Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > Singapore Airlines | KrisFlyer
Reload this Page >

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

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)***
============
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

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

Print Wikipost

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

Old Feb 2, 2011, 4:16 am
  #91  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 818
Originally Posted by aster
So this is only for auto-topups, which in turn can only happen when you run out of credit when entering the MRT or boarding a bus.
Yup...u are rite..choose the S$50 top up option instead of S$20 to S$40...cos you need to pay S$0.25 convenience fee. S$0.25/S$50 is 0.5%, so its lower....

every S$50 top-up you earn 500 Maybank rewards pts. Every 1250 Maybank rewards pts = 500 KrisFlyer miles. 1 mile per 2.5 Maybank rewards pts, hence every S$50 top-up earns you 200 KrisFlyer miles!
vsepr is offline  
Old Feb 2, 2011, 4:43 am
  #92  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Singapore, Warsaw, Surfers Paradise
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold>>>Silver>>>Blue, Finnair Silver, Royal Caribbean Diamond
Posts: 5,128
But it's still a TERRIBLE offer if you have to be on a bus/MRT when you run out of credit.

Before I was thinking of "routing" all supermarket spend via EZ-link, Guardian, etc. With no auto-topup here, and not being able to top-up manually to get the miles, this card isn't of much use.
aster is offline  
Old Feb 2, 2011, 4:53 am
  #93  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 818
Originally Posted by aster
But it's still a TERRIBLE offer if you have to be on a bus/MRT when you run out of credit.

Before I was thinking of "routing" all supermarket spend via EZ-link, Guardian, etc. With no auto-topup here, and not being able to top-up manually to get the miles, this card isn't of much use.
eh...I tink you got the wrong concept...you will never run out of $$ on ur ez-link card with auto top up when you board the bus or MRT because when the value in the ez-link card runs to S$1 and below, when you tap, it will auto add S$50.

You cannot use the ez-link card to pay things at guardian, marketplace, 7-eleven etc for things exceeding the value in your ez-link card. say if you have $5 in your ez-link card and you wan to pay $5.01, the transaction will not go through. But if the item is $4.90, it will go through and the value in your ez-link card left is $0.10. And with this ez-link card with S$0.10, you board the bus and tap, S$50 will automatically be added and you have $50.10. when you leave the bus, you tap again, it deducts the busfare, say $1, and your card value left is $49.10....

Last edited by vsepr; Feb 2, 2011 at 5:00 am
vsepr is offline  
Old Feb 2, 2011, 6:42 am
  #94  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Singapore, Warsaw, Surfers Paradise
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold>>>Silver>>>Blue, Finnair Silver, Royal Caribbean Diamond
Posts: 5,128
That's exactly what I mean.

You only get the bonus miles if you happen to run out of credit on public transport. So basically you have to use up the balance at the supermarket, make sure you cross the limit at the exact moment you board the MRT, then go back to the supermarket to run down the balance next to zero, then use public transport again, etc.

This has to be the most inconvenient way of doing your shopping.
aster is offline  
Old Feb 2, 2011, 9:54 am
  #95  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 50
Originally Posted by aster
That's exactly what I mean.

You only get the bonus miles if you happen to run out of credit on public transport. So basically you have to use up the balance at the supermarket, make sure you cross the limit at the exact moment you board the MRT, then go back to the supermarket to run down the balance next to zero, then use public transport again, etc.

This has to be the most inconvenient way of doing your shopping.
well it would be great for someone who use the public transport to work all the time such as me

but yea if u use it to purchase items at supermarket u gotta keep a tab on how much u have left on your card. it will be irritating..
adamantine is offline  
Old Feb 9, 2011, 12:19 pm
  #96  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Singapore, Warsaw, Surfers Paradise
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold>>>Silver>>>Blue, Finnair Silver, Royal Caribbean Diamond
Posts: 5,128
Originally Posted by aster
Keep in mind that DBS now has a promo where you get 10,000 extra miles on top of everything just for charging $10,000 in total until the end of the year, so you might have to raise those break-even thresholds even higher.
Does anyone recall when they were supposed to credit the extra miles?
aster is offline  
Old Feb 9, 2011, 11:11 pm
  #97  
 
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: 7,665
Originally Posted by vsepr
eh...I tink you got the wrong concept...you will never run out of $$ on ur ez-link card with auto top up when you board the bus or MRT because when the value in the ez-link card runs to S$1 and below, when you tap, it will auto add S$50.

