For the frequent fliers among us, the miles game is a familiar term. Airlines award miles for paid tickets and credit the miles into various frequent flyer programs. It is totally free to create frequent flyer accounts for most, if not all airlines, even if we have no intention to fly with them.
It is also possible to fly with one airline, then credit the miles flown into another airline's program. Why would we do that? Because for the same flight flown, airlines award different mileage towards their own programs. So naturally, we would usually credit the miles into the programs that award the most miles.
Most airlines websites will have an online miles calculator to determine the number of miles I can earn when flying a particular route in a particular booking class.
wheretocredit.com is another online tool that helps us determine where to credit our miles, based on the airline and the booking class. Of course, the higher the booking class, the more miles awarded. It is also important to note that when flying in economy class, some airlines actually award 0 miles for the lowest booking class (cheapest ticket), while other programs may award a certain percentage of the miles flown. Again, check the online tool before keying in the frequent flyer number when booking air ticket.
For example, Singapore Airlines award 50% for the cheapest economy ticket on an SQ flight, while many other programs award 0 miles. In the past, United Airline used to award 100% for the same ticket. A quick way to gain status. Sadly, they have revised the rules.
It is wise to check even for premium class tickets.
To earn miles, other than flying on airlines, certain credit cards award miles as well. The United States is a huge market where there are a myriad of credit cards that award miles after spending a certain amount. The miles per dollar (mpd) that can be earned is also high.
In Singapore, though such credit cards do exist, they are much lesser in number and the miles awarded smaller as well. This is due to the much smaller size of the Singapore market.
Nevertheless, in this post, I want to share some of the Singapore travel-related credit cards that I use to help me accumulate miles. Still, better late than never. 😀
I learnt about the miles game quite late into my travels, thus missing out on the rewards in many of my previous trips.
Currently, I possess three travel-related credit cards:
1) Amex Ascend krisflyer
2) DBS Altitude
3) UOB krisflyer
Let me break down the various travel related expenses and which card I use:
DBS Altitude card or UOB krisflyer to earn 3 mpd (preferred) or Amex Ascend to earn only 2mpd
Convenience fee waiver for credit card payment (common for budget carriers)
One-time flight date/time OR passenger name change
Free standard seat selection
Free priority check-in and boarding
Amex Ascend earn 3 mpd
Just by having these credit cards, there are benefits too!
For Amex Ascend krisflyer, I get 4 complimentary plaza premium lounge access around the world each year. I also get a complimentary hilton hotel stay each year.
For DBS Altitude, I get complimentary priority pass membership and 2 complimentary lounge access around the world each year.
Both Amex Ascend and UOB krisflyer are SQ-branded cards, so the miles earned are directly placed into my krisflyer account.
DBS Altitude earn DBS points with no expiry. These can be converted into various airlines miles. A transaction fee is involved with each conversion.
These are the travel-related credit cards I have currently. It's great to earn miles from my travel as well as daily expenses.
In my opinion, the best way to use the miles is to redeem various premium classes. Some examples include SQ A380 suites class (with access to the Private Room) and Lufthansa first class from Frankfurt (with access to the First Class Terminal). The paid tickets for these classes are way beyond my budget, so redeeming miles to experience these luxuries are certainly the way to go.
SQ business class and economy class tickets can be redeemed. SQ releases a monthly spontaneous escapades website with discounted miles on certain routes.
Time for me to redeem some luxurious flights haha!
It is also possible to fly with one airline, then credit the miles flown into another airline's program. Why would we do that? Because for the same flight flown, airlines award different mileage towards their own programs. So naturally, we would usually credit the miles into the programs that award the most miles.
Most airlines websites will have an online miles calculator to determine the number of miles I can earn when flying a particular route in a particular booking class.
wheretocredit.com is another online tool that helps us determine where to credit our miles, based on the airline and the booking class. Of course, the higher the booking class, the more miles awarded. It is also important to note that when flying in economy class, some airlines actually award 0 miles for the lowest booking class (cheapest ticket), while other programs may award a certain percentage of the miles flown. Again, check the online tool before keying in the frequent flyer number when booking air ticket.
For example, Singapore Airlines award 50% for the cheapest economy ticket on an SQ flight, while many other programs award 0 miles. In the past, United Airline used to award 100% for the same ticket. A quick way to gain status. Sadly, they have revised the rules.
It is wise to check even for premium class tickets.
To earn miles, other than flying on airlines, certain credit cards award miles as well. The United States is a huge market where there are a myriad of credit cards that award miles after spending a certain amount. The miles per dollar (mpd) that can be earned is also high.
In Singapore, though such credit cards do exist, they are much lesser in number and the miles awarded smaller as well. This is due to the much smaller size of the Singapore market.
Nevertheless, in this post, I want to share some of the Singapore travel-related credit cards that I use to help me accumulate miles. Still, better late than never. 😀
I learnt about the miles game quite late into my travels, thus missing out on the rewards in many of my previous trips.
Currently, I possess three travel-related credit cards:
1) Amex Ascend krisflyer
2) DBS Altitude
3) UOB krisflyer
Let me break down the various travel related expenses and which card I use:
- Online air ticket for other airlines, hotel booking and travel websites
- Expedia and Kaligo travel websites
- Singapore Airline and Silkair tickets
DBS Altitude card or UOB krisflyer to earn 3 mpd (preferred) or Amex Ascend to earn only 2mpd
- Scoot Airline tickets
Convenience fee waiver for credit card payment (common for budget carriers)
One-time flight date/time OR passenger name change
Free standard seat selection
Free priority check-in and boarding
- Overseas spend
- Local bus and mrt rides
- Grab rides
- Gojek rides
UOB krisflyer earn 3 mpd
- Local spend (food)
At MacDonald's, Subway, Starbucks, Coffee Bean, food delivery
Amex Ascend earn 3 mpd
- Local spend (entertainment and pharmacy outlets)
Sistic (entertainment), Watson, Unity
Amex Ascend earn 3 mpd
- Local spend (dining and online shopping)
UOB krisflyer earn 3 mpd
- Local spend (big monthly expenses such as insurance)
Amex through the cardup website (additional fees involved)
Yup. So these are my usual life expenses. Of course, the miles earned are subject to change from time to time.
For Amex Ascend krisflyer, I get 4 complimentary plaza premium lounge access around the world each year. I also get a complimentary hilton hotel stay each year.
For DBS Altitude, I get complimentary priority pass membership and 2 complimentary lounge access around the world each year.
Both Amex Ascend and UOB krisflyer are SQ-branded cards, so the miles earned are directly placed into my krisflyer account.
DBS Altitude earn DBS points with no expiry. These can be converted into various airlines miles. A transaction fee is involved with each conversion.
These are the travel-related credit cards I have currently. It's great to earn miles from my travel as well as daily expenses.
In my opinion, the best way to use the miles is to redeem various premium classes. Some examples include SQ A380 suites class (with access to the Private Room) and Lufthansa first class from Frankfurt (with access to the First Class Terminal). The paid tickets for these classes are way beyond my budget, so redeeming miles to experience these luxuries are certainly the way to go.
SQ business class and economy class tickets can be redeemed. SQ releases a monthly spontaneous escapades website with discounted miles on certain routes.
Time for me to redeem some luxurious flights haha!
