Credit Cards Deals KrisFlyer

Kris+ slashes earn rate for taxi rides to just 0.33 mpd – now completely pointless

Earning an extra 3 mpd on taxi rides in Singapore has had its day - with Kris+ now expecting you to pay upwards of 5 cents per mile to earn a measly 0.33 mpd. Avoid!

Back in December 2022, it became possible to earn KrisFlyer miles for taxi rides in Singapore through a partnership between the Kris+ app and ComfortDelGro, Singapore’s largest taxi operator.

To celebrate the launch, a promotional rate of 3 mpd was offered for all bookings until 31st March 2023, after which the rate was set to drop by a whopping 89% to a measly 0.33 mpd (1 mile earned per S$3 spent).

ADVERTISEMENT

However, last month the promotional rate was extended, with no specified end date in sight.

(Image: Singapore Airlines)

The 3 mpd rate has now ended

Unfortunately the promotional 3 mpd rate wasn’t set to last, despite our hopes that it might become year-round, with Kris+ now offering only 1 mile per S$3 spent on taxi rides booked via the app – a 0.33 mpd earn rate, effective from today (1st May 2023).

Before and after. A S$21 taxi ride earned 63 miles yesterday, but now earns only 7 miles

KrisPay miles are credited at the end of the trip, and you can then transfer them across to KrisFlyer miles instantly, or within seven days.

The platform fee now kills it

We never complain about ‘free’ miles, but there’s a problem with the Kris+ taxi portal – the miles aren’t free.

That’s because Kris+ adds a fixed platform fee of S$0.30 per booking, compared to simply booking directly using the CDG Zig app, which is fee-free.

Effectively, you are paying 30 cents to earn the additional miles, compared to a ‘standard’ CDG Zig booking.

That was a no-brainer while the earn rate of 3 mpd was in effect. For a S$10 taxi ride earning 30 miles the additional S$0.30 meant you were ‘buying’ miles at 1 cent each, and the cost per mile diluted even further for more expensive trips, with more miles earned but the same fixed platform fee added.

ADVERTISEMENT

With the earn rate now slashed by 89% to just 0.33 mpd, the equation shifts significantly, with that same S$10 taxi ride only getting you only 3 miles – an eye-watering cost of 10 cents per mile when you pay this non-optional charge for bookings via Kris+!

In fact it’s now simply not worth using the Kris+ app to make your taxi booking until the fare is upwards of S$50-60, as shown in the following table.

Cost per mile for Kris+ taxi bookings

CDG Zig Cost Booking via Kris+ Cost per Mile
(Kris+)
Service Fee Miles Awarded
S$8 + S$0.30 2 15.00¢
S$10 + S$0.30 3 10.00¢
S$15 + S$0.30 5 6.00¢
S$20 + S$0.30 6 5.00¢
S$30 + S$0.30 10 3.00¢
S$40 + S$0.30 13 2.31¢
S$50 + S$0.30 16 1.88¢
S$60 + S$0.30 20 1.50¢

Even a taxi from Changi Airport to Tuas Checkpoint costs around S$43 – a trip that will now net you a measly 14 miles when booked via the Kris+ app, at an additional cost of 30 cents – 2.14 cents per mile.

That’s still buying miles way over the odds.

Effectively, there is now simply no reason to use the Kris+ taxi booking function, since it means buying miles significantly above the rate you can realistically redeem them at.

One exception might be in order to top up your KrisFlyer account instantly by only a few miles, if you’re just short of a redemption threshold for example, but we would suggest it’s easier (and better value) to do so by making a purchase at one of over 400 Kris+ merchants island-wide, like a bubble tea purchase at Gong Cha, for example!

Do note that Kris+ will also hold an S$8 surcharge in addition to the quoted fare on your payment card to cover things like ERP charges (even for routes that clearly won’t incur them).

Actual payment of the final amount will be collected on completion of your trip, with the S$8 refunded if no additional charges were incurred.

Earn rates at 70+ merchants were also cut today

As we reported in late March this year, Kris+ is also cutting the regular earn rate at over 70 of its 400+ merchants across Singapore, by up to 67% in some cases.

