AMEX KrisFlyer cards offering up to 3.3 mpd on Kris+

American Express has launched a new AMEX Offer for AMEX Singapore Airlines Credit Card members, which allows them to earn up to 3.3 mpd on all Kris+ transactions.

Registration is required, and can be done via the AMEX app or AMEX online banking portal. A maximum of 8,000 cards can be registered. 

Earn up to 3.3 mpd on Kris+ payments

From 3 December 2021 to 2 March 2022, AMEX Singapore Airlines Credit Card members will earn an additional 2 mpd on Kris+ transactions as follows:

Card	Base	Bonus	Total
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card	1.1 mpd	2 mpd	3.1 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend	1.2 mpd	2 mpd	3.2 mpd
AMEX PPS Credit Card	1.3 mpd	2 mpd	3.3 mpd
AMEX Solitaire PPS Credit Card	1.3 mpd	2 mpd	3.3 mpd

The bonus component is capped at S$200 of spending throughout the entire campaign period. In other words, the maximum bonus you can earn is 400 KrisFlyer miles. 

Bonus miles will be credited within 5 business days from qualifying spend, but may take up to 90 days from the end of the offer date. In practice, they post very fast though.

Stack with up to 9 mpd on Kris+

As a reminder, Kris+ recently extended its very generous “all-day bonus earn” campaign, which gives up to 9 mpd at 285 participating merchants islandwide.

S$5 for new Kris+ Users (W644363)

Kris+ refers to this offer as a 6% rebate, but don’t get confused. That’s based on the value you’d receive if you took whatever miles earned during this promotion and spent them through Kris+ (1 mile= 0.67 cents; 9 mpd is a 6% rebate). Needless to say, you’ll want to transfer these miles into your KrisFlyer account as soon as possible (and no later than seven days, after which they’re stuck in Kris+ forever).

Partner earn rates have been upsized as follows

What’s so incredible about this promotion not just the sheer number of participating outlets (285), but the distribution: 43% are offering the highest earn rate of 9 mpd, while 55% are offering 6 mpd. 

Even though heavyweights like Challenge and Harvey Norman are offering “only” 3 mpd, it’s still a big upsize from their usual rates of 0.5 mpd and 0.33 mpd respectively. 

For the full list of participating merchants, refer to the T&Cs.

Better alternatives exist!

Even with the upsized earn rate, the AMEX Singapore Airlines cards aren’t what I’d use for Kris+. 

Other credit cards offer up to 4 mpd, with a much higher cap. To illustrate, you could use the following cards for dining…

🍴 Best Cards for Dining
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
HSBC Revolution Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$1K per c. month
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$1K per c. month. Must choose dining as 10X category
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$3K per c. month. Must choose dining as 10X category
Maybank Horizon Apply	3.2 mpd	Min. S$300 spend per c. month on any category. Capped at ~S$4.2K per month
KrisFlyer UOB Card Apply	3.0 mpd	Min. S$500 spend on SIA Group in a m. year
C. Month= Calendar Month | M. Year= Membership Year

…and for shopping. 

🛍️ Best Cards for Shopping
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$1K per s. month
HSBC Revolution Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$1K per c. month
OCBC Titanium Rewards Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$12K per m. year
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$1K per c. month. Must choose shopping as 10X category
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4.0 mpd	Max. S$3K per c. month. Must choose shopping as 10X category
C. Month= Calendar Month | S. Month= Statement Month | M. Year= Membership Year

You must use in-app payments

In-app payments are the only way to earn miles with Kris+, effective 1 September 2021. Simply scan the merchant’s QR code and pay with your Apple or Google Pay account; miles will be credited automatically. 

Conclusion

AMEX’s new Kris+ offer will be useful to those who use their AMEX KrisFlyer card as their sole piece of plastic, but everyone else will find better value with alternative cards.

Also note that the cap on bonus miles is extremely low at just 400, and you’ll need to register. All in all, it’s a lot of hoops to jump through for a very miserly return.