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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 Sep 18, 2012, 5:52 am
  #916  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
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I finally know how they award ANZ Travel Card's Travel$ after a long discussion with the customer service officer. Basically, they work differently from Citi Premiermiles. Each transaction, they keep the cents part and multiply 1.4. After that they round down to the nearest Travel$.

Example: S$24.95 charge. 24.95x1.4=34.93, round down, you get 34 Travel$. They do not have decimal place for Travel$.

Compare Citi PM: S$24.95 charge. Round down to $24, 24x1.2=28.8 CitiMiles. The decimal place will be accumulated, but on the paper statement, it will not show the decimal place, only online can see.
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Old Sep 18, 2012, 6:32 am
  #917  
 
Join Date: May 2012
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Originally Posted by vsepr
I finally know how they award ANZ Travel Card's Travel$ after a long discussion with the customer service officer. Basically, they work differently from Citi Premiermiles. Each transaction, they keep the cents part and multiply 1.4. After that they round down to the nearest Travel$.

Example: S$24.95 charge. 24.95x1.4=34.93, round down, you get 34 Travel$. They do not have decimal place for Travel$.

Compare Citi PM: S$24.95 charge. Round down to $24, 24x1.2=28.8 CitiMiles. The decimal place will be accumulated, but on the paper statement, it will not show the decimal place, only online can see.
I see, thanks for the calculations. I use my Citi PM card as my primary card for foreign transactions to earn the miles. Since I'm not a frequent traveler the no expiry on the miles benefits me.
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Old Sep 18, 2012, 9:14 am
  #918  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Originally Posted by lcpteck
I see, thanks for the calculations. I use my Citi PM card as my primary card for foreign transactions to earn the miles. Since I'm not a frequent traveler the no expiry on the miles benefits me.
I am amazed how much people are willing to pay in fees for overseas transactions in order to get a couple of more miles. The fees for a number of banks - including Citi - are just excessive.
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Old Sep 18, 2012, 9:25 am
  #919  
 
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Originally Posted by SMK77
I am amazed how much people are willing to pay in fees for overseas transactions in order to get a couple of more miles. The fees for a number of banks - including Citi - are just excessive.
Sometimes the credit card rate is better than the exchange rate from SGD to foreign currency. EG if I don't have enough Thai Baht with me and I had to exchange money at the airport, the rate is worse than credit card.

Anyone knows if I book hotels online and charge in foreign currency with maybank horizon, do I get 2 miles per S$ ? Or it doesn't give that for online purchases?
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Old Sep 18, 2012, 7:24 pm
  #920  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 143
Originally Posted by SMK77
I am amazed how much people are willing to pay in fees for overseas transactions in order to get a couple of more miles. The fees for a number of banks - including Citi - are just excessive.
Well, the alternative is to pay in cash, which means travelling with a large sum of currency, which is not always the safest means. Also, it means I need not guess how much of the foreign currency I need, which alleviates the risk of having a large amount of foreign currency left over after the holiday (converting back to my local currency generally means that I would have saved money by using a credit card in the first place).

Anyway, I used to use Citi for my foreign charges and do not find them any more excessive than the usual. The ones that charge higher than normal are UOB-branded Amex cards and SCB.

Originally Posted by Marsy
Anyone knows if I book hotels online and charge in foreign currency with maybank horizon, do I get 2 miles per S$ ? Or it doesn't give that for online purchases?
It doesn't matter how the transaction came about (online or not). As long as it is in foreign currency, you get 2 miles per $.
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Old Sep 18, 2012, 8:25 pm
  #921  
 
Join Date: May 2003
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Originally Posted by SMK77
I am amazed how much people are willing to pay in fees for overseas transactions in order to get a couple of more miles. The fees for a number of banks - including Citi - are just excessive.
Citi seem to be always around 2.5-2.7% compared to published midrates. What are best Singapore cards for foreign transactions?
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 7:32 am
  #922  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 143
Originally Posted by lokijuh
Citi seem to be always around 2.5-2.7% compared to published midrates. What are best Singapore cards for foreign transactions?
If you are looking at absolutely lowest commission, that's CIMB's cards, which charges 1.5%. However, none of them earn miles, and offer at best a 1% rebate.

If you are looking at miles earning cards, ANZ Travel Visa has an ongoing promotion of earning 2.8 miles per $, while paying 2.5% commission. This runs till end of the year.

Otherwise, UOB PRVI Miles Amex earns the most miles (2.5 miles per $), but charges 3.25% commission. The other alternatives are Citi Premiermiles and Maybank Horizon Platinum. Both earns 2 miles per $ an charges 2.5% commission.
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 8:01 am
  #923  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Singapore
Posts: 38
Apologies but I'm looking for updated information on the best credit card for SQ mileage accrual.
Need to know if the choice is still between UOB PRVI Miles Amex and Maybank Horizon Platinum. Which is preferred? I see the chart on the first page but that was 2010.

