7 Greatest Air Miles Credit score Playing cards in Singapore (2021)

Although not precisely sensible for our virus-ridden instances, air miles bank card are positively probably the most glamorous of all of the bank cards. Each time you utilize one you’re reinforcing your picture as a jetsetter (really no one cares).

However extra importantly, you earn frequent flyer miles on the identical time. When borders lastly do reopen as soon as extra, wouldn’t it’s good to have the ability to swap your air factors for a free air ticket?

However if you happen to simply join the primary air miles card you see and solely use it everytime you keep in mind it exists, likelihood is you’ll by no means accumulate sufficient factors to even make it to KL. Amassing air miles must be executed strategically with the proper card.

Listed below are one of the best bank cards for air miles in Singapore, plus some helpful data on how they work so you may recreation the system.

Greatest air miles playing cards in Singapore 2021

1. Citi PremierMiles Card

If the considered spending 1000’s of {dollars} in simply a few months makes you blanch, you want a card with miles that don’t expire so you may take your time to slowly accumulate them. That is particularly the case if you happen to’re a contemporary grad or a typically frugal particular person with none huge bills developing.

On the draw back, the earn fee of such playing cards is often not that nice. Citi PremierMiles, which gives a reasonably enticing earn fee for non-expiring miles, gives 4 miles for each $1 spent on meals supply and residential leisure, 2 miles for each $1 spent on international forex spending and 1.2 miles for each $1 of native spending.

The standout right here is the 4 miles per $1 spent on meals supply and residential leisure. 4 miles per greenback is superb on this planet of air miles playing cards, and now you can earn it in your Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, Audible or Viu subscriptions and iTunes purchases.

The cardboard provides you a beneficiant welcome present of 45,000 miles, and costs an annual charge of $192.60, payable from the top of your first yr.

2. DBS Altitude Card

DBS Altitude is one other card that permits you to accumulate air miles that by no means expire. The cardboard rewards you with 3 air miles for each $1 spent on on-line flight and resort transactions, 2 miles for each $1 spent abroad and 1.2 miles for each $1 spent domestically.

To sweeten the deal, the cardboard additionally gives a way more beneficiant earn fee of 10 miles per $1 spent o Kaligo or Agoda, and 6 miles for each $1 spent on Expedia flight and resort bookings.

This can be a card that’s greatest used for journey bookings and abroad spending slightly than domestically. At second, it’s secure to say that none of us are going wherever, so if you happen to don’t have already got this card it’s best to wait till you might be able to make that first journey reserving earlier than signing up.

The cardboard’s annual charge is $192.60 however will likely be waived if you happen to spend at the least $25,000 over the course of a yr. When you select to pay the annual charge and renew your card, you’ll obtain 10,000 miles every time.

3. OCBC 90°N Card

When you’re searching for a non-expiring air miles card to make use of on abroad on-line buying websites, OCBC 90°N is an effective candidate.

You earn 2.1 factors for each $1 spent in international forex and 1.2 factors for each $1 spent domestically. The earn fee for international forex spending is the best out of all of the entry-level non-expiring air miles playing cards above.

You additionally get 7 factors per $1 spent on Agoda bookings made in international forex or 6 factors if you happen to make the bookings in native forex.

On the draw back, the cardboard doesn’t have an accelerated earn fee for journey bookings aside from on Agoda, so that you won’t wish to use it to order your air tickets, holding it available only for use on-line and once you’re already abroad.

The cardboard’s annual charge is $192.60. When you determine to pay the charge and proceed utilizing the cardboard, you get 10,000 miles every time.

4. Amex KrisFlyer Card

This card is good if you happen to’re gathering factors for Singapore Airline’s KrisFlyer programme. There’s no must redeem your factors — all miles collected every month are robotically credited to your KrisFlyer account. Simply bear in mind that KrisFlyer miles have a shelf-life of three years.

The fundamental earn fee is nothing to shout about. You get 2 miles for each $1 spent in international forex on eligible purchases, and $1 spent on eligible native purchases.

However what’s attention-grabbing proper now’s that in addition they reward you with 3.1 miles for each $1 spent on Seize in Singapore, legitimate for as much as $200 value of spending per thirty days. Since journey isn’t attainable for the time being, that’s a straightforward approach to get a good earn fee in your commutes, even when the cap is slightly low.

The cardboard’s welcome bonuses are additionally fairly enticing. You get 5,000 free miles the primary time you utilize your card, and a further, 13,000 miles if you happen to handle to spend $3,000 in your first 3 months. You would possibly thus need to join the cardboard when you will have a huge ticket expense developing only for these bonus miles.

The annual charge is $176.55, which makes the Amex KrisFlyer barely cheaper than the typical air miles card.

5. UOB KrisFlyer Card

Most air miles playing cards allow you to earn extra in your journey spending, however since everybody’s caught in Singapore proper now, it’s higher to make use of a card that provides a good fee on on a regular basis native spending.

That’s the place the UOB KrisFlyer Card is available in. This stylish-looking card gives 3 KrisFlyer miles per $1 spent on eating, on-line buying, on-line journey and transport card transactions.

The catch is, to qualify for this earn fee, you need to spend at the least $300 per yr on Singapore Airways-related transactions (together with KrisShop), they usually’ll solely provide the miles 2 months after your card membership anniversary, which implies you’ll must pay the annual charge or in some way get it waived earlier than with the ability to get your palms on the miles.

You additionally get 3 miles per $1 spent on Singapore Airways, Scoot and KrisShop purchases, and 1.2 miles per $1 on different spending.

