American Express has launched a new sign-up bonus for the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend which runs from now till 31 January 2023.
New cardholders who apply via The MileLion and spend S$3,000 will receive up to 32,000 bonus miles, on top of the usual 3,600 base miles. They will also enjoy the standard AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend benefits such as four lounge vouchers and a 1-night Hilton voucher redeemable at more than 250 hotels across Asia Pacific.
| ❓ Who is eligible? |
| This offer is open to anyone who has not cancelled a principal AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend card in the past 12 months. If you currently hold other AMEX cards, you will still be eligible. |
New AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend offer
 Apply Here |
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| Old Offer (till 30 Sep 22) |
New Offer (from 1 Oct 22) |
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| Spend | Miles | Spend | Miles | |
| First Spend | Any | 5K | Any | 5K |
| Pay Annual Fee | – | 10K / 16.4K | – | 10K |
| Milelion Bonus |
S$2K |
2K |
S$2K | 2K |
| Sign-Up Bonus |
S$3K |
15K | S$3K | 15K |
| Base Miles | 3.6K (S$3K @ 1.2 mpd) |
3.6K (S$3K @ 1.2 mpd) |
||
| Total Spend | S$3K | S$3K | ||
| Total Miles | 35.6K / 42K | 35.6K | ||
All first-time American Express KrisFlyer cobrand cardholders will enjoy 5,000 miles on their first spend of any amount. This is a once per lifetime bonus, so if you’ve previously held an American Express KrisFlyer cobrand card before, you won’t receive this a second time.
Cardholders will receive 10,000 miles upon paying the mandatory S$337.05 annual fee and making their first spend of at least S$1.
Cardholders who apply via The MileLion and spend S$2,000 in the first 3 months of approval will receive 2,000 miles. If they spend a further S$1,000 (i.e. S$3,000 total) within the first three months, they will receive a further 15,000 miles.
To summarise the offer, by spending S$3,000 in the first 3 months of approval, you’d receive up to 35,600 miles, broken down as follows:
- 5,000 miles (first spend bonus)
- 10,000 miles (annual fee bonus)
- 2,000 miles (MileLion bonus)
- 15,000 miles (sign-up bonus)
- 3,600 miles (base miles earned for S$3,000 spend @ 1.2 mpd)
Terms & Conditions
The T&Cs of the 10,000 miles annual fee bonus and 15,000 miles sign-up offer can be found here.
The T&Cs for the 2,000 bonus miles for MileLion readers can be found here (on page 3 & 4).
All bonus miles will be credited 12 weeks after the spending threshold has been met. Any questions about the promotion should be directed to American Express (and if the CSOs say to contact The MileLion, they’re mistaken- all fulfilment is from the AMEX side).
What spending is eligible?
AMEX provides a list of excluded spending categories here, but the key ones to note are:
- GrabPay top-ups
- Insurance
- Public hospitals and polyclinics
- SPC transactions
- Utilities
For the avoidance of doubt, CardUp, private and non-profit hospitals, donations, and anything else not explicitly stated in the exclusion list will count as eligible spend.
Overview: AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend
| Apply Here |
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| 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 |
|
| 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 (which 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 local spend, and 2 mpd on foreign currency spend 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 Singapore Airlines tickets 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.
Spending S$15,000 on eligible purchases on Singapore Airlines tickets 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.
Don’t forget to check out my full review of the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend below.
Conclusion
New AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend members who spend S$3,000 and pay the first year’s S$337.05 annual fee can get up to 35,600 miles in total. That’s lower than the previous offer (assuming you’re new-to-AMEX), but you’ll otherwise need to wait until February 2023 for an alternative offer to come along.
For perspective, 35,600 miles would be enough for a one-way Business Class or a round-trip Economy Class ticket to soon-reopening Taiwan.
The page on AMEX when you click on the link to the promotion is showing the Milelion Offer end date as 31-Oct-22. Which is the correct one?
the amex offer ends 31 jan 2023.
the mileion offer is renewed month by month, but remains in effect until further notice.
Hi, I’ve signed up for the September offer as a first time card holder new to AMEX. So far I’ve only received the refer a friend 2000 bonus miles + qualifying purchase base miles. When will the rest be credited? thanks!