Here’s The MileLion’s review of the AMEX HighFlyer Card (also known as the AMEX Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card), which is the quintessential example of making hay while the sun shines.
Back in the day, this card offered outrageous value. The first year’s annual fee was waived, effectively giving you a complimentary Accor Plus Explorer membership. On top of that, you could earn miles on almost everything—charitable donations, school fees, insurance premiums, hospital bills, utilities, even GrabPay top-ups!
I fondly remember clocking the minimum spend for my welcome bonus entirely through GrabPay top-ups, then using GrabPay to pay my income taxes and top-up my CPF Special Account via AXS. It’s no wonder that people were rushing to register their side hustles with ACRA, just to get the UEN required for applications.
Fast forward to today, and the picture is much more grim. There’s no longer a first year fee waiver and no more miles for GrabPay top-ups (not that AXS accepts GrabPay anymore). Earn rates have been nerfed, lounge access removed, and to add insult to injury, American Express has increased the annual fee to S$400.
Because of this, there’s really no reason to apply for an AMEX HighFlyer Card anymore— provided consumer cards are an option.
 AMEX HighFlyer Card |
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| 🦁 MileLion Verdict | |
| ☐ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☑ Leave It |
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| What do these ratings mean? |
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| Once a high-flyer, now grounded—the refreshed AMEX HighFlyer Card has very little to offer. | |
| 👍 The good | 👎 The bad |
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| 💳 Full List of Credit Card Reviews | |
Overview: AMEX HighFlyer Card
Let’s start this review by looking at the key features of the AMEX HighFlyer Card.
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| Apply | |||
| Income Req. | S$30,000 p.a. | Points Validity | 3 years |
| Annual Fee | S$400 |
Min. Transfer | N/A |
| Miles with Annual Fee |
6,000 | Transfer Partners | 1 |
| FCY Fee | 3.25% | Transfer Fee | None |
| Local Earn | 1.2 mpd | Points Pool? | N/A |
| FCY Earn | 1.2 mpd | Lounge Access? | N/A |
| Special Earn | 2 mpd on SIA Group* | Airport Limo? | No |
| *Up to 6 mpd extra on Singapore Airlines tickets, depending on fare type | |||
| Cardholder Terms and Conditions | |||
How much must I earn to qualify for an AMEX HighFlyer Card?
The AMEX HighFlyer Card has an annual income requirement of S$30,000 p.a., the MAS-mandated minimum to hold a credit card in Singapore.
The real barrier isn’t the income requirement, however. Because this is a business credit card, you’ll need a valid Unique Entity Number (UEN) to apply. This means registering your business with ACRA, be it a sole proprietorship, limited liability partnership or company.
American Express does not require a minimum turnover nor number of employees. If you’re running a home business, giving tuition or engaged in some other side hustle, registering your business with ACRA would qualify you to apply.
In fact, the S$30,000 minimum income need not come from the registered business itself. For example, I could earn S$30,000 from my day job with Company A, and have a separate side hustle with my own Company B. I could then apply for an AMEX HighFlyer Card on behalf of Company B, using my income from Company A to qualify.
How much is the AMEX HighFlyer Card’s annual fee?
| Principal Card | Supp. Card | |
| First Year | S$400 | First 2 waived, 3rd onwards S$100.85 |
| Subsequent | S$400 | First 2 waived, 3rd onwards S$100.85 |
Effective 23 April 2025, the annual fee for the AMEX HighFlyer Card increased by 30%, rising from S$304.59 to S$400. All approvals and renewals from this date onward will be charged the higher fee.
The first two supplementary cards are free for life. A fee of S$100.85 applies to the third and any additional supplementary cards.
While the first year’s annual fee cannot be waived, subsequent years’ annual fees can potentially be waived, subject to appeal. Fee waiver approvals are based on your total spend and overall tenure with AMEX, and there is no published eligibility criteria that I’m aware of.
Cardholders who pay the annual fee will receive an Accor Plus Explorer membership code each year, along with 6,000 HighFlyer points from the second year onward. These benefits are forfeited if the annual fee is waived.
How many miles do I earn?
| 🇸🇬 SGD Spend | 🌎 FCY Spend | ⭐ Bonus Spend |
| 1.2 mpd | 1.2 mpd | 2 mpd on SIA Group (+ 6 mpd for SIA tickets) |
SGD/FCY Spend
AMEX HighFlyer Cardholders earn:
- 1.2 HighFlyer points every S$1 spent in Singapore Dollars
- 1.2 HighFlyer points every S$1 spent in Foreign Currency (FCY)
1 HighFlyer point is worth 1 KrisFlyer mile, meaning an equivalent earn rate of 1.2 mpd for local and FCY spend. This represents a 33% reduction from the previous earn rate of 1.8 mpd, which was in effect until 22 April 2025.
