From now till 22 November 2021, Singapore Airlines is offering up to 15% bonus miles for credit card miles/points transfers from banks in Singapore.
This is very similar to what was offered this time last year.
Key points to note
- Transfer has to be completed by 22 November 2021. Initiate your transfer before 15 November 2021 to be extra safe.
- Receive 12% bonus miles when you convert between 10,000 to 49,999 miles in a single transaction.
- Receive 15% bonus miles when you convert 50,000 miles or miles in a single transaction.
- You can also make an instant transfer from DBS, UOB and Citibank with the Kris+ mobile app.
- Co-branded cards (like Krisflyer UOB and AMEX ones) are excluded from this offer.
Why you SHOULD do it
- You have miles/points with OCBC and/or Standard Chartered.
- You have plans to travel to one of Krisflyer’s Sweet Spots in the next 2-3 years. With this bonus, you would only need about 42,600 miles to redeem for a Business Class flight to Istanbul!
- Cathay Pacific is still not flying much as Hong Kong looks to be maintaining a COVID-zero attitude towards the pandemic. You can redeem Asia Miles for flights on Qatar Airways though!
Click here for my review of Singapore Airlines’ latest Business Class seat.
OCBC only has one transfer partner. Standard Chartered, on the other hand, has more transfer partners but most are of poor value.
Both banks also do not have any credit cards that are worth keeping. Maybe just the OCBC Titanium Rewards.
The only potential disadvantage of not clearing out all your OCBC and Standard Chartered points/miles now is if the banks decide to add more transfer partners in the near future.
Why you should NOT do it
- I value Asia Miles more than Krisflyer miles. Besides the two banks mentioned above, all other Singapore banks have Asia Miles as a transfer partner.
- Unlike Asia Miles, Krisflyer miles have a fixed 3-years expiry date. Unless if there are changes to the program, you will have to use up your Krisflyer miles by the end of 2024 or all of them will be gone.
- Singapore Airlines’ routes to Europe are mostly showing ‘Advantage’ rates in the coming months. That’s 120,000 miles for one-way Business Class flight and about 104,000 miles with this transfer bonus.
- If you have Citibank cards, Qatar Airways is running a 20% transfer bonus offer that is ending next week. With this bonus, you can fly in a better Business Class seat for just 62,500 miles.
What if I have expiring points/miles?
If I have expiring points/miles with other banks like DBS, UOB or Citibank, I would transfer them to Asia Miles and Qatar Airways Privilege Club and skip this 15% bonus with Krisflyer for one simple reason: miles expiry on these 2 frequent flyer programs are so easily extendable.
Bottom line
This is another perfect opportunity to clear out your OCBC and Standard Chartered miles/points balance.
This looks like a very clever way for Singapore Airlines to encourage members to clear out their huge miles/points balance. But hey, a deal’s a deal and there are some good ways to take advantage of this one, as mentioned above.
SQ is without a doubt a great way to fly but it is not the only way to fly. Make a good decision with this one! 💪
H/T: Mainly Miles