Singapore Airlines rolls out Kris+ as its new KrisPay lifestyle app

Singapore Airlines has a new app for us all, or perhaps more accurately an old one in new clothes bearing a new name, with confirmation that KrisPay has now become a ‘background’ currency for use in the airline’s latest lifestyle and rewards app – Kris+.

“Kris+ gives you more of everything you love, including +more privileges and rewards, as well as +more ways to earn and redeem KrisFlyer miles from your everyday purchases.

“Discover personalized privileges based on your interests and location by turning on location services and looking out for Kris+ options to earn and redeem miles at our partners!”

Singapore Airlines

What happened to KrisPay?

Nothing really! KrisPay, which was launched in July 2018 as a way to “to instantaneously pay for your everyday purchases at participating merchants with KrisPay miles” using a QR code via the mobile app, is still the currency of the newly rebranded Kris+ lifestyle app, and effectively works exactly like it did before.

What you’ll now need to think of is Kris+ as the app and KrisPay miles as the currency.

“KrisPay is now the wallet for your new lifestyle app – Kris+ that comes with enhancements to +more joy to your every day.”

Singapore Airlines

Has the value changed?

No. Thankfully it hasn’t become poorer, but the bad news is it hasn’t got any better either! A KrisPay mile when used in the Kris+ app is still worth just 0.67 Singapore cents, or about a third of the value of a KrisFlyer mile.

This continues to represent a very poor deal when compared to keeping (and using) your miles in the KrisFlyer scheme, for the vast majority of our readers.

Some of the poorest value KrisFlyer redemptions, such as offsetting a full-fare Singapore Airlines or SilkAir ticket, will still get you 1.02 cents per mile, or you’ll get 0.95 cents per mile for offsetting the cost of a Scoot ticket.

Even the KrisShop will get you 0.8 cents per mile, though still awful that’s almost 20% better than KrisPay!

Here are the basics of spending KrisPay miles:

• 1 KrisFlyer mile is equivalent to 1 KrisPay mile.
• KrisFlyer miles, once transferred to KrisPay, cannot be moved back into KrisFlyer (don’t experiment with this!). They also have a 6-month validity in KrisPay, so if you transfer or earn on 1st January 2021 you need to use those KrisPay miles by 30th June 2021, otherwise they will expire.
• KrisPay can be used to partially offset the cost of a purchase if you wish, however the same dreadful rate applies.

Earning is still the only option we recommend

As a quick refresher, we never recommend using KrisPay miles to offset your purchases due to the terrible value you’ll get.

In all other cases though, you should only be earning KrisPay miles through Kris+ at eligible merchants, then transferring them straight into KrisFlyer miles.

Kris+ now has a wide range of eligible KrisPay earning merchants, offering typically 1 mpd or 2 mpd into your account when you make payment, though some merchants have slightly higher or lower earn rates. Purchases must be in-store, as your KrisPay miles earning is through QR code.

To earn, tap ‘Wallet’ then ‘Earn’ on the Kris+ app, enter the amount paid, then show the QR code to the cashier.

Generally it’s quite a decent bonus, and any additional miles are welcome if you would have been shopping at that merchant anyway.

There are also occasional bonus miles offers at specific merchants to keep an eye out for, like up to 6 mpd on your morning coffee in November 2019 and up to 9 mpd at PasarBella in August this year, on top of your regular credit card points.

The most important thing about earning

KrisPay miles earned through Kris+ can only be transferred to your KrisFlyer account within 7 days of the transaction. To do so, simply tap on the “Transfer to KrisFlyer” button which will appear on the miles earned confirmation screen or transaction details screen.

KrisPay miles earned per transaction can only be transferred to your account in their entirety. If you earned 100 KrisPay miles from a single Kris+ transaction, the full 100 KrisPay miles must be transferred to your KrisFlyer account. If you have already spent some of your KrisPay miles earned, a partial transfer option is not available.

We therefore recommend transferring to KrisFlyer immediately following any Kris+ earning transaction, in case you either forget or make a mistake later.

