At one point or other, we’ve probably all been in the same situation. Staring at an available KrisFlyer Saver award flight on the laptop screen or mobile app – perfect dates, perfect timings – but you don’t quite have sufficient miles in your account to lock it in for you or your travelling party.

Several transfer methods can recharge your KrisFlyer balance within a few days or weeks, but what are the odds those ideal award seats will still be available by then? For near-term redemptions, it’s a significant gamble that most travellers would rather avoid.

Fortunately, there are instant (yes, truly instant) and fast (within 24 hours) ways to top up your KrisFlyer account balance, which could be just what you need to secure those coveted award seats.

Here’s our latest run-down, now including Atome and Hotelux points transfers on the list.

LinkPoints: Instant

Almost everyone in Singapore makes at least some of their regular spending at stores like NTUC FairPrice, Cheers, FairPrice online, Unity Pharmacy or Caltex petrol stations.

If you’re the same, you might well have a Link Rewards card. Swipe it every time you shop at one of those outlets and you’ll be accruing LinkPoints at a rate of 1 point per S$2 spent at most of these stores.

The two most important things for our readers to know is that:

• LinkPoints points transfer to KrisFlyer miles (at a ratio of 2:1), and
• Transfers are instant

If you’ve been racking up your FairPrice, Cheers and Unity spend over the last few months to the tune of S$4,000, for example, and tapping your Link Rewards card each time, your 2,000 points accrued will give you an instant 1,000 KrisFlyer miles, if you need them quickly.

How it works

Head across to the Link Rewards Exchange Page, log on to your Link account, then tap on the KrisFlyer ‘View More’ link.

If you haven’t done so already, you’ll need to link your KrisFlyer account to your LinkPoints account. Both accounts must be in your name for the transfer to be successful.

You’ll then be able to make a transfer in one of the five transfer blocks, depending on your LinkPoints balance. You can make multiple transfers if you wish.

Miles will reflect in your KrisFlyer account straight away.

Is it good value?

It’s decent, but not amazing. Using the example above, 2,000 LinkPoints converts to 1,000 KrisFlyer miles worth approximately S$19 (based on our 1.9 cents per mile valuation).

Alternatively, you could use those 2,000 LinkPoints for an instant S$20 discount at eligible merchants (100 points = S$1 off).

In effect, converting to KrisFlyer means you’re buying miles at 2 cents each – not the best value. However, if you need a quick KrisFlyer top-up, it’s a convenient option.

Pro Tip: Watch out for promotional deals that can drop the cost per mile to around 1.6 cents each, making this a much better proposition.

yuu Rewards points: Instant

Since early October 2024, it’s been possible to convert the DFI Retail Group’s yuu Rewards Club points into Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, which means points accrued at the likes of Cold Storage, Giant and Guardian can now be turned into redemption opportunities.

This allows you to convert yuu points at a ratio of 3.6 yuu Points into 1 KrisFlyer mile (3.6:1 ratio), and the good news is transfers are instant.

Transfer Ratio yuu Points    KrisFlyer miles 3.6 : 1

You’ll need to convert a minimum of 200 yuu Points to KrisFlyer miles per transfer, thereafter transfers can be made in single-point increments.

There is no cap on the number of transfers you can make from yuu Points to KrisFlyer miles, nor any upper cap on the total transfer quantity per year.

How it works

You can transfer yuu Rewards points to KrisFlyer miles via the yuu app on your smartphone (App Store | Google Play Store).

Click the ‘Me’ icon at the bottom right of the screen then you’ll see your points balance displayed, along with the option ‘Transfer to KrisFlyer’

Prior to your first transfer from yuu to KrisFlyer, you’ll need to confirm your KrisFlyer account number. You can then proceed with your transfer.

You’ll then see your KrisFlyer miles credited instantly.

Is it good value?

yuu Rewards points are worth 0.5 cents each as a future redemption for in-store or online purchases, so transferring them to KrisFlyer miles is coming at a cost of 1.8 cents per mile – not the best but not out of the question for some of our readers.

