Most of our regular readers are already familiar with Pelago, SIA’s own Klook-like “destination discovery platform” launched late 2020 and offering a range of activities, experiences and attraction tickets both in Singapore and overseas at SIA destinations like Bangkok, Phuket and London.
Pelago is now the only KrisFlyer miles earning option in the experiences and activities portal sphere, after links with Klook and KKday were axed last year.
When Pelago first launched, promotional KrisFlyer miles earning bonuses of up to 5 mpd were offered, but the platform initially settled on a year-round rate of 1 mpd.
That changed in late June 2023, when 3 mpd became the norm, and since these miles are credited directly to your KrisFlyer account by Pelago, they come on top of up to 6 mpd earning through your credit card, for some attractive total miles collection rates of 9 mpd in many cases.
Miles accrual is now capped
Effective from 19th February 2024, Pelago is now capping KrisFlyer miles accrual on a per-booking basis to 5,000 miles.
That means if your booked activity comes in at more than S$1,667, you’re no longer earning 3 mpd, but a progressively lower earn rate the more you spend, since accrual then becomes limited to the maximum 5,000 miles level.
“KrisFlyer miles are earned on the final amount paid for bookings made through Pelago, after eligible discounts have been applied, and are subject to a maximum amount of 5,000 KrisFlyer miles per booking.”
Pelago
For the most expensive Pelago experience we could find worldwide, a 49-day Himalayan mountain climb including flights, accommodation and meals, 193,062 KrisFlyer miles (S$64,354 x 3) would previously have been earned before this change – more than enough for a round-trip First Class or Suites Saver award between Singapore and Sydney, Melbourne or Auckland.
Now, it’s just 5,000 miles, not even enough to redeem the very shortest Singapore Airlines flight to KL in Economy Class… and in this case, it works out at just 0.08 mpd!
Granted, that’s an extreme example, but surely Pelago can dig a little deeper than that as a reward when you’re spending so much?
An earn rate of 1 mpd for the amount exceeding S$5,000 in a single booking would be a decent compromise, in our opinion.
One way around this for certain experiences with more than one person in your booking, is simply to split into smaller group sizes via separate bookings for the same activity on the same date.
For example, this Hot Air Balloon Flight in Melbourne for two adults and two children comes in at S$2,113.80 with Pelago, which previously would have earned you 6,342 KrisFlyer miles, but now hit’s the 5,000 miles cap for a single booking.
One simple option is just to make two separate bookings in this case, each for 1 adult and 1 child, which comes in at S$1,056.90 x 2 (same total price of S$2,113.80), but earns 3,172 KrisFlyer miles x 2 (6,344 miles total), since each individual booking still earns at the full 3 mpd rate.
Obviously this won’t work for all experiences, like those already structured for couples.
On the plus side of course, most Pelago experiences don’t break the S$1,667 barrier, even if you have multiple people included in the booking, so hitting the 5,000 miles cap won’t usually be an issue.
Earn bonus miles at Pelago with the right credit card
Pelago’s payment provider uses the following Merchant Category Code (MCC) when processing credit card payments:
MCC 4722: Travel Agencies and Tour Operators
Pelago bookings also classify as online transactions, giving you the following options to earn up to an additional 6 mpd through your credit card points for these transactions, for 9 mpd equivalent total year-round, provided you aren’t exceeding this new 5,000 miles accrual cap on a per-booking basis from Pelago itself.
| Card | Earn Rate |
Notes |
 UOB Lady’sUOB Lady’s Solitaire |
6 mpd | Capped at S$1,000 per calendar month (Lady’s) or S$3,000 per month (Lady’s Solitaire), provided Travel is selected as one of your bonus earn categories. |
 DBS WWMC(see our review) |
4 mpd | For online spend, capped at S$1,500 per calendar month. |
Don’t use your Citi Rewards card for Pelago bookings, as MCC 4722 falls under the travel category, specifically excluded from earning the 4 mpd rate for online spend with that card.
It will therefore only earn 0.4 mpd, so it’s probably much better in that case to use your best general spend card, assuming you don’t have one of the above options, or have already hit your monthly bonus cap with these other cards.
The HSBC Revolution card also no longer awards bonus points for MCC 4722 transactions, since 1st January 2024.
Strangely, the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card, which earns 3 mpd for all “SIA Group” spend including at the KrisShop and more recently on Kris+, still does not award this higher rate for Pelago transactions, despite Pelago (under its official name Encounters Pte. Ltd.) being a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines.
It’s just the basic 1.2 mpd to look forward to in this case – so ideally pick another option from the table above, or failing that – a better general spend card!
Summary
Pelago hiked its regular year-round KrisFlyer miles earn rate for activity and experience bookings to 3 mpd last year, which could net you up to 9 mpd effective total earning when paired with the right credit card.
The bad news is that direct miles accrual via the Pelago portal is now capped at 5,000 miles per booking, though that only starts having an impact one you’re spending S$1,667 or more in a single booking.
If you’re locking in an activity for multiple people that exceeds the threshold, consider splitting it into separate bookings, to maximise your total miles earning.
(Cover Photo: Pelago)