KrisFlyer devalues transfers to NTUC LinkPoints

In April 2022, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer launched a two-way conversion partnership with NTUC LinkPoints, which replaced the previous supermarket tie-up with Dairy Farm Group’s TapForMore.

This partnership allows KrisFlyer members to effectively earn bonus miles at any LinkPoints merchant, such as NTUC FairPrice, Unity Pharmacy and Caltex, among others. The regular conversion rate was rather anemic, but there were occasional bonuses which gave the value a boost.

While I doubt this will affect most readers, there’s been an unannounced devaluation in the direction of KrisFlyer to LinkPoints that you should be aware of.

Devaluation of KrisFlyer to LinkPoints transfers

KrisFlyer Miles	LinkPoints
3,000	1,950 1,770

Previously, KrisFlyer members could convert miles to LinkPoints at a rate of 3,000 miles to 1,950 points. This was already a bad idea, since LinkPoints are worth about 1 cent, and the value per mile would be just 0.65 cents each.

It’s an even worse idea now, because the conversion rate has been devalued to 3,000 miles to 1,770 points. This lowers the value per mile even further to 0.59 cents!

That’s abysmal value, ranking near the bottom of all the things you can do with KrisFlyer miles. 

Think about it this way: Kris+ miles can be redeemed for FairPrice Finest vouchers at 0.67 cents each (temporarily boosted to 0.83 cents with the 20% milesback offer that runs till 10 April 2024). I’m not saying you should do this, but even that would be better than converting your miles to LinkPoints!

A maximum of 80,000 KrisFlyer miles may be converted to LinkPoints per calendar year, though seriously, if you’re converting that many I think it’s time to question what you’re doing with your life. 

So really, I can think of no reason why you would want to convert KrisFlyer miles to LinkPoints in the first place, and this devaluation, even if unannounced, shouldn’t be the cause of any consternation.

LinkPoints to KrisFlyer miles

It’s much more likely that someone would want to convert LinkPoints to KrisFlyer miles, and the good news is that this rate remains untouched. 

LinkPoints	KrisFlyer Miles	Cost Per Mile
100	50	2 cents
200	100
1,000	500
2,000	1070	1.87 cents
5,000	2,680

100 LinkPoints can be redeemed for a S$1 rebate, so the regular rates represent buying KrisFlyer miles at 1.87 to 2 cents each. That’s probably still too high to stomach, though if another conversion bonus comes around there might be something to mull over.

All transfers are processed instantly, and there’s no limit on the number of LinkPoints that can be converted to KrisFlyer miles each year.

How do you earn LinkPoints?

Here’s a brief refresher on how LinkPoints are earned at NTUC FairPrice, Cheers, Unity and Warehouse Club.

For spend at NTUC FairPrice, Cheers, Unity and Warehouse Club
Earn	S$1= 0.5 LinkPoints (S$1= 1.33 LinkPoints if spend ≥ S$400 p.m)
Burn	100 LinkPoints= S$1
Effective Rebate	0.5% (1.33% if spend ≥ S$400 p.m)

LinkPoints members earn a regular rate of S$1= 0.5 LinkPoints, but if they spend at least S$400 per month, the earn rate gets boosted to S$1=1.33 LinkPoints.

The regular earn rate works out to be an incremental 0.25 mpd, while the bonus rate works out to an incremental 0.67 mpd. This is on top of any miles earned from your credit cards, and don’t forget, you can use the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, HSBC Revolution or UOB Lady’s Card (with Family set as your bonus category) to earn bonus miles on groceries- though the HSBC Revolution drops off that list from 1 May 2024. 

LinkPoints can also be earned at a wide range of partners across Singapore, with varying accrual rates. 

Conclusion

There’s been an unannounced devaluation for conversions of KrisFlyer miles to NTUC LinkPoints, with 3,000 miles only netting you 1,770 LinkPoints from now on, instead of the previous 1,950 LinkPoints.

Still, it was always a terrible idea to transfer miles in this direction, so I doubt too many members will be bothered. Even if you have expiring miles, there’s much better uses for them.

What to do with expiring KrisFlyer miles