If you’re a miles collector in Singapore, you’re likely well acquainted with SIA’s KrisFlyer miles – and probably Cathay’s Asia Miles as well. These two programmes dominate the frequent flyer landscape among our readers, both locally and across the region.

When it comes to transferring your credit card points into miles, most of those based in Singapore therefore gravitate to one of these two schemes, many even topping up their balance in both to widen their access to Oneworld and Star Alliance redemption options.

All nine of the Singapore banks and credit card issuers support KrisFlyer miles transfers, but only eight of them offer Asia Miles – BOC dropped that option in July 2025, leaving BOC Points tied to a single programme. But what other schemes can you transfer into, and from which cards?

HSBC and OCBC added a host of loyalty schemes as transfer partners in 2023, but in 2024 Standard Chartered culled nine options from its list, while adding Asia Miles.

Here we take a fresh look at which points you can move into some of the less well-known frequent flyer programmes and hotel partners in 2026.

Credit card to loyalty programmes

Here’s the latest list of loyalty programmes you can transfer your Singapore credit card points into, as of 13th August 2026.

Singapore credit card to FFP & loyalty programmes

Note that American Express Membership Rewards points still cannot be transferred to Emirates Skywards. The option disappeared from the Amex portal on 29th May 2025 and was originally expected back in December 2025. Nearly fifteen months on, the bank’s website simply states that the option is unavailable “until further notice”. Amex is the sole Emirates transfer partner in Singapore, so for now that programme is effectively out of reach for Singapore cardholders.

We have removed Emirates Skywards from the table of transfer options in Singapore – because it now simply isn’t one.

For American Express and UOB, we are referring to their general credit card products in the table above. If you have a Singapore Airlines co-brand card from either provider, your miles are automatically transferred into your KrisFlyer account with no alternative FFP transfer option available.

Recent changes

The biggest development of the past year came from American Express. From 23rd February 2026 the bank hiked the number of Membership Rewards points needed for miles conversions by 22-25% across seven of its eight airline partners, and by a punishing 44-50% for the eighth, Emirates Skywards

That was a devaluation of the redemption side rather than the earning side, which means it reduced the value of points cardholders had already earned, not merely those they would earn in future.

It also broke something that had always been reassuringly simple about the Amex programme.

Platinum Charge and Centurion cardholders have long converted at a better rate than holders of other Membership Rewards cards, but within each of those tiers every airline partner shared an identical ratio. That’s no longer the case – Emirates Skywards has been singled out for a far steeper hike, leaving Amex with two ratios per card tier where it previously had one.

In May 2024, HSBC resolved the strange disparity we previously saw for its transfer partner arrangements, opening up all of ;its conversion options to all cardholders, great news with pooling possible between card accounts and no conversion fees.

The bank later removed the option to transfer to the Club Vistara programme, though that one was out of its hands – Vistara was folded into Air India in November 2024, and the loyalty scheme was retired along with the airline. Then came the bigger crunch.

From January 2025, HSBC increased the number of reward points needed for its cardholders to transfer into KrisFlyer miles by 20%, a surprise move that left it as the only bank in Singapore offering an inferior points-to-miles exchange rate for SIA’s frequent flyer programme, compared to its other partners. Amex has now joined it in the devaluation club, albeit across the board rather than for a single programme.

British Airways Avios = Qatar Airways Avios (and other flavours)

One important thing to note is that transfers to The British Airways Club can also be ‘de facto’ transfers to Qatar Airways Privilege Club, and vice-versa.

That’s because both FFPs use the Avios currency, and allow free unlimited 1:1 transfers between your accounts as and when you please. You just need a (free) account in both programmes, registered in the same name.

You can therefore effectively also transfer into Qatar Privilege Club from Amex and OCBC, via BA Avios.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club doesn’t apply fuel surcharges to award tickets on its own flights, and offers attractive awards like Singapore to Koh Samui on Bangkok Airways for 11,000 Avios points.

That’s not all though – any transfer to British Airways Avios allows you to tap awards with a total of seven airline frequent flyer programmes – via instant, free, two-way transfers from the BA programme.

You no longer need to use a British Airways account as a staging post for many of these moves, with avios.com now handling direct transfers between the Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and Loganair programmes in a single step.

Account links are permanent once made, so you only enter your membership details the first time. Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Finnair Plus are the two exceptions – those transfers still have to go through The British Airways Club in two stages.