This has also taken effect from today, 1st May 2023, and now sees merchants split across six different earn rates, instead of the previous three.

Kris+ Earning Rates

Earn Rate Merchants
Till 30th April 2023 From 1st May 2023
9 mpd 179 164
7 mpd 13
6 mpd 208 168
5 mpd 11
3 mpd 14 31
1 mpd 14
Total 401 401

The good news is that the majority of merchants – 82% of them in fact, aren’t seeing any change to their earn rate. In some cases, the adjustment is also relatively minor (like those moving from 6 mpd to 5 mpd).

Overall, the average earn rate across all 401 Kris+ merchants has dropped from 7.2 mpd to 6.8 mpd on 1st May 2023.

ADVERTISEMENT

Here’s an up-to-date full rundown of all Kris+ merchants by category and earn rate (click to expand).

  Dining

Merchant   Earn rate
25 Degrees Burger, Wine & Liquor Bar 9 mpd
5 ON 25 9 mpd
665o F 9 mpd
Aether House 9 mpd
Alley on 25 9 mpd
Alma by Juan Amador 9 mpd
Amò 9 mpd
Anti:dote 9 mpd
Art 9 mpd
Arteastiq (Jewel Changi Airport) 9 mpd
Arteastiq (Mandarin Gallery) 9 mpd
Arteastiq Bistro 9 mpd
Asian Market Cafe 9 mpd
Atico Lounge 9 mpd
atout 9 mpd
Atrium 9 mpd
Bacha Coffee 9 mpd
BAKALAKI Greek Taverna 9 mpd
Bar Square 9 mpd
BBQ Express 9 mpd
Botanico at The Garage 9 mpd
Braci 9 mpd
Cajun on Wheels (Plaza Singapura) 9 mpd
Clove 9 mpd
Club 5 9 mpd
Delibowl 9 mpd
Edge 9 mpd
Extra Virgin Pizza 9 mpd
FIRE 9 mpd
FLNT 9 mpd
GEMMA 9 mpd
Ginett Restaurant & Wine Bar 9 mpd
Ginger 9 mpd
Hai Tien Lo 9 mpd
Honeymill 9 mpd
Island Creamery 9 mpd
Jiang-Nan Chun 9 mpd
Keyaki 9 mpd
L’Angelus 9 mpd
Les Bouchons 9 mpd
Levant 9 mpd
LeVeL 33 9 mpd
Li Bai (Sheraton Towers) 9 mpd
Lime (PARKROYAL Pickering) 9 mpd
Lime House 9 mpd
Little Italy Salumeria 9 mpd
Manna Bistro & Grill 9 mpd
Mellower Coffee 9 mpd
Mikuni 9 mpd
Mimi Restaurant 9 mpd
Mitsu Sushi Bar 9 mpd
MONTI 9 mpd
Mr Stork 9 mpd
Nobu Singapore 9 mpd
Nuodle 9 mpd
One-Ninety Bar 9 mpd
Origin Grill 9 mpd
OverEasy 9 mpd
One-Ninety Restaurant 9 mpd
Pacific Marketplace 9 mpd
Paper Rice 9 mpd
Pastaria Abate 9 mpd
Peach Blossoms 9 mpd
Peppermint 9 mpd
Pig N Whistle British Pub 9 mpd
Portman's Bar 9 mpd
Prego 9 mpd
Restaurant JAG 9 mpd
Ristorante Da Valentino 9 mpd
Si Chuan Dou Hua 9 mpd
SKAI Bar 9 mpd
Skyline Bar 9 mpd
SKAI Restaurant 9 mpd
Solo Ristorante 9 mpd
Southbridge 9 mpd
Spice Brasserie 9 mpd
Supresso 9 mpd
Tapas,24 6 mpd
The Coconut Club 9 mpd
The Dining Room (Sheraton Towers) 9 mpd
The Nursery Cafe & Bar 9 mpd
The Spot 9 mpd
The Stamford Brasserie 9 mpd
The Summerhouse 9 mpd
The Xiang Pavilion 9 mpd
The White Tiffin 9 mpd
The Whole Kitchen 9 mpd
Tian Fu Tea Room 9 mpd
TONITO 9 mpd
UNA at Alkaff Mansion 9 mpd
WAKANUI Grill 9 mpd
Window on the Park 9 mpd
Wooloomooloo Steakhouse 9 mpd
Xin Cuisine 9 mpd
Dancing Crab 7 mpd
Douraku Sushi 7 mpd
Duckland 7 mpd
Lao Beijing 7 mpd
LingZhi Vegetarian 7 mpd
QIN Restaurant & Bar 7 mpd
Slappy Cakes 7 mpd
