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

[aster]

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 AMEX

http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...amex_card.html
http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...ard/microsite/



Mileage accrual: Earn 1.6 miles for every $1 spent (every $5 gives 8 miles). Earn 2.5 miles for every $1 spent OVERSEAS.

Requirements: min. income $80,000.
Cost: First year free, then $256.80 for main, first two supplementary always free. Annual fee waiver if you charge $50,000 or more in a year.
Miles conversion fee: $20 per conversion.

Pros: Best mileage accrual rates for both local & overseas spend. 20,000 bonus miles and annual fee waiver with spend of $50,000 per year. Free 1-way airport limo transfer when tickets booked with card.
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. DBS Altitude VISA/AMEX (VISA CARD RECENTLY INTRODUCED)

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) for first $2,000 monthly spend. Earn 1.6 miles for every $1 spent (every $5 gives 4 DBS points which equal 8 miles) for monthly spend above $2,000.

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: $42.80 annually for unlimited conversions.

Pros: Points never expire. No rounding down transaction amount to nearest $5 (calculation is done as follows: DBS points = 'transaction amount' multiplied by 3, divided by 5. Round down to nearest whole number. Each DBS point = 2 miles). Occasional bonus points promos, like the one during October-December where tickets purchases on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways and United Airlines (for travel anytime) generated 4 miles for every $1 spent! 10,000 miles renewal bonus if and only if you have to pay card renewal fees.
Cons: AMEX not always accepted by merchants. Transfer in blocks of 5000 DBS points = 10,000 miles (on the plus side points don't expire).

3. UOB Preferred Platinum Visa

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



Mileage accrual: Earn a MASSIVE 4 miles for every $1 spent using VISA Paywave contactless payments (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 (every $5 gives 1 UNI$ which equal 2 miles)

Requirements: min. income $30,000 ($60,000 for foreigners).
Cost: First year free, then $192.60 for main and $96.30 for supplementary. Unsure of any annual fee waiver conditions.
Miles conversion fee: $20 per conversion.

Pros: Incredible mileage accrual rates for Paywave transactions that include such merchants as Cold Storage, Guardian, Watsons, Takashimaya, Meidi-Ya and many others. Same incredible rates for online transactions can be used to top-up EZ-link cards for further mileage accrual opportunities.
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).

4. ANZ Travel Visa

http://www.anz.com/singapore/en/Pers...s/travel-card/



Mileage accrual: Earn 1.4 miles for every $1 spent (every $0.72 gives 1 mile). IMPORTANT: The entire charge is multiplied by 1.4 miles, including cents.

Requirements: min. income $60,000 ($90,000 for foreigners).
Cost: First year free, then $200 for main and $100 for supplementary. Unsure of any annual fee waiver conditions.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion.

Pros: Decent card for local spend. 5% Rebate for EZ-link & Cold Storage/Marketplace/Giant (charge >S$600 in a calendar month). Charge >S$1500 every 30 days and get a free limo ride to airport. Transfer in blocks of 500 miles.
Cons: No internet banking. Points are valid for 5 years (transfer before expiry and they will subsequently be valid for a further 3 years from the date of transfer to KrisFlyer).

5. Citi PremierMiles Visa

http://www.citibank.com.sg/gcb/credi...s/cc_xx_pm.htm
http://www.citibank.com.sg/global_do...iles/index.htm



Mileage accrual: Earn 1.2 miles for every $1 spent (every $0.83 gives 1 mile). Earn 2 miles for every $1 spent OVERSEAS. 10,000 bonus miles for each annual membership renewal.

Requirements: min. income $60,000. Principal cardholder must be at least 21 years of age.
Cost: First year free, then $192.60 for main, supplementary always free. Annual fee waiver available in exchange for forfeiting the 10,000 miles renewal bonus.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion.

Pros: Decent all-rounder, good for overseas spend. Points never expire. Bonus miles for annual card renewal and spend >$50,000.
Cons: For Asia Miles conversion, 1 CitiMile = 0.4 Asia Mile.


6. Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa

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



Mileage accrual: Earn 2 miles for every $1 spent on air tickets, perfumes & cosmetics purchased at Changi, and all overseas spend.

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: free.

Pros: Great for ticket purchases and overseas spend.
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. Need to transfer in blocks of 1250 points = 500 miles to transfer.

7. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend AMEX

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



Mileage accrual: Earn 1 mile for every $1.20 spent (every $1 gives 0.83 mile). Double miles for tickets bought at singaporeair.com for outbound departure from Singapore (offer does not apply to SilkAir).

