH, Honors
Posts: 1,464
Does anyone know if the usual cards (UOB PPV, Citi Rewards MC etc.) generate the online 10x bonus for miles purchases from United MileagePlus?
Kilian Zoll is offline  


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