American Express has raised the base earn rates on all four of its Singapore Airlines co-brand credit cards, with effect from 1st November 2026, but there’s bad news for Ascend cardholders with their complimentary Hilton night discontinued.
The KrisFlyer Credit Card, widely known as the KrisFlyer Blue, now earns 1.3 mpd on local and foreign currency spend, up from 1.1 mpd. The KrisFlyer Ascend goes from 1.2 mpd to 1.5 mpd, which is now also the base rate on the two cards reserved for PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members.
The Ascend also gets a bigger 15,000 miles renewal voucher, up from 10,000 miles. Complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status has gone too, and existing Hilton vouchers now need to be used by 31st December 2026.
Here’s how the changes affect each card.
The new earn rates
| Amex Singapore Airlines cards Base earn rates |
||||
| Card | Local (until 31 Oct) |
Local (from 1 Nov) |
FCY (until 31 Oct) |
FCY (from 1 Nov) |
 KF Blue |
1.1 mpd | 1.3 mpd | 1.1 mpd | 1.3 mpd |
 KF Ascend |
1.2 mpd | 1.5 mpd | 1.2 mpd | 1.5 mpd |
 Amex PPS |
1.3 mpd (first S$3,800) 1.4 mpd (above) |
1.5 mpd | 1.3 mpd (first S$3,800) 2 mpd (above) |
1.5 mpd (first S$3,800) 2 mpd (above) |
 Amex Solitaire PPS* |
1.3 mpd (first S$3,800) 1.5 mpd (above) |
1.5 mpd | 1.3 mpd (first S$3,800) 2.4 mpd (above) |
1.5 mpd (first S$3,800) 2.4 mpd (above) |
* Amex has confirmed the Solitaire PPS card’s new 1.5 mpd base rate, but the card’s terms haven’t been updated yet. We’ve assumed the 2.4 mpd rate above S$3,800 of monthly FCY spend continues.
As before, there’s no minimum spend and no cap on miles earned at these rates.
The uncapped 2 mpd on Singapore Airlines, Scoot, KrisShop and Pelago purchases is unchanged on all four cards, and so is the Blue and Ascend’s 2 mpd on Grab for the first S$200 each calendar month.
Here, the rates haven’t moved while the base rate has, so the benefit becomes smaller.
On the Ascend, the Grab bonus is now just 0.5 mpd (awarded as 5 miles per S$10 block), and the “bonus” 2 mpd on SIA Group spend is only 0.5 mpd better than what you earn everywhere else.
On the Blue, both premiums shrink to 0.7 mpd over and above the new base rate.
KrisFlyer Blue – no longer bottom of the pile
At 1.1 mpd, the Blue had the lowest general spend earn rate of any miles card in Singapore. At 1.3 mpd it now sits level with the DBS Altitude and OCBC 90°N cards for local spend, and ahead of the KrisFlyer UOB, HSBC TravelOne, Citi PremierMiles and Standard Chartered Journey cards, all on 1.2 mpd.
With the 3.25% foreign currency fee unchanged, each mile earned abroad still costs 2.64 cents, down from 3.12 cents but still woeful, because there’s still no hiked FCY rate to speak of.
That’s slightly better than the KrisFlyer UOB card’s 2.86 cents, but still well behind every general spend card with an overseas bonus rate, so it’s not one to take with you on a trip.
Amex continues to calculate miles on the exact transaction amount before rounding to the nearest whole mile, so a charge of just S$0.39 now earns a mile on this card.
The Blue’s other recent change came just last month, when Amex cut its Singapore Airlines cashback from S$150 to S$100, but halved the qualifying spend to S$6,000 from 19th November. With the new base rate, that cashback lifts your effective earn on the first S$6,000 of spend to around 2.2 mpd, provided you were booking a S$400+ Singapore Airlines flight within two months anyway.
None of this changes our overall view of the card. It’s still one to acquire for the sign-up bonus and keep with the fee waived for Amex Offers. It’s now just a little less painful to spend on, when you have to.
KrisFlyer Ascend hiked to 1.5 mpd
At 1.5 mpd, the Ascend now has the highest local earn rate of any card in our general spend table, edging out the BOC Elite Miles and UOB PRVI Miles cards which both earn 1.4 mpd.
Those cards still earn far more overseas, though. At 1.5 mpd and a 3.25% fee, the Ascend’s cost per mile on FCY spend falls from 2.86 cents to 2.29 cents, which is still terrible.
