More 3X bonus miles with Kris+ till 25 July – earn up to 13 mpd

The excellent Kris+ triple miles promotion at over 150 merchants across Singapore may have ended on 11th July, but the SIA ‘lifestyle app’ is back with a smaller promotion at 15 new Kris+ partners, with earn rates up to 9 mpd on offer between now and 25th July 2021.

As usual, that means the ability to effectively earn up to 13 mpd using the right bonus miles earning credit card when making your purchases.

You’ll also earn 3 Elite miles or 1 PPS Value per dollar spent at these merchants during the promotional period as part of KrisFlyer’s offer to unlock status credits without flying, to either retain or upgrade your membership tier for a year.

New merchants bonus (until 25 July)

Here are the 15 new Kris+ merchants participating in this bonus miles campaign when you earn miles through the app on your in-store purchases.

  Dining

Merchant	MCC	Usual rate	Promo rate
Mimi Restaurant	5812	3 mpd	9 mpd
UNA at Alkaff Mansion	5812	3 mpd	9 mpd
25 Degrees Burger, Wine & Liquor Bar	7011	2 mpd	6 mpd
Ginett Restaurant & Wine Bar	7011	2 mpd	6 mpd
Nuodle	5814	2 mpd	6 mpd
TONITO	5812	2 mpd	6 mpd
Bean’s Party Dessert	?????	1 mpd	3 mpd

  Retail

Merchant	MCC	Usual rate	Promo rate
HoneyWorld	5499	3 mpd	9 mpd
The 1872 Clipper Tea Co.	5499	2 mpd	6 mpd

  Services

Merchant	MCC	Usual rate	Promo rate
EA Detailer	7542	2 mpd	6 mpd
The Big Blow	7230	2 mpd	6 mpd
TONI&GUY	7230	1 mpd	3 mpd

  Wellness

Merchant	MCC	Usual rate	Promo rate
Skinlab The Medical Spa	7298	3 mpd	9 mpd
Jyan Yoga Studio	8299	2 mpd	6 mpd
Devarana Wellness	7298	1 mpd	3 mpd

Note that MCC codes are subject to change and sometimes vary between the Visa and Mastercard networks, even for the same merchant. These are based on the best information we have at the time of writing.

The earn rate shown on the Kris+ app already reflects the bonus rate at these outlets.

Two earn methods

Kris+ now has two distinct payment methods when you earn miles for purchases with a participating merchant.

Online method

(Apple / Google Pay)

• Scan merchant’s QR code
• Enter amount
• Select to pay via Apple Pay / Google Pay
• Click “Confirm”
• Miles earned and can be transferred to KrisFlyer

Offline method

(Card / cash)

• Tap “Earn” button
• Enter amount and click “Next”
• Merchant scans QR code on your device
• Miles earned and can be transferred to KrisFlyer
• Pay merchant directly by card or cash

It doesn’t matter which earn method you use during this promotion, the bonus earn rates shown above will apply (it didn’t matter how you paid for the recent in-app 3X promo either, they just wanted you to think it did!).

Remember there are two credit cards awarding bonus miles for contactless payment, for example, which exclude in-app payments made via Apple Pay and Google Pay from their bonus category, and that means earning 0.4 mpd, not 4 mpd, for the transaction.

In these cases you clearly want to be using the “offline method” to accrue the 3X miles, then tap your mobile device directly with the merchant (in the case of the PPV card) or tap either your mobile device or your physical card (in the case of the VS card), for the 4 mpd element from UOB.

Which card to use

You’ll want to be using a credit card offering a 4 mpd bonus rate when making payment at these merchants wherever you can, which you’ll then earn separately and in addition for up to 13 mpd in total (9 mpd from Kris+ and 4 mpd in bank points).

Whether you use Apple Pay, Google Pay or make a direct credit card payment to the merchant, Kris+ recently confirmed to us that the transaction will code under the applicable Merchant Category Code (MCC) for that outlet.

