Q: Do air miles expire?

KrisFlyer Miles expire if unused 36 months after they were credited to your miles account, unless you fly regularly in Business Class or higher and are therefore a member of the PPS Club or Solitaire PPS Club. So you'll need to churn through your KrisFlyer Miles fairly regularly, or use one of the miles' life extension options, which include: Paying a fee to extend the life of your miles for six months (12 months for Elite Silver or Elite Gold KrisFlyer members). The fee is payable in US dollars or KrisFlyer Miles Converting into Shangri-La Golden Circle Award Points (minimum transfer 20,000 miles), best used for dining redemption options at over 20 bars and restaurants in Singapore Converting into a cashback against a future Singapore Airlines, SilkAir or Scoot flight Starting 1st January 2020, Asia Miles expire after 18 months, unless there has been some qualifying activity in your miles account to keep them active. The qualifying activity involves either earning or redeeming miles at least once every 18 months, including miles top-up, points exchange and member transfer. (Note that any Asia miles earned before 1st January 2020 will expire 36 months after they were earned, if not used.) Regularly earning Asia Miles via a credit card is obviously a great way to keep all your Asia Miles from expiring.

Question 1

Are there any additional costs for joining a frequent flyer program?

Accepted Answer

Membership of most airlines’ loyalty programs is free. One major exception is the Australian airline Qantas, which charges a one-off joining fee, currently AUD 99.50. However, some banks may charge an additional program fee (on top of the annual fee) for the privilege of converting their in-house points to air miles.

Question 2

Are there any credit cards that give air miles when renewing for another year by paying the annual fee?

Accepted Answer

Yes, there are cards which offer you bonus miles when you pay your annual fee. In this case the bank is paying to retain your custom for another year. If you use your bonus miles wisely by redeeming them for long-haul flights or Business seats whenever you can, you should be able to offset quite a large part of your annual fee cost.

Question 3

Can I earn both air miles and cashback at the same time?

Accepted Answer

You definitely can't earn both air miles and cashback on the same purchase transaction. And only very rarely will you find a card that lets you earn reward points or miles on one spending category and cashback on another (e.g. cashback on local spend and miles on overseas spend).

You could earn both air miles and cashback by using separate credit cards for different types of purchases, always using the card that delivers the best air miles credit card rate for the particular type of purchase you are making. However, given that cashback cards tend to have minimum spend tiers, and that air miles can take a long time to accumulate, you will probably be better off concentrating on either air miles or cashback rather than trying to earn both.

Question 4

Can I redeem my air miles for other items besides flights and seat upgrades?

Accepted Answer

Yes. There will often be an opportunity to convert your air miles into shopping vouchers or a cashback into your credit card account, or redeem them for merchandise selected from an online catalogue. However, if you are likely to choose any of these three alternatives on a regular basis, having a card which prioritises shopping bonus points, discounts or cashback, rather than air miles, would probably be a cheaper option.

Question 5

Can I use a personal credit card for business expenses?

Accepted Answer

Yes you can, but there are lots of advantages to having a separate, dedicated business credit card. Having a dedicated business credit card will make it easier to keep your business and personal expenses quite separate.

If you're an employee, it will make claiming your business expenses refund from your employer a much simpler process. If you're a business owner you'll be glad you have separate cards for business and personal expenses when the time comes to fill in your tax return, and the fees associated with your business credit card will be tax-deductible. Add to this the fact that business credit cards often come with business-oriented perks related to travel and entertaining.

Question 6

Do air miles credit cards come with other benefits besides air miles?

Accepted Answer

Yes, most of the time. If you decide that earning air miles is your top priority, you can still find a card tailored to meet your other main requirements, such as having no annual fee, having complimentary travel insurance, giving shopping or petrol discounts, or awarding bonus miles for overseas spending.

Question 7

Do air miles expire?

Accepted Answer

KrisFlyer Miles expire if unused 36 months after they were credited to your miles account, unless you fly regularly in Business Class or higher and are therefore a member of the PPS Club or Solitaire PPS Club.

