Back in May 2023, SIA’s “lifestyle app” Kris+ cut its miles earning rates at over 70 merchants island-wide by up to 67%, and there’s some bad news this week with confirmation that a second similar cull is happening from the start of October 2023.
Kris+ has now revealed that another 68 merchants that are part of the earning programme will have their accrual rates cut from 1st October 2023.
That’s a shame as Kris+ is a very useful way of topping up your KrisFlyer miles balance throughout the year, but the good news is that over 80% of merchants will see no change to their current earning rates.
Reduced earn rates at nearly 70 merchants
There are currently an impressive 436 Kris+ earning merchants across Singapore, with thousands of outlets between them, and the vast majority are not changing their earning rates.
Unfortunately, 68 merchants are moving to a lower earn rate from 1st October 2023, only around 16% of the cohort, but many of them are popular and easy ways to accrue large volumes of miles, so the effect may feel a little more disproportionate than that.
Here’s a summary of how many merchants will drop into each category from 1st October 2023, compared to now.
Kris+ Earning Rates
| Earn Rate | Merchants | |
| Till 30th September 2023 | From 1st October 2023 | |
| 9 mpd | 169 | 149 |
| 7 mpd | 14 | — |
| 6 mpd | 173 | 172 |
| 5 mpd | 12 | 1 |
| 3 mpd | 50 | 96 |
| 2 mpd | 3 | 3 |
| 1.5 mpd | 1 | 1 |
| 1 mpd | 14 | 14 |
| Total | 436 | 436 |
- The average earn rate across all 436 Kris+ merchants will drop from 6.6 mpd to 6.2 mpd from 1st October 2023.
- The average earn rate across the 68 Kris+ merchants cutting their earn rate will drop from 7.0 mpd to 4.0 mpd from 1st October 2023.
Full list: 5 mpd merchants cutting rates
A total of 11 merchants currently earning 5 mpd are shifting to 3 mpd from 1st October 2023. This includes the Paradise restaurant outlets.
Here’s the full rundown of all 5 mpd merchants suffering reduced earn rates from 1st October 2023.
5 mpd merchant rate cuts
| Merchant | Current rate | New rate |
| Beauty in The Pot | 3 mpd | |
| Canton Noodle & Congee House | 3 mpd | |
| Canton Paradise | 3 mpd | |
| Le Shrimp Ramen | 3 mpd | |
| LeNu Chef Wai’s Noodle Bar | 3 mpd | |
| Paradise Classic | 3 mpd | |
| Paradise Dynasty | 3 mpd | |
| Paradise Hotpot | 3 mpd | |
| Paradise Teochew | 3 mpd | |
| Seafood Paradise | 3 mpd | |
| Taste Paradise | 3 mpd |
These changes would effectively wipe out the 5 mpd earn rate, but there is actually a single merchant sticking to its 5 mpd earn rate – Kind Kones.
Full list: 6 mpd merchants cutting rates
23 out of 173 current 6 mpd merchants in the Kris+ programme are halving their earn rate to 3 mpd, including Sultans of Shave and Barossa Steak & Grill.
Here’s the full rundown of all 6 mpd merchants suffering reduced earn rates from 1st October 2023.
6 mpd merchant rate cuts
| Merchant | Current rate | New rate |
| Bangkok Jam | 3 mpd | |
| Barossa Steak & Grill | 3 mpd | |
| Chez Vous | 3 mpd | |
| De Arte Hair Studio | 3 mpd | |
| Erabelle | 3 mpd | |
| Ikeda Spa | 3 mpd | |
| Joyre TCMedi SPA | 3 mpd | |
| Kenko Wellness Spa & Reflexology | 3 mpd | |
| LifeSpa | 3 mpd | |
| PHS HAIRSCIENCE | 3 mpd | |
| Princess’s Cottage | 3 mpd | |
| Rocku Yakiniku | 3 mpd | |
| SARAI | 3 mpd | |
| Shunji Matsuo | 3 mpd | |
| SK Jewellery | 3 mpd | |
| Splice Barbershop | 3 mpd | |
| Suki-Ya KIN | 3 mpd | |
| Sultans of Shave | 3 mpd | |
| Syoujin | 3 mpd | |
| Tajimaya Yakiniku | 3 mpd | |
| Tanglin Cookhouse | 3 mpd | |
| The Thai Spa | 3 mpd | |
| Vineyard | 3 mpd |
Full list: 7 mpd merchants cutting rates
All 14 of the current 7 mpd merchants are cutting their earn rate to 6 mpd, a modest 14% reduction. This will remove the 7 mpd earn rate from the programme.
