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We refreshed our Top Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses page today to reflect the latest welcome offers on Singapore miles earning credit cards. Nothing too exciting to report, notably we’re still awaiting a sign-up bonus from Citi for their PremierMiles cards, which has been absent for a while now.
KrisFlyer Amex Cards
One sign-up bonus that has been enhanced recently is for the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer American Express and American Express Ascend cards.
Remember this is for new cardholders only – you are only entitled to receive the Amex sign-up bonus once for either the standard (blue) or Ascend card. You will not be eligible for any bonus if you have previously received one for either of these cards.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer American Express (Blue)
CLICK HERE for our full review
You’ll now earn up to 25,000 bonus KrisFlyer miles for spending at least S$5,000 in the first 3 months of card membership on the SIA KrisFlyer Amex (Blue) card, up from 13,000 miles. The deal runs until 30th September 2018 and the KrisFlyer miles bonus is structured as follows:
- 7,000 miles upon first spend on the card.
- 6,000 miles on the first S$2,000 spent on the card in the first 3 months.
- 12,000 miles on the next S$3,000 spend on the card in the first 3 months.
- 25,000 miles total bonus, provided you spend at least S$5,000 in the first 3 months.
Remember the SIA KrisFlyer Amex has first year fee waiver, meaning if you don’t already hold an American Express card in Singapore you can take advantage of this welcome offer and earn 25,000 miles for free, provided you have at least $5,000 spending to do in the next 3 months.
You’ll also earn the (rather miserable) 1.1 KrisFlyer miles per S$1 for local spend on this card in addition to the bonus, so for S$5,000 local spend you’ll also net 5,500 KrisFlyer miles for the spending meaning a total earning of 30,500 miles (equivalent of 6.1 miles per dollar).
That’s an excellent rate especially if you’re unable to take advantage of the Citi 8mpd using Apple Pay promotion or have a big-ticket transaction to make at a retailer not accepting Apple Pay.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer American Express Ascend
CLICK HERE for our full review
Here the deal is worth more miles but the spend required is higher and the annual fee is not waived in the first year meaning you’re ‘paying’ for these bonus miles off the bat.
Like the blue card this deal runs until 30th September 2018 and for Ascend the KrisFlyer miles bonus is structured as follows:
- 7,000 miles upon first spend on the card.
- 13,000 miles on the first S$5,000 spent on the card in the first 3 months.
- 16,000 miles on the next S$5,000 spend on the card in the first 3 months.
- 36,000 miles total bonus, provided you spend at least S$10,000 in the first 3 months.
The annual fee of S$337.05 is payable for this card meaning you’re effectively ‘buying’ KrisFlyer miles for 0.94 cents each (with a S$10,000+ spend in 3 months) or 1.69 cents each (with a S$5,000 – S$9,999 spend in 3 months).
A very good rate in the first instance, not as interesting in the second case but still ahead of our upper limit for buying miles of 2 cents each.
Like with the blue card you’ll also earn for your spend, 1.2 KrisFlyer miles per S$1 for local transactions in this case, in addition to the bonus. For S$10,000 local spend you’ll also net 12,000 KrisFlyer miles in this category meaning a total earning of 48,000 miles (equivalent of 4.8 miles per dollar).
That effectively brings the cost per mile down to 0.70 cents, though arguably you could easily be earning 1.2 miles per dollar on an existing credit card for no additional cost so it’s probably unfair to view it that way – only the bonus miles are really relevant unless you don’t currently hold a miles earning card at all.
Summary
If you’ve been waiting for a good sign-up offer on the otherwise lacklustre Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Amex co-brand cards now might be the time to take advantage.
Remember to check out our full reviews of the blue card and the Ascend card to learn about all the features before making a decision.
The entry-level blue card gives the biggest return here with no annual fee in the first year, the Ascend would really only be of interest if you were desperate for the extra 11,000 miles and had a large spend to push through the card in the next 3 months. Sadly neither card is worth keeping long-term.
All Current Sign-Up Bonuses
As we mentioned above there are no major changes on the welcome promotions for the other Singapore miles earning credit cards this month.
Standard Chartered Visa Infinite still stands out with a 35,000 mile welcome bonus requiring no minimum spend, which works out at 1.68 cents per mile after the (rather hefty) S$588.50 annual card fee is paid. The income requirement is also very high at $150k+.
Here’s a rundown of the other miles sign-up bonuses currently on offer, which you can also see at our regularly updated Top Sign-up Bonuses page – worth bookmarking that one as we don’t make a new post for all of the smaller changes but they may still interest you.
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Amex | ||
|
Sign-up Bonus: | 20,000 / 36,000 miles |
| Annual Fee: | S$337.05 | |
| Cost per mile: | 1.69¢ / 0.94¢ | |
| Min Spend: | S$5,000 / S$10,000 in 3 months | |
| Min Income: | S$50,000/yr | |
| HSBC Visa Infinite | ||
|
Sign-up Bonus: | 35,000 miles |
| Annual Fee: | S$650.00 | |
| Cost per mile: | 1.86¢ | |
| Min Spend: | None | |
| Min Income: | S$120,000/yr | |
| Standard Chartered Visa Infinite | ||
|
Sign-up Bonus: | 35,000 miles |
| Annual Fee: | S$588.50 | |
| Cost per mile: | 1.68¢ | |
| Min Spend: | None | |
| Min Income: | S$150,000/yr | |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Amex | ||
|
Sign-up Bonus: | 13,000 / 25,000 miles |
| Annual Fee: | Free in Year 1 | |
| Cost per mile: | Zero | |
| Min Spend: | S$2,000 / S$5,000 in 3 months | |
| Min Income: | S$30,000/yr | |
| Citi Prestige MasterCard | ||
|
Sign-up Bonus: | 25,000 miles |
| Annual Fee: | S$535.00 | |
| Cost per mile: | 2.14¢ | |
| Min Spend: | None | |
| Min Income: | S$120,000/yr | |
| OCBC Voyage Visa Infinite | ||
|
Sign-up Bonus: | 15,000 miles |
| Annual Fee: | S$488.00 | |
| Cost per mile: | 3.25¢ | |
| Min Spend: | None | |
| Min Income: | S$120,000/yr | |
| American Express Rewards Card | ||
|
Sign-up Bonus: | 11,666 miles |
| Annual Fee: | S$53.50 | |
| Cost per mile: | 0.46¢ | |
| Min Spend: | S$500 per month for first 3 months | |
| Min Income: | S$30,000/yr | |
| UOB PRVI Miles | ||
|
Sign-up Bonus: | 10,000 miles |
| Annual Fee: | Free in Year 1 | |
| Cost per mile: | Zero | |
| Min Spend: | S$6,000 in 3 months | |
| Min Income: | S$30,000/yr | |
(Cover Photo: Masahiro Takagi)