Kris+ offering 30% milesback, plus up to 10 mpd at selected restaurants

From 10-23 May 2021, Kris+ (formerly known as KrisPay) is offering 30% milesback when KrisFlyer members spend their miles at merchants across Singapore. 

Kris+ users can also earn up to 10 mpd with the ongoing Kris+ Gastronomy Series, which runs till 31 May 2021 at 10 different restaurants. This is on top of the Elite miles and PPS Value that will be awarded for earning miles through Kris+. 

Kris+ 30% milesback promotion

Kris+ is currently offering 30% milesback at all merchants up till 23 May 2021. There is no cap on the maximum milesback Kris+ users can receive.

To illustrate how this works, suppose you spend 15,000 KrisPay miles at a merchant (S$100 value). You’ll receive a rebate of 4,500 miles, for a net outlay of 10,500 miles. 

This yields a value of 0.95 cents per mile, somewhat better than the usual 0.67 cents per mile but well shy of the best-ever 45% milesback offer we saw in November 2020.

It’s important to note that miles earned under this milesback promotion cannot be transferred back into KrisFlyer, so to realise that full 0.95 cents, you’ll need to make a few transactions during the promotion period. For example: 

• You transfer 15,000 miles to Kris+ and spend them for S$100
• You’ll receive 4,500 in milesback
• Suppose you only spend this after the promotion ends. Your milesback will be worth about S$30 (150 KrisPay miles= S$1), which means your total value for 15,000 miles was S$100 + S$30, or 0.867 cents per mile

So it’s an iterative process, and it takes a few transactions to get to that 0.95 cents/mile figure. 

The T&Cs for this offer can be found here. 

How does this compare to other redemption options?

A value of 0.95 cents per mile isn’t great, considering what you could get if you redeemed your miles for flights. However, it would be towards the higher end of options for spending miles on the ground. 

I personally wouldn’t recommend it, but if you absolutely must spend your miles now (remember, Singapore Airlines is periodically extending expiring miles), I suppose you could do worse. 

Ultimately this all boils down to how much you value a mile. If your valuation is below 0.95 cents, then this Kris+ promotion can make sense. That said, if your valuation is really so low, you’d be better off earning cashback in the first place. 

Kris+ Gastronomy Series

While it isn’t a great idea to spend KrisFlyer miles through Kris+, there’s no harm in earning them though promotions like the ongoing Kris+ Gastronomy Series,  which offers up to 4X the usual miles till 31 May 2021.

The following restaurants are participating:

9 April to 31 May 2021
Restaurant	Regular Earn Rate	Promo Earn Rate
Anglo Indian Cafe and Bar	3 mpd	6 mpd
Les Bouchons	2 mpd	6 mpd
Mimi Restaurant	3 mpd	6 mpd
UNA at Alkaff Mansion	3 mpd	6 mpd
Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant	3 mpd	6 mpd
Beurre	1 mpd	4 mpd
Perch	2 mpd	4 mpd
The Spot	2 mpd	4 mpd
WAKANUI Grill Dining	2 mpd	4 mpd
Red House Seafood	1 mpd	3 mpd

Depending on the restaurant, you’ll enjoy a 2-4X bonus compared to the usual Kris+ earn rates. Remember, the earn rate on the Kris+ app already reflects the bonus, so what you see is what you get. 

By paying with the right credit card, you can stack a further 4 mpd on top of the Kris+ miles, which means a total of up to 10 mpd. 

🍴 Best Cards for Dining
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
HSBC Revolution Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$1K per month. Must use contactless
UOB Pref. Plat Visa Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$1.1K per month. Must use mobile payments
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$1K per month. Must choose dining as 10X category
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$3K per month. Must choose dining as 10X category
Maybank Horizon Apply	3.2 mpd	Min. S$300 spend per month on any category. Capped at ~S$4.2K per month
KrisFlyer UOB Card Apply	3.0 mpd	Min. S$300 spend on SIA Group in a year

Earn Elite miles and PPS Value

Singapore Airlines recently launched a new campaign that allows KrisFlyer and PPS Club members to earn Elite miles or PPS Value without flying. 

This includes transactions on Kris+, where you pay with cash or credit/debit cards (paying with KrisFlyer miles doesn’t count). Members will earn status credits as follows, automatically posted to your account within 7 working days. 

So for example, if someone spent S$100 at Mimi Restaurant, he/she would earn:

• 600 miles from Kris+
• 400 miles from credit card (assuming a 4mpd card is used)
• 300 Elite miles or 100 PPS value

How do I earn miles with Kris+?

The old KrisPay app received a major visual makeover when Kris+ launched, and the “Earn” button was relocated. To find it now, tap “Wallet” on the home screen, then “Earn”. You’ll need to manually type in the amount you’re spending, which generates a QR code that you let the cashier scan. 

Frankly, I’m not a fan of this process as anything that requires manual customer input is prone to errors and forgetfulness. 

Speaking of forgetfulness, it’s not enough to remember to earn- you need to remember to transfer too. KrisPay miles earned via Kris+ can only be transferred to KrisFlyer within 7 days of the transaction. Wait any longer, and they’ll be stuck in Kris+ forever (with a six month expiry, to boot). 

Fortunately, a big “transfer to KrisFlyer” button appears upon completing your transaction, so there’s no excuse to not do it immediately. 

Also, if you happen to spend a portion of the miles earned via Kris+, the whole chunk can’t be transferred to KrisFlyer. For example, if I earn 100 miles on a given Kris+ transaction and spend 10 of them, I can’t transfer the remaining 90 to KrisFlyer.

But there’s no reason you should be spending miles via Kris+ anyway, because you earn a dismal 0.67 cents per mile when you do so. This value is sometimes boosted through the various Kris+ milesback promotions, but I still wouldn’t advise it. 

Conclusion

While I’d hesitate to spend KrisFlyer miles through Kris+, I’d certainly be keen to earn up to 10 mpd plus Elite miles/PPS Value with the other ongoing campaigns.

Just be careful to transfer any earned KrisPay miles immediately to KrisFlyer, or else they’ll get stuck after seven days on a platform with dismal value.