Tong Le Private Dining 7 mpd
Tung Lok Peking Duck 7 mpd
Tung Lok Seafood 7 mpd
Tung Lok Signatures 7 mpd
Tung Lok Teahouse 7 mpd
USHIO Sukiyaki & Sake Bar 7 mpd
19 Tea 6 mpd
108 Matcha Saro 6 mpd
Aburi-EN 6 mpd
Alegria SIngapore 6 mpd
Andersen’s of Denmark 6 mpd
Anglo Indian Cafe & Bar 6 mpd
Azur, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport 6 mpd
BAM! Restaurant 6 mpd
Bangkok Jam 6 mpd
Barossa Steak & Grill 6 mpd
Bee Cheng Hiang 6 mpd
Bee Cheng Hiang Gallery 6 mpd
Beans Party Dessert 6 mpd
Beppu Menkan 6 mpd
Bistro G 6 mpd
BRINE 6 mpd
Cafe Monochrome 6 mpd
Cedele 6 mpd
Cheeselads 6 mpd
Chingu Dining 6 mpd
CO CHUNG 6 mpd
Co+Nut+ink 6 mpd
COCA 6 mpd
DOCO Donburi 6 mpd
Dopo Teatro 6 mpd
Edith Patisserie 6 mpd
Evan's Kitch 6 mpd
EGA Juice Clinic 6 mpd
EN Dining 6 mpd
Enjoy Eating House 6 mpd
Four Seasons Durians 6 mpd
Garrett Popcorn Shops 6 mpd
Geometry 6 mpd
Golden Moments 6 mpd
Gong Cha 6 mpd
Greenhouse 6 mpd
Grin Affair 6 mpd
Haakon Superfood and Juice 6 mpd
Huggs Coffee 6 mpd
Ikigai Izakaya 6 mpd
iVegan 6 mpd
JU95 6 mpd
Joy Luck Teahouse 6 mpd
Kabuke 6 mpd
Kam's Roast 6 mpd
Kazo Singapore 6 mpd
Krispy Kreme 6 mpd
La Lola Churreria 6 mpd
Little Caesars Pizza 6 mpd
llaollao 6 mpd
Maison Kayser 6 mpd
MediumRare by Saveur 6 mpd
Menya Kokoro 6 mpd
Mrs Pho 6 mpd
MyEureka 6 mpd
Niku Kappo 6 mpd
O Happi Place 6 mpd
Paris Baguette 6 mpd
Patisserie CLE 6 mpd
Patisserie G 6 mpd
Polar Puffs & Cakes 6 mpd
Quinn's Irish Tavern 6 mpd
Red House Seafood 6 mpd
Rocku Yakinuku 6 mpd
Sakunthala’s Food Palace 6 mpd
SARAI 6 mpd
Saveur 6 mpd
Srisun Express 6 mpd
Straits Chinese Restaurant 6 mpd
Suki-Ya KIN 6 mpd
Sushi Airways 6 mpd
Sushi Jiro Keppel Bay 6 mpd
Sushi Jiro Parkroyal Collection MB 6 mpd
Tajimaya Yakiniku 6 mpd
Tanglin Cookhouse 6 mpd
TANOKE 6 mpd
Tee Deck 6 mpd
The Coffee Academics 6 mpd
The Rebel Company Cafe & Bar 6 mpd
The Meatery 6 mpd
Toss and Turn 6 mpd
TP Tea 6 mpd
True Blue Cuisine 6 mpd
Tsuta Japanese Dining 6 mpd
Vibes Cafe 6 mpd
Vineyard 6 mpd
Waku-Shin Yakiniku 6 mpd
Wanpo Tea Shop 6 mpd
Well Played Cafe 6 mpd
Wine & Chef 6 mpd
YAKINIQUEST 6 mpd
Yenly Yours Dessert 6 mpd
Zaffron Kitchen 6 mpd
Beauty in The Pot 5 mpd
Canton Noodle & Congee House 5 mpd
Canton Paradise 5 mpd
Kind Kones 5 mpd
Le Shrimp Ramen 5 mpd
LeNu Check Wai's Noodle Bar 5 mpd
Paradise Classic 5 mpd
Paradise Dynasty 5 mpd
Paradise Hotpot 5 mpd
Paradise Teochew 5 mpd
Seafood Paradise 5 mpd
Taste Paradise 5 mpd
ASAP & Co. 3 mpd
Cali 3 mpd
Canadian Pizza 3 mpd
Cherry & Oak 3 mpd
D'Cuisines 3 mpd
Famous Amos 3 mpd
First Grill Signature 3 mpd
Fish Market Sakuraya 3 mpd
Honolulu Cafe 3 mpd
JINJJA Chicken 3 mpd
Joo Bar 3 mpd
Konyo 3 mpd
Octapas 3 mpd
Overscoop 3 mpd
Queic by Olivia 3 mpd
Ryan's Kitchen 3 mpd
Social Place 3 mpd
Swatow Restaurant 3 mpd
Tongue Top Lanzhou Beef Noodles 3 mpd
iSTEAKS 2 mpd
iSTEAKS Reserved 2 mpd
SIMPLEburger 2 mpd

