Which bank offers the best points currency?

If you’re holding multiple credit cards across different banks (and you should), you’ll need to get comfortable with managing multiple points currencies: Citi Miles, DBS Points, Maybank TREATS, OCBC$, UOB UNI$ etc.

But not all points currencies are made equal. They differ in terms of:

• Expiry
• Minimum conversion
• Pooling
• Transfer partners
• Transfer fees

The upshot is that two cards could offer 1.2 mpd on all local spend, yet one could be qualitatively better in terms of points quality. 

If you ask me, transfer partner variety should be the first cut, because more partners mean more sweet spot potential, and hedge you against the devaluation of any one particular programme.

Based on this criteria, there’s five banks which lead the pack in terms of transfer partner variety:

1. American Express
2. Citibank
3. HSBC TravelOne
4. OCBC
5. Standard Chartered

So which one should you focus on, and what’s the fastest way to accumulate points?

American Express

Membership Rewards
Expiry	None
Minimum Conversion	250 miles
Pooling	Yes
Transfer Partners	12
Transfer Fees	None

Expiry

Membership Rewards (MR) points do not expire. They remain valid so long as your card account remains open. 

Minimum Conversion

MR points have some of the smallest conversion blocks in Singapore. While most banks force you to convert the equivalent of 10,000 miles at a time, American Express keeps it small at 250 miles.

Pooling

MR points pool, so you can combine points earned across different cards and redeem them at one go. 

Why is pooling important, when MR points have small conversion blocks and no transfer fees? Well, if you have an AMEX Platinum Charge or Centurion, your conversion rate for airline miles is 400 points = 250 miles. For all other cards, it’s 450 points = 250 miles. But because points pool, AMEX Platinum Charge or Centurion cardholders can convert all their points at the more favourable ratio, regardless of which card they were earned on.

Transfer Partners & Fees

MR points can be converted to 12 different airline and hotel programmes, with no conversion fees. 

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (AMEX: Partner)
	Plat Charge & Centurion	Others
	400 : 250	450 : 250
	400 : 250	450 : 250
	400 : 250	450 : 250
	400 : 250	450 : 250
	400 : 250	450 : 250
	400 : 250	450 : 250
	400 : 250	450 : 250
	400 : 250	450 : 250
	400 : 250	450 : 250
	400 : 250	450 : 250
	1,000 : 1,000	1,000 : 1,000
	1,000 : 1,250	1,000 : 1,250

All airline partners share the same ratio, though Hilton Honors has a preferable ratio to Marriott Bonvoy.

The inclusion of two hotel programmes is noteworthy, since most other banks have just one, if at all. Moreover, AMEX MR transfers are usually processed very fast; most of my transfers credit within 24 hours, regardless of programme.

How to earn

Welcome offers

American Express is currently running the following welcome offers. 

Card	Annual Fee	Spend	Bonus
AMEX Platinum Reserve Ends 28 Feb 24 Apply	S$540	S$10K	Up to 40K MR points
AMEX Platinum Charge Ends 31 Jan 24 Apply Details	S$1,728	S$6K	Up to 132.5K MR points

I recommend ignoring the AMEX Platinum Reserve, since it’s overpriced for what it offers (not to mention there’s a further benefits nerf coming from January 2024). The AMEX Platinum Charge is significantly more expensive, but the current welcome offer is one of the best we’ve ever seen. 

The AMEX Platinum Reserve’s offer is forgettable, but the AMEX Platinum Charge’s is well worth considering as it’s one of the best offers we’ve ever seen.

