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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 Aug 31, 2017, 9:46 pm
  #7231  
 
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
Agree, if no option to earn better than 1mls per dollar for a particular transaction this could be a possibility. I would first need to get the card though so am not rushing for this just yet in my case. Maybe next year for tax payments.
demue is offline  
Old Sep 1, 2017, 1:08 am
  #7232  
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: UA 1k Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 42
There is an application MILESLIFE. Anyone use it? It seems that you can accumulate extra miles from dining.
williamqian2014 is offline  
Old Sep 1, 2017, 5:19 pm
  #7233  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: SIN and wandering.
Posts: 1,549
Originally Posted by williamqian2014
There is an application MILESLIFE. Anyone use it? It seems that you can accumulate extra miles from dining.
Discussed earlier.

- Limited restaurants in the list
- usually only valid for alacarte orders

I only signed up for the sign on miles...
SQ319 is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2017, 7:25 pm
  #7234  
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN
Programs: BA Gold, SQ Silver (exPPS:(, Tesco sad, FR £0.01
Posts: 599
Originally Posted by SingaporeDon
You are right redemption is 4k miles for $10k spend (i.e. 10 HSBC Reward points). But I pay .5% on the $10,000 tax payment (= $50), so I am effectively buying 4k points by paying a fee of $50, ergo 1.25 cents per SQ KF mile.

Is this card therefore not the best card for Income Tax payments, better than the ANZ and SCB VI cards people normally use for income tax payments? Or am I missing something?
Sorry just want to refloat old question from 2016 discusssion. So what is the best card to pay income tax (to get KF miles) nowadays?

I am still using HSBC Premier MC (since old days when flood gate was wide open to accumulate lots miles), but guess a better option exists now?

Many thanks
mishkira is offline  
Old Sep 4, 2017, 7:23 pm
  #7235  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Programs: HH Diamond, GHA Titanium
Posts: 1,961
Just made my first Citi Prestige limo booking (to and from airport) for a trip later this week.

I understand from the concierge and the T&C's that in any calendar quarter which you meet the qualifying spend (s$1500 in FCY equivalent), you get 4 "free" transfers (limited to 8 a year).

Unfortunately I don't have any other trips happening in this quarter, so I'm wondering if I should just do the shameless kiasu thing and arrange a two-way transfer before the end of September just to like ... I dunno. Go to the airport and have dinner and come back.
ClementiTotoro likes this.
shuigao is offline  
Old Sep 5, 2017, 3:47 am
  #7236  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
Programs: Nothing anymore after 20 years
Posts: 6,900
Originally Posted by mishkira
Sorry just want to refloat old question from 2016 discusssion. So what is the best card to pay income tax (to get KF miles) nowadays?

I am still using HSBC Premier MC (since old days when flood gate was wide open to accumulate lots miles), but guess a better option exists now?
Nothing really exists.

DBS WWMC->AXS-Online - gone 5 years ago
DBS WWMC/Altitude ->FEVO->AXS-online - gone this Jul
Citi Rewards MC->AXS-online - gone last Dec

Remaining is HSBC Premier tax payment facility with 0.5% and I think SC's tax payment facility with the similar admin fee but it is pretty much the same as $200 paying annual fee on other cards to get 10k miles.

You can use Premier MC to pay taxes via AXS online and get points but it is 0.4 miles per $ spent. So paying $20K tax you will get 8000 miles. Probably better than nothing but most likely with this amount of tax you need to accumulate miles for 5 years and by that time and (for sure) devaluations you could not probably fly even to Hong Kong in Economy with 40K miles...
invisible is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2017, 2:51 am
  #7237  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Asia
Programs: KF Gold | IHG Amb | SPG LTG | HH Gold
Posts: 548
Originally Posted by shuigao
Just made my first Citi Prestige limo booking (to and from airport) for a trip later this week.

I understand from the concierge and the T&C's that in any calendar quarter which you meet the qualifying spend (s$1500 in FCY equivalent), you get 4 "free" transfers (limited to 8 a year).

Unfortunately I don't have any other trips happening in this quarter, so I'm wondering if I should just do the shameless kiasu thing and arrange a two-way transfer before the end of September just to like ... I dunno. Go to the airport and have dinner and come back.
Why not? It's within the rules and I don't see this as an abuse.
Changi Airport do have some fairly decent dining options as well.