Here’s the full rundown of affected merchants.
7 mpd merchant rate cuts
| Merchant | Current rate | New rate |
| Dancing Crab | 6 mpd | |
| Douraku Sushi | 6 mpd | |
| Lao Beijing | 6 mpd | |
| LingZhi Vegetarian | 6 mpd | |
| QIN Restaurant & Bar | 6 mpd | |
| Slappy Cakes | 6 mpd | |
| Sushi Mieda | 6 mpd | |
| Tóng Lè Private Dining | 6 mpd | |
| TungLok Heen | 6 mpd | |
| TungLok Peking Duck | 6 mpd | |
| TungLok Seafood | 6 mpd | |
| TungLok Signatures | 6 mpd | |
| TungLok Teahouse | 6 mpd | |
| USHIO Sumiyaki & Sake Bar | 6 mpd |
Full list: 9 mpd merchants cutting rates
Finally 20 of 169 current 9 mpd merchants are cutting their earn rate to wither 6 mpd, a 33% reduction, or most significantly to just 3 mpd, a 67% hit.
Here’s the full rundown of all 9 mpd merchants suffering reduced earn rates from 1st October 2023.
9 mpd merchant rate cuts
| Merchant | Current rate | New rate |
| DrHair | 6 mpd | |
| DrSpa | 6 mpd | |
| La Source Spa | 6 mpd | |
| Mirage Aesthetic | 6 mpd | |
| St. Gregory (Parkroyal Pickering) | 6 mpd | |
| St. Gregory (Parkroyal Beach Road) | 6 mpd | |
| St. Gregory Spa (Pan Pacific) | 6 mpd | |
| Willow Stream Spa | 6 mpd | |
| Browtisan | 3 mpd | |
| FE The Nail Lounge | 3 mpd | |
| HADA Aesthetics | 3 mpd | |
| House of Traditional Javanese Massage | 3 mpd | |
| Jo Artysan | 3 mpd | |
| Multiflora TCM Spa | 3 mpd | |
| N20 Nail Spa | 3 mpd | |
| Perky Lash | 3 mpd | |
| Regina Hair Removal Specialist | 3 mpd | |
| SkinFitness | 3 mpd | |
| Sugar(ed) | 3 mpd | |
| The Big Blow | 3 mpd |
The biggest drop here affects many of the programme’s spa and wellness merchants, like Perky Lash and Browtisan.
How to earn miles with Kris+ when purchasing
Since September 2021, in-app payments have been the only way to earn Kris+ miles when purchasing in-store at an earning partner.
The process is straightforward, just scan the merchant’s QR code and make payment using Apple Pay or Google Pay with your linked credit card.
The app then credits your miles instantly, which you should then transfer immediately to your KrisFlyer account (you only have seven days to do so, before the miles are stuck in KrisPay with a paltry 0.67 cents rebate value against future purchases).
Around 370 merchants keep the same earn rate
The other good news regarding this unfortunate earning reduction at many merchants is that the vast majority – 368 or 84% – will be unscathed and continue to earn at their current rates, even after 1st October 2023.
If your favourite merchants are on this list – there’s no need to worry as nothing will be changing for you. Click the list below to expand and see for yourself.
Credit card points of up to 6 mpd are still in addition
Another thing that’s not changing about Kris+ is that you’ll still accrue points or miles on your credit card for the spend made for in-app payment transactions, in some cases adding up to 6 mpd to the maximum 9 mpd Kris+ is dishing out, for up to 15 mpd total earning.
