Last call: Transfer credit card points to KrisFlyer with 15% bonus (and earn elite status)

From now till 22 November 2021, Singapore Airlines is offering a rarely-seen 15% bonus on credit card points transfers to KrisFlyer. With year-end travel very much a reality thanks to the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) agreements, I can’t think of a better time to start transferring (and burning) some of your points stash. 

There’s just one week left to take advantage of this offer, and depending on which bank you’re transferring from, you might need to start the process by today to ensure your points arrive in time for the bonus (or it might be too late already). 

I’ve already transferred a good number of miles to qualify and requalify for KrisFlyer Elite Gold status (more on that below), as well as to fund other upcoming VTL reviews. 

Get up to 15% bonus on KrisFlyer miles transfers

KrisFlyer Transfer Bonus

First, a recap of the offer. 

From 26 October to 22 November 2021, KrisFlyer members who convert at least 10,000 KrisFlyer miles from credit card points will receive a 12 or 15% bonus as follows:

• Convert 10,000 to 49,999 miles in a single transaction: 12% bonus
• Convert 50,000 miles or more in a single transaction: 15% bonus

To be clear, your conversion must be completed by 22 November 2021 to qualify for the bonus. There will be some lead time involved, and you won’t get a bonus if the miles reach your account after 22 November 2021, 2359 hrs (GMT+8). 

There is no cap on the maximum bonus that can be earned, and no limit on the number of transfers you can make. This offer applies at all participating banks worldwide; in Singapore, this includes: 

Cobrand cards (e.g. American Express Singapore Airlines credit cards or the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card) will not be eligible for the bonus.

How do the bonus miles credit?

Bonus miles will be credited along with the base miles, and you’ll see three separate entries as follows:

The top and bottom lines are self-explanatory. I transferred 250,000 KrisFlyer miles from American Express on 4 November 2021, and on 5 November 2021 received a bonus of 37,500 KrisFlyer miles (15%). 

The middle line item relates to the ongoing “earn status credits on the ground” campaign, which allows KrisFlyer and PPS Club members to earn Elite miles and PPS Value respectively from credit card points transfers (and other activities) till 28 February 2022.

Unlock Status Credits on the Ground
	KrisFlyer	PPS Club
Convert KrisFlyer miles (min. 10,000 miles)	1 Elite mile per 5 KrisFlyer miles	1 PPS Value per 10 KrisFlyer miles
Convert KrisPay miles (min. depends on bank)	1 Elite mile per 5 KrisPay miles	1 PPS Value per 10 KrisPay miles
Note: PPS Value can only be earned by existing PPS Club/Solitaire PPS Club members. PPS Club members will not earn Elite miles and KrisFlyer members will not earn PPS Value.

I transferred 250,000 KrisFlyer miles, so I received 50,000 Elite miles (5 KrisFlyer miles= 1 Elite mile).

I will receive a further 7,500 Elite miles (relating to the bonus 37,500 KrisFlyer bonus) within 3 weeks after the campaign period, i.e. by 14 December 2021.

Qualifying (and requalifying) for KrisFlyer Elite Gold

I previously wrote about how the 15% transfer bonus and SIA’s “earn status credits on the ground” campaign create a great opportunity to qualify/requalify for elite status with Singapore Airlines. 

Indeed, I’ve taken the plunge and qualified for KrisFlyer Elite Gold. Once my account status was upgraded online, I transferred additional miles and re-qualified for the upcoming membership year. 

In other words, when I first qualified for KrisFlyer Elite Gold back in October, my status was valid till 31 October 2022. Then I transferred additional KrisFlyer miles to earn additional Elite miles, requalifying until 31 October 2023. 

If you’re an existing KrisFlyer Elite Silver or KrisFlyer base member, be careful how you go about this. It takes 50,000 Elite miles in a 12-month period to earn KrisFlyer Elite Gold, but you cannot transfer the equivalent of 100,000 Elite miles at one go. If you do this, the excess will be wasted.

Instead, do it in two batches:

• Batch 1 to qualify for KrisFlyer Elite Gold
• Batch 2 to requalify for KrisFlyer Elite Gold

You can safely transfer Batch 2 once you see your online account status updated to KrisFlyer Elite Gold. 

Unfortunately, there’s no additional rollover once you’ve requalified. As you can see in the screenshot above, I now have 404,933 Elite miles (yes, I’ve really been making hay), well in excess of the 50,000 Elite miles needed for requalification.

While that makes for a fun picture, the extra Elite miles are essentially worthless to me. They won’t be rolled over to the next year, and they’re ineligible for earning Elite Gold Rewards.

Once again, KrisFlyer members can earn status credits from points transfers until 28 February 2022, so you still have some time to decide. 

How much time do you have left?

All points transfers must be reflected in your KrisFlyer account by 22 November 2021 for the 15% bonus to be credited. 

Based on my own personal experience and data points from Flyertalk and The Milelion community, here’s how long you should expect points transfers to take. 

So far I’ve transferred points from American Express, DBS and UOB, and can say the above timelines still hold up.

I would exercise additional caution if transferring points from HSBC or Standard Chartered, based on what I’ve heard and the fact we have only five working days left. 

Remember: if this is your first time transferring points from a given bank, you may need to do a linkage between the bank and your KrisFlyer account. This process alone may take a few days, so don’t leave things till the last minute!

Conclusion

For those still on the fence, I’d highly encourage you to consider transferring at least some of your stash to KrisFlyer during the current 15% transfer bonus. The last time we saw such an offer was in November 2020, so even if Singapore Airlines plans to make this a yearly affair, you won’t see another one for a while. 

KrisFlyer miles are valid for three years after accrual, which means you do have a good amount of time to decide how to spend them. Even if you dislike the multi-step VTL travel process and the possibility of a positive PDT stranding you abroad, keep in mind the VTL is merely a transitional arrangement- sooner or later, we’ll have to go back to travel as normal.