10Xcelerator merchants

Card	Earn Rate (Regular)	Earn Rate (10X celerator)
AMEX Platinum Credit Card	2 MR per S$1.60 (0.69 mpd)	10 MR per S$1.60 (3.45 mpd)
AMEX Platinum Reserve	2 MR per S$1.60 (0.69 mpd)	10 MR per S$1.60 (3.45 mpd)
AMEX Platinum Charge	2 MR per S$1.60 (0.78 mpd)	20MR per S$1.60 (7.8 mpd)*
*Up to S$16,000 per calendar year, after which 10 MR points per S$1.60

Unfortunately, outside of welcome offers it’s quite difficult to earn MR points because the regular rate is a pedestrian 2 MR points per S$1.60. Why S$1.60? My guess is it’s a hangover from the days when the SGD/USD exchange rate was reliably around that level, since AMEX cards issued in Singapore used to be USD-denominated.

Spending at 10Xcelerator merchants will give you a boost, but the problem is that few of these are what you’d call everyday spending: think high-end restaurants, luxury watch and fashion boutiques, fancy wines, flowers and the like. You might get a sudden infusion of MR points with a big-ticket purchase, but it’s not going to be a consistent source of points for most people.

Citibank

Citi Miles & ThankYou Points
Expiry	None (Citi Miles, ThankYou points earned on Citi Prestige & ULTIMA) Up to 5 years (ThankYou points earned on Citi Rewards)
Minimum Conversion	10,000 miles
Pooling	No
Transfer Partners	12
Transfer Fees	S$27

Expiry

If you have a Citi PremierMiles Card, the Citi Miles you earn will never expire.

ThankYou points earned on the Citi Prestige Card and Citi ULTIMA Card never expire. If you have a Citi Rewards Card, your points are valid up to five years (note the “up to” caveat!).

Minimum Conversion

Citi doesn’t win any kudos here, as its minimum conversion block of 10,000 miles is in line with the rest of the market. 

Pooling

Citi points don’t pool, even if they’re the same sub-currency. For instance, if I have both the Citi Rewards Mastercard and Citi Rewards Visa, I can’t combine the ThankYou points balances and cash them out at one go.

This means you’ll need to pay as many conversion fees as you have cards, and also increases the chances of ending up with an orphan balance.

Transfer Partners & Fees

Citi Miles and ThankYou points can be converted to 12 different airline and hotel programmes, with a S$27 conversion fee. 

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (Citi: Partner)
	Citi Miles	TY Points
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000
	10,000 : 10,000	25,000 : 10,000

This is the second biggest selection of any bank in Singapore, after the HSBC TravelOne Card. But where Citi wins is that all partners share the same ratio, which creates opportunities for outsized value. For example, you book Business Class awards from Singapore to Europe for 45,000 miles (Turkish Miles&Smiles) or 70,000-75,000 miles (Qatar Privilege Club), compared to 103,500 miles for KrisFlyer. 

It also means that the advertised earn rates for the Citi PremierMiles and other Citi cards are really what they say they are: you earn 1.2 mpd on all your local spend, regardless of which programme you choose.

How to earn

Welcome offers

Citi is currently running the following welcome offers. 

Card	Annual Fee	Spend	Bonus
Citi Premier Miles Ends 31 Oct 24 Apply Details	S$196.20	S$800	30K Citi miles
Citi Rewards Ends 31 Oct 24 Apply Details	S$196.20 (first year free)	S$800	40K TY points
Citi Prestige Ends 29 Feb 24 Apply Details	S$540	S$2K*	177.5K TY points
*S$1,000 in local currency, S$1,000 in foreign currency

If you don’t want to pay an annual fee, then the Citi Rewards Card is probably your best bet with 40,000 ThankYou points (16,000 miles) awarded for a minimum spend of S$800. But don’t rule out the Citi Prestige offer either, as those 177,500 ThankYou points (71,000 miles), valued at 1.5 cents each, would more than offset your first year’s annual fee. 

Amaze + Citi Rewards

A great way to earn Citi points quickly is to get a Citi Rewards Card and pair it with the Amaze Card. Amaze converts all offline transactions into online ones, which allows you to earn 10 ThankYou points per S$1 (4 mpd) effectively everywhere. 

