KrisFlyer Bonus Miles: Earn 15% More By Transferring Your Card Card Points

While other airlines offer occasional bonuses for credit card points transfers, Singapore Airlines has steered clear of such promotions. 

After all, with KrisFlyer miles being one of the most coveted loyalty currencies in Singapore, it doesn’t really need to incentivise people to get onboard. 

But COVID-19 has changed the equation. With leisure travel all but nonexistent, even the most hardcore of miles collectors must be taking second glances at their stash — what’s the use of earning miles if you can’t spend them?

Perhaps to pre-empt this situation, Singapore Airlines has announced that it will be offering a 15% bonus on all bank rewards points conversions up till 27 December 2020.

Is this a sign for you to cash out your stash? Let’s find out. 

KrisFlyer’s 15% transfer bonus

Bank Points	Bonus	KrisFlyer Miles
Equivalent of 10,000 miles	+15%	11,500 miles

First, the brass tacks. No registration is required for this offer, as all KrisFlyer members are automatically eligible. Members who transfer at least 10,000 KrisFlyer miles from participating banks will receive a 15% bonus, provided the transfer is completed by 27 December 2020.

Do note the ‘completed’ requirement — there is a time lag between initiating the points transfer from your bank and the miles showing up in your KrisFlyer account. In general this takes approximately 3 to 5 working days, although it varies from bank to bank. To be safe, don’t leave your transfers till the last moment.

All banks in Singapore are participating in this offer. The minimum transfer block will vary by bank, but remember, you’ll need to transfer at least the equivalent of 10,000 KrisFlyer miles to be eligible for the 15% bonus. 

^400 points = 250 miles for AMEX Platinum Charge and Centurion members.
*3,500 points = 1,015 miles for non Visa Infinite cardholders.

Note: Data points are based on past experience and are not official quotes from the bank. Your own experience may vary.

If you’re holding on to a cobrand card from Singapore Airlines like the ones below, this offer will (sadly) not apply to you:

• American Express KrisFlyer Ascend
• American Express KrisFlyer Credit Card
• American Express Solitaire Club Card
• American Express PPS Club Card
• KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card

Should you transfer your points under this promotion?

With over a decade of playing the miles game, this is the first time I’ve seen Singapore Airlines offer a transfer bonus. Even though leisure travel has been indefinitely suspended, there’s a good chance it’ll make a return by the second half of 2021, and a 15% bonus puts you that much closer to a well-earned break.

That said, there are a couple of things to consider before you pull the trigger.

Your expiry countdown will start immediately

If you earn points on cards like the DBS Altitude, Citibank PremierMiles or OCBC 90N, your points never expire.

However, once you convert those points into KrisFlyer miles, a new set of rules comes into play. All KrisFlyer miles expire after 3 years and on the last day of the month in which they were earned (unless you’re a PPS Club member, in which case, your miles do not expire).  For example, if you made a transfer on 10 December 2020, your miles would expire on 31 December 2023. 

While KrisFlyer has been diligent about extending miles that were due to expire during this COVID-19 period, the last thing you want is a weird ‘in between’ situation down the road. For example, enough countries have reopened their borders for KrisFlyer to stop granting further extensions, but the particular country you want to visit to hasn’t. 

You lose flexibility 

Unless your bank only has a single transfer partner (e.g. OCBC), you’re losing out on flexibility by transferring points to KrisFlyer. This rules out the possibility of choosing a different frequent flyer program later on, to take advantage of its sweet spots or other transfer promotions.

For example, Citibank PremierMiles cardholders can choose from 10 other frequent flyer programs in addition to KrisFlyer — you could put your miles in EVA Air, Turkish Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways and more. By making the transfer, you’re locking yourself into the KrisFlyer ecosystem.

Of course, this isn’t an issue if you only ever see yourself using KrisFlyer, but isn’t it always good to have a Plan B?

My take

The last flight I took was in February this year, and since then the credit card points have been piling up without an outlet. I’ll definitely be converting a good number of them through this promotion since I think it’ll be some time before we see it offered again. However, I’ll still be keeping at least 30% to 40% of my points on the bank side, so I have the flexibility of using other frequent flyer programs. 

Some people may be concerned about Singapore Airlines devaluing KrisFlyer miles in the near future, but it’s my belief these fears are overblown. Airlines devalue award programs when miles users compete for seats with customers who are willing to pay cash. With load factors at all time lows, we’re unlikely to see this scenario for at least 2 or 3 years. The opportunity cost of offering an award seat now is close to zero, and it makes sense for airlines to encourage members to burn their miles during this period. 

But in any case, should the worst happen and a devaluation take place, isn’t it better to transfer miles now so you have a 15% buffer come what may? 

Conclusion

The Singapore Airlines 15% transfer bonus is available to all KrisFlyer members in Singapore regardless of which credit cards they hold (except cobrand cards), so I’d urge you to give it some consideration. 

If you want to make a transfer, be sure to do it at least a week before the 27 December 2020 deadline as isn’t immediate. Remember: if your points show up in KrisFlyer after that date, you won’t be eligible for the 15% bonus miles.

Want to earn that extra 15% bonus miles but don’t have an air miles card? Apply for one through our easy-to-use comparison tool below and you could get rewarded with attractive prizes and cash! 

*Rewards may change at any time. Terms and conditions apply. 

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