American Express has launched a new offer for the AMEX Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card, which runs till 28 February 2022.
New cardholders will continue to receive a first year fee waiver and complimentary Accor Plus membership (with a free hotel night). If they spend at least S$5,000 in the first 3 months of approval, they’ll earn a further S$300 statement credit.
Don’t forget that the value of HighFlyer points has been doubled. This makes the AMEX SIA Business Card the best general spending card on the market, earning at least 1.8 mpd on all spending. It’s a great option for anyone who owns a small or medium-sized business.
AMEX SIA Business Card Acquisition Offer
AMEX SIA Business Card members who receive approval by 28 February 2022 and spend at least S$5,000 in the first 3 months will receive a S$300 statement credit, in addition to 9,000 HighFlyer points (based on 1.8 points per S$1, and equivalent to 9,000 KrisFlyer miles)
| ❓ AMEX defines “first 3 months” as the first partial calendar month plus subsequent three full calendar months, so by applying early in the month, you have almost four months to spend. |
American Express is fairly liberal with what counts towards sign-up bonus spending. With the exception of the following, everything else will count towards the S$5,000 requirement:
- Charges processed and billed prior to the Enrolment Date or charges prepaid on any Card Account prior to the first billing statement for that Card Account following the Enrolment Date
- Cash Advance and other cash services
- American Express Travellers Cheque purchases
- Charges for dishonoured cheques
- Finance charges – including Line of Credit charges and Credit Card interest charges
- Late payment and collection charges
- Tax refunds from overseas purchases
- Balance Transfer
- Instalment plans, except where American Express determines otherwise
- Annual Card fees
- Amount billed for purchase of HighFlyer points to top-up your points balance
- Purchase and top-up charges for EZ-Link cards using American Express Cards
Note the absence of GrabPay top-ups and insurance payments, which will earn points and count towards sign-up bonus spending (unlike with AMEX consumer cards).
The statement credit should be deposited into your account within five business days of meeting the offer criteria, but may take up to 90 days from the offer end date in rare cases. You can find the full T&Cs here.
In addition to this, AMEX Singapore Airlines Business Card members will also enjoy the following spending bonuses:
- First year only: 5,000 HighFlyer points for S$500 SIA Group spending
- Every year: 15,000 HighFlyer points for S$10,000 SIA Group spending
Overview: AMEX Singapore Airlines Business Card
 Apply Here | |||
| Income Req. | S$30,000 p.a | Points Validity | 3 years |
| Annual Fee | S$299 (First Year Free) | Min. Transfer | N/A |
| Miles with Annual Fee | None | Transfer Partners | SIA |
| FCY Fee | 2.95% | Transfer Fee | None |
| Local Earn | 1.8 mpd | Points Pool? | N/A |
| FCY Earn | 1.8 mpd | Lounge Access? | Yes |
| Special Earn | 8.5 mpd on SIA Group | Airport Limo? | No |
| Cardholder Terms and Conditions | |||
AMEX SIA Business Card members earn 8.5 HighFlyer points per S$1 on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Scoot transactions (this includes the base 5 HighFlyer points that all HighFlyer companies already earn), and 1.8 HighFlyer points per S$1 on transactions elsewhere.
| ✈️ What is HighFlyer? |
HighFlyer is Singapore Airlines’ loyalty program for SMEs. The program is free to join and does not require any minimum spend commitment; all you need to sign up is an ACRA business registration number. HighFlyer is essentially a cash rebate scheme. Companies earn 5 HighFlyer points per S$1 spent on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Scoot, Lufthansa, and SWISS (excluding airport fees and government taxes), and can redeem them at a rate of 980 HighFlyer points= S$10 (1,050 points from 17 August 2021). HighFlyer points are valid for 3 years, and cannot be earned on Q, N, V and K booking classes (i.e Economy Lite fares). They can be converted into KrisFlyer miles for nominated employees at a rate of 1 HighFlyer point= 1 KrisFlyer mile. |
HighFlyer points can be:
- Converted to KrisFlyer miles at a 1:1 ratio
- Used to offset SIA Group transactions at a rate of 980 points= S$10
Therefore, you could see this as a cashback card offering 8.7% rebates on SIA Group transactions and 1.8% rebates elsewhere (keep in mind it’s restricted cashback), or a miles card with earn rates of 8.5 mpd and 1.8 mpd respectively.