The minimum charge needed to earn a mile drops to S$0.34, with the rounding policy unchanged.
There’s also a change for bill payments. At the standard Amex fees of 2.4% at ipaymy and 2.9% at CardUp, you’re now effectively buying miles at 1.56 cents and 1.88 cents respectively. The ipaymy figure sits below the typical 1.8 cent valuation for a KrisFlyer mile, though Amex does limit which payment types it allows on these platforms.
The annual fee stays at S$397.85, though, with no first year waiver.
Here’s everything that’s changed on the Ascend:
| Amex KrisFlyer Ascend What’s changed |
||
| Until 31 Oct 2026 |
From 1 Nov 2026 |
|
| Local earn | 1.2 mpd | 1.5 mpd |
| FCY earn | 1.2 mpd | 1.5 mpd |
| SIA Group earn | 2 mpd | 2 mpd |
| Grab | 2 mpd (S$200/mth) |
2 mpd (S$200/mth) |
| Renewal voucher | 10,000 miles | 15,000 miles |
| Foreign Spend voucher | 18,000 miles (S$10,000 FCY) |
18,000 miles (S$10,000 FCY) |
| Hilton free night | Yes | Discontinued |
| Hilton Honors Silver | Yes | Discontinued (enrol by 31 Dec 2026) |
| KF Elite Gold fast track | S$15,000 on SIA / Scoot flights in first 12 months |
No change |
| Member Invites | 15,000 miles each | No change |
| Annual fee | S$397.85 | No change |
The Foreign Spend voucher gets more interesting
The Ascend’s 18,000 miles Foreign Spend voucher continues, with a new qualifying window running from 1st November 2026 to 31st October 2027. Charge the equivalent of S$10,000 or more in foreign currency to the card in that time, and the voucher is yours.
Amex’s factsheet gives the end date as 30th October 2027, but the card’s terms and product page both say 31st October. We’d aim to finish well before either.
The higher base rate makes a nice difference here. Treating the voucher as if it were 18,000 regular miles:
| Effective FCY earn with the Foreign Spend voucher (Voucher valued at par, best case) |
||||
| FCY spend (1 Nov – 31 Oct) |
Base miles (1.5 mpd) |
Voucher | Effective mpd |
Cost per mile |
| S$9,999 | 14,999 | – | 1.5 | 2.29¢ |
| S$10,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 | 3.3 | 1.04¢ |
| S$15,000 | 22,500 | 18,000 | 2.7 | 1.27¢ |
| S$20,000 | 30,000 | 18,000 | 2.4 | 1.43¢ |
| S$30,000 | 45,000 | 18,000 | 2.1 | 1.63¢ |
At exactly S$10,000, that’s 3.3 mpd at 1.04 cents per mile, which beats the BOC Elite Miles card’s 1.14 cents, the best figure in our cost per mile table. At 1.2 mpd, the same S$10,000 only got the Ascend level with BOC.
That’s the best case, though, and we actually wouldn’t value the voucher at par. Like the renewal voucher, it knocks miles off a single Singapore Airlines award for one passenger, and has to be used within 12 months, so it’s nowhere near as flexible as 18,000 actual miles in your account.
If you hold the Ascend, put just over S$10,000 of FCY spend on it within the qualifying period, leaving a margin for posting dates and refunds, then switch back to a better card for everything else – the same strategy we recommended before.
Renewal voucher rises to 15,000 miles
From year two, Ascend cardholders receive a 15,000 miles Renewal Miles Redemption Voucher after paying the annual fee, up from 10,000 miles.
To qualify for the larger voucher, your renewal fee must be billed and paid (or payable) on or after 1st November 2026. If you renewed in September or October, you’ll get the old 10,000 miles version.
The bigger voucher may also take longer to arrive. Usually it’s issued around 10 to 12 weeks after Amex receives your fee, but if you pay between 1st November 2026 and 31st March 2027, Amex only commits to issuing it before 30th June 2027. For a November renewal, that could mean a wait of seven months or more. Normal timings resume for fees paid from 1st April 2027.
(Photo: Lucas Wunderlich / Shutterstock)
Otherwise, the voucher works as before, with plenty of conditions that make it much less useful than actual miles:
- It knocks a fixed number of miles off one award or upgrade on a Singapore Airlines-operated flight, for you or one of your redemption nominees
- The booking and all flights must fall within 12 months of the voucher being issued
- It only applies to the first passenger in a booking, and any unused value is forfeited
- It can’t be combined with the Foreign Spend voucher in the same booking
- You must hold at least 50% of the award’s full price in your KrisFlyer account when you book
That last rule now bites on any award under 30,000 miles. Amex’s own example uses a 15,500 mile Economy Saver award from Singapore to Hong Kong. The voucher covers all but 500 miles of it, yet you’d still need 7,750 miles in your account to make the booking.