Citi PayAll

Citi PayAll 1.8 mpd Promo

Alternatively, Citi PayAll is a great way to rack up Citi Miles or ThankYou points for paying bills like rental, insurance premiums, education expenses, income tax, MCST fees, charitable donations and more. 

A 2.2% admin fee applies, but Citi runs frequent promotions that boost the earn rate, which in turn lowers the cost per mile. The most recent offer (valid till 29 February 2024) features a rate of 1.8 mpd with a minimum payment of S$8,000, reducing the cost per mile to 1.22 cents.

Agoda & Kaligo

Finally, if you have a Citi PremierMiles Card, you can earn 7 mpd on Agoda and 10 mpd on Kaligo hotel bookings.

Be careful though, because you need to book these via special landing pages where the rates may be more expensive than the public-facing page. Always make a point of comparison shopping.

HSBC

TravelOne Points
Expiry	3 years
Minimum Conversion	10,000 miles (subsequent conversions of 2 miles)
Pooling	No
Transfer Partners	20
Transfer Fees	Waived till 31 May 2024

Expiry

HSBC Points earned on the TravelOne Card expire 37 months following the time they were earned.

Minimum Conversion

A minimum conversion of 10,000 miles is required, though subsequent conversions are in blocks of just 2 miles. For example, you could convert 10,248 miles, or 204,214 miles if you so wished. 

Pooling

While HSBC says that points pooling will eventually be possible, as things stand it’s not possible to pool points earned on the TravelOne Card with points earned on the Revolution or Visa Infinite card.

This means that Revolution and Visa Infinite cardholders can’t access the expanded list of transfer partners, and are limited to just Asia Miles and KrisFlyer.

Transfer Partners & Fees

HSBC Points earned on the TravelOne Card can be converted to 20 different partners, with fees currently waived till 31 May 2024 (hopefully the proposed 10,000 points conversion fee after that will never see the light of day!).

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (HSBC: Partner)
	50,000 : 10,000
	40,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	30,000 : 10,000
	30,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 5,000

The problem is: not all conversions take place at the same ratio. For airlines, your ratio is anywhere from 25,000-50,000 points : 10,000 miles. That makes a big difference, because the HSBC TravelOne Card’s advertised rates of 1.2/2.4 mpd on local/overseas spending only hold if you choose a partner with a ratio of 25,000 points : 10,000 miles. If you chose a 50,000 points : 10,000 miles partner instead, for example, the earn rates drop to 0.6/1.2 mpd!

How to earn

Welcome offers

The HSBC TravelOne Card is currently running the following welcome offer:

	Annual Fee	Spend	Bonus
HSBC TravelOne Card Ends 31 Dec 23 Apply Details	S$194.40	S$1K	50K points

It’s a decent enough return for S$1,000 spend (though keep in mind it used to be S$800 back when the card launched), but unless HSBC makes it easier to earn TravelOne points, it’s hard to see 50,000 points (10,000-20,000 miles, depending on programme) making much of a dent in anything. 

Outside of the welcome offer, TravelOne points are very difficult to earn because: 

• HSBC points don’t pool — the bank says they’re working on adding this, but it won’t be coming in 2023 — so you can’t tap the 4 mpd earning power of the HSBC Revolution
• HSBC does not have an equivalent of Citi PayAll; in fact, they ended their income tax payment facility for credit cards in January this year
• HSBC does not allow cardholders to earn points on CardUp/ipaymy transactions

OCBC

OCBC$, 90°N Miles, VOYAGE Miles
Expiry	3 years
Minimum Conversion (KrisFlyer)	10,000 miles (OCBC$) 1,000 miles (90°N Miles) 1 mile (VOYAGE Miles)
Minimum Conversion (Other partners)	500-1,000 miles (90°N Miles, VOYAGE Miles) 2,000-4,000 miles (OCBC$)
Pooling	Yes (within same currency type)
Transfer Partners	9
Transfer Fees	S$25

Expiry

90°N Miles and VOYAGE Miles do not expire, while OCBC$ expire after two years.