So you'll need to churn through your KrisFlyer Miles fairly regularly, or use one of the miles' life extension options, which include:

Paying a fee to extend the life of your miles for six months (12 months for Elite Silver or Elite Gold KrisFlyer members). The fee is payable in US dollars or KrisFlyer Miles
Converting into Shangri-La Golden Circle Award Points (minimum transfer 20,000 miles), best used for dining redemption options at over 20 bars and restaurants in Singapore
Converting into a cashback against a future Singapore Airlines, SilkAir or Scoot flight

Starting 1st January 2020, Asia Miles expire after 18 months, unless there has been some qualifying activity in your miles account to keep them active. The qualifying activity involves either earning or redeeming miles at least once every 18 months, including miles top-up, points exchange and member transfer. (Note that any Asia miles earned before 1st January 2020 will expire 36 months after they were earned, if not used.) Regularly earning Asia Miles via a credit card is obviously a great way to keep all your Asia Miles from expiring.

Question 8

Do all air miles credit cards earn miles at the same rate?

Accepted Answer

No. Cards with a higher annual fee usually earn miles at a faster rate than cards with a low or no annual fee. Look at your annual spending amount to decide whether it’s worth paying a higher fee in order to earn miles faster. Above-average spenders can usually justify paying a higher fee because they will quickly recoup the fee in air miles value. Low to moderate spenders will normally be better off with a low-fee or no-fee card.

An individual card may have several different miles earning rates, depending on where you do your spending. Overseas spend may attract a higher rate than domestic purchases, for example. Spending of a specific kind, such as dining, entertainment or online travel bookings, may also be rewarded with a higher earning rate or bonus miles.

Question 9

Do you earn air miles on cash advances?

Accepted Answer

No. Cash advances are a type of transaction that does not earn any air miles.

Question 10

How can I earn bonus miles with my air miles card?

Accepted Answer

Many air miles cards come with bonus air miles attached, to encourage people to apply for, use and renew the card. You may receive thousands of bonus miles when you apply for the card and are approved, more miles with your first spend, further miles if you meet a specific spending target within the first 2-3 months, and even more miles when you renew for another year. This is a great way to boost your air miles account.

Question 11

How long does it take to earn enough air miles for a free flight?

Accepted Answer

It depends on where you want to go, the class in which you want to travel, and how much you spend using your air miles card.

Singapore Airlines award flights start at 7,500 miles for a one-way flight to Malaysia, Indonesia or Brunei in an Economy Saver seat, and rise to 295,000 miles for a one-way flight to USA east coast or Houston in Suites or First Advantage seats.

Asia Miles award flights also start at 7,500 miles for the shortest one-way flights in Economy, rising to 250,000 miles for ultra-long-haul flights in First, with a single carrier. You'll pay more in miles for a mixed-carrier long-haul flight, or for better access to award flights at peak times.

So for the cheapest return trip requiring 15,000 miles, it would take 10 months of spending $1,000 per month, if your spending was split equally between local and overseas merchants and you earned 1.0 miles per dollar for local spending and 2.0 miles per dollar for overseas spending. It would obviously take longer to earn enough miles for longer trips and/or higher class seats. Remember also, that these flights are not absolutely free because there are carrier charges to pay, currently starting at US$24 for the shortest flights in the case of Singapore Airlines.

Question 12

Is it better to earn air miles or cashback?

Accepted Answer

It depends on how often you travel, and whether the amount you spend will earn enough air miles for you to be able to redeem them for free flights. Regular travellers – especially those who use long-haul flights and expect to travel in Business Class – are the most likely to benefit from an air miles card. That's because they're likely to be spending enough to earn lots of miles, and when they come to redeem them they'll get better value per mile than someone redeeming them for short-haul or Economy flights.

More modest spenders, who might take years to accumulate enough air miles for a worthwhile redemption, would probably be better served by a cashback card.

Question 13

Is it worth paying an annual fee for an air miles credit card?

Accepted Answer

Yes, provided you are sure that you will earn enough in air miles value to more than cover the annual fee. For example, a KrisFlyer Mile is worth at least 1.0 cents for a cash offset as a part-payment for a non-award flight, although you should be able to get a better redemption value even in an Economy seat for a short-haul award flight. In fact, it's possible to extract a value of more than 2.0 cents per air mile in most Premium Economy seats, 2.5 cents to 3.5 cents in Business, and even more in First and Suites.

