When Kris+ first launched as KrisPay back in July 2018, Esso was one of the 18 initial launch merchants in the “burn only” programme, but when earning at selected retailers finally rolled out in March 2019, Esso remained one of the few options in that poor-value “burn only” category.
That’s remained the case for the last five years, but finally Kris+ and Esso have developed their partnership into the earn miles category as well, and to celebrate there’s an attractive launch offer now in place for the next three months.
Kris+: 12% off and 3 mpd on Esso petrol purchases
Between 1st March 2024 and 31st May 2024, you can earn 3 mpd on fuel purchases at Esso when you pay with the Kris+ app.
That’s a 6X upsized rate on the long-term year-round earning of 1 KrisFlyer mile per S$2 spent with this merchant (0.5 mpd).
In addition, Esso Smiles members who use Kris+ for payment are entitled to a 12% discount on fuel purchases, though this replaces any other existing card discounts at Esso stations in Singapore, which are in place for Citi, DBS and OCBC cards as follows:
- Citi: 14% discount
- DBS: 14% discount
- DBS Insignia & Vantage: 18% discount
- OCBC: 14% discount
In-app payments via Kris+ at Esso support Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
Note that Kris+ can only be used for fuel purchases at Esso, not other items from the mini-mart. You’ll have to pay for those separately if you’re using Kris+ for petrol.
Up to an extra 6 mpd with your credit card
The beauty of this 3 mpd earn offer on petrol purchases at Esso via the Kris+ app is that it stacks with the points or miles you can earn on your credit card for the purchase, and that means up to a further 6 mpd is currently available, for an effective total earn rate of 9 mpd.
Here’s a rundown of the credit cards in Singapore which will give you between 3 mpd and 6 mpd for Esso fuel purchases made through Kris+ with in-app payment.
| Card | Earn rate |
Spend Cap per calendar month |
 UOB Lady’s |
6 mpd | S$1,000 (Lady’s) or S$3,000 (Lady’s Solitaire) (S$2,000 from April 2024) Transport must be one of your bonus categories |
 DBS WWMC |
4 mpd | S$1,500 |
 Maybank World MC |
4 mpd | No cap (unlimited) |
 UOB KF |
3 mpd | No cap (unlimited) |
Note that the UOB Lady’s cards will revert to 4 mpd bonus category earning from 1st April 2024, so that additional 6 mpd option is only available in March, while the 3 mpd bonus promotion runs right through to the end of May.
Esso Smiles points on top
You’ll also earn Esso Smiles points for your petrol purchases as an Esso Smiles member, at a rate of 1 point per litre of fuel purchased.
While these can be converted to KrisFlyer miles at a 100:100 ratio (auto-conversion option), these points are best kept for a future offset of your fuel or mart purchases at the cashier, where you’ll get up to 4 cents per point in value, by redeeming in one of the following blocks.
Esso Smiles Points Redemption Value
| Instant Redemption | Points Required | Value per point |
| S$5 | 180 | 2.78 cents |
| S$10 | 300 | 3.3 cents |
| S$30 | 750 | 4 cents |
Is the Kris+ deal worth it?
If you fill up at Esso stations anyway, it’s very likely you’ll do better with this Kris+ deal between now and the end of May 2024.
For example, if you are an Esso Smiles member using the DBS Vantage card (1.5 mpd) to fill up with fuel, here’s how that looks for a S$100 purchase, before discount:
- S$100 petrol purchase
- Less 18% discount = S$18 off
- S$82 final cost
- S$82 x 1.5 mpd (Vantage) = 123 miles
Now let’s say you also have a DBS WWMC card – useless for fuel purchases since it would earn only 0.4 mpd for offline transactions like this, but no such concern with Kris+, where the payment codes as online and 4 mpd is unlocked.
- S$100 petrol purchase
- Less 12% discount = S$12 off
- S$88 final cost
- S$88 x 3 mpd (Kris+) = 264 miles
- S$88 x 4 mpd (WWMC) = 352 miles
- Total 616 miles
In this case you’re paying S$6 more for your petrol (S$88 – S$82), but earning 493 more miles (616 – 123).
That’s the equivalent of ‘buying’ miles for 1.22 cents each – a good deal in our book.
Obviously you’ll have to do the maths based on the payment cards you have available to you, but on the whole this looks like a great deal for most of our readers.
Summary
You can now earn 3 mpd when paying for fuel at Esso via the Kris+ app, plus up to a further 6 mpd from your credit card, which is quite a compelling proposition between now and the end of May 2024.
Even if you’re giving up a better discount rate, Kris+ is still offering Esso Smiles members 12% off fuel purchases, and that typically means ‘buying’ the additional miles at a competitive rate, especially if you’re using a 4 – 6 mpd earning option.
(Cover Photo: Esso)