You cannot use the ez-link card to pay things at guardian, marketplace, 7-eleven etc for things exceeding the value in your ez-link card. say if you have $5 in your ez-link card and you wan to pay $5.01, the transaction will not go through. But if the item is $4.90, it will go through and the value in your ez-link card left is $0.10. And with this ez-link card with S$0.10, you board the bus and tap, S$50 will automatically be added and you have $50.10. when you leave the bus, you tap again, it deducts the busfare, say $1, and your card value left is $49.10....

Well not sure. I remember vividly last week that I bought bread at Peck (Italian) bakery at Taka and my total was 8$ while my EZ-Link card only had 5.xx on it. First the cashier said not enough money on the card, but I told her to try again and see if it auto-tops up. Now unless I was haluzinating it worked the second time she tried and I paid the full purchase via EZ link. 2 days later I found a 20.25 top up charge on my Citi Platinum Visa.
demue is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2011, 1:52 am
  #98  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Programs: SPG Gold, SQ Blue, OZ Diamond, JAVA and occasionally C
Posts: 5,563
For sake of chalking up more miles I purchased the ezlink reader to connect to your pc to do topups. Cost was $49 and allows for topups of $100 with fee of $0.90. Since you can technically topup a maximum of $500 to your ezlink card you can easily get 2000 miles for it which you can then use for grocery shopping or taking (lots of) public transport.


Last edited by kitsura; Feb 19, 2011 at 7:41 am Reason: Uploaded images
kitsura is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2011, 3:01 am
  #99  
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SIN
Posts: 543
Originally Posted by kitsura
For sake of chalking up more miles I purchased the ezlink reader to connect to your pc to do topups. Cost was $49 and allows for topups of $100 with fee of $0.90. Since you can technically topup a maximum of $500 to your ezlink card you can easily get 2000 miles for it which you can then use for grocery shopping or taking (lots of) public transport.
Paying $49 as capital cost and additional $0.40 for each $100 top-up sounds alright to me. But topping-up $500 at one go is too risky imo..
luv_flying is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2011, 4:11 am
  #100  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Singapore, Warsaw, Surfers Paradise
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold>>>Silver>>>Blue, Finnair Silver, Royal Caribbean Diamond
Posts: 5,128
I thought Maybank awarded the points/miles for auto-topups, not when you reload the card manually?
aster is offline  
Old Feb 22, 2011, 6:47 pm
  #101  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Programs: SPG Gold, SQ Blue, OZ Diamond, JAVA and occasionally C
Posts: 5,563
Originally Posted by aster
I thought Maybank awarded the points/miles for auto-topups, not when you reload the card manually?
I just check my online statement after the ezlink transaction has posted. I got 1000 points for the $100 topup I did so I say that manual topups work too. ^
kitsura is offline  
Old Feb 23, 2011, 3:41 am
  #102  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Singapore, Warsaw, Surfers Paradise
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold>>>Silver>>>Blue, Finnair Silver, Royal Caribbean Diamond
Posts: 5,128
I see Windows and Vista listed on the box, any chance it works on a Mac?

What about topping up the EZlink card using an ATM, would that also rake in the points/miles?
aster is offline  
Old Feb 23, 2011, 8:24 am
  #103  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Programs: SPG Gold, SQ Blue, OZ Diamond, JAVA and occasionally C
Posts: 5,563
Originally Posted by aster
I see Windows and Vista listed on the box, any chance it works on a Mac?

What about topping up the EZlink card using an ATM, would that also rake in the points/miles?
No, unfortunately no Mac support as of yet. I'm not sure about the ATM part you might want to call Maybank to check. Since Rewards Infinite is linked to cards I don't think so however.
kitsura is offline  
Old Feb 27, 2011, 7:53 am
  #104  
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 14
Wow, lots of great info in this thread, but also confusing for me... need your advice guys

I have been using krisflyer gold amex for the past year, take on average 6 flights a month, spend on average about 7k SGD on the card a month. I don't really use my miles often, but want to save them up

Should I be changing cards? Trying to figure out if I should to earn more miles?
nb123 is offline  
Old Feb 27, 2011, 8:53 pm
  #105  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Singapore, Warsaw, Surfers Paradise
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold>>>Silver>>>Blue, Finnair Silver, Royal Caribbean Diamond
Posts: 5,128
Originally Posted by nb123
take on average 6 flights a month, spend on average about 7k SGD on the card a month.
Sure we'll help you out, and welcome to FT, nb123. ^

How much of that 7k SGD per month is spent on flights?
aster is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.