That opens up a range of additional options, including a wide selection of UK domestic flights on Loganair, often priced at GBP200+ (~S$350+) one-way, for only 6,500 Avios.

Which airlines can you redeem on?

When you convert your frequent flyer miles into a programme that is part of a major alliance, you can generally redeem for flights on any member airline within that alliance.

For example you can use Turkish miles to redeem on Lufthansa, as they are fellow Star Alliance members. Likewise KLM’s Flying Blue miles can be used to redeem on a Virgin Atlantic flight.

Here’s a quick reference table of which airlines are in each of the major alliance groupings.

		Star Alliance
	Aegean Airlines		Ethiopian Airlines
	Air Canada		EVA Air
	Air China		ITA Airways
	Air India		LOT Polish Airlines
	Air New Zealand		Lufthansa
	All Nippon Airways		Shenzhen Airlines
	Asiana Airlines		Singapore Airlines
	Austrian Airlines		South African Airways
	Avianca		Swiss International Air Lines
	Brussels Airlines		TAP Air Portugal
	Copa Airlines		Thai Airways
	Croatia Airlines		Turkish Airlines
	EgyptAir		United Airlines

		Oneworld
	Alaska Airlines / Hawaiian		Malaysia Airlines
	American Airlines		Oman Air
	British Airways		Qantas
	Cathay Pacific		Qatar Airways
	Fiji Airways		Royal Air Maroc
	Finnair		Royal Jordanian
	Iberia		SriLankan Airlines
	Japan Airlines

		SkyTeam
	Aerolíneas Argentinas		KLM
	Aeroméxico		Korean Air
	Air Europa		Middle East Airlines
	Air France		Saudia
	China Airlines		Scandinavian Airlines
	China Eastern Airlines		TAROM
	Delta Air Lines		Vietnam Airlines
	Garuda Indonesia		Virgin Atlantic
	Kenya Airways		Xiamen Air

Farewell Asiana

Asiana Airlines leaves Star Alliance at 11.59pm Korea time on 16th December 2026, merging into SkyTeam founding member Korean Air the following day. This isn’t a switch of allegiance so much as an absorption – the Asiana brand, its operating licence and the Asiana Club programme all cease to exist on 17th December, with Asiana Club miles converting into Korean Air SKYPASS at 1:1.

Mileage accrual on Asiana-operated flights ends for departures after 15th October 2026, and partner programmes including KrisFlyer are expected to stop displaying Asiana award space from around 1st December, to allow time for final ticketing.

Star Alliance therefore drops to 25 member airlines on 17th December 2026.

Don’t forget partner redemptions

In the same way that you can redeem flights using KrisFlyer miles on SIA’s non-Star Alliance partner airlines like Malaysia Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Virgin Australia, many of the airline programmes you can convert points into from your Singapore credit card also have their own non-alliance partner redemption agreements. Note that Alaska Airlines dropped off that list on 1st October 2025, when the two carriers ended their reciprocal redemption arrangement.

Here’s a brief rundown of the airlines you can redeem on that you might not expect to be able to using frequent flyer points or miles for some popular programmes.

FFP	Partner Airlines
	Air Mauritius, Bamboo Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, flydubai, Gulf Air, Olympic Air, PAL Airlines, Virgin Australia
	HK Express, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, Austrian, Bangkok Airways, Gulf Air, Lufthansa, Shenzhen, Swiss
	Aer Lingus, Air Nostrum, Fiji Airways, QantasLink / Jetconnect, SUN-AIR of Scandinavia
	Air New Zealand, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, American Airlines, Asiana, All Nippon Airways, Bangkok Airways, Brussels Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, GOL, Hainan Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Philippine Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Scandinavian Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Virgin Australia
	Air Mauritius, Alaska Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Copa Airlines, easyJet, flydubai, GOL, Japan Airlines, Jetstar, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, South African Airways, TAP Air Portugal, United
	Air France, Etihad, Emirates, Firefly, KLM
	Air Corsica, Air Mauritius, Aircalin, Bangkok Airways, Chalair, Copa Airlines, GOL, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Transavia, Twin Jet, WestJet
	Jetstar, Air Niugini, Airnorth, Fiji Airways, Air Vanuatu, Emirates, El Al, WestJet
	Bangkok Airways, GOL, LATAM, Middle East Airlines, Oman Air, Royal Air Maroc, Rwandair, Virgin Australia
	Aer Lingus, AeroMar, Air Dolomiti, Azul, Boutique Air, Cape Air, Edelweiss, Eurowings, Hawaiian Airlines, Olympic Air
	ANA, China Southern, Pacific Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, Shanghai Airlines

Some partner awards are only applicable on selected routes

For example if you want to use Asia Miles to redeem on Star Alliance member Air Canada, that’s only applicable on selected domestic routes (e.g. Vancouver to Toronto). Similarly you can redeem Asia Miles on Swiss only between Zurich and Hong Kong, plus selected European destinations from Zurich.