This can be a nice card to make use of for eligible on a regular basis spending as long as you’re ready to spend $300 at Singapore Airways or KrisShop throughout the subsequent yr. If journey doesn’t restart over the subsequent yr, you may simply purchase stuff at KrisShop — they’ve all kinds of merchandise from electronics to wine.

The cardboard costs an annual charge of $192.60 which might be fairly laborious to flee. You get a bonus of three,000 miles after making your first transaction, and one other 7,000 miles if you happen to spend $4,000 throughout the first 90 days.

6. Maybank Horizon Card

Right here’s a card that doesn’t get a lot consideration however is definitely glorious for native spending. You earn 3.2 air miles everytime you spend on restaurant eating, petrol, public transport (together with Seize and taxi) and resort bookings at Agoda. And that’s simply native spending.

When you find yourself abroad (if that ever occurs once more, sniff), you’ll earn 2 miles for each greenback spent on air tickets, journey packages and international forex transactions. This final class consists of international forex spending on-line, which you don’t must go abroad to take pleasure in.

The earn fee for abroad spending is so-so, however the card gives among the finest charges for native spending.

The principle disadvantage? You could spend at the least $300 in a calendar month in an effort to qualify for the miles. That’s a bummer contemplating most air miles playing cards don’t have minimal spending necessities.

The cardboard’s annual charge is $180, however waived for 3 years as a substitute of the standard one yr. When you spend at the least $18,000 in a yr you will get subsequent annual charge funds waived.

7. UOB PRVI Miles Card

This card gives among the finest charges for common abroad and native spending, at 2.4 miles per $1 spent abroad and 1.4 miles per $1 spend domestically. You additionally get 6 miles per $1 spent on Agoda, Expedia and UOB Journey.

You will get higher charges from another playing cards that supply accelerated incomes in particular classes like eating and resort bookings, however so far as common spending goes, this card delivers.

This card is an effective one to make use of if you happen to’re anticipating a giant expense like a marriage banquet, because the 1.4 mile per $1 fee is the best you’ll have the ability to get on such miscellaneous native spending.

Undecided if that is even value mentioning, however once you spend at the least $50,000 in a yr, you get rewarded with an additional 20,000 miles. That’s, nonetheless, an enormous quantity contemplating that the cardboard’s minimal requirement is barely $30,000.

Entry-level vs premium miles playing cards in Singapore

All the above bank cards are entry-level ones, that means you may enroll as soon as your annual revenue hits about $30,000.

However premium air miles bank cards for wealthy individuals have a tendency to supply higher air miles earn charges and/or sign-up bonuses.

As an illustration, the Normal Chartered Visa Infinite X Steel Credit score Card provides you a whopping 30,000 mile bonus once you join the cardboard. The catch? You should be incomes at the least $80,000 and ready to fork out an annual charge of $695.50.

What are air miles and the way do they work?

Air miles are a part of frequent flyer programmes (FFP), the best-known one right here being Singapore Airways’ KrisFlyer programme. KrisFlyer miles can be utilized on many companion airways, together with all of Star Alliance.

Technically, you should purchase miles with chilly laborious money. That’s what some individuals do — purchase KrisFlyer miles as a result of they don’t have anything higher to spend their cash on.

However why try this when a bank card will aid you earn them totally free, proper? Whenever you spend on an air miles bank card, you may accumulate frequent flyer miles both straight or by incomes factors (which you then convert to miles).

When you’ve bought your miles, you may put them in direction of your subsequent vacation’s airfare. Woohoo!

Right here’s a take a look at the larger and extra well-known FFPs in Singapore:

What must you look out for in a much card?

Given the present state of affairs, no one has any concept when journey will likely be attainable once more. Borders might open in a couple of months, or it might take years. So, it’s not sufficient to simply go for the cardboard with the best earn fee.

Listed below are some components it is advisable to contemplate when evaluating miles playing cards:

• Miles expiry date – That is vital since we don’t know the way lengthy it is going to be till we are able to journey once more. KrisFlyer miles expire in three years from the date they’re credited to your account. In case your card requires you to build up after which convert miles, you’ll additionally wish to verify the expiry date so you may convert them as late as attainable.
• Flexibility to redeem miles for different rewards – In a worst case state of affairs, if Covid-19 completely wrecks our means to journey, you may want to have the ability to spend your miles on one thing else. See if you should utilize them to redeem different rewards or convert them to cashback. When you’re beneath the KrisFlyer programme, you should utilize your mile to make purchases on the on-line KrisShop.
• Ease of incomes miles with out travelling – Many playing cards reward you extra handsomely for spending abroad, however given the present state of affairs it’s best to purpose for now to make use of playing cards that offer you a greater earn fee for native and/or on-line spending.

MoneySmart tip: use a rewards bank card as a much card

Earlier than you rush to join an air miles card, you also needs to know that rewards bank cards are a viable various to air miles playing cards.

So what’s the key? Nicely, you really earn rewards factors (slightly than miles) with many air miles playing cards. You possibly can earn those self same factors with a rewards card as effectively, and later convert them to miles. In reality, you may consider air miles playing cards as merely a subset of rewards playing cards because the points-collecting mechanism is normally the identical.

Broadly talking, air miles playing cards reward travel-related spending, whereas rewards playing cards reward common native spending e.g. buying and eating.

Good rewards bank cards supply excessive bonus factors for the latter, making it attainable to earn air miles extra shortly – for instance, $1 = 4 miles in your on-line buying spending. Nevertheless there are normally caps on these. One of the best card (or combo of playing cards) actually will depend on your precise spending habits.

So if you wish to be REALLY thorough, try a number of the greatest rewards bank cards in Singapore as effectively.

Apply for one of the best air miles bank cards in Singapore and get enticing items for sure playing cards! 

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