Requirements: min. income $50,000 ($60,000 for foreigners). Principal cardholder must be over 21 years of age.
Cost: First year free for online application before 31 July 2013, otherwise $256.80 for main, 2 supplementary cards always free (more available at $80.25 each). Unsure of any annual fee waiver conditions.
Miles conversion fee: None - your KrisFlyer miles are transferred to your account directly with no conversion fees or charges.

Pros: None, except for a 5,000 miles sign-up bonus and other welcome/temporary offers (4 complimentary airport lounge access vouchers, one complimentary night with Millennium Hotels and Resorts, bonus 2x mileage earning rate for first 3 months).
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. Poor mileage accrual rate after first 3 months. AMEX not always accepted by merchants.

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Please pitch in with info about any other cards that could be of interest to us miles earners.

[TerryK]

Are the dollar figures in SGD or USD? Some figures say S$, some just say $.

[aster]

All SGD.

[Supersonic Swinger]

6. American Express Krisflyer Gold Credit Card (https://www212.americanexpress.com/d...00cef4ad94RCRD)

Mileage accrual: 1 mile for every $1SGD spent.

Requirements: min. income $40,000 (SGD residents) $60,000 expats.
Cost: First year free, then $50 basic card fee and $60 Service fee for transferring miles.
Pros: 5,000 bonus miles on first use.
Cons: AMEX not always accepted by merchants. See also my letter below to Amex when they recently sent me an application form for this card:

To American Express

Thanks for the offer of the Singapore Airlines Krisflyer American Express Card but will decline for the following reasons:

* A 5,000 point activation bonus is no incentive. In other countries 25,000 point bonuses for signing on for credit cards are the norm.
* Points are rewards when you can redeem them for long-haul business class travel. Most Business awards on Singapore Airlines are available only at the middle or highest tiers which require a lot of spending or flying to even reach.
* The 3 year expiry date on points regardless of how many I have accumulated or how often is not what I consider part of a loyalty program. Requiring cash payment to extend them is even less a reflection of my loyalty. Programs which extend the life of all my points if I have qualifying point earn are the only ones I am interested in.
* The example of a return flight to Bali after $12,000 of spend is not really compelling. The taxes and fees payable on such a redemption total $104.20. The cheapest flights I can find on the web for flights are $255. Effectively the redemption gives a $150 saving for $12,000 of card spend. After the $60 Service fee for points transfers, this is effectively the same as a card giving a less than 1% cash rebate.
* The card does not provide any other benefits such as ability to earn miles towards status, access to lounges, companion passes, etc.
* Other reasons related not to the card but the Krisflyer program:
o the loyalty program Singapore Airlines has for it's valued customers is called PPS, not Krisflyer
o there is no ability to work towards lifetime status with the program

I would be interested though if you were launching a Singapore equivalent of the Starwood Preferred Guest Card you have available in the US. Alternatively, if you could add a greater variety of airline partners to the Membership Rewards program such as you do in the US, UK, or Australia.

[Guy Betsy]

Great work aster. I've hyper-linked this thread from the SQ FAQ v2 forum.



Guy Betsy
Singapore Airlines Krisflyer forum co-moderator

[Merlion]

7. American Express Centurion Singapore

Mileage accrual: 1 mile for every $1SGD spent. (Done through AmEx Reward Points)

Requirements: Unknown, but wast advised SGD$400.000 spending.
Cost: 5000 SGD.
Pros: 10 points per 1 SGD at broad range of outlets in Singapore including F&B and stores like Tiffany. 2 Nights complimentary stay when buying 2 business class tickets to all locations except Kuala-Lumpur and Bali plus complimentary 1-way chauffeur ride. 5 points per dollar spent for First and Business Class tickets on SQ.
Cons: Cost of the card.

[weero]

Good work aster !

Originally Posted by aster

..Pros: Occasional bonus points promos, like the one in December where tickets purchases on major airlines like SIA and Cathay (for travel anytime) generated 4 miles for every $1 spent!..

Does major airline include UA and/or other US carriers?

[SingaporeDon]

Originally Posted by aster

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!

[3. Citi PremierMiles Visa

Mileage accrual: 1.2 miles for every $1 spent.

Great thread, Aster!

Please change Citi PremierMiles Visa mileage accrual to "1 mile for .83 cents" to make it easy to compare with the way you have listed other credit card accrual rates.