Other examples include using Lufthansa Miles & More on Cathay Pacific. That only works on services between Hong Kong and Auckland, Cairns, Melbourne or Sydney.

Transfer ratios aren’t always the same

While most credit cards in Singapore will give you the same transfer ratio of loyalty points to frequent flyer miles for all of their partner airlines, some unfortunately do not.

Back in July 2019, Standard Chartered came up with a bunch of different transfer ratios for its 11 new partners (initially for the X card, which became the Journey card, but then for all the bank’s Visa Infinite cards).

Those options have now largely been removed, but in recent years other banks have added partner lists with variable transfer ratios too.

OCBC’s long-awaited addition of eight new transfer partners in July 2023, from its single option before that, is another case where the transfer ratios have taken a haircut for several FFPs compared to KrisFlyer, including Asia Miles.

For example, if you want to transfer 100,000 OCBC Voyage miles to Asia Miles, you’ll get 75,000 miles in that scheme, but you’d get 100,000 KrisFlyer miles with the same transfer.

HSBC and American Express are the most egregious examples.

HSBC has hiked the number of reward points needed for its cardholders to transfer into KrisFlyer miles by 20%, meaning a 4 mpd card effectively earns 3.3 mpd if those points are destined for SIA’s programme. Its other partners fare worse still – Japan Airlines Mileage Bank takes a 50% haircut, while Aeroplan, Qatar, Turkish, United and Hainan all sit 29% below the best available rate.

American Express joined them in February 2026.

Its rates have always varied by card tier – Platinum Charge and Centurion cardholders get a better deal than holders of other Membership Rewards cards – but until this year every airline partner shared the same ratio within a tier. Now seven partners sit at 500 points to 250 miles (or 550 to 250 for other Membership Rewards cards), while Emirates Skywards demands 600 or 650 to 250 respectively – assuming that option ever returns.

HSBC’s full list of conversion ratios by programme is outlined here.

What will the transfer cost you?

Ratios are only half the picture. Most banks in Singapore also charge an administrative fee every time you convert points into miles, and those fees vary more than you might expect – from nothing at all to over S$30 a time.

Here’s how the nine issuers compare.

Singapore Bank to Miles Conversion fees
Bank		Fee
	Amex Membership Rewards	Free
	HSBC Reward points	Free
	OCBC OCBC$ | 90°N Miles | VOYAGE Miles	S$25.00
	UOB UNI$	S$27.00^
	Citi ThankYou Points | Miles	S$27.25
	DBS Points	S$27.25^^
	Maybank TREATS Points	S$27.25
	Standard Chartered 360° rewards points	S$27.25
	BOC Bonus Points	S$30.56*

^ Free for UOB Visa Infinite, Visa Infinite Metal, and Reserve cardholders, across all UNI$ held
^^ Free for DBS Insignia cardholders, across all DBS Points held
* BOC charges this fee for each points-to-miles transfer of up to 10 transfer blocks (100,000 KrisFlyer miles).

Two changes to note from the past year. DBS began charging its standard S$27.25 administrative fee on AirAsia Points conversions from 1st March 2026, having previously waived it, and UOB discontinued its automatic conversion scheme entirely from 20th May 2026.

BOC remains the outlier at the wrong end of the scale, requiring a completed PDF form and quoting 14 to 21 working days for the transfer to land.

Redemption rates can differ significantly

Even once you’ve accounted for the different credit card points to airlines miles transfer ratios of the frequent flyer programme you’re interested in, don’t be ‘fooled’ purely by the number of miles you’ll clock up.

Many of these schemes are far less generous than others for the same routing, with the same airline.

Take Bangkok Airways for example. You can’t transfer miles directly into the airline’s FlyerBonus scheme from any Singapore credit cards, but you can redeem on the airline’s (typically expensive) flights from Singapore to Koh Samui using:

• Asia Miles
• Emirates
• Etihad Guest
• Flying Blue
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Privilege Club

Pro Tip: Round-trip flights on this route can be upwards of S$500, even in Economy Class, so using miles or points for a Koh Samui trip potentially offers you some rare value in this cabin.