As an example, let's use a fairly conservative valuation of 1.5 cents per mile, and a card earning 1.0 cents for local spend and 2.0 cents for overseas spend, with an annual fee of $192.60. Assuming your purchases were equally divided between local and overseas spend, you would need to spend $8,560 every year to cover the $192.60 (earning 12,840 miles x 1.5 cents). After that your card is free, as are any further miles you earn from higher spending. Cards with higher earning rates or lower annual fees would require less spending before the break-even point was reached.

Question 14

What are some of the other benefits attached to air miles credit cards?

Accepted Answer

You can expect your air miles credit card to come with at least some of the following benefits. Usually, the higher the annual fee, the more benefits you will receive.

Bonus miles for card approval, first spending, target spending and card renewal
Higher miles earning rate for a particular area of expenditure, such as travel or entertainment, or overseas purchases
Cash or merchandise gift on sign-up or first spend
Annual fee waiver for reaching a target spending amount
Discounts on petrol purchases
Discounts on groceries
Discount on online travel bookings
Complimentary travel insurance
Complimentary airport lounge access
Complimentary airport limousine service
Complimentary hotel nights
Discount on luxury lifestyle perks, e.g. golf, yachts, private jets
A concierge or lifestyle butler service

Question 15

What type of person should consider an air miles card?

Accepted Answer

Air miles credit cards are designed to benefit someone who travels frequently for business or leisure. The miles earned can be used for flights and seat upgrades, thus reducing your business costs or increasing your leisure travel opportunities. At the same time, the cards may offer other benefits which will appeal to regular travellers, such as complimentary travel insurance, airport lounge access, free hotel stays and airport limousine transfers.

Question 16

Which airlines can I earn miles with by using my air miles card?

Accepted Answer

Some cards are linked to the loyalty program of a specific airline, such as Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. Other cards may allow you to transfer miles to several airlines, and there are even cards which permit you to transfer miles to over 60 airlines and 8,000 hotels worldwide.

Question 17

Which air miles credit card is best for travel?

Accepted Answer

If you're a regular traveller you'll want to choose an air miles card with the best combination of air miles earning rates and complimentary travel benefits for the lowest annual fee. Look for cards that include at least some of the following perks for cardholders:

High miles earning rate for overseas spending
High miles earning rate for direct purchases from a particular airline
High miles earning rate for travel-related expenses, such as flights and hotels
Complimentary travel insurance
Complimentary airport lounge access
Accelerated upgrade to elite airline membership tiers
Complimentary airport limousine service
Complimentary hotel nights
Discount on luxury lifestyle perks, e.g. golf, yachts, private jets
A concierge or lifestyle butler service

Question 18

Which air miles program has the best availability when redeeming miles for flight tickets?

Accepted Answer

Singapore Airlines has the advantage of being part of the world's largest airline alliance – Star Alliance – which gives you more redemption opportunities with Singapore Airlines (including SilkAir and Scoot) plus 25 other member airlines. Award seats are released 355 days in advance of the flight's departure, so this is a good time to book if you are able to plan ahead. KrisFlyer also offers the ability to put yourself on a waiting list for award flights, if the flight you want is not currently available but may be released for award bookings in the future. Flight redemptions start at 7,500 miles for a one-way flight.

Asia Miles' Cathay Pacific belongs to the smaller OneWorld alliance, which nevertheless boasts big names like British Airways, Japan Airlines, American Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Qantas. Award seats are released 360 days in advance of the flight. Flight redemptions start at 10,500 miles for a one-way flight.

Question 19

Which credit card earns the most air miles?

Accepted Answer

It really depends on your spending pattern and lifestyle, because a card which earns the most air miles for one person may not be best for another. Different cards have higher rewards for different spending categories, such as dining, petrol, entertainment, golfing, online or local shopping, and overseas spend. The credit card that will earn the most air miles for you is the one with the best air miles credit card rate for your biggest spending category. Analyse your most recent month's spending (by looking at your current credit card or bank statement, or by keeping a record of your cash outgoings) and then choose a card that rewards your spending pattern best.

