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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 Apr 14, 2017, 4:31 am
  #6871  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Singapore
Programs: KF, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 182
Originally Posted by SQ319
I was going to suggest DBS WWMC for 10X for all online purchases, but I just double checked the T&C and now the 10X points have been changed to only include 10X Retail spend?

Unfortunately you put this before your Q. Either you ask or you check and confirm. Not both together.
spk307 is offline  
Old Apr 17, 2017, 7:54 pm
  #6872  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: SIN, BKK, MNL, HAM, TXL
Programs: KF*G, AB*G, IBP*G, LCAH*Plat, HH*D, ONYX*Plat, BW*DS
Posts: 90
Does anyone know whether the UOB PRVIMiles Expedia 6x promotion works in conjunction with mixed itineraries?

The T&Cs list out all eligible airlines explicitly. When I use the PRVIMiles portal on Expedia, you can filter specific airlines on the left-hand side. But sometimes it would still give you mixed itineraries/codeshares sometimes. Since I have strictly followed their suggested filter criteria, would that imply that mixed itineraries are eligible as a whole as well? Or could this even be considered partial/complete invalidation of the transaction?
qsharp is offline  
Old Apr 17, 2017, 11:45 pm
  #6873  
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: KrisFlyer ∙ Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13
I know this news is not technically a credit card, but still this is a new UOB debit card that allows you to earn up to 5.4 KrisFlyer miles per dollar!

https://www.pointsqueen.com/uob-bank...avings-account
DM007 is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2017, 3:29 am
  #6874  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SIN
Programs: JL GC | Marriott LT Silver | Global Entry | SQ Silver
Posts: 6,819
Originally Posted by DM007
I know this news is not technically a credit card, but still this is a new UOB debit card that allows you to earn up to 5.4 KrisFlyer miles per dollar!

https://www.pointsqueen.com/uob-bank...avings-account
The downside I see is the minimum spending requirement and you need a minimum sum of money in your account. Not for me though.

There is a requirement that account holders must spend a minimum of S$500 to earn miles on their spending.

Earn 1.4 KrisFlyer miles for every dollar spent via the Krisflyer UOB debit card (account balance of between S$3,000 and S$100,000)
lcpteck is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2017, 6:25 pm
  #6875  
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SIN
Programs: KrisFlyer, Asia Miles
Posts: 60
Originally Posted by DM007
I know this news is not technically a credit card, but still this is a new UOB debit card that allows you to earn up to 5.4 KrisFlyer miles per dollar!

https://www.pointsqueen.com/uob-bank...avings-account
Important to note that the account earns no interest. Given that one can minimally get 1% p.a. these days, and that there are already cards that give a base of 1.4 miles/$, you will have to be spending a lot to make it worthwhile to park so much $ in the account.
chrispstan is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2017, 7:16 pm
  #6876  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Programs: HH Diamond, GHA Titanium
Posts: 1,961
Originally Posted by DM007
I know this news is not technically a credit card, but still this is a new UOB debit card that allows you to earn up to 5.4 KrisFlyer miles per dollar!

https://www.pointsqueen.com/uob-bank...avings-account
I like that you let us click the link to find out for ourselves that 5.4miles/s$ only applies for "customers with an account balance of S$350,000 and above"
shuigao is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2017, 8:09 pm
  #6877  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: KF G, UA 1K, SPG P, Marriott P, Hilton G, Wyndham G
Posts: 122
For DBS 3 miles on online flight & hotel transactions (capped at S$5,000 per month), the website only lists the following: singaporeair.com agoda.com
cathaypacific.com expedia.com.sg
qatarairways.com airbnb.com.sg and more!

Would other travel booking qualify such as hotels.com, delta.com ?
Marsy is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2017, 9:16 pm
  #6878  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Asia
Programs: FB Platinum
Posts: 186
^I've had bookings on klm, ctrip that qualified
natcin is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2017, 10:46 pm
  #6879  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SIN
Programs: JL GC | Marriott LT Silver | Global Entry | SQ Silver
Posts: 6,819
Originally Posted by Marsy
For DBS 3 miles on online flight & hotel transactions (capped at S$5,000 per month), the website only lists the following: singaporeair.com agoda.com
cathaypacific.com expedia.com.sg
qatarairways.com airbnb.com.sg and more!

Would other travel booking qualify such as hotels.com, delta.com ?
Never experienced it but there's currently a 6 miles promotion for spending of S$2501-S$5000.
lcpteck is offline  
Old Apr 19, 2017, 1:36 am
  #6880  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Singapore
Programs: QF LTG, SQ EGTP, Bonvoy LTG
Posts: 4,846
Originally Posted by shuigao
I like that you let us click the link to find out for ourselves that 5.4miles/s$ only applies for "customers with an account balance of S$350,000 and above"
If you compare this to a for example, 0.8% interest earning account, and considering cap of 5% of balance for bonus miles, "bonus miles" (compared to a 1.4 pts/$ earning CC) only kick in if balance exceeds $100k,


So if, for example maintain a $100K balance, you receive 3 bonus miles (up to cap of 5000), so on $1500 per month spend you get 5100 KF miles, cost is $66 in foregone interest. So you are getting extra 3000 miles vs normal card for a cost of $66 ... 2.2c per mile

If you maintain a $350k balance, you receive 3 bonus miles (up to cap of 17,500), so on $3000 per month spend you get 16,200 KF miles, cost is $233 in foregone interest. So you are getting extra 12000 miles vs normal card for a cost of $233... 1.95c per mile.

If comparing to investments with higher returns, obviously the cost of miles increases....
lokijuh is offline  
Old Apr 19, 2017, 8:51 am
  #6881  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 53
Originally Posted by DM007
I know this news is not technically a credit card, but still this is a new UOB debit card that allows you to earn up to 5.4 KrisFlyer miles per dollar!

https://www.pointsqueen.com/uob-bank...avings-account
thanks for sharing, but with the 5% capping, I believe most of the people will stick to their usual mileage credit card
Ghost07 is offline  
Old Apr 19, 2017, 9:55 am
  #6882  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Anywhere
Posts: 6,571
Momentary excitement. Until you read the fine print. Targeted at those who don't know better or can't be bothered to do the math. Effectively "buying" miles with the opportunity interest forgone.
carrotjuice is offline  
Old Apr 22, 2017, 10:38 am
  #6883  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Anywhere
Posts: 6,571
For tax payments, are there any cards left that are still miles yielding? I read somewhere that HSBC Advance may be - please can someone PM me?
carrotjuice is offline  
Old Apr 22, 2017, 10:33 pm
  #6884  
IHG 5+ Badge
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: IHG Spire Ambassador, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Platinum, SPG Gold
Posts: 413
Looking to spend $1,800 SGD on upcoming KLM business (Z) sin-dps.
total 4 flights x 2 pax.

Looking for recommendations for which card to charge it to and which OTA for best miles, and which skyteam loyalty program to credit to.

Best i can see is privi miles 6miles/dollar but I dont have that card. Currently my sights set on DBS Altitude for 3miles/dollar.

Any recommendation ?
jedicat666 is offline  
Old Apr 22, 2017, 11:55 pm
  #6885  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 53
Originally Posted by jedicat666
Looking to spend $1,800 SGD on upcoming KLM business (Z) sin-dps.
total 4 flights x 2 pax.

Looking for recommendations for which card to charge it to and which OTA for best miles, and which skyteam loyalty program to credit to.

Best i can see is privi miles 6miles/dollar but I dont have that card. Currently my sights set on DBS Altitude for 3miles/dollar.

Any recommendation ?
currently both Prvi miles and altitude offer 6 miles
Ghost07 is offline  


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