Minimum Conversion

The minimum conversion block depends on which programme you’re converting to, and which points currency you’re using:

• KrisFlyer transfers require a minimum of 1 mile (VOYAGE Miles), 1,000 miles (90°N Miles) or 10,000 miles (OCBC$)
• Other partners require a minimum that ranges from 500 to 1,000 miles (90°N and VOYAGE Miles) or 2,000 to 4,000 miles (OCBC$)

Do note that for other partners, the minimum conversion blocks are reduced after the initial block:

• 90°N Miles and VOYAGE Miles have a minimum conversion amount of 1,000, with subsequent conversion blocks of 100 (i.e. you can transfer 1,100, 1,200 VOYAGE miles etc.)
• OCBC$ have a minimum conversion amount of 10,000, with subsequent conversion blocks of 1,000 (i.e. you can transfer 11,000, 12,000 OCBC$ etc). 

Pooling

OCBC only pools points within the same currency, so OCBC$ will pool with each other, but not 90°N Miles or VOYAGE Miles. 

Transfer Partners & Fees

90°N Miles, VOYAGE Miles and OCBC$ can be converted to nine airline and hotel partners, with a S$25 conversion fee.

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (OCBC: Partner)
	90°N Miles & VOYAGE Miles	OCBC$
	1:1 (VOYAGE)	25,000 : 10,000
	1,000 : 1,000 (90°N)
	1,000 : 1,000	10,000 : 4,000
	1,000 : 1,000	10,000 : 4,000
	1,000 : 1,000	10,000 : 4,000
	1,000 : 900	10,000 : 3,600
	1,000 : 900	10,000 : 3,600
	1,000 : 750	10,000 : 2,900
	1,000 : 700	10,000 : 2,800
	1,000 : 500	10,000 : 2,000
All ratios expressed as OCBC points : partner miles/points

Just like HSBC, the problem is that not all conversions take place at the same ratio. Only one airline programme shares parity with KrisFlyer. The other airlines all involve a haircut of 10-30%. It’s particularly shocking that Asia Miles requires a 25% haircut, when every other bank in Singapore offers transfer parity between KrisFlyer and Asia Miles.

How to earn them

OCBC Titanium Rewards

The OCBC Titanium Rewards Card offers the fastest route to OCBC$ accumulation with 4 mpd on selected online and offline shopping transactions. 

Unfortunately, this card has been nerfed hard. The 4 mpd cap used to apply on an annual basis, so you could burn your entire cap on a transaction of up to S$13,335. Ever since November 2023, it’s applied on a monthly basis, which means you need to make transactions of S$1,110 for 12 consecutive calendar months. It doesn’t completely kill the card, but given its restrictive whitelist, there’s many other cards I’d sooner consider using. 

VOYAGE Payment Facility

OCBC VOYAGE Cardholders can buy as many VOYAGE Miles as their credit limit permits via the VOYAGE Payment Facility. The cost scales depending on how many miles you buy:

• S$10,000-S$150,000: 1.95% fee (1.95 cpm)
• S$150,100 and above: 1.9% fee (1.9 cpm)

Keep in mind, this is a relatively expensive price to buy miles for most loyalty programmes, especially when you factor in the haircut that OCBC imposes for non-KrisFlyer or FlyingBlue transfers.

CardUp

A cheaper way of buying OCBC points would be via CardUp. Depending on the type of payment you’re making and the earn rate of your card, you can buy miles with OCBC cards from as little as 1.1 cents apiece.

For more on how to use CardUp, including the best cards and promo codes, refer to this post.

Standard Chartered

360° Rewards Points
Expiry	None (SCB Visa Infinite & Journey Card) Up to 3 years (Others)
Minimum Conversion (KrisFlyer)	10,000 miles
Minimum Conversion (Other partners)	1,000 miles
Pooling	No
Transfer Partners	10
Transfer Fees	S$27

Expiry

360° Rewards Points earned on the SCB Visa Infinite and SCB Journey Card never expire.

