Kris+ offering 15% bonus for Citi Miles & ThankYou points conversions

In October 2021, Kris+ added Citibank as a transfer partner, allowing the conversion of Citi Miles & ThankYou points into KrisPay (and therefore KrisFlyer) miles. This made Citibank the third credit card partner on the platform, after DBS and UOB. 

While conversions are instant and don’t involve any transfer fees, they also entail a 15% haircut, compared to what you could have obtained had you gone via the bank’s rewards portal. 

But from now till 24 May 2022, Kris+ is offering a 15% conversion bonus for transfers of Citi Miles & ThankYou points. A 15% bonus doesn’t quite offset the haircut completely, but it brings the rate pretty darn close, and well worth considering for small top-ups. 

Get a 15% bonus when converting Citi rewards points to Kris+

Citi Points		KrisPay Miles
4,000 Citi Miles -or- 10,000 Citi TY Points	⇒	3,400 miles 3,910 miles

From 25 April to 24 May 2022, Citi credit card customers will receive a 15% bonus on all conversions of Citi Miles and ThankYou points to KrisPay miles, with a minimum conversion of 4,000 Citi Miles or 10,000 ThankYou points.

4,000 Citi Miles or 10,000 ThankYou points are normally converted into 3,400 KrisPay miles, but with this promotion you’ll receive 510 bonus KrisPay miles for a total of 3,910 KrisPay miles. There is no cap on the maximum bonus that can be earned. 

The bonus will be awarded instantly, and can be seen on the Kris+ app before confirming.

KrisPay miles can be converted into KrisFlyer miles at a 1:1 ratio with no fees, but you must do this within seven days of accrual. Wait any longer, and the miles will be stuck in KrisPay where they can only be spent at a measly 0.67 cents/mile, with a six-month expiry!

The full T&Cs of this offer can be found here. 

Is it worth converting?

Citi rewards points can normally be converted into KrisFlyer miles at a rate of:

• 10,000 Citi Miles= 10,000 KrisFlyer miles
• 25,000 ThankYou points= 10,000 KrisFlyer miles

This means that 4,000 Citi Miles or 10,000 ThankYou points should get you 4,000 KrisFlyer miles, and the 3,910 KrisFlyer miles you receive represents a ~2% haircut (a 15% bonus is insufficient to offset the standard 15% haircut incurred). 

However, conversions of Citi Miles & ThankYou points:

• Have a S$26.75 fee
• Take 3-4 working days
• Require a minimum of 10,000 Citi Miles or 25,000 ThankYou points

Therefore, there’s a case to be made for taking the Kris+ route, since you save on the fees, get instant transfers, and can convert a smaller amount of points than you otherwise would have to.

Remember: Citi Miles & ThankYou points are extremely valuable, with 11 different transfer partners to choose from. You don’t want to transfer more to a given programme than necessary!

💳 Citibank Transfer Partners
For a full list of transfer partners, refer to this article

With regards to fees, it’s worth nothing that the more points you transfer, the more significant the haircut (in absolute terms). There will come a point where the loss in miles more than offsets the S$26.75 savings in conversion fees- assuming you value a mile at 1.5 cents each, this will come around the 80,000 miles mark. 

But if you’re transferring anything less than this, or trying to cash out an orphan balance on your Citi card (Citi does not pool points), it’s well worth considering. 

Conclusion

From now till 24 May 2022, Kris+ is offering a 15% conversion bonus for Citi Miles & ThankYou points.

You’ll take a ~2% hit in terms of value, but it still makes sense for anyone who:

• Wants to avoid the S$26.75 conversion fee
• Needs quick miles to snap up a redemption opportunity
• Only needs a small top-up and doesn’t want to transfer the usual 10,000 miles block
• Wants to cash out orphan points on a Citi card

If nothing else, this could be a quick win for those planning to rack up Citi Miles & ThankYou points with the latest Citi PayAll offer.