I wrote last week about how SingSaver is currently running a sign up campaign for selected credit cards, with cash gifts available for both new and existing cardholders.
In that article I talked about the KrisFlyer cobrand AMEX cards, which may not be the best cards for day-to-day spending, but have fantastic sign-up bonuses. Both new and existing AMEX customers could get $100 in cash from SingSaver when they successfully signed up for either the KrisFlyer Blue or KrisFlyer Ascend AMEX.
Apply for the AMEX KrisFlyer cards here
However, I’ve just been told that the cash gift has been upsized. If you apply for the AMEX KrisFlyer Blue card from 17 July to 31 July 2018, you’ll get $150 instead of the usual $100, regardless of whether you’re a new or existing cardholder (T&C here).
[Edit: A previous version of this article said that you could apply for either the KrisFlyer Blue or Ascend card and get a $150 cash gift. SingSaver has since updated its T&Cs to clarify that only the KrisFlyer Blue card gets $150. In any case, the Ascend’s first year fee is not waivable, so it doesn’t affect the suggested strategy below. If you did apply for the Ascend card through The Milelion’s link on the 17 or 18 of July expecting the $150, please reach out to SingSaver customer service and they will credit the additional $50 after verification]
That’s tough for those who have already applied, but don’t shoot the messenger. My understanding is that AMEX suddenly upped the referral commission so SingSaver’s passing that along in the form of a higher gift.
As a reminder, the KrisFlyer Blue is currently offering a spend $5,000 get 25,500 miles offer which is broken down as follows:
- 5,000 bonus miles on the first spend
- 6,000 bonus miles with $2,000 spent within 3 months of approval
- 9,000 bonus miles with a further $3,000 spent within 3 months of approval
- 5,500 base miles on the total $5,000 spent
You also receive S$150 Cashback for use on your next purchase on singaporeair.com when you spend S$12,000 on eligible purchases with your Card from 1 July 2018 till 30 June 2019. There is also an ongoing promotion allowing you to earn 3.1 mpd on Grab rides up to S$200 each month.
The first year annual fee for the KrisFlyer Blue is waived.
The KrisFlyer Ascend is offering a spend $10,000 get 43,000 miles offer which is broken down as follows:
- 5,000 bonus miles on the first spend
- 13,000 bonus miles with $5,000 spent within 3 months of approval
- 13,000 bonus miles with a further $5,000 spent within 3 months of approval
- 12,000 base miles on the total $10,000 spend
Do remember the KrisFlyer Ascend also comes with Hilton Silver status and a complimentary night hotel stay voucher, four SATS/Plaza Premium lounge access vouchers and a fast track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold. However, the first year fee of S$337.05 cannot be waived.
Apply for other AMEX cards here
While I’m at it, I might as well mention that the AMEX True Cashback card also has a S$150 cash gift, while the AMEX CapitaCard and AMEX Platinum cards have S$100 cash gifts each. With the exception of the AMEX Platinum card and the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend, all these cards offer the first year fee.
The AMEX CapitaCard lets you earn extra benefits when you shop at CapitaLand Malls, including complimentary parking, whereas the AMEX True Cashback card offers a flat 1.5% cashback with no cap (you enjoy 3% cashback for the first 6 months capped at S$5,000 spend).
The AMEX Platinum card has tie ups with hotel and high-end restaurants through the Love Dining @ Hotels and Love Dining @ Restaurants partnerships. They’re also the official card partner for the Michelin Guide Singapore, so cardholders can look out for exclusive privileges and invitations to Michelin starred guest chef dinners.
Remember, you have until 31 July 2018 to sign up for these cards and get the gifts.
The T&Cs can be found here, and all questions on SingSaver gifts should be sent to: info@singsaver.com.sg. Cards signed up through the links in this article generate an affiliate commission for The Milelion.
Have amex in singapore lifted the restriction of one ID can only hold 2 amex cards, issued by amex or a singapore-bank?
There hasn’t been such a restriction for a long time. No restriction on Amex cards issued by banks. For “pure” Amex cards, only 1 Krisflyer category card is allowed (e.g. if you have a PPS card, you can’t get the Ascend card). There’s also some kind of restriction on the Platinum series of cards but I’m not entirely sure how it works.
https://global.americanexpress.com/acq/intl/dpa/japa/sgp/sgp/eApply4.0/tiles/main/faqpopup.jsp
“How many Cards can I hold with American Express?
You may hold a maximum of 2 credit cards and one charge card issued by American Express Singapore.”
My wife and I each signed up for multiple cards as advised by the article above, but:
1. There was no Application Number for Standard Chartered credit card -after- she had completed the full application
2. The link which I received to key in my bank account details to receive the cash reward could -not- be refreshed and she had no way of entering the Application Reference numbers for the AMEX cards
Just got a call from Amex, was asked to choose 2 out of the 3 cards applied so I ended up choosing Blue and True Cashback for the maximized cash gift.
When I last spoke to CSO, they told me that they try keep it at 3. I had 3 at one time and then cancelled one.
Does anyone know how the cash reward would be dispensed? Cheque or card credit?
Bank transfer. You fill up your details after you apply
Hi Aaron,
Thanks for the heads up, as usual..
I did apply for three.. but I made a small booboo.. Not realizing that SingSaver had sent 3 emails asking for the Application Reference No. (and other details) so that the sign on bonus money can be transferred, I missed jotting down the first two ref nos, only having the third cos page was still there.. Do you know how one can retrieve the application ref. no.?
Thanks!
Please raise these qns with singsaver, thanks
Thanks.. I did.. auto reply was, “..due to high volume of emails etc etc.. up to 4 business days etc etc..” so I thot maybe you knew..