Also, may be useful to add details about how points expire. I know that the DBS Treasures Black Amex card points expire on a particular date every year, so you are supposed to transfer before that date, including the miles earned in the last month before the expiry date, even though you may not even know how many points you have earned in that last month by the time the deadline come!. Luckily, they normally give you one month grace to move the points to airline frequent flyer milesNOW ALL DBS CARDS HAVE NO EXPIRY DATE - SO PARK THEM WITH DBS AND TRANSFER THEM TO KRISFLYER ONLY WHEN YOU NEED THEM, AS KRISFLYER STILL HAS THREE YEAR EXPIRY ON MILES

By the way, I have found this card, with double points for overseas spend (1 mile for S$ 0.42 = US$0.30 cent spend) one of the best ways to accrue Krisflyer miles, inspite of the FX charge that AMEX will add to foreign spend

[sagorion]

Originally Posted by Supersonic Swinger

6. American Express Krisflyer Gold Credit Card (https://www212.americanexpress.com/d...00cef4ad94RCRD)

Mileage accrual: 1 mile for every $1SGD spent.

Requirements: min. income $40,000 (SGD residents) $60,000 expats.
Cost: First year free, then $50 basic card fee and $60 Service fee for transferring miles.
Pros: 5,000 bonus miles on first use.
Cons: AMEX not always accepted by merchants. See also my letter below to Amex when they recently sent me an application form for this card:

I don't think you get 1 mile for very S$1. More like 1 mile for every S$1.60...

[aster]

@Guy Betsy, many thanks - will keep this list updated with any good cards that come along (those with at least "comparable" mileage accrual offers).

@Merlion, what is the application process for that card? Also, 1 mile per $1 all they give for such an expensive card?

@Weero, the 10x DBS points (in effect 4 miles/$1 spent) for tickets purchased October - December 2009 applied to: Cathay Pacific Airways, Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Thai Airways and United Airlines.

I still have the link to that promo: http://www.dbs.com.sg/sg/personal/ca...e/default.aspx

Interestingly my miles weren't posted automatically because I bought tickets at SQ ex-Europe so they weren't charged in SGD. I had to make a complaint before receiving the extra miles.

@SingaporeDon, will do, update coming up in a few sec. Will also start gathering info about points expiry. Which card did you have in mind regarding double points for overseas spend? DBS Treasures AMEX and the Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa both offer this…

@sagorion, correct - I have just added this card with all the details

[aster]

Updates:

- points/miles conversion fees added for ALL cards
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold AMEX added, including explanation of all the bonuses and example of max miles for ticket purchase
- as per SingaporeDon's request, Citi PremierMiles Visa mileage accrual now listed as: 1 mile for every $0.83 spent (every $1 gives 1.2 miles)
- notice in CAPS above card list about all values posted being in SGD

[weero]

Originally Posted by aster

..@Weero, the 10x DBS points (in effect 4 miles/$1 spent) for tickets purchased October - December 2009 applied to: Cathay Pacific Airways, Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Thai Airways and United Airlines.

I still have the link to that promo: http://www.dbs.com.sg/sg/personal/ca...e/default.aspx

Interestingly my miles weren't posted automatically because I bought tickets at SQ ex-Europe so they weren't charged in SGD. I had to make a complaint before receiving the extra miles..

Cool. Maybe a chance for the promo do return ... that would be ace.

[SMK77]

American Express still has the 10+10 membership rewards point promotion for the Platinum Charge Card (up to 16.000 SGD) and the Platinum Reserve Card (up to 4.000 SGD):

For every SGD spent with Platinum Partners, one earns 7.8 KF miles!

http://www.10timesmembershiprewards.com.sg/earn-points

Depending on how much you value one KF mile - the discount is pretty substantial:

16.000 SGD spending on the Charge Card gets you 124.800 KF miles. A saver return in First Class SIN-FRA is 140.250 KF miles.

[Merlion]

Originally Posted by aster

@Merlion, what is the application process for that card? Also, 1 mile per $1 all they give for such an expensive card?

Invitation by AmEx. You need to spend above 400.000 in one year, but not sure exactly on amount.

[Merlion]

Originally Posted by SMK77

American Express still has the 10+10 membership rewards point promotion for the Platinum Charge Card (up to 16.000 SGD) and the Platinum Reserve Card (up to 4.000 SGD):

And no limits for Centurion.

On website, it says limit 16.000, but in paper brochure says no limits. I guess this is up for the clarification.