You can even do some shopping - GST free
LuisHK is offline  
Old Sep 8, 2017, 2:21 am
  #7238  
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: NYC/SIN
Programs: CX DM, SQ KF
Posts: 2,171
UOB Preferred Plat Amex..S$6k cap..

Just got the below SMS..

"With effect from 10 Oct 2017, the total UNI$ awarded on qualifying spend on dining transactions will be capped at UNI$12,000 for each calendar year.
jagmeets is online now  
Old Sep 8, 2017, 2:23 am
  #7239  
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Singapore
Programs: Krisflyer Gold, Starwood Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 444
UOB PPA

Just received the following SMS from UOB...

UOB Preferred Platinum Amex: With effect from 10 Oct 2017, the total UNI$ awarded on qualifying spend on dining transactions will be capped at UNI$12,000 for each calendar year. Please visit uob.com.sg/ppa for the revised terms and conditions.
Looks like they capped the legendary PPA. At least its not dead I guess.
w4rd is offline  
Old Sep 8, 2017, 4:50 am
  #7240  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SIN
Programs: JL GC | Marriott LT Silver | Global Entry | SQ Silver
Posts: 6,819
Originally Posted by jagmeets
Just got the below SMS..

"With effect from 10 Oct 2017, the total UNI$ awarded on qualifying spend on dining transactions will be capped at UNI$12,000 for each calendar year.
Originally Posted by w4rd
Just received the following SMS from UOB...



Looks like they capped the legendary PPA. At least its not dead I guess.
On average, that's about S$500/month spend cap.
lcpteck is offline  
Old Sep 8, 2017, 6:33 am
  #7241  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Anywhere
Posts: 6,576
Originally Posted by lcpteck
On average, that's about S$500/month spend cap.
At least the PPAmex cap is per year, unlike the dreadful cap on PPVisa which is per month.
carrotjuice is offline  
Old Sep 9, 2017, 6:24 am
  #7242  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
Programs: Nothing anymore after 20 years
Posts: 6,900
Cardup and citi PM - WARNING

Warning (already late) to these who used Citi PM to charge $9K and get 41K miles promo. I saw 'finance charges' on the list of transactions. Called in and was told that transactions via CardUp are classified as 'wire transfer/financial services'.

Translation - you will get finance charges from Citi on top of 2.6% cardup charges AND you won't get any bonus miles, because they don't qualify.
invisible is offline  
Old Sep 9, 2017, 8:50 am
  #7243  
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Singapore
Programs: Krisflyer Gold, Starwood Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 444
Originally Posted by invisible
Warning (already late) to these who used Citi PM to charge $9K and get 41K miles promo. I saw 'finance charges' on the list of transactions. Called in and was told that transactions via CardUp are classified as 'wire transfer/financial services'.

Translation - you will get finance charges from Citi on top of 2.6% cardup charges AND you won't get any bonus miles, because they don't qualify.
I just checked a CardUp transaction I did with my Citi Prestige last month and I got the points without a finance charge. Sorry to hear they screwed you.
w4rd is offline  
Old Sep 9, 2017, 10:50 am
  #7244  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Singapore
Programs: KF, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 182
Originally Posted by invisible
Warning (already late) to these who used Citi PM to charge $9K and get 41K miles promo. I saw 'finance charges' on the list of transactions. Called in and was told that transactions via CardUp are classified as 'wire transfer/financial services'.

Translation - you will get finance charges from Citi on top of 2.6% cardup charges AND you won't get any bonus miles, because they don't qualify.

Finance charges are charged if you withdraw cash etc. Are you sure they were related to Cardup?
spk307 is offline  
Old Sep 9, 2017, 1:31 pm
  #7245  
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: SQ QPP1, HYATT DIA, SPG GOLD, HH GOLD, IHG GOLD
Posts: 656
Is there still a card that you can use to pay for SP bllls as well as insurance and earn points?

I used DBS Altitude Visa card to pay for SP bills in the past few years (auto-charged in fact). However, it stopped rewarding points on bill payments wef July 2017.

I also used the same card to pay for my HKG insurance bills regularly and earned quite a decent 2x miles/S$1 everytime. But again, I think this is no longer the case wef July 2017.
MilesBuzz is offline  


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