Kris+ cuts earn rates for 70 merchants from October 2023

In late 2021, Singapore Airlines decided to go all-in on the Kris+ platform by launching a mega promotion with up to 9 mpd on dining, retail, and lifestyle merchants. The offer was initially set to run for four months, but was later extended till 31 March 2022, and then indefinitely until further notice. 

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

But money doesn’t grow on trees, and the party started to wind down in May 2023, when Kris+ cut the earn rates at 71 merchants, including popular ones like Harvey Norman, Audio House, Challenger and iStudio.

It was hoped that’d be the last devaluation for the year, but we now know there’s another round coming from 1 October 2023, and unfortunately it’s all bad news. 

Kris+ cuts earn rates from October 2023

Here’s a high level summary of how Kris+ is changing from 1 October 2023:

Out of 448 merchants:

• 378 are unchanged
• 8 are cutting their earn rate from 9 mpd to 6 mpd
• 12 are cutting their earn rate from 9 mpd to 3 mpd
• 14 are reducing their earn rate from 7 mpd to 6 mpd
• 26 are cutting their earn rate from 6 mpd to 3 mpd
• 10 are cutting their earn rate from 5 mpd to 3 mpd

A quick and dirty calculation shows that the weighted average earn rate of all Kris+ merchants will drop from 6.8 mpd to 6.2 mpd. That’s still good, given the possibility of stacking an extra 4-6 mpd from credit cards, but obviously not as generous as before.

If we just look at the 70 merchants which are cutting their earn rates, the average earn rate drops from 6.9 mpd to 3.9 mpd.

While Kris+ pretends to be helpful by providing a PDF showing the revised earn rates, this document is highly misleading. On first glance, you might be tempted to say “Yay! Everything’s going up!” 

But on closer inspection, you’ll realise the “before” column shows the base rate, and not the actual rate you’re earning now. Take Dancing Crab as an example: the table shows a base rate of 2 mpd, but the actual rate in the app is 7 mpd. Therefore, it’s going down from 7 mpd to 6 mpd, not up from 2 mpd to 6 mpd as the document suggests. 

Since the PDF disguises the impact of the changes, I’ve taken the liberty of compiling a Google Sheet that shows the actual rates now, versus what they’ll be from 1 October 2023. 

Enjoy.

9 mpd merchants cutting rates

Of the 161 merchants currently earning 9 mpd, 20 are moving down:

• 8 are cutting their rate to 6 mpd
• 12 are cutting their rate to 3 mpd

These are exclusively spa and wellness merchants, so if you’re planning to buy a package at one of these places you might want to act soon.

7 mpd merchants cutting rates

All 14 merchants currently earning 7 mpd will reduce their rate to 6 mpd, eliminating the 7 mpd category altogether.

This basically comprises the entire Tung Lok Group, including brands like QIN, Lao Beijing, Slappy Cakes and USHIO.

6 mpd merchants cutting rates

Of the 173 merchants currently earning 6 mpd, 26 are moving down to 3 mpd. 

This includes several restaurants like Bangkok Jam and Barossa Steak & Grill, together with more wellness and spa merchants (what does Kris+ have against bald folks anyway; this is the second cut to PHS Hairscience in a year!).

5 mpd merchants cutting rates

Of the 10 merchants currently earning 5 mpd, all are moving down to 3 mpd.

This basically consists of the Paradise Group, including Canton Paradise, Paradise Classic, Paradise Dynasty and Taste Paradise (those tourists could have earned a lot of miles!).

Following this change there will only be one merchant in the 5 mpd band: Kind Kones.

Earning miles via Kris+

To earn miles at Kris+ merchant, all you need to do is:

1. Scan the merchant’s Kris+ QR code
2. Enter the amount to be paid, and press “Pay” to pay via Apple/Google Pay

Don’t forget to transfer any KrisPay miles you earn to KrisFlyer within seven days of the transaction, in their entirety. If you wait longer than seven days, or spend any of the accrued miles, the balance will be stuck in Kris+ (with a six month expiry, to boot).

What card should I use with Kris+?

In-app payments in Kris+ follow the underlying merchant’s regular MCC (with some limited exceptions, like CDG taxi rides). In other words, simply use whatever credit card you’d normally use at that particular merchant.

The following cards are MCC agnostic; you’ll earn 3-4 mpd on Kris+ regardless of the underlying merchant.

💳 Best Cards for Kris+ (All Categories)
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
DBS WWMC Apply	4 mpd	Max. 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 Card Apply	3 mpd	No cap

However, there’s also scope to use other cards like the HSBC Revolution and UOB Lady’s Card for up to 6 mpd, depending on what type of Kris+ merchant you’re transacting with. To learn more about this, refer to the article below.

What’s the best card to use for Kris+?

Conclusion

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

Kris+ will be cutting earn rates at 70 merchants from 1 October 2023, with some reductions of up to 67%. Since the spa and wellness category is particularly hard hit, I’d recommend making use of the next few days to purchase whatever packages or treatments you might be thinking of doing.

For what it’s worth, there’s no changes to 378 merchants, including Bottles & Bottles (6 mpd), Fullerton Health (3 mpd), Tapas 24 (9 mpd) and TWG Tea (6 mpd), and you can still stack up to 6 mpd extra from the right credit card.

As always, don’t forget to transfer any miles earned via Kris+ to your KrisFlyer account immediately!