A Beginner's Guide To Earning KrisFlyer Miles Quickly

KrisFlyer miles lets you enjoy envy-inducing upgrades such as Business Class seats and on-board perks for free. Here’s how you can earn KrisFlyer Miles quickly without breaking the bank in the process. 

KrisFlyer is the name of the frequent flyer programme offered by Singapore Airlines. You can earn KrisFlyer miles when you book flights on Singapore Air and Scoot, make purchases on KrisShop and the Kris+ app, and charge eligible transactions to the relevant credit cards. 

You can use these air miles to redeem flights on Singapore Air, Scoot and partner airlines, to offset the cost of your flight bookings, or to purchase perks such as seat upgrades and other on-board perks. 

KrisFlyer miles have an expiry date of three years, so be sure to check your KrisFlyer account regularly so as not to let any go to waste. If you’re not planning on flying, KrisFlyer miles can also be used to redeem items on KrisShop. 

Table of contents

• Strategies and tips for earning KrisFlyer miles quickly
  • Choose the right credit card (for you)
  • Look out for lucrative sign-up offers
  • Pay your credit card annual fee
  • Purchase through Kris+ app
  • Shop on KrisShop
  • Convert hotel loyalty points to KrisFlyer miles
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Strategies and tips for earning KrisFlyer miles quickly

The more KrisFlyer miles you have, the more benefits you can enjoy, so naturally, you’d want to earn as many KrisFlyer miles as possible. Here are some tips and strategies for you to do just that. 

Choose the right credit card (for you)

Here’s a controversial statement: Air miles credit cards do not give you the best miles per dollar earn rate; rewards credit cards do!

Case in point, consider the nominal earn rates of the following pair of cards:

• UOB PRVI Miles Card: 1.4 miles per dollar on local spends, 2.4 miles per dollar on foreign spends
• UOB Lady’s Card: 4 miles per dollar on preferred spending category 

That’s a big difference – does that mean the UOB Lady’s Card is better for travellers?

Not at all. The devil, as they say, is in the details. You see, the UOB PRVI Miles Card lets you earn air miles on all eligible transactions – either 1.4 or 2.4 miles per dollar. This means you have a wider range of transactions from which you can earn air miles.

Additionally, it also gives you bonus air miles on selected merchants, such as 6 miles per dollar at Agoda and Expedia. And to top it all off, you’ll also get 20,000 miles if you spend at least S$50,000 in a year with the American Express version of the card. 

In contrast, the UOB Lady’s Card earns up to 4 miles per dollar, but this is only for purchases made in your selected spending category. All other transactions only earn 0.4 miles per dollar. 

This means that with the UOB Lady’s Card, you have a smaller range of transactions from which to earn high amounts of air miles. 

Now, which card to choose depends on your spending habits. If your spending is mostly focused on one type of transaction, say, dining, you will likely accrue more air miles on the UOB Lady’s Card than the UOB PRVI Miles Card. 

However, if your spending is spread out over different types of transactions and includes bookings at Agoda, then you may likely earn more air miles with the UOB PRVI Miles Card. 

The takeaway is this: You should choose a credit card based on your actual usage, and not simply which one gives the highest air miles conversion rate. 

You want to find the card that lets you earn the highest amount of air miles while spending normally instead of one that makes you change your spending habits and purchases just to earn air miles. 

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Look out for lucrative sign-up offers

One of the best ways to quickly get a boost to your KrisFlyer miles balance is to look out for credit card sign-up offers. You can collect bonus air miles when you sign up for an eligible credit card and charge the required amount to your card within the qualifying period. 

Here’s a summary of the current air miles promotions on offer:

Pay your credit card annual fee

This tip only works with the followin credit cards shown below, but if you happen to own one of them, it’s an easy way to earn KrisFlyer miles quickly. 

Simply pay your credit card annual fee when it comes up, and you’ll be awarded a batch of reward points that you can then convert to air miles. 

You can do this with the following cards:  

You’ll notice there is little standardization in terms of how many air miles you can get by paying your annual fees. That’s where the cost-per-mile comes in, which is derived by dividing the annual fee by the number of air miles awarded. 

Entry-level cards like the DBS Altitude Card, Citi PremierMiles, OCBC 90°N Card and SCB Journey Card give the most value – i.e., the lowest cost-per-mile. Meanwhile the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card has the highest cost-per-mile, which means it offers the least value. 

Purchase through Kris+ app 

Kris+ is a lifestyle, shopping and dining loyalty programme that lets you earn KrisPay miles, which are redeemable for KrisFlyer miles on a 1:1 basis.  

To earn KrisPay miles, simply download the Kris+ app and buy from the partner merchants listed therein. Scan the QR code using the Kris+ app to pay for your purchase, and earn up to 9 miles per S$1, with no cap!

Best of all, you can pair an air miles credit card to pay at Kris+ merchants, so you can double-dip on your purchase and spin up some extra miles on your everyday purchases. 

If you’re diligent, you can easily add several hundred miles to your account every month without having to spend extra!

Shop on KrisShop

Of course, we mustn't forget about KrisShop, Singapore Airlines’ online shopping portal where you can find a carefully curated selection of lifestyle, travel, food, sports and fitness, electronics, fashion, beauty and health brands. 

Not only can you find special discounts and exclusive promotions, you can – importantly – earn KrisFlyer miles for your purchases. Normally, you’ll earn 1.5 KrisFlyer for every S$1 spent, but this rate can go up to 4 miles per dollar, and 3X bonus KrisFlyer miles for every S$1 during promotions. 

You can pay on KrisShop using an air miles credit card to earn extra air miles on your purchases and quickly fill up your KrisFlyer balance.

Convert hotel loyalty points to KrisFlyer miles

If you happen to have unused hotel loyalty points, you can trade them in for KrisFlyer miles. But proceed with caution, as you will usually lose some value for doing so, compared to using your hotel points for free nights or room upgrades. 

Still, if you value having a business class flight more than accommodation perks – or if you need to spend more to move up a hotel membership tier anyway – then it may make sense to go ahead with the conversion. 

Here’s a list of the hotel loyalty points you can redeem for KrisFlyer miles. Instructions for points conversion may be found here.

Besides converting your hotel loyalty points to get KrisFlyer miles, you can also earn miles when you book rooms at participating hotels. You can earn anywhere from 500 to 2,000 miles per qualifying stay, while other properties award miles on a per-dollar-spent basis.

Check out the full list of partner hotels over at the Singapore Airlines page linked above. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I earn KrisFlyer miles for others?

Unfortunately, you can only earn KrisFlyer miles for your individual account. However, you can pay using someone else’s credit card, which will channel the miles earned for the card transaction to their account. 

How much is 1 KrisFlyer miles worth?

There is no fixed value for 1 KrisFlyer mile. This is because the value of KrisFlyer miles changes according to what you redeem them for, whether they be flight tickets, seat upgrades or onboard privileges. 

For instance, you can redeem 25,000 KrisFlyer miles for a flight to Bangkok that costs approximately S$200 at the time of writing, while 45,000 KrisFlyer miles may net you a ticket to Japan that costs approximately S$500. 

Can I earn KrisFlyer miles with Scoot?

Yes, you can earn KrisFlyer miles when you fly with Scoot. However, you will earn between 10% to 25% of the actual mileage flown, depending on the class of your ticket. You can consult the Scoot Flight Miles Calculation Table to see how many miles you can earn for your flight.