There’s some bad news next month for transfer partners from Singapore credit cards, with Standard Chartered announcing a significant reduction in options available for your points, trimming its list of loyalty programmes from 10 to just 1 (yes… one!).
While these weren’t the best value options anyway, due to the variable transfer ratios in force, it will relegate Standard Chartered cards to the least flexible in terms of conversion partners in the Singapore market from later next month.
Standard Chartered axing 9 ‘EasyRewards’ partners
Standard Chartered has announced that it will be removing the option to use its SC EasyRewards Programme to transfer points to hotel programmes and airline partner miles.
From 24 March 2024, please note that we will be discontinuing hotel partner points and airline partner miles transfer under our SC EasyRewards Programme. This includes Etihad Guest, United Airlines MileagePlus, AccorHotels and others.
Standard Chartered
The change will take effect from 24th March 2024, so the bank is at least providing one months’ notice for you to transfer to these programmes before they are axed from the list, if you wish.
These additional transfer options came about from the introduction of the Standard Chartered X Card in July 2019, though some of those have fallen by the wayside since then (there were 11 new partners initially).
The affected programmes are as shown in the following table.
| Standard Chartered EasyRewards Transfer Partners Removed from 24 March 2024 |
|
| FFP | Conversion Ratio |
 |
2,500 : 1,000 |
 |
2,500 : 1,000 |
 |
2,500 : 1,000 |
 |
3,000 : 1,000 |
 |
3,500 : 1,000 |
 |
3,500 : 1,000 |
 |
3,500 : 1,000 |
| Hotel loyalty scheme | Conversion Ratio |
 |
2,500 : 1,000 |
 |
5,000 : 1,000 |
While many of the transfer ratios here are unattractive, some were worth considering and useful to some members, like Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Qantas Frequent Flyer.
You can continue to redeem your Standard Chartered points into these programmes until 23rd March 2024 via the SC EasyRewards portal, using a desktop computer.
That’s achieved via a relatively obscure link after logging on to your account and clicking the ‘Card Details’ option, then ‘View My Rewards’, as shown below.
Transfers are available in the blocks shown in the table above, but are charged at S$27.25 each.
This unfortunate reduction in transfer partner options from Standard Chartered comes less than two months after China Airlines Dynasty Flyer was removed as a transfer partner from Singapore credit cards, following a decision by Amex to sever links with that programme.
Nonetheless, all of the nine Standard Chartered programmes being removed won’t disappear completely, with at least one credit card in Singapore still retaining transfer links to them.
For an up-to-date list of credit card and bank to frequent flyer programme conversion options in Singapore, refer to our guide here.
KrisFlyer transfers are not affected
Standard Chartered has always been a strange bank, in that it operates a two-tier redemption system.
Points can be redeemed under:
- The EasyRewards portal, or
- The 360° Rewards portal
That’s important because no changes are in line for 360° Rewards portal redemptions, and your primary option there is the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer programme, which probably offers the best value for Standard Chartered customers redeeming airline miles anyway.
| Standard Chartered 360° Transfer Partners Remaining from 24 March 2024 |
|
| FFP | Conversion Ratio |
 |
25,000 : 10,000 |
KrisFlyer transfers from your Standard Chartered points are available by logging on to the 360° Rewards portal. Just use a desktop site and under ‘Card Details’, click ‘Redeem Rewards Now’.
It seems like Standard Chartered has also finally added Asia Miles as a transfer partner option under 360° Rewards from what we can see, the first time the bank has partnered with that programme, in Singapore at least!
That perhaps means there will actually be two transfer options going forward – allowing redemptions across both Star Alliance and Oneworld.
Summary
Standard Chartered is significantly scaling back its list of airline and hotel loyalty transfer partners significantly next month, whittling down an impressive list of 10 (one of the best in Singapore) down to a single option – KrisFlyer.
Asia Miles also looms set to be joining that list, so perhaps it will be two options – still the worst selection in town.
It brings the programme practically back to where it started in 2019, before the X Card was launched (that later became the Journey Card).
Most of our readers won’t be too devastated by this change – though some rare FFPs were part of the mix, like United MileagePlus, it’s KrisFlyer where the primary value was and, thankfully, remains.
If you’re interested in any of the nine partners being removed from the list, the good news is you still have a month to act – they’ll only be axed from 24th March 2024.
(Cover Photo: Standard Chartered Bank)
Thanks for the prompt alert. First with the news as always.
Haha, knowing the idiots at SCB the way that I do, this doesn’t surprise me in the least. They are the definition of C-players who think they’re A-players. I don’t spend, save, or invest a single $ with them.
Good thing I closed all my SCB cards. Normally tsfr to KF but they removed tsfr to Qantas & all OneWorld options 😮
Tbh SC is just run by a bunch of clowns with backwards tech systems.
So am not surprised for the axe. Lots of cost cutting too. SC Priority benefits getting cut, SC WealthSaver metal-to-plastic card in the name of sustainability, gold benefit removed, SC Journey nerfs, shitty birthday privileges, etc. and now this.
Probably costs of maintaining two separate systems EasyRewards and 360 are too ‘high’.
Golf*