Question 20

Which is best – directly-earned air miles, or air miles converted from a bank's reward program points?

Accepted Answer

You can only answer this question by converting the reward points rate for a particular card into an air miles rate, using the bank's conversion rate. Fortunately, Finty has done the legwork for you by adding the air miles rate in parentheses whenever we list points-earning cards on our air miles credit cards comparison page. Understanding the effective air miles rate of points cards will allow you to easily compare points cards with direct air miles cards.

You'll also need to take into account any fee (e.g. $25) which may be payable when you convert a bank's reward points into air miles. Another factor to consider is the time required for the conversion to be effected, which could delay your travel plans or see you miss out on quickly-disappearing award flights.

Question 21

Which spending categories earn the most air miles?

Accepted Answer

One thing to bear in mind when comparing miles earning rates for spending categories is that you need to compare apples with apples, not apples with oranges. That is, if the card you are considering earns switchable points rather than direct air miles, make sure you carry out a notional conversion of the points earning rate into an air miles earning rate. For example, an earning rate of 5.0 reward points per dollar would translate into 2.5 miles per dollar if the exchange rate were 2.0 points = 1.0 air miles.

Many miles credit cards do not have specialised spending categories, beyond separating local spend (typically rewarded at 1.0 to1.4 miles per dollar spent) and overseas spend (usually 2.0 to 2.4 miles per dollar). You could consider the higher rate on overseas spend as a compensation for having to pay a foreign transaction fee.

Air miles cards which select various spending categories for higher miles will often reward travel at the best air miles rate. It's possible to earn as much as 10 miles per dollar for online hotel and flight bookings, while other cards will offer a higher earning rate for direct spending with airlines on flights and other products.

If you regularly spend large amounts on Grab, taxis in general and dining out, it shouldn't be too hard to find a card that rewards these categories at 3.0 to 3.2 miles per dollar.

But don't forget to look beyond the miles earning rate, to compare annual fees and any other attached benefits.

Question 22

Will I earn air miles on all my transactions?

Accepted Answer

No. You will only earn air miles on eligible purchases. Cash advances, purchases of foreign currency, gambling transactions and balance transfers are all counted as cash advances rather than purchases, and will not earn air miles.

Question 23

Will I need to pay income tax on my air miles?

Accepted Answer

Credit card air miles are not normally regarded as income, so you shouldn't need to declare it for income tax purposes unless you are using the credit card for your business. Check with your tax accountant if you want to be absolutely certain about this.

Air miles credit cards

Comparing air miles credit cards

American Express Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card

Rewards program

Points per $1 spent

Sign up bonus

Annual fee

Highlights

Pros

OCBC Titanium Rewards Credit Card (Blue)

Rewards program

Points per $1 spent

Sign up bonus

Annual fee

Highlights

Finty Rewards

Bank promo

Pros

Cons

American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card

Rewards program

Points per $1 spent

Sign up bonus

Annual fee

Highlights

Finty Rewards

Pros

Cons

American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Credit Card

Rewards program

Points per $1 spent

Sign up bonus

Annual fee

Highlights

Finty Rewards

Bank promo

Pros

Cons

OCBC Platinum Credit Card

Rewards program

Points per $1 spent

Sign up bonus

Annual fee

Highlights

Finty Rewards

Bank promo

Pros

Cons

OCBC Titanium Rewards Credit Card (Pink)

Rewards program

Points per $1 spent

Sign up bonus

Annual fee

Highlights

Finty Rewards

Bank promo

Pros

Cons

Overview

Miles credit cards in Singapore earn air miles for spending on eligible purchases

The best miles credit cards in Singapore are loaded with other benefits

Annual fee on air miles cards

Learn about air miles credit cards

Pros & cons

Tips

FAQs

Glossary

Guides

Air miles can expire

Benefits attached to cards

Flights are not absolutely free

Free flights

It takes a while for enough miles to accumulate

Limited availability of award flights

No caps on earning

No minimum spend

Be prepared to be flexible when booking award flights

Compare all miles card features, not just the miles earning rate

Compare miles rates with miles rates, not miles rates with reward points rates

Get the best value for your miles by redeeming them for flights and seat upgrades