Card payments provider CardUp is back with a deal for American Express cardholders over the next three months, with a return of the platform’s 1.8% and 1.9% fee special offers for some specific cards, allowing you to buy miles from 1.36 cents each.
Unfortunately this time round the Amex Singapore Airlines HighFlyer card is excluded from the deal, removing the best value option in the Amex category, since it’s not possible to tap the 1.8 mpd rate, which in the previous offer allowed those cardholders to buy miles from just 0.98 cents each.
Nonetheless, the latest offer could still make sense if you have expenses coming up between now and mid-February 2024, whether that’s things like rent, income tax, insurance premiums or eduction fees.
The deal is running for payment due dates from now until 15th February 2024. To allow for processing time, you must schedule your payment by 11th February 2024 at 6pm Singapore Time to be eligible.
New customers – 1.8% Amex deal
If you’re new to CardUp, or have signed up for a personal account but have yet to schedule a payment through the platform, you’re eligible for the 1.8% fee offer on American Express payments using the code 18AMEX
| 18AMEX |  |
1.8% | ||
| One-time payment with a selected Singapore-issued American Express card (new users). | ||||
Applicable cards are Amex cards issued in Singapore, with the exception of:
- Amex True Cashback
- Amex SIA Business (HighFlyer)
- Amex Corporate
- Amex cards issued by DBS and UOB
There is no minimum payment, but the maximum is S$5,000. If your payment exceeds S$5,000, CardUp’s regular 2.6% fee will apply to the amount over and above this amount.
Only domestic payments are eligible to use the promo code, and do be aware that some of CardUp’s regular payment options aren’t supported for Amex cards, like car loans and renovation expenses (see the full list here).
The code can be applied once per user, either as a one-off payment, or the first payment in a recurring series, but is limited to the first 200 redemptions (if the code still works at the payment confirmation stage, the offer is still available).
Existing customers – 1.9% Amex deal
If you’re an existing CardUp customer, meaning you’ve made a personal payment through the platform before, you’re eligible for the slightly higher 1.9% fee offer on American Express payments using the code 19AMEX
| 19AMEX | |
1.9% | ||
| One-time payment with a selected Singapore-issued American Express card (existing users). | ||||
Applicable cards are Amex cards issued in Singapore, with the exception of:
- Amex True Cashback
- Amex SIA Business (HighFlyer)
- Amex Corporate
- Amex cards issued by DBS and UOB
There is no minimum payment, but the maximum is S$5,000. If your payment exceeds S$5,000, CardUp’s regular 2.6% fee will apply to the amount over and above this amount.
Only domestic payments are eligible to use the promo code, and do be aware that some of CardUp’s regular payment options aren’t supported for Amex cards, like car loans and renovation expenses (see the full list here).
The code can be applied once per user, either as a one-off payment, or the first payment in a recurring series, but is limited to the first 200 redemptions (if the code still works at the payment confirmation stage, the offer is still available).
What’s the cost per mile?
Here are some cost per mile examples for selected Singapore-issued American Express credit cards with these promotional CardUp deals.
| Card | Mpd | New User (1.8% fee) |
Existing User (1.9% fee) |
 Amex KF PPS |
1.3 | 1.36¢ | 1.43¢ |
 Amex KF Solitaire PPS |
1.3 | 1.36¢ | 1.43¢ |
 KF Ascend |
1.2 | 1.47¢ | 1.55¢ |
 KF Blue |
1.1 | 1.61¢ | 1.70¢ |
 Amex Centurion |
0.98 | 1.80¢ | 1.90¢ |
 Amex Platinum Charge |
0.78 | 2.27¢ | 2.39¢ |
 Amex Platinum CC |
0.69 | 2.56¢ | 2.70¢ |
 Amex Platinum Reserve |
0.69 | 2.56¢ | 2.70¢ |
Terms and conditions
The terms and conditions for the 18AMEX and 19AMEX offers can be found here.
DBS Amex alternative
Since CardUp is excluding Amex cards issued by DBS in this promotion, those holding the DBS Altitude Amex card should consider using ipaymy, with an uncapped 2.25% fee for eligible Amex cards (CardUp charges a standard 2.6% fee for Amex).
Here is the cost per mile for that card using ipaymy.
| Card | Mpd | Cost per Mile (2.25% fee) |
 DBS Alt Amex |
1.3 | 1.69¢ |
With CardUp, the cost per mile for the DBS Altitude Amex is 1.95 cents.
Summary
CardUp is once again offering new and existing customers with selected Amex cards discounted fees of 1.8% and 1.9% respectively when making a one-time payment between now and 15th February 2024, allowing you to ‘buy’ miles from 1.36 cents each for a range of expenses.
The deal is by far the cheapest way to generate miles for bill payments using Amex cards at the moment, so take advantage soon if you can, because each promo code (for new and existing customers respectively) is limited to only 200 redemptions.
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(Cover Photo: CardUp)