Kris+ boosts earn rate on Comfort taxi rides to 1 mpd

Since December 2022, KrisFlyer members have been able to earn bonus miles when booking  Comfort taxi rides via the Kris+ app. A promotional earn rate of 3 mpd was offered all the way till April 2023, but that was unfortunately cut to a very underwhelming 0.33 mpd from May.

Well, Kris+ has now decided to upsize the earn rate for taxi bookings to 1 mpd till 31 December 2023, and while this doesn’t quite bring back the glory days, I guess we’ll take whatever we can get.

Moreover, it appears that the S$0.30 platform fee for Kris+ bookings has been removed, so it no longer costs you anything extra to book rides via Kris+ (compared to the CDG Zig app directly).

S$5 for new Kris+ Users

Get S$5 (in the form of 750 KrisPay miles) when you sign-up with code W644363 and make your first transaction

Earn a bonus 1 mpd on CDG taxi rides

From 1 September to 31 December 2023, Kris+ users will earn 1 mile per S$1 when booking CDG taxi rides via the Kris+ app.

To book a taxi ride via Kris+, look for the “Book A Ride” icon at the top of the Kris+ home screen.

This will redirect you to the CDG Zig app, where you can proceed to book a ride as per normal. 

At the final step, you’ll be sent back to the Kris+ app where you’ll choose how you want to pay: with card (via Google/Apple Pay), KrisPay miles, or a combination of the two. 

You’ll notice that an S$8 surcharge will be added to your ride. This is intended to cover additional charges like ERP fees (even if your route doesn’t pass a single gantry), and the balance will be refunded at the end of the trip. This tends to overstate the number of miles you earn per ride, however, since it’s rare the full S$8 will be utilised.

As always, don’t forget to transfer any miles earned to KrisFlyer within seven days of the transaction, in their entirety. If you wait longer than seven days, or use Kris+ to spend any portion of the miles earned, the remaining balance will be stuck inside Kris+. 

Miles inside Kris+ have a six-month expiry, and can only be spent at a rate of 150 miles= S$1.

No more platform fee?

Here’s something interesting I noticed.

Previously, CDG bookings via Kris+ used to incur a S$0.30 platform fee. However, that platform fee has now been removed.

I wonder whether it has anything to do with the fact that CDG increased its platform fee to S$0.70 per ride on 1 July 2023 (this is baked into the taxi fare now, so in that sense it’s a bit misleading to show a platform fee of 0), but the upshot is that you’re paying the same regardless of whether you book rides via Kris+ or the CDG app directly.

So compared to before, where you were paying S$0.30 to earn an extra 0.33 mpd (which didn’t really make sense except on the longest routes), the extra 1 mpd you earn is basically on the house.

What card should you use for CDG taxi bookings via Kris+?

While Comfort taxi rides normally code as MCC 4121 (Taxicabs and Limousines), when processed via Kris+ they code as MCC 4789 (Transportation Services Not Elsewhere Classified).

This may change in the future, but until then, it will not trigger the bonuses for taxi rides on the HSBC Revolution. You can use the following cards to earn additional miles of up to 6 mpd, on top of the Kris+ miles.

🎁  CDG Taxi Rides via Kris+
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	6 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month. Must choose Transport as 10X category.
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	6 mpd	Max S$3K per c. month. Must choose Transport as 10X category.
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Cap at S$2K per c. month
Citi Rewards + Amaze Apply	4 mpd	Max. S$1K per s. month. Do not use Citi Rewards Card alone- no bonuses
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	3 mpd	No min. spend required

I reckon that for the moment, most people might be better off booking taxi rides via gojek with the DBS yuu Card, since 18% rebates are hard to beat.

Conclusion

From now till 31 December 2023, Kris+ users can earn 1 mpd on CDG taxi rides, on top of their credit card miles. No additional platform fee is levied for Kris+ bookings, so whatever extra miles you earn are basically the icing on the cake. 

I’ve also noticed a marked improvement in the UI for booking taxi rides via Kris+. It was previously laggy, buggy and nigh on unusable, but things work a lot more smoothly now, so credit where it’s due.

(HT: Gordon Loh)