Transfer blocks can also be quite small, allowing a flexible, free and instant transfer of only the quantity of KrisFlyer miles you need, provided your yuu points balance is sufficient.

209-point blocks give you the best ratio

While the headline ratio for conversion is 3.6:1, this rounds up to the next whole KrisFlyer mile when converting, so for example a transfer of 353 – 356 yuu Points (98.1 – 98.9 miles at the 3.6:1 ratio) will give you 99 miles in your account.

In this case, the ratio is actually slightly better at the lower end (i.e. don’t waste 356 yuu Points for 99 miles when 353 yuu Points will give you exactly the same thing!).

The best ratio you can get here is therefore at the lower end – 209 yuu Points to 59 KrisFlyer miles (3.54:1).

For example, if you have 2,090 yuu Points, those will give you 581 KrisFlyer miles when processed as a single conversion. Instead – just make 10 separate transfers of 209 yuu Points to KrisFlyer miles, which will give you 590 KrisFlyer miles in total.

It may not seem like much, but every mile is valuable!

KrisPay miles: Instant

We definitely don’t suggest that you ever transfer KrisFlyer miles to KrisPay miles in order to spend them at merchants via the Kris+ app, due to the poor 1 cent per mile value they give you against future purchases.

However, you actually should be using Kris+ to earn miles when making purchases at participating merchants, as these are awarded on top of any miles you’ll also be earning using the right credit card for the same transaction.

Over 500 Kris+ partners across Singapore allow miles earning via Kris+, typically at 1 mpd to 9 mpd rates.

Earning is instant at the time of transaction, and you can then instantly transfer the KrisPay miles accrued to your KrisFlyer account. This can be very useful for a small, quick top-up.

For example let’s say I’m looking at an available KrisFlyer redemption at 72,000 miles from Singapore to Brisbane in Business Class. I thought I had enough but I just realised I only have 71,872 miles in my account. 128 miles short!

Here’s where Kris+ comes in.

I can walk down to my local Bottles & Bottles store and pick up this nice pair of Sauvignon Blanc wines:

When I pay in-app via Kris+ using Apple Pay or Google Pay, I’m credited with 128 KrisPay miles (S$64 x 2 mpd).

I can transfer these instantly into my KrisFlyer account, and now I have exactly the 72,000 miles I need for the award booking.

Is it good value?

Yes. Transferring miles earned at Kris+ merchants into your KrisFlyer account is the only good value thing you can do with them, and you should already be doing it, with up to 9 mpd at 500+ merchants island-wide.

Consider vouchers too

Kris+ also sells discounted vouchers for future redemption at some of its merchants, and in this case there’s no need to even leave home to accrue KrisFlyer miles!

Simply purchase a voucher, accrue miles at that merchant’s regular earn rate for doing so, then transfer the miles into KrisFlyer instantly after that.

In the above example, you’ll earn 4 mpd (4 x S$45 = 180 miles) instantly when purchasing this iSteaks voucher.

You can then redeem the voucher at a later date (within 6 months in this case). Obviously, only do this with vouchers you know you will actually use, and that represent good value!

DBS Points, UNI$ or Citi Points via Kris+: Instant

It’s unlikely that buying a bottle of wine is going to see you over a redemption threshold (even a case of wine probably won’t do it!). There is another method using Kris+ if you have:

• Citi Miles
• Citi ThankYou Points
• DBS Points
• UOB UNI$

• For every Citi Mile transferred you’ll get 0.85 KrisPay miles
• For every Citi ThankYou Point transferred you’ll get 0.34 KrisPay miles
• For every DBS Point transferred you’ll get 1.7 KrisPay miles
• For every UOB UNI$ transferred you’ll get 1.7 KrisPay miles

The process is instant, and the KrisPay miles can then be instantly transferred into your KrisFlyer account, as we outlined above for purchases via Kris+.

There is no fee for the transfer, but in each case the rate is 15% less than you’ll get for direct bank-to-KrisFlyer transfers.