Simple option:    Contactless

If you hold one of the following credit cards, your simplest option is to earn your highest bonus rate by making a contactless payment with the merchant, while also scanning to earn KrisPay miles through the Kris+ app.

Remember that’s the old-fashioned “offline” way – not using the in-app Apple Pay / Google Pay function (except for the HSBC Revolution, where it makes no difference).

Card	Earn Rate		Notes / MCCs
		Offline method
UOB PPV (see our review)	0.4 mpd	4 mpd	On mobile contactless transactions (don’t tap the physical card), capped at S$1,110 per calendar month.
UOB Visa Signature (see our review)	0.4 mpd	4 mpd	On contactless transactions, subject to a minimum spend of $1,000 in local transactions per statement period, capped at S$2,000 per statement period.
HSBC Revolution (see our review)	4 mpd		On contactless or mobile wallet payments at specific outlets by MCC, capped at S$1,000 per calendar month.
			MCC 5499 MCC 5812	MCC 5814 MCC 7011

More complex:    MCC-specific

The following cards have slightly more complicated MCC restrictions for in-store transactions, but all will award between 3 mpd and 4 mpd for spend in the specific MCCs listed (only those participating in the promotion are shown).

You can reference the participating merchant tables above to check the MCC before choosing which card to use.

For these cards, it doesn’t matter whether you use Apple Pay / Google Pay or the “offline method” when earning, the bonus rate will apply for payments in a valid MCC.

Card	Earn Rate	Notes / MCCs
UOB Lady’s UOB Lady’s Solitaire	4 mpd	Capped at S$1,000 per month (Lady’s) or S$3,000 per month (Lady’s Solitaire). Subject to your specified quarterly bonus category, including:
		Dining:	MCC 5499 MCC 5812 MCC 5814
		Beauty:	MCC 7230 MCC 7298
Maybank Horizon VS (see our review)	3.2 mpd	On all local dining transactions (single MCC only) with a total spend in any category of at least S$300 in the same calendar month.
		MCC 5812
KrisFlyer UOB (see our review)	3 mpd	On all dining transactions, with no cap, subject to S$500+ spend on SIA transactions in your membership year (bonus 1.8 mpd on dining credited after the end of your membership year).
		MCC 5812	MCC 5814

For the DBS WWMC card, awarding 4 mpd on up to S$2,000 of online spend per calendar month, the bonus miles should apply, in theory, when paying at a merchant using Apple Pay or Google Pay via the Kris+ app.

You may not wish to risk it at this stage, especially for a large payment, until we have some data points on this.

  Still unsure?

If you’re still not sure whether your bonus miles credit card is eligible for the merchant of your choice, our advice is to use your best card for general spend miles accrual, especially if the transaction is substantial.

For smaller amounts you may wish to take the chance, but remember most bonus category spend credit cards earn just 0.4 mpd when you make transactions that the bank decides don’t qualify.

Don’t forget to transfer straight to KrisFlyer miles

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.

You can do so later (within 7 days), but why wait?

Remember that 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, for example, 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.

Summary

We’ve been spoiled with an excellent triple miles earning offer for over 150 merchants in the last few weeks with Kris+, which hopefully many of you were able to take good advantage of.

This latest offer is certainly trimmed down in comparison, but nonetheless it’s good for up to 13 mpd in total earning including your credit card points if you have any spend planned at these merchants over the next two weeks.

Do be careful not to use Kris+ in-app payment via Apple Pay or Google Pay with the UOB PPV or UOB VS cards, since you’ll only earn 0.4 mpd, but instead revert to the “offline payment” method for 4 mpd, while still enjoying the 3X bonus miles earn rate under this promotion.

Remember to transfer your KrisPay miles immediately into the KrisFlyer programme after earning, since if they become partially used by mistake or you forget after 7 days, they’ll be stuck in the Kris+ app, where their value is dismal.

(Cover Photo: 25 Degrees Burger Bar)