The bottom line is that while the AMEX HighFlyer Card still offers decent earn rates for a corporate card, it just isn’t that competitive compared to other consumer cards anymore.
| 💳 Earn Rates for General Spending Cards (Income Req.: S$30K) |
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| Cards | Local Spend | FCY Spend |
 UOB PRVI Miles Card |
1.4 mpd | 3 mpd IDR, MR, THB, VND 2.4 mpd All Others |
 HSBC TravelOne Card |
1.2 mpd | 2.4 mpd |
 DBS Altitude Card |
1.3 mpd | 2.2 mpd |
 OCBC 90°N Card |
1.3 mpd | 2.1 mpd |
 Citi PremierMiles Card |
1.2 mpd | 2.2 mpd |
 StanChart Journey Card |
1.2 mpd | 2 mpd |
 BOC Elite Miles |
1 mpd | 2 mpd |
 KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card |
1.2 mpd | 1.2 mpd |
| AMEX HighFlyer Card |
1.2 mpd | 1.2 mpd |
 AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend |
1.2 mpd | 1.2 mpd |
 AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card |
1.1 mpd | 1.1 mpd |
All FCY transactions are subject to a 3.25% FCY transaction fee, so overseas spend represents buying miles at a very unattractive 2.71 cents each.
| 💳 FCY Fees by Issuer and Card Network |
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| Issuer | ↓ MC & Visa | AMEX |
| Standard Chartered | 3.5% | N/A |
| American Express | N/A | 3.25% |
| Citibank | 3.25% | N/A |
| DBS | 3.25% | 3% |
| HSBC | 3.25% | N/A |
| Maybank | 3.25% | N/A |
| OCBC | 3.25% | N/A |
| UOB | 3.25% | 3.25% |
| BOC | 3% | N/A |
| CIMB | 3% | N/A |
SIA Group Spend
AMEX HighFlyer Cardholders earn an uncapped 2 mpd on SIA Group spend, with no minimum spend necessary.
The SIA Group is defined as transactions with:
- Singapore Airlines
- Scoot
- KrisShop
For the avoidance of doubt, this does not include transactions with Kris+ or Pelago.
Cardholders can earn up to 8/9 mpd on Singapore Airlines tickets, but this figure needs some explaining:
| 💳 From HighFlyer Card | ✈️ From HighFlyer Account |
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Bonus for HighFlyer Cardholders
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The extra 6/7 mpd is comprised of:
- The usual 5 mpd awarded to HighFlyer Base and Silver members (or 6 mpd for Gold and Platinum)
- A bonus 1 mpd awarded to HighFlyer members with an AMEX HighFlyer Card
The HighFlyer account does not award points on tickets issued in the V or K booking classes (Economy Lite). Tickets issued in the Q or N booking classes (Economy Value) will only be eligible for 50% accrual.
| Fare Type | Fare Code | HighFlyer Accrual |
| Economy Lite | V, K | 0% |
| Economy Value | Q, N | 50% |
| All others | All others | 100% |
To simplify things, here’s a summary of how many miles you can expect to earn as a Base/Silver HighFlyer member, depending on the ticket type.
| Fare Type | Total Earn Rate* |
| Economy Lite | 2 mpd |
| Economy Value | 5 mpd |
| All Other Commercial Tickets | 8 mpd |
| All Award Tickets |
2 mpd |
| *For HighFlyer Base or Silver member. Gold and Platinum members + 1 mpd | |
The AMEX HighFlyer Card will earn 2 mpd on taxes and surcharges for KrisFlyer award tickets, whether with Singapore Airlines or other partner airlines.
When are HighFlyer points credited?
HighFlyer points are credited when your transaction posts, which generally takes 1-3 working days.
How are HighFlyer points calculated?
Here’s how you can work out the HighFlyer points earned on your AMEX HighFlyer Card.
| Local Spend | Multiply transaction by 1.2, then round to the nearest whole number |
| FCY Spend |
Multiply transaction by 1.2, then round to the nearest whole number |
The minimum spend to earn points is therefore S$0.42.
If you’re an Excel geek, here’s the formulas you need to calculate points:
| Local Spend | =ROUND (X*1.2,0) |
| FCY Spend |
=ROUND (X*1.2,0) |
| Where X= Amount Spent |
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For the full list of formulas that banks use to calculate credit card points, do refer to these articles:
What transactions aren’t eligible for HighFlyer points?
