If you know of and/or use any other cards (or the ones already mentioned), please share your thoughts.
***ALL VALUES BELOW IN SINGAPORE DOLLARS (SGD)***
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In no particular order:
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1. DBS Altitude AMEX
Mileage accrual: 1 mile for every $0.83 spent (every $5 gives 3 DBS points which equal 6 miles) for first $1,000 monthly spend. 1 mile for every $0.63 spent (every $5 gives 4 DBS points which equal 8 miles) for monthly spend above $1,000.
Requirements: min. income $80,000.
Cost: First year free, then $180 for main and $90 for supplementary. Annual fee waiver if you charge $25,000 or more per year.
Miles conversion fee: $42.80 annually for unlimited conversions.
Pros: Occasional bonus points promos, like the one during October-December where tickets purchases on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways and United Airlines (for travel anytime) generated 4 miles for every $1 spent! 10,000 miles renewal bonus if and only if you have to pay card renewal fees.
Cons: Points allocated on every $5 spent, rounded down to next $5. AMEX not always accepted by merchants.
2. DBS Treasures Black Elite AMEX
Mileage accrual: 1 mile for every $0.83 spent (every $5 gives 3 DBS points which equal 6 miles). DOUBLE miles for overseas spend.
Requirements: maintain at least $200,000 in deposits/investments with DBS.
Cost: None.
Miles conversion fee: $42.80 annually for unlimited conversions.
Pros: Great for overseas spend.
Cons: Points allocated on every $5 spent, rounded down to next $5. AMEX not always accepted by merchants.
3. Citi PremierMiles Visa
Mileage accrual: 1 mile for every $0.83 spent (every $1 gives 1.2 miles). 10,000 miles extra for each annual membership renewal, plus another 10,000 miles if you spend more than $50,000 in any membership year.
Requirements: min. income $80,000.
Cost: First year free, then $180 for main, supplementary always free. Annual fee waiver available in exchange for 10,000 miles renewal bonus.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion.
Pros: Bonus miles for annual card renewal and spend >$50,000.
Cons: Unsure of any annual fee waiver conditions.
4. Citi Platinum Visa/MasterCard
Mileage accrual: 1 mile for every $0.50 spent (every $5 gives 5 Citi Dollars which equal 10 miles) at supermarkets (Carrefour . Cold Storage . Giant . Market Place . NTUC Fair Price . Shop N Save . Singapore Meidi-Ya) and department stores (Tangs . Isetan . John Little . Marks & Spencer . Metro . OG . Robinsons . BHG . Takashimaya Department Store).
1 mile for every $2.50 spent elsewhere.
Requirements: min. income $30,000 ($60,000 for foreigners).
Cost: First year free, then $150 for main and $80 for supplementary. Annual fee waiver if you charge $15,000 or more per year, BUT applicable to main card only.
Miles conversion fee: $25 per conversion.
Pros: Great for shopping at supermarkets and department stores.
Cons: Great ONLY for shopping at supermarkets and department stores. Points might be allocated on every $5 spent, rounded down to next $5 (someone please confirm).
5. Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa
Mileage accrual: 2 miles for every $1 spent on air tickets, perfumes & cosmetics purchased at Changi, and all overseas spend.
1 mile for every $2.50 spent elsewhere.
Requirements: min. income $30,000 ($80,000 for foreigners).
Cost: $150 for main, supplementary always free.
Miles conversion fee: free.
Pros: Great for ticket purchases and overseas spend.
Cons: Great ONLY for ticket purchases and overseas spend. Unsure of any annual fee waiver conditions.
6. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold AMEX
Mileage accrual: 1 mile for every $1.60 spent. Double miles for tickets bought at singaporeair.com for departure from country of card issuance (offer does not apply to SilkAir).
* 50% bonus for those who charge $5,000 or more to their card(s) this calendar year (additional miles will be posted in Feb '11).
* Additional 50% bonus for those who charge $12,000 or more to their card(s) this calendar year, capped at 8,000 bonus miles (additional miles will be posted in Feb '11).
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e.g. $2,000 ticket purchase at singaporeair.com:
1,250 base miles
625 bonus if annual spend reaches $5,000 or more
625 additional bonus if annual spend reaches $12,000 or more
1,250 double miles bonus for purchasing ticket online
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3,750 total miles for this purchase (1,250 of which will only be credited in Feb '11)
Same purchase using Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa would generate 4,000 miles straight away
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Requirements: min. income $40,000 ($60,000 for foreigners).
Cost: First year free, then $50 for main, 2 supplementary cards always free (more available at $50 each).
Miles conversion fee: $60 annually for unlimited conversions.
Pros: None, except for a 5,000 miles sign-up bonus.
Cons: Simply nothing special - there are better cards available for all types of purchases, including flight tickets, even with all of the bonuses above applied. AMEX not always accepted by merchants.
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Please pitch in with info about any other cards that could be of interest to us miles earners.