Here are the minimum credit card points balances you’ll need to make a transfer:

• Citi Miles: 4,000
• Citi TYPs: 10,000
• DBS Points: 100
• UOB UNI$: 1,000

Blocks then transfer in identically-sized increments, which is quite flexible especially in the case of DBS Points.

Is it good value?

Not really, since in all cases you’re taking a 15% hit using this method compared to direct transfers. The problem with the regular transfer is that it typically takes one to four days with these banks, too long to be regarded as either ‘instant’ or ‘quick’ for the purposes of this article.

It’s also worth noting that these transfers via Kris+ are fee-free, while the banks typically charge S$25-30 per transfer and impose larger minimum transfer block sizes, so with those things considered it may be worth taking the hit if only a small top-up is required.

Citi has a Kris+ transfer bonus running

Between now and 26th February 2026 you can instantly convert your Citi Miles or Points to KrisFlyer via Kris+ with an 8% bonus, meaning:

• For every Citi Mile transferred you’ll get 0.92 KrisPay miles
• For every Citi ThankYou Point transferred you’ll get 0.37 KrisPay miles

Overall the net transfer ratio is still 8.2% below the standard Citi to KrisFlyer conversion rate, even with this temporary offer running, but for smaller transfers that may be largely inconsequential, thanks to the lack of a transfer fee.

HSBC credit card points transfer: Instant

One of the only banks in Singapore currently offering instant transfers from accrued points into KrisFlyer miles is HSBC.

While this was originally a perk only for TravelOne cardholders, the system (including its 21 transfer partner options) has now been rolled out to all the banks miles-earning cards.

Here’s the full list of transfer options from HSBC in 2025.

= Good transfer ratio
= Lousy transfer ratio

HSBC FFP Transfer Partners

FFP			Transfer Ratio
			30,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			35,000 10,000 35,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			30,000 10,000 30,000 10,000
			35,000 10,000 35,000 10,000
			35,000 10,000 35,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			50,000 10,000 50,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			35,000 10,000 35,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			25,000 20,000 25,000 20,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			35,000 10,000 35,000 10,000

There’s some bad news though. From mid-January 2025, HSBC hiked its Rewards points requirement for transfers to KrisFlyer by 20% from 25,000 for each ‘block’ of 10,000 miles to 30,000.

This effectively kills the miles earn rates on all HSBC cards by 16.7%, if KrisFlyer is your Frequent Flyer Programme of choice.

As you can see there are some useful instant transfer options here to other FFPs besides just KrisFlyer, including Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and British Airways Avios.

Another downside is you’ll need at least 30,000 HSBC points (for 10,000 KrisFlyer miles), but after that you can transfer in single-point denominations (e.g. 30,006 points to 10,002 miles).

Transfers are available through the HSBC Singapore app (App Store | Google Play) and currently the card offers unlimited transfers to frequent flyer programmes free of charge.

Here’s HSBC’s step-by-step summary of how the transfer process works (for the TravelOne card, but now applicable to all cards).

Is it good value?

This is the standard way to transfer your HSBC points into KrisFlyer, but at a 3:1 ratio it’s no longer the best option among FFPs. Do consider whether the other transfer partners like BA Avios, Asia Miles and Flying Blue offer you better value before you commit.

CapitaStar: Instant

You can transfer your CapitaStar STAR$ into KrisFlyer miles instantly at a 26:1 ratio, subject to a minimum transfer of 9,880 STAR$ (into 380 KrisFlyer miles).

Transfer Ratio STAR$    KrisFlyer miles 9,880 : 380

You can convert up to 350,000 STAR$ annually, which would be around 13,460 KrisFlyer miles.

Transfers are via the rewards page on the CapitaStar website.

It’s also possible to transfer CapitaStar STAR$ to KrisFlyer miles instantly via the Kris+ app at the same ratio, but it’s not worth going through that two-stage process when a simple one-stage option is available, and Kris+ still requires you to transfer a minimum of 9,880 STAR$ across anyway.

Is it good value?

