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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 Jul 5, 2017, 7:19 pm
  #7126  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Singapore
Programs: Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 304
Originally Posted by yosithezet
Has anyone tried MilesLife? Seems like you can earn miles on top of whatever the CC company is already giving. https://www.mileslife.com/#/SG/
It works great - 4x miles (up to 12 miles per dollar) on dining ends on 09 July so make sure you sign-up soon!
markcwj is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2017, 8:17 pm
  #7127  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SIN
Programs: JL GC | Marriott LT Silver | Global Entry | SQ Silver
Posts: 6,819
Originally Posted by markcwj
It works great - 4x miles (up to 12 miles per dollar) on dining ends on 09 July so make sure you sign-up soon!
Limited number of merchants though.
lcpteck is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2017, 8:28 pm
  #7128  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Singapore
Programs: Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 304
Originally Posted by lcpteck
Limited number of merchants though.
Yeah hopefully it will grow soon but there are instances where it can potentially earn you a lot of miles (e.g. organising company lunches there!) haha
markcwj is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2017, 11:32 pm
  #7129  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
Programs: Nothing anymore after 20 years
Posts: 6,900
Originally Posted by markcwj
It works great - 4x miles (up to 12 miles per dollar) on dining ends on 09 July so make sure you sign-up soon!
Which card? DBS WWMC does not qualify. Also their MCC is 'professional services' which also is excluded under most mile earning.
invisible is offline  
Old Jul 6, 2017, 5:20 am
  #7130  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Singapore
Programs: KF, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 182
Originally Posted by invisible
Which card? DBS WWMC does not qualify. Also their MCC is 'professional services' which also is excluded under most mile earning.
Not just that - you cannot combine with any offers in restaurants like combos. Most restaurants refuse to accept Mileslife if you are using any of their own promos.
spk307 is offline  
Old Jul 6, 2017, 7:13 am
  #7131  
 
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: 7,739
Originally Posted by invisible
Which card? DBS WWMC does not qualify. Also their MCC is 'professional services' which also is excluded under most mile earning.
Same question. I was actually surprised to see DBS already excluded MilesLife for WWMC while it is still relatively new in the market.
demue is offline  
Old Jul 6, 2017, 8:15 am
  #7132  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 106
Originally Posted by lcpteck
Limited number of merchants though.
Extremely limited number of merchants and I'm having trouble even adding a credit card in. I assume set lunches/dinners don't go with Mileslife as well?
feizhu is offline  
Old Jul 7, 2017, 7:32 pm
  #7133  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Singapore
Programs: KF, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 182
Originally Posted by demue
Same question. I was actually surprised to see DBS already excluded MilesLife for WWMC while it is still relatively new in the market.
I suspect Mileslife is charging restaurants a referral fee or something like that. This is in addition to the fee restaurants have to pay to credit card companies as Mileslife still uses credit cards. No wonder restaurants are blocking Mileslife if used together with their own promo.
spk307 is offline  
Old Jul 8, 2017, 3:27 am
  #7134  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Anywhere
Posts: 6,576
Originally Posted by feizhu
Extremely limited number of merchants and I'm having trouble even adding a credit card in. I assume set lunches/dinners don't go with Mileslife as well?
The restaurants at Capella all exclude set meals and high tea. Only a la carte qualify.
carrotjuice is offline  
Old Jul 12, 2017, 9:28 am
  #7135  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: SIN and wandering.
Posts: 1,549
EXpedia - Am booking ANA tickets on Expedia. ANA is not one of the participating airlines for the Premiermiles or PRVI Miles promotion, so which card should I use for this? Is WWMC the next best option?
SQ319 is offline  
Old Jul 12, 2017, 7:48 pm
  #7136  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Singapore
Programs: KF EG
Posts: 61
Originally Posted by SQ319
EXpedia - Am booking ANA tickets on Expedia. ANA is not one of the participating airlines for the Premiermiles or PRVI Miles promotion, so which card should I use for this? Is WWMC the next best option?
Since you mentioned PRIV MILES, you can get 6miles if you book thru UOB Travel UOBTravel.com/prvimiles. Some airlines not on expedia are on UOBTravel's list.

If you have to go with expedia, then it depends on your spend.
DBS Altitude gets 3miles for first $2,500 and 6 miles for next $2,500. If you spend more than $3k, it will be worth more than 4miles/$. WMMC also has a limit at $2k.
Kelvin L is offline  
Old Jul 12, 2017, 11:02 pm
  #7137  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
Programs: Nothing anymore after 20 years
Posts: 6,900
Once again - despite the lure of of extra miles, I would NOT recommend booking flights with third party agencies. I already had hellish experience when I got 'your itinerary was modified by the airline' email on flight booked via Expedia Singapore.
invisible is offline  
Old Jul 12, 2017, 11:39 pm
  #7138  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: SIN and wandering.
Posts: 1,549
Originally Posted by Kelvin L
Since you mentioned PRIV MILES, you can get 6miles if you book thru UOB Travel UOBTravel.com/prvimiles. Some airlines not on expedia are on UOBTravel's list.

If you have to go with expedia, then it depends on your spend.
DBS Altitude gets 3miles for first $2,500 and 6 miles for next $2,500. If you spend more than $3k, it will be worth more than 4miles/$. WMMC also has a limit at $2k.
Thanks. Unfortunately, UOBTravel's prices are much more expensive than what Expedia is offering for the same flights and dates

I just received my DBS Altitude Card (replacement of the ANZ travel card), but I can't use it yet until early August when the handover is official. I just remembered I have already spend $1k+ on the WWMC, so I won't get the full bonus miles for that if I intend to buy the tickets within the same billing cycle.

Looks like my options are exhausted??
SQ319 is offline  
Old Jul 12, 2017, 11:41 pm
  #7139  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: SIN and wandering.
Posts: 1,549
Originally Posted by invisible
Once again - despite the lure of of extra miles, I would NOT recommend booking flights with third party agencies. I already had hellish experience when I got 'your itinerary was modified by the airline' email on flight booked via Expedia Singapore.
I've booked SQ tickets with Expedia previously and had no issues. Reason why I want to book with Expedia is because they have the connections I wanted, which were not available on the airline website.

Perhaps u might want to share your "hellish" experience?
SQ319 is offline  
Old Jul 13, 2017, 6:17 pm
  #7140  
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Singapore
Programs: CX Gold, Krisflyer PPS, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Platinum
Posts: 738
So I got the ANZ Travel Card and Infinite Card early this year and paid $600 + $200 for the annual fee in order to get the bonus miles. Now that ANZ has been bought over by DBS there is the conversion of cards to DBS Altitude. However, I have the card already so I wouldn't be getting any cards. In short - I have only used the card for 4 months, paid the full year annual fee and with the switch to DBS I am not getting anything in return. Anyone in a similar situation?
sl00001 is offline  


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