See our full review for more on how the vouchers work.
Hilton night and Silver status discontinued
The Ascend’s annual complimentary night at a participating Hilton hotel in Asia Pacific has been discontinued, along with complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status.
Neither will be offered to new cardholders approved after 2nd November 2026, or to existing cardholders whose renewal fee is paid from November 2026 onwards. Worse, anyone still holding a voucher now has to use it much sooner than they expected.
Here’s how the transition works:
| Amex KrisFlyer Ascend Hilton transition |
|
| If you… | What happens |
| Hold an unused Hilton voucher |
Stay must be completed by 31 Dec 2026, or the voucher’s printed expiry if earlier |
| Paid your renewal fee in Sep or Oct 2026 |
Hilton voucher issued by 30 Nov 2026, stay by 31 Dec 2026 (plus a 10,000 miles renewal voucher) |
| Were approved on or before 2 Nov 2026 |
Hilton voucher issued by 30 Nov 2026, stay by 31 Dec 2026 |
| Pay your renewal fee from Nov 2026 |
No Hilton voucher (15,000 miles renewal voucher instead) |
| Are approved after 2 Nov 2026 |
No Hilton voucher |
| Haven’t yet enrolled for Hilton Silver |
Eligible cardholders can still enrol until 31 Dec 2026 |
The 31st December deadline applies to checkout, not the booking date, and Hilton’s voucher terms require bookings at least 14 days before arrival.
In practice, that means booking by 16th December at the latest, for a 30th December check-in. Hotels can also apply blackout dates, so with every outstanding voucher now chasing the same few weeks, December availability is likely to be tight, especially for staycations. If you’re holding a voucher, book now.
The participating hotels are on Amex’s 2026 list, which includes the Conrad Singapore Marina Bay and Hilton Singapore Orchard for those who can’t travel overseas before year end.
(Photo: Hilton)
If you’re eligible for Hilton Silver and haven’t enrolled yet, do it at hiltonhonors.com/amexkrisflyersilver before 31st December. Under the card’s terms, status lasts for the rest of the calendar year you earn it and all of the next, so enrolling now should see you through to at least the end of 2027.
The cardholders worst hit are those who renewed in September or October. They’ve just paid S$397.85 for a membership year whose headline benefit now has to be used within a few weeks, in arguably the busiest months of the year, and they also miss out on the larger 15,000 miles voucher.
Nothing in the terms offers compensation for that, but it costs nothing to call Amex and ask for a partial fee refund or another goodwill gesture. If you try, let us know how you get on in the comments.
PPS and Solitaire PPS cards
The two cards reserved for Singapore Airlines’ top status tiers get a more modest boost, mainly on SGD spend.
The Amex PPS Credit Card now earns a flat 1.5 mpd on SGD spend, up from 1.3 mpd on the first S$3,800 each month and 1.4 mpd above that. FCY spend earns 1.5 mpd on the first S$3,800 each month (up from 1.3 mpd), with the 2 mpd rate above that unchanged.
According to Amex’s factsheet, the Amex Solitaire PPS Credit Card also moves to a 1.5 mpd base rate. The card’s terms haven’t been updated yet, but we’d expect it to keep its 2.4 mpd rate on FCY spend above S$3,800 a month.
Unlike the Blue and Ascend, both PPS cards award miles in blocks of S$10 of cumulative monthly spend. SGD and FCY spend can’t be combined to reach the S$3,800 threshold, and SIA Group spend at 2 mpd doesn’t count towards it either.
Both cards still cost S$561.35 a year, waived in the first year. See our complete guide to the PPS Club for more on the status tiers themselves.
