How to Earn Air Miles in Singapore: A Beginner's Guide

What are air miles?

Air miles are a loyalty currency run by an airline. In Singapore the most common one is KrisFlyer, the programme run by Singapore Airlines, but many cards also let you move points to other airlines such as Asia Miles, British Airways Avios, or Qantas.

You spend miles on award tickets, cabin upgrades, and sometimes hotel stays. The reason people chase them is value: redeemed on a long-haul business class seat, a mile can be worth several times more than the same spend returned as cash.

How credit cards earn miles

Most Singapore miles cards do not give you airline miles directly. They give you bank points first, which you later convert into miles. The earn rate is usually quoted in miles per dollar, shortened to mpd. A card that earns 4 mpd turns $100 of eligible spend into 400 miles.

Cards fall into two broad groups:

• General spend cards earn a flat rate on almost everything. The rate is modest, but you never have to think about categories.
• Specialised or bonus cards earn a much higher rate on specific categories, like online spend, dining, or contactless payments, usually up to a monthly cap. Outside that category or above the cap, they drop to a low base rate.

The biggest gains come from pairing the two: use bonus cards for the spend they reward, and a general spend card for everything else. Our miles per dollar explainer goes deeper on how to read these rates.

Getting started, step by step

1. Look at where your money actually goes. Pull up the last two or three months of statements and group spending into rough buckets: dining, groceries, transport, online shopping, travel, bills.
2. Pick a card for your biggest bucket. If most spending is online, a card that rewards online spend will do more than a travel card you rarely use abroad.
3. Add a general spend card for the rest. This catches everything the bonus card does not cover, and anything above its cap.
4. Learn the caps and exclusions. Every bonus card has a monthly limit and a list of excluded merchant types. Missing these is the most common way people earn far less than they expected. See how bonus caps work.
5. Choose where the points will go. Before you convert, decide which airline you will actually fly. Converting too early locks you in and can start an expiry clock.

Tip: Not sure which card suits your spending? The New to Miles walkthrough asks three quick questions and shows your best starter cards. No bank login needed.

Converting bank points into miles

When you have enough points, you transfer them from the bank to the airline programme. A few things to know first:

• Many banks charge a conversion fee per transfer, so it is usually better to convert in larger batches than to move small amounts often.
• Transfers can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks depending on the bank and airline.
• Once converted, miles cannot be moved back to the bank or to another airline.
• KrisFlyer miles generally expire three years after they are earned, while many bank points last longer or do not expire at all. Leaving points with the bank until you have a redemption in mind keeps your options open.

Common beginner mistakes

• Using one card for everything. Convenient, but it usually earns a fraction of what a two or three card setup would.
• Ignoring merchant categories. A purchase only earns the bonus rate if the merchant is coded in an eligible category. Check which shops count before relying on a bonus.
• Chasing miles you will not use. Miles are only valuable if you redeem them. Pick a programme that flies where you want to go.
• Carrying a balance. Credit card interest in Singapore is far higher than any rewards rate. If you cannot pay in full each month, miles are not worth it.