NTUC LinkPoints can now be converted to & from KrisFlyer miles

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and NTUC Link Rewards have unveiled a two-way conversion partnership, allowing members to transfer miles and points between the two programmes. 

“We are pleased to share that KrisFlyer has launched a two-way conversion partnership with Link Rewards Programme, one of Singapore’s largest coalition loyalty programmes. With more than 3,300 partners and merchants in the air and on the ground, maximising your KrisFlyer membership has never been easier” -KrisFlyer

This means that KrisFlyer once again has a grocery partner, after ending its tie-up with TapForMore and its Dairy Farm network back in July 2021.

Don’t get too excited though, because the exchange rates are abysmal. In fact, converting KrisFlyer miles to LinkPoints is one of the new worst uses for your miles. 

Perhaps cognizant of that fact, the two programmes are running a lucky draw for members who convert KrisFlyer miles to LinkPoints or vice versa, with four prizes of 100,000 KrisFlyer miles or 300,000 LinkPoints to be won.

It might be worth a punt. 

Convert LinkPoints to KrisFlyer miles

LinkPoints	KrisFlyer Miles
100	50
200	100
1,000	500
2,000	1,070
5,000	2,680

LinkPoints can now be converted into KrisFlyer miles according to the table above. 

The conversion ratio is:

• 2 LinkPoints = 1 KrisFlyer mile for transfers of up to 1,000 LinkPoints
• ~1.87 LinkPoints = 1 KrisFlyer mile subsequently

A minimum of 100 LinkPoints must be converted. All transfers are instant.

100 LinkPoints can be redeemed for a S$1 rebate, so converting LinkPoints to KrisFlyer miles is essentially buying KrisFlyer miles at 1.87 or 2 cents each.  

While you can certainly get more value than that when redeeming KrisFlyer miles for Business or First Class seats, I’d still consider it way too steep a price, especially when you can reliably generate KrisFlyer miles from ~1 cent apiece whenever Citi PayAll runs one of its promotions (and I’m sure they’ll have something for income tax season soon, just you wait).

For the sake of comparison, converting TapForMore points to KrisFlyer miles entailed a 1.53 cents per mile cost, which was somewhat more palatable.

For what it’s worth, converting LinkPoints into KrisFlyer miles still represents a better proposition than converting LinkPoints into Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, although that speaks more to how bad the conversion rate for Asia Miles is.

290 LinkPoints can be converted into 110 Asia Miles, which means you’re buying Asia Miles at 2.6 cents each. That said, if you squint hard enough you might see a use case for those who wish to keep Asia Miles balances active (remember: Asia miles never expire so long as you earn or redeem at least 1 Asia Mile every 18 months).

Convert KrisFlyer miles to LinkPoints

KrisFlyer Miles	LinkPoints
3,000	1,950

Members can also transfer KrisFlyer miles to LinkPoints, although once again the value proposition is questionable at best. 

The conversion ratio is ~1.54 KrisFlyer miles=1 LinkPoint, with a minimum conversion of 3,000 KrisFlyer miles. 

Since 100 LinkPoints can be redeemed for a S$1 rebate, this is the same as accepting a value of 0.65 cents per mile! I shouldn’t have to tell you that’s terrible, ranking near the bottom of all the things you can do with KrisFlyer miles. 

Come to think of it, Kris+ miles can be redeemed for FairPrice Finest vouchers at 0.67 cents each. I’m not saying you should do this, but even that would be better than converting your miles to LinkPoints!

A maximum of 80,000 KrisFlyer miles may be converted to LinkPoints per calendar year, though seriously, if you’re converting that many I think it’s time to question what you’re doing with your life. 

Launch campaign: Win 100K KrisFlyer miles or 300K LinkPoints

From now till 18 April 2022, four KrisFlyer and LinkPoints members who convert their LinkPoints to KrisFlyer miles (or vice versa) will win 100,000 KrisFlyer miles or 300,000 LinkPoints.

Two winners will be selected at random at the end of each week:

• Week 1: 5-11 April 2022 (1x KrisFlyer miles winner, 1x LinkPoints winner)
• Week 2: 12-18 April 2022 1x KrisFlyer miles winner, 1x LinkPoints winner)

Winners will not be able to choose which prize they receive; the system will decide who gets the KrisFlyer miles and who gets the LinkPoints.

Now, I value 1 KrisFlyer mile at 1.8 cents each, so 100,000 miles would be worth S$1,800. This means that 300,000 LinkPoints (worth S$3,000) are actually the better prize. In fact, it’s so generous you might even want to convert the minimum 100 LinkPoints, and see it like buying a lottery ticket!

All four winners will be contacted by 9 May 2022 via email or mobile. The T&C of the lucky draw can be found here.

How do you earn LinkPoints?

Here’s a brief refresher on how LinkPoints are earned at NTUC FairPrice, Cheers, Unity and Warehouse Club.

For spend at NTUC FairPrice, Cheers, Unity and Warehouse Club
Earn	S$1= 0.5 LinkPoints (S$1= 1.33 LinkPoints if spend ≥ S$400 p.m)
Burn	100 LinkPoints= S$1
Effective Rebate	0.5% (1.33% if spend ≥ S$400 p.m)

LinkPoints members earn a regular rate of S$1= 0.5 LinkPoints, but if they spend at least S$400 per month, the earn rate gets boosted to S$1=1.33 LinkPoints.

The regular earn rate works out to be an incremental 0.25 mpd, while the bonus rate works out to an incremental 0.67 mpd. This is on top of any miles earned from your credit cards, and don’t forget, you can use the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, HSBC Revolution or UOB Lady’s Card (with family set as your bonus category) to earn up to 4 mpd on groceries. 

LinkPoints can also be earned at a wide range of partners across Singapore, with varying accrual rates. 

Conclusion

It’s now possible to make two-way transfers between KrisFlyer miles and LinkPoints, although the poor value rates in either direction means there’s not too much to get excited about.

At most, you might wish to transfer a small number of LinkPoints to KrisFlyer in order to put yourself in the running for the lucky draw prize.