Let’s say you’re flush with both Citi and Amex points.

As you can see from the table above, you have the option to transfer miles into five of these six programmes – all except Emirates Skywards, which as we’ve covered is a dead end from a Singapore credit card at the moment. How many miles will you need in each one to get a return Economy Class ticket from Singapore to Koh Samui?

• Asia Miles: 20,000
• Qatar Privilege Club: 22,000
• Etihad Guest: 22,000
• AF/KLM Flying Blue: 22,000
• Qantas Frequent Flyer: 28,000
• Emirates: 28,000

Looking at the two extremes, you’ll need to transfer only 20,000 points to fly this return route using Asia Miles, but 40% more than that (28,000 points) to achieve the same redemption using the Qantas Frequent Flyer or Emirates Skywards programmes.

Even if you already have a small balance in Qantas Frequent Flyer, for example, don’t make the mistake of simply ‘topping up’ to achieve the award ticket – do the maths first. And if it’s an Emirates Skywards balance you’re sitting on, topping up isn’t even an option from a Singapore card right now.

Look out for bonus transfer promotions

From time to time, frequent flyer programmes or banks run bonus transfer offers, giving you extra miles when you convert credit card points. These can range from modest 10% boosts to far more generous ones – past examples include an Asia Miles 10% bonus and Qatar Airways Privilege Club’s 30% Avios bonus on Citi points transfers.

If you’re already planning a redemption with one of these programmes, these promotions are a great time to transfer, effectively improving your points-to-miles rate without any extra cost. Just be sure to check the fine print – some bonuses require pre-registration or have minimum transfer thresholds to achieve the ‘advertised’ bump.

While it’s rarely worth transferring points speculatively, timing your move during a bonus window can be a good way to stretch your balance further, especially for programmes offering valuable redemptions that fit your travel plans in the not too distant future.

Don’t forget fuel surcharges

Another key difference between KrisFlyer redemptions on Singapore Airlines flights and most other redemptions on partners or through other FFPs is that you may be stung by a fuel surcharge when you redeem miles for an award ticket.

Generally speaking, outside KrisFlyer only United MileagePlus (UA and partners), Air Canada Aeroplan and Qatar Privilege Club (QR flights only) don’t add a fuel surcharge to award bookings, though the last of those does levy an award segment fee.

All other programmes will pass on any fuel surcharges and add them to the mandatory taxes payable when you redeem, which can significantly shift the equation on value, so do consider this before committing to a points transfer.

For example, a one-way Turkish Airlines redemption from Singapore to Frankfurt in Business Class will cost you 90,000 miles through the carrier’s Miles&Smiles programme, but also set you back a whopping S$732 in taxes, fees and fuel surcharges.

A non-stop KrisFlyer Saver Business Class redemption on the same route will cost you 108,500 miles, but only S$65 in taxes.

For us, the miles saving here for the Turkish Airlines itinerary definitely isn’t worth it – saving only 18,500 miles for an additional cost of S$667.

KrisFlyer and Asia Miles are both very useful frequent flyer programmes, but don’t get stuck into thinking you can only transfer into those schemes, especially if you have a Citi, HSBC or OCBC credit card in Singapore, with a host of other options opening up some great potential redemption opportunities.

In addition to the obvious ‘big three’ alliance options, it’s also worth considering alternative airline award possibilities through partner airline redemptions opening up the likes of Bangkok Airways, Oman Air and Aer Lingus through some of these mileage currencies.

The key thing to consider before you commit is making sure the FFP gives you good value through the transfer ratio, and a competitive redemption through its award chart for your preferred flights – but don’t forget to factor in any fuel surcharges.

You should also consider that in the unlucky event that a potential redemption disappears by the time your miles are credited, that you can still make good alternative use of miles in that programme.

One final observation on the year just gone. Where our previous editions of this article were charting an expanding list of options, 2026 has run the other way – Amex and HSBC have both devalued their conversion ratios, BOC has cut its partner list to a single programme, and nobody has actually added anything.

The case for holding a card with good transfer flexibility is stronger than ever, but as always transfer only when you have a redemption in mind or points are expiring, not before.

(Cover Photo: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock)