Last 3 days: October SingSaver credit card sign up gifts

Please read before applying: SingSaver sign up gifts take 2-3 months to fulfill. Fulfillment time is heavily dependent on when SingSaver receives the approvals confirmation report from the bank- once received, gift redemption emails are sent within 72 hours. To check on gift status, write to info@singsaver.com.sg with the following anywhere in the body: “Source: Milelion-Tele ” + Query description“ for faster service. If you’ve not received a response within 3 working days, drop me a message via the contact us option and I’ll personally look into it. Of the cases I’ve seen so far, the majority of gift delays are because the gift registration form was not filled in properly (SingSaver has tweaked the gift registration form so it sends a confirmation email within 24 hours of being filled), or the bank did not send the approvals report on time (SingSaver is pushing banks to provide weekly reports). Refer to this infographic to understand the process:

SingSaver is continuing its credit card sign up campaigns for the month of October, with exclusive cash gifts and vouchers available for new and existing customers. After you’ve signed up, be sure to click on this link to get to the gift redemption form, which will tell SingSaver how to send you your gift (you can find your application reference number here).

How do October’s offers differ from September?

• AMEX is offering an additional $20 NTUC voucher for applicants who apply using the SingPass MyInfo system. This gift is fulfilled by AMEX, not SingSaver
• AMEX has changed its sign up bonuses for the KrisFlyer Ascend and Blue cards:
  • KrisFlyer Blue now awards 7,500 bonus miles upon spending S$3K within 3 months of approval (Sept: 6,000 bonus miles for spending S$2K, 9,000 bonus miles for spending a further S$3K within 3 months).
  • KrisFlyer Ascend now awards 26,000 bonus miles with S$10K spend within 3 months of approval (Sept: 13,000 bonus miles with for spending S$5K, 13,000 bonus miles for spending further S$5K within 3 months)

AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend & KrisFlyer Blue

Apply for the KrisFlyer Blue and KrisFlyer Ascend here

SingSaver has continued its $150 sign up gift for the KrisFlyer AMEX cobrand cards for October. Here’s the how the KrisFlyer Blue and Ascend stack up in terms of miles earning power:

The earn rates may not be the highest in the market, but their sign up bonuses certainly are. New customers to the KrisFlyer Blue can spend $3,000 to get 15,800 miles:

• 5,000 bonus miles on the first spend
• 7,500 bonus miles with $3,000 spent within 3 months of approval
• 3,300 base miles on the total $3,000 spent

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
• 26,000 bonus miles with $10,000 spent within 3 months of approval
• 12,000 base miles on the total $10,000 spend

I’d recommend getting these cards when you know you have big ticket spending coming up that will allow you to hit the threshold.

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 offer for KrisFlyer Elite Gold.

You can only apply for either the Blue or the Ascend card. The first year annual fee is waived for the Blue but not the Ascend (S$337.05 per year). This SingSaver promotion is available for applications submitted by 31 October 2018.

Electing to use the SingPass MyInfo feature during application (which connects to your SingPass account to auto-populate some fields) will get you a bonus $20 NTUC voucher. This is fulfilled by AMEX, not SingSaver, and the full terms and conditions for the MyInfo promotion can be found here.

AMEX Platinum and True Cashback Cards

Apply for the AMEX Platinum and True Cashback cards here

AMEX Platinum card members get access to the Love Dining program, where you get up to 50% off at restaurants like Harry’s, Lawry’s, Si Chuan Dou Hua, The Song of India, Wooloomooloo Steakhouse, TWG Tea Garden and other selected restaurants. Love dining also covers restaurants at the Conrad Centennial, Marriott Tangs Plaza, St Regis Singapore and W Sentosa Cove.

A Far Card Classic Membership (worth $425) is also provided. This gives up to 50% off the food bill at:

• Fairmont Singapore
• Swissôtel The Stamford Singapore
• Swissôtel Merchant Court

Cardholders receive a one night certificate for the Swissôtel The Stamford Singapore worth S$529 upon payment of the first year annual fee, and those who spend $4,500 within 3 months of approval get a Samsonite Sigma 76cm Expandable Spinner bag. 

I’m not the biggest proponent of cashback but you may find the True Cashback card useful in transactions where the miles cards you have are precluded from earning any points (eg parking transactions, school fee payments, charitable or non-profit payments).

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 first year annual fee is waived.

SingSaver is offering $150 for successful True Cashback and Platinum Card applications. This promotion is available for applications submitted by 31 Oct 2018.

Electing to use the SingPass MyInfo feature during application (which connects to your SingPass account to auto-populate some fields) will get you a bonus $20 NTUC voucher. This is fulfilled by AMEX, not SingSaver, and the full terms and conditions for the MyInfo promotion can be found here.

Citi Prestige

Apply for the Citi Prestige card here

In my opinion, the Citi Prestige is one of the best cards in the $120K credit card segment, thanks to the fourth night free hotel benefit, unlimited Priority Pass visits for the principal cardholder and a guest, complimentary Boingo Wi-Fi (including access on certain airlines so you can surf inflight for free), a relatively easy-to-unlock limo benefit and comprehensive travel and purchase insurance.