360° Rewards Points earned on all other SCB cards are valid for up to 3 years.

Minimum Conversion

The minimum conversion block depends on which card you have, and which programme you’re converting to.

If you’re converting to KrisFlyer, the minimum conversion block is 10,000 miles. For all other programmes, the minimum conversion block is 1,000 miles regardless of card.

Pooling

The pooling situation for 360° Rewards Points is best summed up by “it’s complicated”.

Once upon a time, 360° Rewards Points pooled across all cards, which meant that SCB Visa Infinite and SCB Journey Cardholders could convert all their points at the more favourable rate of 2,500 points = 1,000 miles, regardless of where the points were earned.

But earlier this year, Standard Chartered launched a new rewards portal, and the net effect is:

• Points can no longer be pooled when redeeming KrisFlyer miles
• Points can still be pooled when redeeming miles with the rest of StanChart’s loyalty partners (e.g. Etihad Guest, Qatar Privilege Club, United MileagePlus)

For a more detailed explanation of this messy situation, refer to the post below.

Standard Chartered’s 360° Rewards & EasyRewards: A hot steaming mess

Transfer Partners & Fees

360° Rewards Points can be converted to 10 airline and hotel programmes, with a S$27 conversion fee.

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (SCB: Partner)
	25,000: 10,000 (Visa Infinite)
	34,500: 10,000 (non-Visa Infinite)
	2,500: 1,000
	2,500: 1,000
	2,500: 1,000
	2,500: 1,000
	3,000: 1,000
	3,500: 1,000
	3,500: 1,000
	3,500: 1,000
	5,000: 1,000

This is one of only two cards that lets you earn United MileagePlus miles in Singapore, albeit at a very poor rate. 3,500 points to 1,000 miles means that a SCB X Cardholder would be earning the equivalent of 0.86 mpd, instead of 1.2 mpd for a partner with a 2,500 points to 1,000 miles rate!

How to earn

StanChart Visa Infinite

StanChart Visa Infinite Cardholders earn 7.5 points per S$1 (up to 3 mpd) on FCY spend, with a minimum spend of S$2,000 per statement month. The minimum spend can be in either SGD or FCY.

There’s no cap involved, but StanChart has a 3.5% foreign currency transaction fee, slightly higher than other cards on the market (most banks max out at 3.25%).

StanChart Smart Card

StanChart Smart Cardholders earn 19.2 points per S$1 (up to 5.6 mpd) on fast food, streaming and bus/MRT rides, but only on selected merchants, and capped at S$818 per statement month.

This is a limited-time offer that is currently scheduled to end on 31 December 2023. It was extended last year, but we’re still waiting on news for 2024.

SC EasyBill

StanChart cardholders can pay income tax, education, insurance and rental bills via SC EasyBill, earning rewards in return for a 1.9% processing fee (which is occasionally lowered for targeted customers)

Depending on which card you hold, the cost per mile works out to 1.36 to 1.58 cents apiece.

CardUp

A cheaper way of buying StanChart points would be via CardUp. Depending on the type of payment you’re making and the earn rate of your card, you can buy miles with StanChart cards from as little as 1.26 cents apiece.

For more on how to use CardUp, including the best cards and promo codes, refer to this post.

Conclusion

If I had to pick a single favourite currency from the options above, I’d probably go with Citibank.

These find the right balance of transfer partner variety, longevity, and ease of earning. You can enjoy some large welcome offers, buy additional points at reasonable rates via Citi PayAll, and use the Citi Rewards + Amaze for day-to-day spend.

It’s far from perfect- the lack of pooling is certainly frustrating, and minimum conversion blocks of 10,000 miles are annoying (even if that is the market standard). But I really value the fact that all transfer partners have the same ratio, unlike HSBC and Standard Chartered.

In short, not all points currencies are made equal. When comparing credit cards, don’t just look at headline earn rates- look at how flexible the points are!

What’s your favourite credit card points currency?