Thank you, your time is much appreciated.
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 9:17 am
  #924  
 
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Originally Posted by Archieflyer
If you are looking at absolutely lowest commission, that's CIMB's cards, which charges 1.5%. However, none of them earn miles, and offer at best a 1% rebate.

If you are looking at miles earning cards, ANZ Travel Visa has an ongoing promotion of earning 2.8 miles per $, while paying 2.5% commission. This runs till end of the year.
Thanks, to put in context of one of the earlier posts expressing disbelief about people paying excessive FX fees on cards, using ANZ vs CIMB that's an extra 2%. So to earn a business class return to Australia you need to spend $33.3K SGD on the ANZ card (ie 93,500 KF miles), at 2pc, that's $667 in commission. So including taxes, you get that flight for around $1100 SGD. Seems Ok, given that's the going rate for most non-sale economy flights.
lokijuh is offline  
Old Sep 19, 2012, 8:42 pm
  #925  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 143
Originally Posted by lokijuh
Thanks, to put in context of one of the earlier posts expressing disbelief about people paying excessive FX fees on cards, using ANZ vs CIMB that's an extra 2%. So to earn a business class return to Australia you need to spend $33.3K SGD on the ANZ card (ie 93,500 KF miles), at 2pc, that's $667 in commission. So including taxes, you get that flight for around $1100 SGD. Seems Ok, given that's the going rate for most non-sale economy flights.
Actually, the difference is closer to 1% (ANZ 2.5% - CIMB 1.5%), but yeah, this helps to put things into context doesn't it.
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Old Sep 20, 2012, 10:46 am
  #926  
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ, UA, Delta, BMI(RIP), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond (Thanks Amex) Hyatt Discov
Posts: 1,942
Originally Posted by tlc_blue
Apologies but I'm looking for updated information on the best credit card for SQ mileage accrual.
Need to know if the choice is still between UOB PRVI Miles Amex and Maybank Horizon Platinum. Which is preferred? I see the chart on the first page but that was 2010.

Thank you, your time is much appreciated.
I thought the race was between DBS Altitudes Visa and Citi Premier Miles!!!
The UOB PRVI Miles Amex and Maybank Horizon Platinum come up near the top of the list for OVERSEAS spend, but are not really there for domestic spend

Now that you mention it, it does seem like the chart on page one needs updating. Calling Mr. Aster!!!!
SingaporeDon is offline  
Old Sep 21, 2012, 6:02 pm
  #927  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 107
Originally Posted by Marsy
Sometimes the credit card rate is better than the exchange rate from SGD to foreign currency.
If you have a Citi (or HSBC) bank account, withdraw from the ATM. No fees and the exchange rate is going to be very close to the day's market rate (Wall Street, not the currency shop guy). Citi and HSBC have ATMs everywhere.
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 6:04 pm
  #928  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 107
Originally Posted by lokijuh
Citi seem to be always around 2.5-2.7% compared to published midrates. What are best Singapore cards for foreign transactions?
Citi is 2.5% now, per their T&C. I don't know a better Singapore card, but I'm sure some are marginally lower. I use a US card (Sapphire Premier) for any foreign spend; no fees and 2x points on 'travel' expenses. I'm pretty sure that card has its own huge thread though for Americans
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 10:05 pm
  #929  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Sunny Singapore
Programs: TG*G, SQ, QF
Posts: 911
Originally Posted by xinmpg
Citi is 2.5% now, per their T&C. I don't know a better Singapore card, but I'm sure some are marginally lower. I use a US card (Sapphire Premier) for any foreign spend; no fees and 2x points on 'travel' expenses. I'm pretty sure that card has its own huge thread though for Americans
DBS Altitude visa is 1.5%
cmdsea is offline  
Old Sep 23, 2012, 12:25 am
  #930  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP
Posts: 1,799
Originally Posted by xinmpg
If you have a Citi (or HSBC) bank account, withdraw from the ATM. No fees and the exchange rate is going to be very close to the day's market rate (Wall Street, not the currency shop guy). Citi and HSBC have ATMs everywhere.
It was quite a while ago since I last checked, but these 2 banks had quite poor spreads that it didn't make much of a difference in the end even if I had to pay fees with other banks.

Also, as each frequent flyer mile can be easily valued at over 3-4 cent for some forms of redemption, you may still be better off paying an extra 1% in fees to earn extra points. YMMV, of course, depending on the actual fees, the number of extra points gained, and your redemption strategy.
Awesom Andy is offline  


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