When the AMEX HighFlyer Card first launched, it was very liberal with awarding points. There were virtually no rewards exclusions, and you could even earn miles for topping up your GrabPay account!
Sadly, those days are now over, and the exclusions list is similar to any other bank.
Exclusions
a) Charges processed and billed prior to the Enrolment Date or charges prepaid on any Card Account prior to the first billing statement for that Card Account following the Enrolment Date.
b) Cash Advance and other cash services.
c) Finance charges – including Line of Credit charges and Credit Card interest charges.
d) Late payment and collection charges.
e) Tax refunds from overseas purchases.
f) Balance Transfer.
g) Instalment plans, except where American Express determines otherwise.
h) Annual membership fees.
i) Amount billed for purchase of HighFlyer Points to top-up your points balance.
j) Purchase and top-up charges for EZ-Link cards using American Express Cards.
k) Bill payments and all transactions via SingPost (e.g. SAM kiosks, mobile app, online portal) (with effect from 4 April 2023);
l) Payments to insurance companies (except payments made for insurance products purchased through American Express authorized channel) (with effect from 4 April 2023);
m) Payments to Singapore Petroleum Company Limited (SPC) service stations (with effect from 4 April 2023);
n) Payments for the purpose of GrabPay top-ups (with effect from 4 April 2023);
o) Payments to utilities merchants (with effect from 4 April 2023);
p) Payments to public/restructured hospitals, polyclinics and other public/restructured healthcare institutions and facilities (with effect from 4 April 2023);
q) Transactions relating to education and other non-profit purposes (including charitable donations) (with effect from 1 October 2023);
r) Charges at merchants or establishments that are excluded by American Express at its
sole discretion and notified by American Express to you from time to time.
While American Express does not exclude CardUp transactions from earning rewards, the AMEX HighFlyer Card will not work with CardUp. Refer to the article below for more information.
What do I need to know about HighFlyer points?
| ❌ Expiry | ↔️ Pooling | ✈️ Transfer Fee |
| 3 years | N/A | None |
| ⬆️ Min. Transfer | ✈️ No. of Partners | ⏱️ Transfer Time |
| N/A | 1 | Once a month |
Expiry
HighFlyer points expire after three years on the last day of the equivalent month in which they were earned. For example, all HighFlyer points earned from 1-31 July 2023 would expire on 31 July 2026 at 2359 hours Singapore time (GMT+8).
However, converting HighFlyer points to KrisFlyer miles gets a further three year validity, so in total you have up to six years (though it’s never a good idea to sit on miles for too long, since that leaves you vulnerable to devaluations).
Pooling
The AMEX HighFlyer Card is the only credit card which earns HighFlyer points, so pooling is irrelevant.
Transfer Fees & Partners
HighFlyer points earned from the AMEX HighFlyer Card are batched and automatically credited to your HighFlyer account once per month, on the statement closing date. No transfer fees apply.
HighFlyer points can be instantly converted into KrisFlyer miles at a 1:1 ratio, also without transfer fees.
While there was previously a limit of five nominees per HighFlyer account, that cap was removed on 1 July 2024. Each nominee can receive a maximum of 150,000 miles per calendar year from HighFlyer points transfers.
What else can you do with HighFlyer Points?
In addition to KrisFlyer miles, HighFlyer Points can also be used for the following redemptions.
| Item | Cost |
 12-month KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership |
100,000 points |
 LoungeKey pass |
6,500 points |
 S$50 KrisShop voucher |
6,250 points |
 S$10 off SIA tickets or S$10 Scoot voucher |
1,050 points |
 Award flights on Lufthansa Group |
Award chart |
 SIA Academy courses |
Not stated |
None of them are particularly attractive options, if you ask me. These value your HighFlyer points at <1 cent each, and you could get much better value by converting them to KrisFlyer miles and redeeming award flights instead.
Other card perks
Business offers
AMEX HighFlyer Cardholders are eligible for the following business offers:
- S$4,000 annual spending credits for Meta Ads Campaign Management fees with First Page Digital
- S$4,000 annual spending credits for Google Ads Campaign Management fees with First Page Digital
- 10% off Fiverr for first hire
- 6% off monthly AWS bills and up to 90% off Amazon CloudFront through AppSquadz
- 20% off iStock new subscriptions
- S$350 credits for Mailchimp partner services with Ematic
- S$500 credits for Shopify partner services with Ematic
If these were credits for Meta, Google Ads, AWS etc., they’d be fantastic. But they’re not. Instead, you’ll need to engage one of the respective vendors to use the credits, and I have little knowledge about their services or standards.
