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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 Aug 15, 2017, 6:23 am
  #7201  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 129
Hey guys,

Got a question. With the demise of the Citi Rewards + AXS and DBSWWMC + Fevo earlier this year, my biggest problem now is how to maximize miles earnings from insurance payments. Currently, I'm relying on CardUp + PRVI Miles, but it's not the greatest earning ratio. Anyone has a better way to share?
vade is offline  
Old Aug 15, 2017, 8:30 pm
  #7202  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Singapore
Programs: KF EG
Posts: 61
Originally Posted by hclee01
For those who just need a little more miles, you may wish to consider opening the UOB KrisFlyer Account and earn 5K miles for min spend of S$500 a month and maintaining a monthly average balance of S$5K a month:

http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/depos...unt/index.html

To qualify, SMS KFUOB<space>NRIC/Passport no. to 77862.

This is not the best promotion around. But just sharing for those who needs that little bit more miles in their account and have maxed out the other credit card acquisition promotions.
If you have <100k in the account then the earn rate is only 1.4m per dollar, same as the PRIV miles card. But if you have more in the account then it will be worthwhile. But the 5% cap is actually is a turn off too
Kelvin L is offline  
Old Aug 16, 2017, 1:01 am
  #7203  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 62
Originally Posted by vade
Hey guys,

Got a question. With the demise of the Citi Rewards + AXS and DBSWWMC + Fevo earlier this year, my biggest problem now is how to maximize miles earnings from insurance payments. Currently, I'm relying on CardUp + PRVI Miles, but it's not the greatest earning ratio. Anyone has a better way to share?
you can use Citi Premier Miles for insurance get 1.2 miles, cardup+UOB PRVI get 1.4 miles but u need to pay 2.6% which defeat the purpose since it means u pay about 1.85 cent/miles

or if your insurance less than 200 SGD permonth u can use HSBC Revo + Cardup to get 2 miles/$. EZ link prepaid only eligible max 200$ per month using HSBC Revolution Card
laurent_rio is offline  
Old Aug 16, 2017, 3:08 am
  #7204  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 856
Originally Posted by vade
Hey guys,

Got a question. With the demise of the Citi Rewards + AXS and DBSWWMC + Fevo earlier this year, my biggest problem now is how to maximize miles earnings from insurance payments. Currently, I'm relying on CardUp + PRVI Miles, but it's not the greatest earning ratio. Anyone has a better way to share?
Contact your agent and ask if they have credit card forms, then look for cards that award points for insurance payments. For example, my AIA ones, they mail me the renewal notice, then you can go AXS for payment (most cards exclude AXS payment). However, I can get the credit card form from my agent and they process the payment back-end, which should then circumvent the AXS problem.
fone is offline  
Old Aug 17, 2017, 7:28 am
  #7205  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,727
One can file a claim with MAS for review of case?
tboons is offline  
Old Aug 21, 2017, 3:32 am
  #7206  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: SIN
Posts: 84
Originally Posted by Traflying
For some reason, I can't check my DBS WWC points earning (eg. how much points I get this month, or last month), I can only see the expiring points in the coming months/year? I remember I was able to do this few months back.. Anyone?

Thanks!
Ahh, this was buried some time ago.. Anyone?
Traflying is offline  
Old Aug 21, 2017, 8:26 am
  #7207  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 55
Originally Posted by Traflying
Ahh, this was buried some time ago.. Anyone?
I think you need to compare statement points vs 16th ibanking points reflected
Tyrhung is offline  
Old Aug 25, 2017, 3:58 am
  #7208  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 35
Hullo. Apologies, newbie question here, but I have flicked through the 481 pages of posts here and haven't found an answer.

Do points accrued under the credit card schemes contribute to your status?

