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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)***
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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

Old Dec 7, 2015, 5:59 am
  #4906  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: IHG SPG KF OW Marco Polo
Posts: 48
Originally Posted by pompipi
I want to check with the rest on this forum if they have experienced such an incident:

I did not spend any amount on my UOB PP Amex in the last billing cycle (only transaction was the payment of the previous month's balance), but in the current statement, it was indicated that "You've been awarded additional XYZ UNI$ for spending at participating 10X F&B merchants with your Preferred Plat AMEX Card".

I always thought UOB's award of UNI$ is current, unlike DBS Points (specifically for Altitude), where the additional "points will be computed and awarded ... within 90 days after each calendar month", making the tracking of DBS awarded points especially difficult and slow.

Any comment?
I think I have the answer to your question as it happened to me a few times when my bonus UNI$ did not tally and I pursued UOB about it.

For some silly reason, the bonus points cycle ends earlier than the statement cycle. For example, my statements end on the 15th but for some reason, restaurant transactions on the 15th (or close to end of statement cycle) will not be calculated in the same statement and will instead be reflected in the following bill.

I feel it is just a ploy on UOB's part to confuse card members. I have very little faith in that bank but I must say complaining to the MAS helped a great deal. I fist complained about them earlier this year and when I recently called them to inquire about the PRVI miles limo bookings and as usual got a crappy CSO, I requested a call back. I didn't expect one but I got it in half an hour. Amazing, there must be a huge red flag next to my account when I call or something!
fern76 is offline  
Old Dec 7, 2015, 12:07 pm
  #4907  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SIN
Programs: JL GC | Marriott LT Silver | Global Entry | SQ Silver
Posts: 6,818
Welcome back fern76!
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Old Dec 7, 2015, 3:34 pm
  #4908  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 818
Originally Posted by vsepr
I tried 1 $5 transaction each at AXS e-station with Citi Rewards Card and DBS Woman's Card. Will inform you if there are points credited after posting.
Have points for DBS Woman's Card!! But 1x posted. Don't know if another 9x will be posted on 16th Jan 2016. Will keep you posted!!

06 Dec 2015
AXS PAYMENT
S$5.00
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Old Dec 8, 2015, 12:49 am
  #4909  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 147
Originally Posted by vsepr
Today I paid $10 using UOB PRVI Miles World MasterCard and $5 with UOB Preferred Platinum MasterCard at http://www.axs.com.sg/axsEstation.php

Will keep you informed if UNI$ are awarded for these 2 transactions.

$10 for PRVI Miles MC because will award UNI$7 instead of UNI$3 due to UNI$0.5 rounding off for $5 transaction if UNI$ are awarded.
Did you pay a credit card bill with that? Wouldn't that generate a hefty cash advance surcharge??

TIA!
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Old Dec 8, 2015, 1:03 am
  #4910  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 818
Originally Posted by waver99
Did you pay a credit card bill with that? Wouldn't that generate a hefty cash advance surcharge??

TIA!
Paid for IRAS property tax, no surcharges. don't worry.
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Old Dec 8, 2015, 6:13 pm
  #4911  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 818
Originally Posted by vsepr
Paid for IRAS property tax, no surcharges. don't worry.
http://axs.com.sg/axsEstation.php

Earns UNI$7 for $10 with UOB PRVI Miles World MasterCard and UNI$1 for $5 UOB Preferred Platinum MasterCard as per normal!!
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Old Dec 8, 2015, 6:42 pm
  #4912  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
Programs: Nothing anymore after 20 years
Posts: 6,892
Originally Posted by vsepr
http://axs.com.sg/axsEstation.php

Earns UNI$7 for $10 with UOB PRVI Miles World MasterCard and UNI$1 for $5 UOB Preferred Platinum MasterCard as per normal!!
Does it take any Mastercard? If yes, is the UOB PRVI Miles the only option?

P.S. Just paid for SP Services with FEVO MC. Will see the next bill and if works - no need to go to their customer service center.

Last edited by invisible; Dec 8, 2015 at 6:50 pm
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Old Dec 8, 2015, 6:46 pm
  #4913  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 818
Originally Posted by invisible
Does it take any Mastercard? If yes, is the UOB PRVI Miles the only option?
Yes any. No, there are many more cards to choose from.
vsepr is offline  
Old Dec 8, 2015, 6:53 pm
  #4914  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
Programs: Nothing anymore after 20 years
Posts: 6,892
Originally Posted by lcpteck
Thanks vsepr, will try it out next year.
IF they keep option to pay with MC for taxes. Paying for SP service works apparently.

P.S. What is the best MasterCard for generic online spent without restrictions?
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Old Dec 8, 2015, 7:02 pm
  #4915  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
Programs: Nothing anymore after 20 years
Posts: 6,892
Originally Posted by vsepr
http://axs.com.sg/axsEstation.php

Earns UNI$7 for $10 with UOB PRVI Miles World MasterCard and UNI$1 for $5 UOB Preferred Platinum MasterCard as per normal!!

Terms and Conditions of the UOB PRVI Card says following


UNI$ will not be awarded for any bill payment, payment of funds to prepaid accounts including top-ups for any pre-paid card, 0% Installment Payment Plans, balance/funds transfers, cash advances, fees, interests, finance charges, late payment charges, annual fee charges, reversals, other financial charges and any other transactions we may exclude from time to time without prior notice.
So if you pay your bill, even thru a third party, do you risk your UNI$ taken away afterwards?
invisible is offline  
Old Dec 8, 2015, 8:20 pm
  #4916  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 818
Good news!!

http://axs.com.sg/axsEstation.php

10x Citidollars with Citi Rewards Card!!

This is not a joke!!

06/12/2015 *AXS PAYMENT SINGAPORE SG SGD 5.00

08/12/2015 CITI REWARDS MASTER Points earned 5
08/12/2015 REWARDS 10X ONLINE Points bonus 45
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Old Dec 8, 2015, 8:47 pm
  #4917  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
Programs: Nothing anymore after 20 years
Posts: 6,892
Originally Posted by vsepr
Good news!!
10x Citidollars with Citi Rewards Card!!
One non-related question - if you have Citi PremierMiles and Rewards card, are Citi $s in a common pool or separated?
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Old Dec 8, 2015, 9:53 pm
  #4918  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Programs: HH Diamond, GHA Titanium
Posts: 1,955
Originally Posted by invisible
One non-related question - if you have Citi PremierMiles and Rewards card, are Citi $s in a common pool or separated?
Not exactly the answer to your question, but I have Citi PM Visa and Amex, and even on these two "same" PM cards the points are separate.
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Old Dec 8, 2015, 11:49 pm
  #4919  
 
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: 7,671
Wrong post.

Last edited by demue; Dec 21, 2015 at 9:42 am
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Old Dec 9, 2015, 1:17 am
  #4920  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
Programs: Nothing anymore after 20 years
Posts: 6,892
Originally Posted by shuigao
Not exactly the answer to your question, but I have Citi PM Visa and Amex, and even on these two "same" PM cards the points are separate.
Can they be combined?
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