If your plan is to convert HighFlyer points to miles, do note the following restrictions:
- Each HighFlyer account shall only be linked to a maximum of five selected KrisFlyer accounts for the purpose of converting HighFlyer points to KrisFlyer miles
- Each HighFlyer account shall only be allowed to convert HighFlyer points to a maximum of 150,000 KrisFlyer miles per calendar year
- Each selected KrisFlyer account may receive a maximum of 30,000 KrisFlyer miles converted from HighFlyer points per calendar year, regardless of which HighFlyer accounts the points are converted from
Purchases of Singapore Airlines tickets will enjoy 0% interest for six months, and other purchases get 51 days of interest-free credit. Employees who purchase tickets with the card will still be entitled to accrue miles for personal use, based on the fare class purchased.
In terms of personal benefits, cardholders enjoy:
- Two complimentary visits to Priority Pass lounges
- A complimentary Accor Plus membership with one free stay every year and up to 50% off dining
- Hertz Gold status with 10% off best available rates and one class upgrades
- A fast track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold status with S$15,000 or more spent on Singapore Airlines group transactions in the first year of card membership
- Complimentary travel insurance when travel tickets are bought with the card
Complimentary Accor Plus Membership
AMEX SIA Business Card members receive a free Accor Plus membership, which includes the “Stay Plus” benefit: one complimentary hotel night each year.
Even if you can’t go overseas right now, the Stay Plus benefit can be redeemed at local hotels such as:
- Sofitel Singapore City Centre
- SO/ Sofitel Singapore
- Sofitel Sentosa Resort & Spa
- Novotel Singapore On Stevens
- Fairmont Singapore
Accor Plus members also get access to the periodic Red Hot Rooms sale, which may be a good opportunity to book cheap staycation rates. I’ve seen the Fairmont Singapore going for S$143 nett!
The other big draw of an Accor Plus membership is the dining discounts. The discount structure works like this:
- 25% off dining: 1 member only
- 50% off dining: 1 member and 1 guest
- 33% off dining: 1 member and 2 guests
- 25% off dining: 1 member and 3 guests
- 15% off drinks in Asia
Some examples of participating Accor Plus restaurants in Singapore include Prego, Mikuni, Asian Market Cafe and Szechuan Court at the Fairmont, SKAI, Bar Rouge, Cafe Swiss and Kopi Tiam at Swissotel and The Cliff, The Garden, Kwee Zeen at the Sofitel Sentosa Resort.
For those who have already received their AMEX SIA Business Card, here’s how to go about activating your Accor Plus membership.
Conclusion
If you own a small or medium-sized business, this is a great way to get a free Accor Plus membership with its complimentary one-night hotel stay, up to 50% off dining at more than 1,400 restaurants across Asia Pacific, special rates on hotel rooms and more.
Once again, the annual fee is waived for the first year. Should you enjoy the benefits of an Accor Plus membership, it’s still cheaper to pay the AMEX Singapore Airlines Business Card’s second year S$299 fee, instead of buying an Accor Plus membership elsewhere (S$408 for the version with one free hotel night).
hello!
can i check with you if grabpay top ups earns 1.8mpd as well?
given this restriction:
Each selected KrisFlyer account may receive a maximum of 30,000 KrisFlyer miles converted from HighFlyer points per calendar year, regardless of which HighFlyer accounts the points are converted from
it seems that it only make sense to spend a max of $3,529 on the card annually.
is my understanding correct?
yes, you earn 1.8 mpd.
yes and no. the rest of your highflyer points can still be used to offset SIA fares, so they’re not useless.
hello!
thanks for taking the time to clarify my doubts.
do you know offhand what is the expiration regulations for HighFlyer points?
It says in the article:
HighFlyer points are valid for 3 years
Ah, thank you! Have developed the bad habit of skimming through articles and missed reading that part.
Who could have guessed?
Oh.. Didnt know I can sign up for this without a business
Hi where did you read that?
30k maximum miles per year kind of defeats the purpose of a general spend in itself?
Although 1.8mpd is very attractive, I’d prefer the other 1.6mpd cards on all spend.
Yes it can become 1.8% cashback but only on spend at SQ. Also, that’s assuming you don’t have enough miles to redeem all your flights, otherwise you won’t have the opportunity to spend this accumulated 1.8% cashback.
a highflyer account can credit miles to up to 5 different nominees. so i put my wife as a nominee and then i can extract 60,000 miles from the card each year. if you have kids, you can add them accordingly
Even then, you’re capped at 150k per year which means 83k spend per year. And you have the problem of having the miles all split up in different accounts even if you have 5 nominees.
It seems a lot more trouble for an extra 0.2 mpd.
ideally, the vast majority of your spending would be on 4 mpd cards, and your general spending card reserved for those rare instances where you can’t use them. in that sense, i can’t see myself spending more than $16.67k per year on a general spending card (I actually use this predominantly for grabpay top-ups).
Ah then that makes sense, yes. It doesn’t add up for me because I use only 2 cards, amex plat charge for the benefits and 10x partners, and everything else on a 1.6mpd.