Not really. CapitaStar STAR$ can be redeemed against shopping and dining purchases at merchants within all 17 CapitaLand malls in Singapore, like Plaza Singapura, ION Orchard and Jewel Changi Airport.

That’s at a fixed rate of 10 STAR$ to 1 Singapore cent, so 9,880 STAR$ is good for S$9.88 worth of spending. That means a transfer to KrisFlyer miles has cost 2.6 cents per mile (S$9.88 ÷ 380), since you could otherwise have (relatively easily) used those STAR$ to achieve this cash equivalent saving.

That said, if 380 miles is a sufficient top-up to unlock a redemption, it’s worth considering for simplicity’s sake.

Atome: Instant

Back in August 2022, it became possible to transfer points accrued with local ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ merchant Atome to KrisFlyer miles, at a 2,400 points to 1,000 miles ratio.

Transfer Ratio Atome points    KrisFlyer miles 2,400 : 1,000

Is it good value?

Atome+ points can currently be redeemed at 1 cent each against future Atome purchases (e.g. 500 Atome+ points = S$5 rebate), so you’re effectively paying a cost per mile when transferring to KrisFlyer by losing out on this cashback opportunity.

It means any transfer to KrisFlyer miles will cost you 2.4 cents per mile (e.g. S$24.00 ÷ 1,000 for the smallest transfer), since you could otherwise have used your Atome+ points to achieve that cash equivalent saving.

That’s not out of the question if you need a small top-up, but it’s far from good.

Hotelux: Instant

You can transfer HoteLux points to KrisFlyer miles instantly in batches of 4,000, 5,000 or 6,000 points. The miles you’ll receive varies, based on your HoteLux membership tier.

HoteLux Membership Status	Conversion Rate
HoteLux Elite	1 Point    3 KF Miles with the following transfer options: • 4,000 Points = 12,000 KF Miles • 5,000 Points = 15,000 KF Miles • 6,000 Points = 18,000 KF Miles
HoteLux Elite Plus	1 Point    4 KF Miles with the following transfer options: • 4,000 Points = 16,000 KF Miles • 5,000 Points = 20,000 KF Miles • 6,000 Points = 24,000 KF Miles
HoteLux 1A Club	1 Point    5 KF Miles with the following transfer options: • 4,000 Points = 20,000 KF Miles • 5,000 Points = 25,000 KF Miles • 6,000 Points = 30,000 KF Miles

HoteLux points are worth US$0.09 (around S$0.12) each as room vouchers against future stays, in the following denominations:

• US$400 voucher for 4,399 Points
• US$500 voucher for 5,499 Points
• US$600 voucher for 6,599 Points
• US$700 voucher for 7,699 Points
• US$800 voucher for 8,799 Points

Points can be used as part payment for a booking – so you can use the US$400 voucher, for example, for a stay of US$450 (you’ll simply pay the rest separately in this case).

Is it good value?

No, you are effectively ‘buying’ KrisFlyer miles at the following rates:

• Elite: 4 Singapore cents per mile
• Elite Plus: 3 Singapore cents per mile
• A1 Club: 2.4 Singapore cents per mile

That’s unlikely to be of any interest to our readers, since you’ll almost never realise such high valuations for your miles, even when used for future First and Business Class flight redemptions.

However, transferring 4,000 HoteLux points to KrisFlyer miles allows you to ‘cash out’ a smaller volume of points that may not be enough for a hotel room voucher. This can be a useful option if you’ve decided not to accumulate more HoteLux points in the future.

American Express: Instant

Transfers from American Express Membership Rewards to KrisFlyer miles used to be another one of those “15 working days” type promises, but transfers were generally much quicker than that.

The good news is that since September 2021, Amex MR points in Singapore have transferred to KrisFlyer instantly, or within around five minutes at most.

This finally brought the Singapore Membership Rewards transfer to KrisFlyer in line with the USA and Australia MR programmes, which have instantly transferred into KrisFlyer for years.