No sweat, I’ll wait then.. thanks anyways..
Hi Ken,
same problem here.
just called Amex CSO, s/he will tell you everything.
I believe Amex CSO is still the best in town.
Oh cool! Thanks Austin!
Just for everyone’s knowledge.. after my boo boo, per Austin’s tip, I called up Amex and painlessly got my three Application Reference numbers.. and following that, a few emails to SingSaver later, all’s well and done.. just a couple points to share… 1. According to Amex CSO.. If you are already holding the Amex SQ KF Ascend card, like me, by now applying for blue one, upon approval, your Ascend automicatlly gets cancelled.. You also won’t get the “..5,000 miles upon first transaction..”, but will still get the 2 other gates, “..Spend $2,000 in the first 3 months to receive… Read more »
Thanks Ken, very helpful. Your point 1 conflicts with what I’m hearing from singsaver, so like I said I think there’s plenty of confusion here
Hi Aaron, Indeed.. and here’s another conflict, although different topic.. I spoke to OCBC CSO earlier today and was told that for current OCBC Ti Rewards X Zalora, the max $1,000 does actually count towards the card’s max $12,000 p.a… so when I told her that her info conflicts with what others have been told, she said she’d check with the Product Mgr and revert.. I’m waiting for that call.. For me, and I’m sure some others, I’ve maxed both blue and pink cards already, so this is an important bit for me.. I’ll update OCBC X Zalora thread once… Read more »
Hwz rep alr confirmed it does not count towards the cap
OCBC just phoned me back.. you’re right (of course).. apologies for any confusion.. I only shared what she originally told me..
OCBC Ti Rewards X Zalora promo.. doesn’t count towards 120,000 OCBC$ annual cap.
Hi ML, confirm we can get 3 cash rewards if we apply for 3 cards? In June 2018, I called Singsaver, I was told one cash reward from 1 bank only. She said if I want more cash rewards, I should apply 1 card from 1 bank each. So, in the end, I applied 1 SCB and 1 Amex then.
3 cards is 3 cash rewards, have checked with singsaver team before posting
Thanks! Will apply the other two now then. : )
Wow. Sound good! So there is no need to actually use the credit cards? Just apply, get approved and cancel later? Is there any penalty when I cancel the card?
You’ll need to spend at/to the different ‘gates’ to get the bonus miles for KF Amex cards
The welcome offers are different if signing up directly at the Amex site (eg more miles but no cash gift). However, what about the supplementary card bonus?
Very interesting and I am gonna apply now.
Thank you for sharing – have applied through clicking ur affiliated link
Is there annual fee for the cards?
A simple peek at SingSaver page will show all… and a simple read of this page will tell you that none for first year too..
There seem to be a discrepancy in the spending required to get the bonus $60 for capitacard. Singsaver list as $ 888 but amex list as $1500 .
Also capitacard previously had referral bonus of $80 for referral and referee each. Total $160 is much more than $100 now.
I think it was $888 if you applied sometime early this year
Wondering if anyone can help me – I applied for an AMEX card and then tried to complete the Singsaver Redemption Form, but it kept saying ” please complete your application number”. Does anyone have any tips on how to overcome this? Thank you.
just make sure to fill in all your bank info, including bank and branch code
Hi Alex, what is the bank and branch code for DBS/POSB savings?
Hey Vinson, Have you heard of something called Google?
Aaron, do you mean if i cancelled my TCB card in March and I apply through this link now, I will get the $150?
Yes
Hi Aaron,
In your article, you mentioned “…but even if you’ve cancelled your card recently, you’re still eligible for the gift. ”
May i know if i had cancelled my Amex TCB card one week ago, can i still apply for Amex TCB cc and get the cash gifts? What is the definition of ‘recently’? How long ago is considered recent? Thanks.
if your application gets approved, singsaver will give you the cash gift. the question is whether amex will re-approve a card so recently after a cancellation.
Other than the free cash gifts, are the cards still eligible for those mileage accrual upon spending (I’m currently not holding any AMEX cards, used to hold one but cancelled it about 2 years ago)?
Amex phoned me to tell me that I can only hold 3 amex cards at any one time, and because I have one other, I can only apply for 2 more.. so it’s going to be the KF Blue and TrueCashback for $300.. just a little less whisky money..
Thanks Aaron. Just signed up the 3 cards as recommended thru your link.
Support!
Is there suppose to be any redirect after signing up for the amex cards? I don’t get any form or page to fill up my info for singsaver.
Yeah, me too. Dunno where to fill up the details. It never show up a form for me to fill in my application details.
Has anyone received the cash gifts from Singsaver yet? Just wondering how long it will take to credit.
Up to 8 weeks
Anyone’s got information how will those who sign up via SingSaver gets the $60 in STAR$ upon reaching min spend of 888? I have went through proper channels to ask this and got no answer yet…
After 2 weeks SingSaver finally got back with the answer ….. pls check with AMEX.
Wah I didnt know AMEX is responsible for the information posted on SingSaver website ….. /s
Conclusion: forget about cumulative spent to get the bonus star$
Hi. I thought the cash rewards will be credit to our bank account but I received an email from SingSaver telling me to go down to Peace Centre to collect it. The email was in my Junk folder. Did anyone also received it?
Yes, they decided to switch the crediting method. All bank data has been purged from the system.
Hi Aaron. I see. Thanks for the info.
Only received 2 redemption mails (out of 3 approved cards). Anyway to contact Singsaver via phone? They don’t seem to reply emails…
you can get a faster response with the following instructions: For other queries please write an email to info@singsaver.com.sg to get a fast response with the following subject line: “Source: Milelion-Tele ” + Query description”
Thanks Aaron, will give that a try.