The only codes valid for direct use are Fiverr and iStock, and even that’s a one-time discount. So even though I use some of these services myself, I personally don’t place a lot of value on these business offers.
10,000 bonus points for first SIA flight booking
From 23 April 2025, 10,000 bonus HighFlyer points will be awarded to cardholders who complete their first flight booking made through the Singapore Airlines corporate portal, within the first 12 months of enrolment in the HighFlyer programme.
This benefit is only available to AMEX HighFlyer Cards approved from 23 April 2025 onwards, however, so existing cardholders will miss out.
Accor Plus Explorer membership
Principal AMEX HighFlyer Cardholders receive a complimentary Accor Plus Explorer membership with one complimentary hotel night each year the annual fee is paid.
This normally retails for S$418, and includes benefits such as:
- Up to 50% off dining at participating Accor hotels across Asia Pacific
- 15% off drinks bill in Asia
- 10% off the best available public rate
- Access to Red Hot Room sales with up to 50% off
- Accor Live Limitless Silver status
The full list of benefits can be found below.
The free hotel night can be redeemed at participating Accor properties across the Asia Pacific region, including the Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, Mondarin Seoul Itaewon, and Sofitel Darling Harbour Sydney.
The other big draw of an Accor Plus membership are the dining discounts. The discount structure works like this:
- 25% off dining: 1 member only
- 50% off dining: 1 member and 1 guest
- 33% off dining: 1 member and 2 guests
- 25% off dining: 1 member and 3 guests
- 15% off drinks in Asia
Some examples of participating Accor Plus restaurants in Singapore include Prego, Mikuni and Asian Market Café at the Fairmont, SKAI, The Stamford Brasserie, and CLOVE at Swissotel and The Cliff and Kwee Zeen at the Sofitel Sentosa Resort.
This membership will be automatically renewed each year you pay the annual fee. If your annual fee is waived, your Accor Plus membership will not be renewed.
KrisFlyer Elite Gold fast track
Principal AMEX HighFlyer Cardholders can enjoy a fast-track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold when they spend at least S$15,000 on Singapore Airlines or Scoot tickets within the first 12 months of card approval. If you miss that opportunity, you won’t get another chance to try in the following membership year.
Do note that KrisShop transactions no longer count towards the minimum spend requirement, effective 23 April 2025.
Eligible spending includes both commercial tickets, and paying for taxes and surcharges on a KrisFlyer award ticket with your card (whether the award flight is on Singapore Airlines or one of its partners).
Crucially, these tickets need not be flown by the cardholder. Think about the scenario of someone who often buys air tickets for his entire organisation. He can’t accrue the Elite miles on their tickets (only the person whose name is on the ticket can), but can nonetheless achieve KrisFlyer Elite Gold through his total card spending.
Fast Track T&Cs: AMEX HighFlyer Card
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“Eligible Card Members” (as defined below) who charge a cumulative amount of S$15,000 or more on “Eligible Flight Bookings” (as defined below) within the first 12 months of Card Membership, will be eligible for an upgrade to the KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership tier “KrisFlyer Elite Gold Upgrade”) or to nominate a registered corporate traveler to receive the KrisFlyer Elite Gold Upgrade. To be an “Eligible Card Member”: (a) you must be a new Basic American Express Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card Member; (b) you must not have previously received the KrisFlyer Elite Gold Upgrade through the American Express Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card at any time (for the avoidance of doubt, an individual who previously received a KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership tier upgrade will not be eligible, even if he/she cancelled, subsequently reapplied and is approved for the American Express Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card); and (c) you must be the first Basic American Express Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card “Eligible Flight Bookings” refer to:
The KrisFlyer Elite Gold Upgrade will not be available to nominees who are existing PPS Club or KrisFlyer Elite Gold members. For the avoidance of doubt, if there is more than one Basic American Express Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card Member that is linked to a Business (as determined with reference to the Business’ unique entity number or registration number), only the first Eligible Card Member who meets all the eligibility criteria will be entitled to receive the KrisFlyer Elite Gold Upgrade (or nominate a registered corporate traveler to receive the Upgrade). The KrisFlyer Elite Gold status granted under this KrisFlyer Elite Gold Status Accelerator KrisFlyer and Singapore Airlines terms and conditions apply. Singapore Airlines reserves the right to vary their terms and conditions or terminate this benefit without prior notice at their own sole discretion. |
KrisFlyer Elite Gold status attained through this fast-track is only valid for one year; subsequently, members will need to requalify by flying at least 50,000 Elite miles in a 12-month membership period.