450 Membership Rewards Points convert to 250 KrisFlyer miles, with that also being the minimum transfer quantity. If you have the Platinum card the ratio is 400:250 instead. Transfers to miles are free.

Note that instant transfers don’t apply to the Singapore Airlines American Express co-brand cards. In those cases the miles accrued each month transfer automatically into your KrisFlyer account with no transfer fee at statement publication, but you cannot request an intermediate manual transfer, even if you are willing to pay.

Is it good value?

Yes, unless you usually accrue Membership Rewards points in order to transfer into other frequent flyer programmes like Asia Miles, Avios or Emirates instead, in which case you’ll have to ‘divert’ some of those for an instant KrisFlyer top-up.

Virgin Australia Velocity Points: Instant

Do you have a Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer account? Like most of our readers in Singapore, the answer is probably no.

That’s because unless you have a mailing address in one of Virgin’s primary markets (e.g. Australia or New Zealand), you aren’t eligible for one.

If you do have one though, here’s another instant transfer option.

You can move Velocity points to KrisFlyer at a 1.55:1 ratio provided you have at least 5,000 Velocity points (which would become 3,226 KrisFlyer miles).

After that, transfers in subsequent 1-point denominations are possible (e.g. 5,001, 5,002 etc…).

Is it good value?

Probably not. Velocity points are worth approximately 1.6 Singapore cents according to Point Hacks, so you’re ‘buying’ KrisFlyer miles here at a rate of around 2.5 cents per mile, assuming you would otherwise use the points for flight redemptions in the Velocity programme.

KrisShop.com: 24 hours

KrisShop is Singapore Airlines’ online retail store with a wide range of goods, some of which you’d expect to find in an on board duty free selection like cosmetics and fragrances, but over recent years expending to a number of other items including food and homewares.

You can pre-order for onboard collection or alternatively many items are available for home delivery.

KrisShop awards 1.5 KrisFlyer miles per S$1 net spend (i.e. excluding taxes and delivery charges), though enhanced earn rates are available if you are a KrisShopper member.

The bad news, according to KrisShop’s FAQs, is:

“Please allow up to 5 business days for miles to be credited to your KrisFlyer account after your transaction.”

KrisShop FAQs

The good news is that in reality, KrisFlyer miles are credited to your account within 24 hours of making your purchase. This even applies at weekends.

KrisShop via Kris+: Instant

If you’re a Singapore resident you can now purchase most KrisShop items via the Kris+ app, earning KrisPay miles in the process, which you can then transfer directly and immediately into your KrisFlyer account.

You’ll earn 1.5 miles per S$1 spent, plus any tier bonus within the KrisShopper programme if you are a member. There are also occasional bonus miles promotions, which often makes purchasing KrisShop items this way more lucrative anyway, compared to using KrisShop.com.

Delivery is only to Singapore addresses if you purchase via this method, but since mid-November 2025 Kris+ now also supports payments for in-flight KrisShop purchases too. Just tell the cabin crew you wish to pay with Kris+.

OCBC$ / Voyage Miles / 90°N Miles: 24 hours

OCBC quotes “up to 21 working days” as the timescale for transferring its reward points to KrisFlyer miles. That’s a ridiculously long wait – basically one month.

The good news is that it doesn’t actually take that long – in reality transfers take just 24 hours or less.

This was first shared with us by one of our readers in February 2018, and also confirmed on the FlyerTalk forum transfer time post more recently (e.g. a 12-hour turnaround 11pm transfer to 11am credit time the next day).

I transferred OCBC$ from my rewards account in 2022 at around 12pm on a Thursday. The miles were credited in my KrisFlyer account by 11.30am the following day (Friday).

The downside here is you’ll need at least 25,000 OCBC$ (for 10,000 miles) or 1,000 90°N Miles (for 1,000 miles), with same-sized blocks thereafter, in order to transfer, though the Voyage Card is a welcome exception – here you can transfer as little as 1 Voyage Mile (for 1 mile), with individual mile blocks available thereafter.

Unfortunately, a fee of S$25 applies for each transfer to KrisFlyer miles (yes, even if you transfer 1 mile!).