I've lounge access status with BA, but I may be relocating to Singapore and I wondering whether I should switch my loyalty, but I am concerned that I may not fly enough miles to earn status in Singapore Airline's scheme.
jdw111 is offline  
Old Aug 25, 2017, 5:01 am
  #7209  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Singapore
Programs: KF, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 182
Originally Posted by jdw111
Hullo. Apologies, newbie question here, but I have flicked through the 481 pages of posts here and haven't found an answer.

Do points accrued under the credit card schemes contribute to your status?

I've lounge access status with BA, but I may be relocating to Singapore and I wondering whether I should switch my loyalty, but I am concerned that I may not fly enough miles to earn status in Singapore Airline's scheme.
the only credit card scheme that can get airline status in SG is Amex Krisflyer ascend card that gets you Krisflyer gold if you spend 15k sgd on SQ website. Not aware of any other scheme.
spk307 is offline  
Old Aug 25, 2017, 9:27 am
  #7210  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 35
Originally Posted by spk307
the only credit card scheme that can get airline status in SG is Amex Krisflyer ascend card that gets you Krisflyer gold if you spend 15k sgd on SQ website. Not aware of any other scheme.
Thank you for your comment. I meant in terms of the points accrued. I understand from the Krisflyer scheme that, if you earn 50,000 points you achieve gold status. But if these points are earned through credit cards and then deposited in your Krisflyer account, can this enable you to climb in status?
jdw111 is offline  
Old Aug 25, 2017, 9:32 am
  #7211  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Singapore
Programs: KF, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 182
Originally Posted by jdw111
Thank you for your comment. I meant in terms of the points accrued. I understand from the Krisflyer scheme that, if you earn 50,000 points you achieve gold status. But if these points are earned through credit cards and then deposited in your Krisflyer account, can this enable you to climb in status?
nope. Only real butt in seat miles flown are counted for airline status.
spk307 is offline  
Old Aug 25, 2017, 5:10 pm
  #7212  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Anywhere
Posts: 6,576
Originally Posted by jdw111
I've lounge access status with BA, but I may be relocating to Singapore and I wondering whether I should switch my loyalty, but I am concerned that I may not fly enough miles to earn status in Singapore Airline's scheme.
If you're relocating to SIN, then you may want consider retaining your BA status by flying 4 BA flight segments a year and renew your status by flying (lots of) MH... yes it's a transit through KUL (not anyone's favourite of airports) but there are reasonably cheap fares to make up on TPs.

KF is a challenging program to renew status. I currently live in SIN and mainly use SQ for redemption flights from miles earned through CC spends, all my paid flights are with OW (plenty of choices out of SIN - BA, MH, QR, CX).
jdw111 likes this.
carrotjuice is offline  
Old Aug 26, 2017, 1:16 am
  #7213  
Moderator, El Al and Marriott Bonvoy, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Hyatt Contributor BadgeMarriott Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ*G, Mar LTT, Hyatt Glb, AA LTG, LY, HH, IC, BA, DL, UA SLV
Posts: 12,018
I also only redeem on SQ. My SQ flights get credited to TG where 50k miles in a year or 80k miles in two years gives 2 years of go,d.
jdw111 likes this.
yosithezet is offline  
Old Aug 29, 2017, 4:15 am
  #7214  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 35
Thanks guys, this is helpful. I was thinking the same, as I didn't fancy being 12 months+ without status and it does look like status is relatively easier to retain under the BA scheme.
jdw111 is offline  
Old Aug 29, 2017, 10:06 pm
  #7215  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Singapore
Programs: SQ KF Gold, HHonors Gold, SPG Plat
Posts: 300
This is somewhat off-topic for the thread (and I daresay even the SQ forum and FT) but I didn't quite know where else it should go, besides I figured the folks in here would be the most knowledgeable about credit card practices in Singapore and elsewhere..

Anyhow, lately I've been seeing a lot of local currency transactions processed overseas (thereby incurring the 0.8% or 1% fee, which I think is crap but that's another story). This has been happening even in stores which seem local, list their items in SGD (and then charge me in SGD). Any tips on avoiding this? Other than avoiding these merchants but...
elleana is offline  


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