KrisFlyer Elite Gold grants additional benefits when flying on Singapore Airlines or Star Alliance carriers, such as:
- A 25% accrual bonus on KrisFlyer miles
- Lounge access
- Priority check-in
- Priority boarding
- Priority luggage handling and additional 20kg allowance
For more details on KrisFlyer Elite Gold benefits, refer to the post below.
Summary Review: AMEX HighFlyer Card
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| Apply | |
| 🦁 MileLion Verdict | |
| ☐ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☑ Leave It |
In its heyday, the AMEX HighFlyer Card was a game-changer, rewarding everything from hospital bills to GrabPay top-ups, with generous welcome offers and a first year fee waiver. For those who hopped onboard early, it truly was the best of times.
But that era is firmly in the rearview mirror. Today, the card’s allure has faded dramatically. With slashed earn rates, a hefty S$400 annual fee, the removal of lounge access, and an ever-growing list of exclusions, the AMEX HighFlyer Card simply isn’t attractive anymore.
True, it’s actually quite decent for a corporate card — which says more about how bad corporate cards are than anything else — but assuming you’re able to use consumer cards for business expenses, then there’s really no competition.
So that’s my review of the AMEX HighFlyer Card. What do you think?
FYI: If you’re a foreigner who runs their own company (which sponsors your EP/whatever in SG), you’ll need to be able to show two personal IRAS NOAs for approval.
That basically means you can only apply for this thing if you’ve spent two years in SG already.
This is a silly policy given it’s a corporate focused card to begin with. They’re not willing to accept bank statements, or form 21 from your company.
(As an aside, you can get 5.5 out of the 8 MPD for SIA spend by just signing up for SIA HighFlyer independently)
Hi
Just wonder the acra application requires any fees or annual fees?
Yes. And don’t forget filling requirements.
One should have a legit business then get the card…not purposely go to register a business just to get this card.
what makes you the gatekeeper? acra won’t say no to free $$ for nation building.
Actually there is a no annual fee option . But no bonus points will be awarded
But the points come at a cheap rate so no reason to not take
Can confirm if the following is factual ? My understanding from cso is different and I vaguely recall earning 8.5 on my 2020/2021 tickets
“HighFlyer points are not earned on award redemptions, so if you’re using the AMEX HighFlyer Card to pay for taxes and surcharges on award tickets, you’ll earn just 2.5 mpd.”
sorry for the noob question, but does the company or the individual get the credit bill? and the annual fee is paid by the company or individual?
in other words is this like a company card or is this a card for an individual who just need to be able to prove he is a director/major shareholder of a company?
Starting from Apr 4, they will be excluding grab top ups.
https://www.americanexpress.com/content/dam/amex/sg/benefits/SGexclusions_Mar2023.pdf
Can you retain your Highflyer account and CC if you dont renew your company’s registration on ACRA annually?
yes
Just received an email yesterday saying “Starting 4 April 2023, changes will be made to the list of eligible purchases for the award of HighFlyer points. For the latest list of non‑eligible transactions, please visit go.amex/sgexclusions.”
New exclusion:
“Payments for the purpose of GrabPay top-ups”
Glad I managed to clock my miles before this coming nerf!
Does this still have miles for grabpay top ups?
With the cap of Highflyer to Krisflyer (Each selected KrisFlyer account may receive a maximum of 30,000 KrisFlyer miles converted from HighFlyer points per calendar year, regardless of which HighFlyer accounts the points are converted from), will the strategy be to move all points from Amex Rewards > Krisflyer > Highflyer + Citi Rewards > Highflyer + Highflyer Card auto to Highflyer then book tickets from Highflyer site?
If you have a business can’t you just register for HighFlyer and use any other card to purchase tickets and get the 5 HighFlyer points on top of the card earn? Use a 6/4mpd card or uncapped 3mpd on UOB KrisFlyer and spend $6k per annum to get the additional 30k miles. Without using this AMEX
What if the fare category is Value for 1 sector and Standard for another. Does it apply the 50% (i.e 3mpd) across?
For SIA bookings, is it better to use Krisflyer Mastercard which has 3mpd or the highflyer card? I understand the card only gives 2.5 miles.
Hi. Has anyone checked the number of HighFlyer points credited to your HighFlyer account for SIA and Scoot flights paid with the Amex HighFlyer Card? I got 5 HighFlyer points per SGD1 base fare without the additional bonus 1 HighFlyer point per SGD1.
Just share my case. The annual fee can’t be wavied any more. The only one choice is to cancel the card, then no need to pay the annual fee.