MileLion Exclusive: Get up to 30,000 miles with S$500 spend on a new AMEX KrisFlyer card

From 17-31 May 2022, American Express is running two exclusive offers for MileLion readers who apply for either the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend or AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card. 

New AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend cardholders will receive 25,000 miles when they spend S$500 in the first month of approval and pay the S$337.05 annual fee. If this is their first-ever AMEX Singapore Airlines Card, they’ll receive an additional 5,000 miles for a total of 30,000 miles.

New AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card cardholders will receive 10,000 miles when they spend S$500 within the first month of approval (with a first year annual fee waiver). If this is their first-ever AMEX Singapore Airlines Card, they’ll receive an additional 5,000 miles for a total of 15,000 miles.

AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend

Apply Here
S$337.05 Annual Fee Applies
	Spend	Miles
First Spend	Any	5K
Month 1	S$500	25K
Base Miles	600 (S$500 @ 1.2 mpd)
Total Spend	S$500
Total Miles	30,600

New AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend cardholders who sign up between 17-31 May 2022 and receive approval by 14 June 2022 will receive: 

• 5,000 bonus miles when they make their first spend, if this is their first-ever AMEX Singapore Airlines Credit Card
• 25,000 bonus miles when they spend S$500 within the first month of approval and pay the S$337.05 annual fee
• 600 base miles for spending S$500 (@ 1.2 mpd)

Do note that you will not receive the public welcome gift of a 2-night stay at the Hilton Singapore Orchard if you opt for this offer. You will not be able to stack it with MGM referral bonuses either.

The 5,000 bonus miles will be posted to your KrisFlyer account the month after the first spend is made. The 25,000 bonus miles will be posted within 12 weeks of meeting the eligibility criteria. 

You can find the T&Cs for the 25,000 bonus miles offer here (refer to pages 3 & 4). The T&Cs for the regular 5,000 bonus miles can be found here. 

AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card

Apply Here
First Year Fee Waived
	Spend	Miles
First Spend	Any	5K
Month 1	S$500	10K
Base Miles	550 (S$500 @ 1.1 mpd)
Total Spend	S$500
Total Miles	15,550

New AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card cardholders who sign up between 17-31 May 2022 and receive approval by 14 June 2022 will receive: 

• 5,000 bonus miles when they make their first spend, if this is their first-ever AMEX Singapore Airlines Credit Card
• 10,000 bonus miles when they spend S$500 within the first month of approval
• 550 base miles for spending S$500 (@ 1.1 mpd)

Do note that you will not receive the public welcome gift of 5,000 miles and a 1-night stay at the Hilton Singapore Orchard if you opt for this offer. You will not be able to stack it with MGM referral bonuses either.

The 5,000 bonus miles will be posted to your KrisFlyer account the month after the first spend is made. The 10,000 bonus miles will be posted within 12 weeks of meeting the eligibility criteria. 

You can find the T&Cs of the 10,000 miles offer here (refer to pages 1 & 2). The T&Cs for the regular 5,000 bonus miles can be found here.

What spending is eligible?

AMEX has a list of excluded spending categories here, but the key ones to note are: 

• GrabPay top-ups
• Insurance
• Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC)
• Utilities

For avoidance of doubt, CardUp, hospital transactions, donations, and anything else not explicitly stated in the exclusion list will count as eligible spend towards the S$500 minimum. 

Recap: Key features

AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend

Apply Here
Income Req.	S$50,000 p.a.	Points Validity	3 years
Annual Fee	S$337.05	Min. Transfer	N/A
Miles with Annual Fee	None	Transfer Partners	SIA
FCY Fee	2.95%	Transfer Fee	None
Local Earn	1.2 mpd	Points Pool?	N/A
FCY Earn	2.0 mpd (Jun & Dec)	Lounge Access?	Yes
Special Earn	2 mpd on SIA and KrisShop, 3.2 mpd for Grab	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend has an annual fee of S$337.05, which includes:

• 4x lounge passes to participating Plaza Premium Lounges worldwide (including SATS Premier Lounge in Singapore)
• One-night stay at participating Hilton Hotels across Asia Pacific
• Hilton Silver status (that may not sound like a lot, but allows you to enjoy the 5th night free on award redemptions- very valuable if you’re buying Hilton points)

Cardholders earn 1.2 mpd on all Singapore dollar spending, and 2 mpd on foreign currency spending in June and December (1.2 mpd otherwise). Grab Singapore transactions earn 3.2 mpd, capped at S$200 per calendar month.

Cardholders who spend at least S$15,000 on eligible purchases  at singaporeair.com within the first 12 months of approval will be automatically upgraded to KrisFlyer Elite Gold. This upgrade is valid for one year, after which they will need to requalify through regular means.

Your complete guide to KrisFlyer Elite Gold benefits

Spending S$15,000 on eligible purchases on singaporeair.com between 1 July to 30 June of the following year also gives a double miles accrual voucher, which can be applied to a booking to earn up to 5,000 bonus miles. 

A further 500 bonus miles can be enjoyed for making a first telco recurring bill payment at participating merchants. 

AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card

Apply Here
Income Req.	S$30,000 p.a.	Points Validity	3 years
Annual Fee	S$176.55	Min. Transfer	N/A
Miles with Annual Fee	None	Transfer Partners	SIA
FCY Fee	2.95%	Transfer Fee	None
Local Earn	1.1 mpd	Points Pool?	N/A
FCY Earn	2.0 mpd (Jun & Dec)	Lounge Access?	No
Special Earn	2 mpd on SIA and KrisShop, 3.1 mpd for Grab	Airport Limo?	No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card comes with a first-year waiver of its S$176.55 annual fee. 

Cardholders earn 1.1 mpd on all Singapore dollar spending, and 2 mpd on foreign currency spending in June and December (1.1 mpd otherwise). Grab Singapore transactions earn 3.1 mpd, capped at S$200 per calendar month.

Cardholders who spend at least S$12,000 between 1 July and 30 June of the following year will receive S$150 cashback to offset purchases of air tickets made on singaporeair.com. Air tickets must be originating from Singapore, and charged in Singapore dollars. 

A further 500 bonus miles can be enjoyed for making a first telco recurring bill payment at participating merchants. 

Conclusion

MileLion readers who apply for an AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend or AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card by the end of May will be eligible for up to 30,000 miles with just S$500 spend. That’s enough for a round-trip Economy ticket to Hong Kong or Taiwan (when they do open up), or a one-way Economy ticket to Turkey with some left over. 

Assuming you’re not into staycations, then this would be more lucrative than the current public offers for a Hilton Singapore Orchard staycation (which require between S$1,000 to S$3,000 of spending).