Louis has written an extensive analysis of the Citi Prestige’s value proposition, suffice to say that the discounted event invitations and other occasional perks offered by the concierge make this a very compelling card to have.

The problem? You hardly ever see any acquisition offers. Some time back we had a spend $20,000 in 3 months and get 29,000 miles bonus, but that’s currently not available. Moreover, SingSaver is giving $200 of NTUC, Grab or Taka vouchers for new Citibank applicants ($50 for existing Citibank customers) to sweeten the deal. This promotion is available for applications submitted by 31 Oct 2018.

Citi PremierMiles Visa & Citi Rewards Visa

Apply for the Citibank PremierMiles and Rewards card here

The amazing Apple Pay-Citibank 20X promotion may be over, but both the Citibank Rewards and Citibank PremierMiles are still useful for your miles earning strategy.

The Citi PremierMiles Visa earns 1.2 mpd locally and 2.0 mpd overseas (2.4 mpd from 4 October till 31 December), with up to 7 mpd on Expedia and 10 mpd on Kaligo. The card also comes with two complimentary lounge visits a year via Priority Pass (this will be changed to DragonPass in the future)

There’s currently an ongoing sign up bonus for the Citi PremierMiles card, where you get 30,000 miles in total with paying the annual fee and spending a minimum of $7,500 within the first 3 months. You’re still eligible for this bonus if you sign up via SingSaver.

[Edit: Some customers who called Citibank have been told by CSOs that applications via SingSaver are ineligible for the sign up bonus. This is incorrect. SingSaver is reaching out to Citibank to clarify the matter, but don’t worry- you’re eligible so long as you hit the $7.5k spend]

The Citi Rewards earns 10X points (or 4 mpd) for spending on online shopping, department stores and anywhere which sells shoes, bags, or clothes, capped at $1,000 each month. It’s even known to earn 10X with some other merchants which technically don’t fall under these categories…join the Telegram Group or Milelion’s Den if you want to learn which ones.

Citibank points don’t pool, but the good news is they have the widest selection of partner airlines in Singapore, with 12 programs to choose from. Two useful programs they partner with are Etihad Guest and British Airways Avios– refer to the links for some ideas how to spend those points.

The first year annual fee is waived on both cards, and this promotion is available for applications submitted by 31 October 2018.

HSBC Revolution

Apply for the HSBC Revolution here

The HSBC Revolution is a useful backup card to have because it earns 2.0 mpd on online, local dining and local entertainment transactions. 2.0 mpd on dining is less than the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature’s 3.2 mpd, but HSBC’s definition of dining is broader. HSBC considers fast food to be part of dining, and explicitly states that spend at clubs, pubs, bars will get 2 mpd. There also is no minimum spend amount required to earn this.

Fun fact: you can pair the HSBC Revolution with your EZ-Reload service and earn 2 mpd on the first S$200 spent on EZ-link top ups each month. That’s more than the 1.4 mpd you’d earn by using your UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard with ABT. 

Unlike the rest of the cards here, the HSBC sign up gift is in the form of cashback. That’s to say, the gift is awarded by the bank, not SingSaver. If you applied normally through the HSBC website, you’d get $100 of cashback as a new customer if you spend $600 within 30 days. Applying through SingSaver gives you an additional $50 of cashback for a total of $150.

Existing cardholders will get $100 cashback when they sign up through SingSaver ($50 otherwise) and spend $600 within 30 days.

This offer applies to applications received before 31 October 2018.

Standard Chartered Visa Infinite

Apply for the SCB Visa Infinite here

The SCB Visa Infinite is part of the so-called “$120K” group of entry level prestige cards (although its income requirement technically is $150K). You earn 1.4 and 3.0 mpd on local and overseas spending respectively if you spend more than S$2K in a statement period, otherwise you’re looking at 1.0 mpd for everything.

The card has a non-waivable annual fee of $588.50, for which you get 35,000 welcome miles. That said, it does not have an unlimited Priority Pass (6 visits only) nor does it have airport limo service.

However, and this is a big however, think about it this way. If you’re new to bank, you get a S$150 cash gift from SingSaver. This lowers the cost of the annual fee to S$438.50, for which you get 35,000 miles. 1.25 cents per mile is a great price, and any other card benefits you get are just a bonus. Even if you’re an existing customer, the S$100 cash gift lowers the fee to S$488.50, or 1.39 cents per mile. That’s good value, even before you consider the other benefits the card has.

Remember that the SCB Visa Infinite offers one of the best tax payment facilities in the market. For a processing fee of 1.6%, you can earn 1.4 mpd assuming you spend at least S$2K in total during a given month. That works out to just 1.14 cents per mile, making the SCB VI a pretty interesting proposition for people who want to buy miles on the cheap.

This promotion is available for applications submitted by 15 October 2018.