  Activities

Merchant   Earn rate
Kiztopia 9 mpd
The Ballet & Music Company 9 mpd
The Par Club 9 mpd
Trickeye @ Southside 9 mpd
Virtual Room 9 mpd
AIRZONE 6 mpd
iFly Singapore 6 mpd
Madame Tussauds Singapore 6 mpd
Mega Adventure 6 mpd
NERF Action Xperience 6 mpd
National Gallery Singapore 6 mpd
Ola Beach Club 6 mpd
Sentosa Activities 6 mpd
Spin Paint House 6 mpd
The Royal Albatross 6 mpd
Tree Art 6 mpd
Mount Faber Leisure (Singapore Cable Car) 1 mpd

  Retail

Merchant Earn rate
Affordable Wines 9 mpd
Bratpack 9 mpd
Breitling 9 mpd
Chagaan Cashmere 9 mpd
Chokmah 9 mpd
Coldwear 9 mpd
Creative Jewellery Studio 9 mpd
CYC Made to Measure 9 mpd
Dear Collective 9 mpd
Delsey Paris 9 mpd
Eden and Elie 9 mpd
Farm Frozen 9 mpd
GROHE 9 mpd
Herschel Supply Co 9 mpd
HoneyWorld 9 mpd
ipse ipsa ipsum 9 mpd
Janice Wong 9 mpd
KEVIN SEAH 9 mpd
Kilogramme 9 mpd
LeCaine Gems 9 mpd
Little Big Garden 9 mpd
LPB Market 9 mpd
Maharaja's Tailors 9 mpd
Mayer 9 mpd
Nila Aromatherapy 9 mpd
Penhaligon's 9 mpd
Perk by Kate 9 mpd
PUMA 9 mpd
RISIS 9 mpd
So France 9 mpd
Softhaus 9 mpd
State Property 9 mpd
Sunnystep 9 mpd
The 1872 Clipper Tea Co. 9 mpd
The Nursery Singapore 9 mpd
The Shirt Bar 9 mpd
Timbuk2 9 mpd
Travel Zone 9 mpd
Victorinox 9 mpd
808 Cycles 6 mpd
Adertek Baby & Kids 6 mpd
AIBI 6 mpd
All India Supermart 6 mpd
Angra Wine & Spirit 6 mpd
Asics 6 mpd
Birkenstock 6 mpd
Bottles & Bottles 6 mpd
Bowers & Wilkins 6 mpd
Bynd Artisan 6 mpd
Candy Empire 6 mpd
Capitol Optical 6 mpd
Carv Butchery 6 mpd
Cole Haan 6 mpd
Cycle Project Store 6 mpd
Dragon Brand Bird’s Nest 6 mpd
Dreamcore 6 mpd
ECCO 6 mpd
FOX Kids & Babyy 6 mpd
GUESS 6 mpd
Her Velvet Vase 6 mpd
In Good Company 6 mpd
JVD 6 mpd
Kim Tee 6 mpd
KLARRA 6 mpd
Klosh 6 mpd
La Senza 6 mpd
LEGO Certified Store 6 mpd
Leong Poh Kee 6 mpd
Love & Co. 6 mpd
MBT 6 mpd
Neal’s Yard Remedies 6 mpd
Old Seng Choong 6 mpd
Outdoor Life 6 mpd
PEDRO 6 mpd
Prestige Affairs 6 mpd
Pretty Ballerinas 6 mpd
RAPH&REMY 6 mpd
Royal Sporting House 6 mpd
RUHENS SG 6 mpd
SK Jewellery 6 mpd
SIMONE PERELE 6 mpd
SMEG 6 mpd
Sri Murugan 6 mpd
Superdry 6 mpd
TWG Tea 6 mpd
VitaKids 6 mpd
Adidas 3 mpd
Benjamin Barker 3 mpd
Cath Kidston 3 mpd
Colombia 3 mpd
G2000 3 mpd
GRT Jewellers 3 mpd
Kele Singapore 3 mpd
Lamalolly 3 mpd
Simmons 3 mpd
Sun & Sand Sports 3 mpd
Sunday Staples 3 mpd
The Chinese Wedding Shop 3 mpd
The Green Capsule 3 mpd
WatchBox 3 mpd
ZANSAN 3 mpd
Audio House 1 mpd
Challenger 1 mpd
Harvey Norman 1 mpd
Parisilk 1 mpd
iStudio 1 mpd