Is it good value?

Yes. Unlike the instant Citi / DBS / UOB Points via Kris+ method outlined above, where you take a hit on the rate, this is the standard way to transfer your OCBC$ / Voyage Miles / 90°N Miles into KrisFlyer at the normal ratio.

What about Citi?

Previous versions of this guide have mentioned a typical 24-hour turnaround for Citi Miles and Citi ThankYou Points (TYP) transfers into the KrisFlyer programme.

We have no longer been seeing this quick turnaround since 2023.

My most recent Citi Miles and ThankYou Points (TYP) transfers to KrisFlyer have consistently taken two days to process, regardless of the day of the week or time of initiation. Unfortunately, this therefore no longer qualifies as an instant or quick method, though it’s still far from the multi-day or week-long delays you’ll suffer transferring from some other banks.

Do share your own experiences with Citi transfers in the comments section below, if they are different.

Buy miles from Singapore Airlines: Instant, but expensive

If the above options are no good to you, or you’ve exhausted as many of them as you can but still find yourself a bit short for a redemption, there’s one final option.

Provided you have at least 50% of the required miles for your award ticket, you can buy the rest from Singapore Airlines directly.

It isn’t cheap, at US$40 (around S$54) per 1,000 miles, so you’ll definitely want this to only be a small top-up if possible at 5.4 cents per mile.

Just book online as you normally would. The system will recognise that you have at least half the miles needed and allow you to proceed with the selection, then generates the following message:

The additional charge is added to the booking summary and will be paid along with the usual taxes and fees due.

In this example an additional S$215.63 is charged to top up 3,994 miles, but the redemption is now instantly confirmable.

Is it good value?

Absolutely not. As you can see it’s costing you a whopping 5.4 cents per mile, but if it’s enough to make your redemption work the cost per mile for a small top-up probably isn’t too relevant.

For example, buying miles from SIA instead of walking down to Bottles & Bottles to buy wine and accrue the extra 128 miles I needed for my redemption in the KrisPay example provided earlier now seems like quite a lot of effort, when Singapore Airlines will simply sell me 128 miles for S$6.91!

Terrible value, but zero effort.

Putting award seats on hold

If you’ve found award availability but need time for miles to transfer in to your account, don’t risk losing those seats – KrisFlyer can usually help.

Most of us keep points in credit card programmes to extend their validity, but transfers to KrisFlyer can take a day or more (longer if weekends are involved). Meanwhile, award seats could disappear.

Call KrisFlyer and explain your situation: which flights you want to book and when you expect the miles to land in your account. They’ll typically hold your award seats for a couple of days (sometimes longer), giving you time to confirm once the miles credit.

You’ll see the itinerary in your account marked “Reserved” rather than “Confirmed”.

Important: Award holds aren’t official policy, so there’s no guarantee. In our experience, polite requests are usually accommodated, especially for Elite / PPS Club members.

There are a few ways to recharge your KrisFlyer balance in real time, with Kris+, NTUC LinkPoints, CapitaStar STAR$, Velocity transfers, Atome transfers, Hotelux transfers, and both Amex and HSBC credit card points the primary examples where transfers are literally instant.

The Citi, DBS, and UOB Points transfer method via Kris+ comes with a 15% reduction in value compared to a standard points-to-miles transfer, unless a promotional offer is active. However, it can still be advantageous for smaller transfers due to the absence of a transfer fee.

The only other instant method is by far the most expensive, though perhaps one of the simplest – buying the extra miles you need from Singapore Airlines directly. That’s probably fine for a couple of hundred miles, but becomes very pricey indeed if you’re short by thousands!

We’ve also highlighted several quick transfer methods where miles typically credit within a day or less. If you plan to use one of these options – or some of the even slower alternatives out there – it’s worth reaching out to Singapore Airlines to request an award seat hold.

Have you discovered any other efficient methods for quickly topping up your KrisFlyer balance? If so, let us know!

(Cover Photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media / Malcolm Lu)