This depends on the credit card you hold and the merchant category (MCC code) of the retailer.
Where possible, you’ll want to be using a credit card offering a 6 mpd or 4 mpd bonus rate when making payment at these merchants, which you’ll then earn separately and in addition to up to 9 mpd through Kris+.
The following cards will earn at their bonus rates of between 3 mpd and 6 mpd for spend in the specific MCCs listed. You can check the MCC with the merchant in advance of your payment if you are unsure, though some are obvious (like restaurants – 5812).
| Card | Earn Rate |
Notes / MCCs | |
 UOB Lady’s
|
6 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 5977 MCC 7230 MCC 7297 MCC 7298 |
||
| Fashion: | MCC 5621 MCC 5651 MCC 5661 MCC 5691 MCC 5699 MCC 5948 |
||
 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 3501 MCC 5045 MCC 5441 MCC 5462 MCC 5499 MCC 5621 MCC 5651 MCC 5661 MCC 5691 MCC 5699 MCC 5732 |
MCC 5734 MCC 5812 MCC 5814 MCC 5944 MCC 5945 MCC 5947 MCC 5948 MCC 5992 MCC 5999 MCC 7011 MCC 7997 |
||
 DBS WWMC(see our review) |
4 mpd | On on up to S$2,000 of online spend per calendar month, including when paying at a merchant using Apple Pay or Google Pay via the Kris+ app. |
|
 OCBC TR(see our review) |
4 mpd | On shopping transactions in specific MCCs, capped at S$12,000 per card membership year. | |
| MCC 5621 MCC 5651 MCC 5661 |
MCC 5691 MCC 5699 MCC 5732 |
||
 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 Kris+ spend, with no minimum and no upper cap. | |
UOB Lady’s SolitaireDon’t use your Citi Rewards card to make payment with Apple Pay or Google Pay on Kris+, since online transactions using this card specifically exclude mobile wallet payments and will therefore earn at the basic rate of 0.4 mpd.
Unsure?
If you’re 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.
Stacking example
Let’s say you make an S$80 purchase at Bottles&Bottles, a 6 mpd merchant with Kris+, and pay in-app using your DBS WWMC card.
Total earning for the transaction will be:
- 480 KrisPay miles (S$80 x 6) awarded instantly
- 16 DBS Points awarded when the transaction posts (~ 3 days)
- 144 DBS Points awarded around the middle of the following month
The 160 DBS Points you’ll accrue in total are equivalent to 320 KrisFlyer miles, and the 480 KrisPay miles can be instantly converted 1:1 into KrisFlyer miles, for a total effective earning of 800 KrisFlyer Miles for this S$80 purchase (10 mpd).
Summary
Kris+ is cutting earn rates at nearly 70 merchants from 1st October 2023, in some cases by as little as 14% (those moving from 7 mpd to 6 mpd), but in the worst cases by 67% (those moving from 9 mpd to just 3 mpd).
There are still a few days to take advantage of current earn rates before the cuts take effect, so you should plan any purchases you need by 30th September 2023 at these retailers if possible.
In other good news, nearly 380 Kris+ merchants aren’t changing their earn rates at all, and this list includes some of our personal favourite eating, drinking and shopping outlets, like Paris Baguette, Southbridge, LeVeL33, Cole Haan, Bottles & Bottles and Superdry.
While this is an unfortunate cut in earn rates at many partners, ultimately Kris+ has been offering significant generosity since increasing these over a year ago, especially at electronics stores where large purchases must have been resulting in some significant miles accruals and associated costs for retailers like iStudio.
Even these outlets will retain 1 mpd earning from 1st October 2023, on top of your credit card points, and any miles are better than no miles provided the goods are no more expensive than they would be elsewhere!
As always, never forget the golden rule – transfer your KrisPay miles straight into your KrisFlyer account after each purchase!
(Cover Photo: Stefan Johnson)