  Services

Merchant Earn rate
CARs 9 mpd
EA Detailer 9 mpd
For the Love of Laundry 9 mpd
Jete Studios 9 mpd
Jo Artysan 9 mpd
Matchday Central 9 mpd
The Big Blow 9 mpd
The Little Gym 9 mpd
The Ring Boxing Community 9 mpd
Uni Gallery by Oosterbay 9 mpd
De Arte Hair 6 mpd
Futurum 6 mpd
JDMIS 6 mpd
LifeSpa 6 mpd
Power Kids Gym 6 mpd
Shunji Matsuo 6 mpd
Sultans of Shave 6 mpd
The Toothbar Dental 6 mpd
TONI&GUY 6 mpd
Camberley Pre-School 3 mpd
Fusion Medical 3 mpd
Minmed Group 3 mpd
Phoenix Medical Group 3 mpd
Ardennes Health 3 mpd
ASA Holidays 1 mpd
CTC Travel 1 mpd
EU Holidays 1 mpd
Hong Thai Travel 1 mpd
L. G. E. Travel 1 mpd
Super Travels 1 mpd
UOB Travel 1 mpd

  Wellness

Merchant Earn rate
boOm Singapore 9 mpd
Browtisan 9 mpd
DrHair 9 mpd
DrSpa 9 mpd
FE The Nail Lounge 9 mpd
HADA Aesthetics 9 mpd
House of Traditional Javanese Massage 9 mpd
Jyan Yoga Studio 9 mpd
La Source Spa 9 mpd
Mirage Aesthetic 9 mpd
Multiflora TCM Spa 9 mpd
N20 Nail Spa 9 mpd
Perky Lash 9 mpd
Regina Hair Removal Specialist 9 mpd
Revel Fit 9 mpd
Skinfitness 9 mpd
St Gregory Spa (Pan Pacific) 9 mpd
St Gregory Spa (PARKROYAL Beach Rd) 9 mpd
St Gregory Spa (PARKROYAL Marina Bay) 9 mpd
St Gregory Spa (PARKROYAL Pickering) 9 mpd
Sugar(ed) 9 mpd
Willow Stream Spa 9 mpd
BazGym 6 mpd
Chez Vous 6 mpd
Devarana Wellness 6 mpd
Erabelle 6 mpd
Ikeda Spa 6 mpd
Jal Yoga 6 mpd
Joyre TCMedi Spa 6 mpd
JR Fitness 6 mpd
Kenko Wellness Spa & Reflexology 6 mpd
Options Pilates Studio 6 mpd
PHS Hairscience 6 mpd
Princess's Cottage 6 mpd
Smilepoint Dental 6 mpd
Splice Barbershop 6 mpd
SYOUJIN 6 mpd
The Posture Lab 6 mpd
The Spa 6 mpd
Fresver Beauty 3 mpd