How they compare now
Here’s where the Blue and Ascend now sit among general spend cards:
| Earn rates (general spend cards) (Best to worst, November 2026) |
||
| Card | Local Spend | FCY Spend |
| KF Ascend | 1.5 mpd | 1.5 mpd |
| BOC EM | 1.4 mpd | 2.8 mpd |
| UOB PRVI Miles | 1.4 mpd | 2.4 mpd |
| DBS Altitude | 1.3 mpd | 2.2 mpd |
| OCBC 90°N | 1.3 mpd | 2.1 mpd |
| KF Blue | 1.3 mpd | 1.3 mpd |
| HSBC T1 | 1.2 mpd | 2.4 mpd |
| Citi PM | 1.2 mpd | 2.2 mpd |
| SC Journey | 1.2 mpd | 2 mpd |
| KF UOB | 1.2 mpd | 1.2 mpd |
Put S$1,500 a month of SGD spend and S$500 a month of FCY spend on each card for a year, and the Ascend now earns 36,000 miles (up from 28,800) and the Blue 31,200 miles (up from 26,400).
The same spend on the BOC Elite Miles card still earns 42,000 miles. The gap with the Ascend has narrowed from 13,200 miles to 6,000, worth around S$108 a year, but the BOC card wins as soon as you travel overseas.
Neither card should be your first choice for everyday spending, of course. Bonus category cards earning 4 mpd still come first, up to their monthly caps.
Is the Ascend still worth renewing?
In our review last month, we said the Ascend only made sense at renewal if the Hilton night covered the gap between the annual fee and the value of the renewal voucher. That gap was S$217.85.
The voucher is now bigger, but the Hilton night is gone entirely:
| Does the Ascend pay its way? (Year 2 onwards) |
|
| Value | |
| Annual fee | -S$397.85 |
| 15,000 miles renewal voucher (at 1.8¢, best case) |
+S$270.00 |
| Shortfall | -S$127.85 |
| Spend needed to recover it, vs. a fee-waived KF Blue (extra 0.2 mpd at 1.8¢) |
~S$35,500 |
Even valuing the renewal voucher as if it were 15,000 regular miles, you’re S$127.85 short. To make that up through the Ascend’s extra 0.2 mpd over the Blue, you’d need to put around S$35,500 a year of spend on it, money that would almost always earn more on a bonus category card.
The swing factor remains Member Invites, at 15,000 miles for each approved referral, up to three a year. A single successful invite covers the shortfall several times over, but it relies on knowing someone new to Amex each year.
For most readers, the answer at renewal is now to cancel or downgrade, unless you have a definite use for the voucher and someone to refer.
What about the sign-up bonus?
The Ascend’s 45,000 miles sign-up bonus for new-to-Amex applicants is unaffected, and still runs until 31st January 2027. The S$100 eCapitaVoucher for applications by 1st November has now ended.
The higher base rate means the S$5,000 qualifying spend now earns 7,500 base miles, for a total of 52,500 miles, or 10.5 mpd. Anyone approved after 2nd November won’t get a Hilton night, though.
The bigger renewal voucher actually helps the second half of this offer, since you need to pay the year two fee to collect the final 20,000 miles in month 15. Value the 15,000 miles voucher at 1.8 cents a mile and those 20,000 miles cost 0.64 cents each, while the full 45,000 mile bonus works out at 1.17 cents per mile over 15 months.
The Blue’s sign-up bonus of up to 16,000 miles for S$2,000 of spend also now comes with 2,600 base miles rather than 2,200, for a total of 18,600 miles.
Terms and conditions
- Amex KrisFlyer Ascend: Card Member Agreement and Benefits TnCs
- Amex KrisFlyer Credit Card: Card Member Agreement and Benefits TnCs
- Amex PPS Credit Card: Card Member Agreement and Benefits TnCs
- Amex Solitaire PPS Credit Card: Card Member Agreement and Benefits TnCs
- Hilton Free Night TnCs and Participating Hotels
Summary
Amex’s Singapore Airlines cards all earn more from 1st November 2026, with the Blue moving up to 1.3 mpd and the Ascend and both PPS cards to a 1.5 mpd base rate.
For the Blue, that’s a straightforward improvement. It’s no longer the weakest general spend card on the market, though it’s still a card to hold for its sign-up bonus and Amex Offers, rather than one to spend on.
For the Ascend, it’s a poor trade. The extra 0.3 mpd and 5,000 more miles on the renewal voucher don’t make up for losing the Hilton night, which was the main reason to keep paying almost S$400 a year. If you hold one with a voucher outstanding, book your stay now. At renewal, unless you have a clear use for the voucher or someone to refer, it’s probably time to let it go.
The one bright spot is the Foreign Spend voucher. If you’re keeping the card anyway, S$10,000 of FCY spend now earns the equivalent of 3.3 mpd, if you can make good use of the voucher.
(Cover Photo: Hilton)