Some merchant benefits are available

Kris+ isn’t all about earning or redeeming KrisPay miles. The ‘Privileges’ section also contains some discounts and special offers at a range of merchants, including those not otherwise participating in the KrisPay scheme.

For example, PPS Club members can use the Kris+ app to redeem a complimentary glass of Champagne (for each of up to 6 guests) and 10% off à la carte menu items at VUE restaurant, though that merchant does not allow earning or redemption of KrisPay miles through Kris+.

These benefits can then be redeemed in-app and shown to the merchant.

Here’s an example for a merchant which does allow you to earn KrisPay miles through Kris+ for your spend, but also has a discount offer, in this case 10% off weekday food and drinks.

All you have to do here is scan to redeem the discount, then remember to present the cashier with your QR code when paying by cash, debit card or credit card, to earn 2 mpd on the post-discount total, giving you two benefits at the same merchant.

For example, a S$100 weekday drinks bill at Southbridge will be discounted to S$90 thanks to the Kris+ app. You can then earn 180 KrisPay miles through the Kris+ app (S$90 x 2 mpd), which you can (and should) instantly convert to 180 KrisFlyer miles. If you’re paying by credit card, you’ll also accrue your usual points that way too.

Just remember not to pay using KrisPay miles, unless you have some ‘stuck’ in Kris+ for whatever reason.

Kris+ also has an interactive map function, allowing you to identify merchants in your vicinity and quickly see earning rates or applicable discounts, etc. That’s useful now that there are well over 100 merchants signed up.

Partner conversions are still supported

If you were using KrisPay as an instant method to convert your DBS Points or UOB UNI$ into KrisFlyer miles, or keeping this option in your back pocket for orphan miles or a last-minute top-up, good news is there’s no change here either.

This useful option should still remain your secondary method for making transfers, with a 15% poorer transfer ratio into KrisFlyer than you’ll get by transferring directly using the bank’s own transfer method, a process usually taking only a few days.

There are also some other things to be careful of, like immediately transferring the whole converted miles total into KrisFlyer to ensure they don’t get stuck as KrisPay miles in Kris+.

See our articles for points conversion via KrisPay for full details:

• DBS Points KrisFlyer via KrisPay
• UOB UNI$ KrisFlyer via KrisPay

Kris+ app

If you’re already a KrisPay user with the mobile app installed on your device, you should find it has automatically migrated to the Kris+ version, or will do so at the next update.

If you don’t have the app already, you can download it at the links below.

Summary

Kris+ is effectively SIA’s new lifestyle app for KrisPay miles, and continues to be a poor value way to use up unwanted or expiring KrisFlyer miles in the process.

So far the app is effectively a rebranding of KrisPay, while retaining KrisPay miles as its ‘currency’.

You can still:

• use KrisPay miles at a terrible rate compared to using them in the KrisFlyer programme,
• earn KrisFlyer miles via Kris+ at a decent rate, provided you transfer them across within 7 days,
• instantly convert points from two major banks to KrisFlyer miles at a 15% poorer rate than doing so directly, via the Kris+ app.

For most of our readers Kris+ is just the new interface for earning additional miles at a variety of merchants across Singapore, in addition to those accrued using your credit card as usual.

It will be interesting to see whether more ‘privilege’ benefits for Kris+ users are rolled out through the app, even including merchants who don’t want to participate in the KrisPay payment or earning programme itself.

Without any valuation change, we continue to almost never suggest using KrisPay miles to offset your purchase due to the terrible value offered, so stick to earning miles and taking advantage of the various discounts using Kris+.

If you’re new to KrisPay / Kris+, you should definitely be looking into using this as a way to top up your miles balance from everyday purchases, like many of us have been doing using KrisPay for the last year or so, especially now that the merchant list is far more extensive than it was in the early days.

Remember as always to transfer any KrisPay miles earned or transferred from bank points in their entirety straight to your KrisFlyer account, so they don’t get stuck in Kris+.

(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)