Use the right credit card for up to 6.33 mpd

ComfortDelGro transactions made via the Kris+ app will code under MCC 4789: Transportation Services Not Elsewhere Classified, and that means if you are going to use the service (which you probably shouldn’t anymore), you can tap into some 3 mpd, 4 mpd and 6 mpd earn rates with a variety of credit cards.

Those miles are issued by your bank, so they come on top of up to 0.33 mpd Kris+ is offering, and that means up to 6.33 mpd total effective earning on these taxi rides.

Here’s an example of the cards which should give you upwards of 6 mpd for Comfort taxi rides booked through Kris+ with in-app payment.

Card Earn rate Spend Cap
per calendar month
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Both-Cards-Portrait-Small.png
UOB Lady’s
6 mpd S$1,000 (Lady’s)
or
S$3,000 (Lady’s Solitaire)
Subject to Transport being chosen as one of your bonus categories
CardDBS WWMC 4 mpd S$2,000
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Card.pngMaybank Horizon Visa Signature 3.2 mpd S$4,285
(min. S$300 spend per month in any category)
Card SmallUOB KF 3 mpd No minimum spend
No cap

Be careful not to use Citi Rewards cards to make in-app payments on Kris+, since mobile wallet payments are specifically excluded from that card’s bonus miles earning, regardless of the merchant MCC.

Similarly the HSBC Revolution card will not offer 4 mpd on MCC 4789.

Remember there is now no cap on 3 mpd earning for Kris+ transactions made using the UOB KrisFlyer credit card – so that’s a nice hassle-free unlimited 3.33 mpd option.

These cards also earn bonus rates on Grab and GoJek

It’s worth pointing out that the credit cards mentioned above will also earn their bonus rate for ride-hailing bookings on platforms like Grab and GoJek (as do the Citi Rewards cards in this case), so the true benefit of using CDG Zip via Kris+ until now has only been the differential 3 mpd on offer.

ADVERTISEMENT

That’s much more stark now that the promotion period has ended, with the incremental earn rate now slashed to 0.33 mpd – basically not bothering with when CDG Zip bookings are S$0.30 cheaper, or indeed when Grab and GoJek rides come in at a similar rate or cheaper than through CDG.

Ride-hailing services like Grab are often better than Kris+ taxi or CDG Zig. (Photo: Grab)

You can also use KrisPay miles to book

The taxi booking function via Kris+ also still gives you the option to use KrisPay miles in your Kris+ wallet to pay for your ride.

Unfortunately this remains at the regular value of 0.67 cents per mile when redeeming miles for Kris+ transactions, which is quite terrible.

It’s therefore not something you’ll want to be doing unless you have KrisPay miles stuck in the Kris+ app, which cannot be transferred to your KrisFlyer account. Even then, bonus redemption offers do occasionally come up, so provided your KrisPay miles are not expiring in this example it can still be better to hold off for one of these.



 


 

Summary

Kris+ has slashed the earn rate on taxi bookings made through its app by 89% from 3 mpd to just 0.33 mpd, and there are now almost no rides we can conceive of where paying the additional S$0.30 platform fee over and above a direct CDG Zig booking makes sense – since you would be buying miles at a rate way over the odds.

That kills this earning method for us – and it should for you too.

If you do insist on still earning miles this way, be sure to pair with the right credit card when you pay via Kris+ since you can also net an additional 6 mpd, meaning you can earn up to 6.33 mpd in total.

However, the best thing you do now is use the CDG Zig app directly, or a ride-hailing service, and just stick with the credit card points alone.

This development comes on the same day that Kris+ cut earn rates at over 70 merchants island-wide. While most partners retain their former earning rates, let’s hope we’ve seen the last of this decimation from Kris+ for now.

(Cover Photo: ComfortDelGro)

ADVERTISEMENT

1 comment

Leave a Reply