2026 Edition: Best Credit Cards for Air Tickets

Savvy travellers know that choosing the right credit card for airline ticket purchases can make all the difference. Whether you’re booking a commercial ticket, redeeming award flights, or even buying miles, the right card could mean up to 4 mpd—allowing your current holiday to fund the next one.

In this guide, we’ll look at how airline spending is classified, and the best card to use across different booking channels to make the most of every dollar spent.

How do airline tickets code?

The MCC for airline tickets depends on how you book them, but in general will be:

• For direct bookings: MCC 3000 to 3350 or MCC 4511
• For OTA bookings: MCC 4722

In case you’re uncertain about the MCC, there are three ways of looking it up before making a purchase:

Booked directly with airline

Most major carriers have their own unique MCCs. For example:

• Singapore Airlines codes as MCC 3075
• British Airways codes as MCC 3005
• Qatar Airways codes as MCC 3136

However, some carriers like Scoot may fall under MCC 4511, the generic code for Airlines Not Elsewhere Classified. Those interested in seeing the full list of airline MCCs can consult this document.

For tickets purchased directly with the airline, you can use any of the following cards.

✈️ For All Airlines
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month Review
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Capped at S$1.5K per c. month* Review
Maybank XL Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	Min. spend S$500 per c. month, capped at S$1K per c. month Review
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category Review
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd	Max S$750 per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category Review
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply	2.8 mpd	Min. retail spend of S$800 per c. month. Capped at S$10K per c. month if SGD, no cap for FCY Review
*Until 28 February 2026, after which bonus for travel (including air tickets) will be removed, and 4 mpd capped at S$1,000 per c. month

If you’re booking with the UOB Lady’s Cards, take care because their airline whitelist excludes the MCC 3300-3350 range. Fortunately there aren’t a lot of airlines that fall into this range, except for:

• MCC 3300 Azul Brazilian Airlines
• MCC 3301 Wizz Air
• MCC 3302 Flybe (defunct)
• MCC 3303 Tigerair (still active in Taiwan)
• MCC 3308 China Southern

The main one to be careful of here is China Southern, because this omission has caught out more than a few people (though points were granted on appeal).

In addition to the cards mentioned above, here are some options if you’re travelling on Singapore Airlines and Scoot specifically, and have booked your tickets directly with the airline. 

✈️ For Singapore Airlines & Scoot
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	3 mpd	No cap Review
AMEX HighFlyer Card Apply	2 mpd^*	No cap Review
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card Apply	2 mpd*	No cap Review
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend Apply	2 mpd*	No cap Review
AMEX Platinum Charge Apply	1.56 mpd#	No cap Review
*For travel originating in Singapore, charged in SGD ^Up to 6 mpd extra from HighFlyer account, depending on fare class and HighFlyer status # Reflects reduced earn rate from 23 February 2026, following the Membership Rewards devaluation

If your purchases are in foreign currency, refer to my separate guide for the best cards for foreign currency spend.

Booked via OTA

If you’re booking your air tickets through an online travel agent (OTA) like Expedia, Trip.com or Skyscanner, the purchase will code as MCC 4722.

In that case, you can use the following cards to maximise your miles.

✈️ For OTA bookings
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category Review
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd	Max S$750 per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category Review
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month Review
Maybank XL Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	Min. spend S$500 per c. month, capped at S$1K per c. month Review
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	2.4 mpd*	Min. SIA Group spend of S$1K per m. year Review
*Only for Agoda, Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Kaligo, Traveloka, Trip.com

Alternatively, you can use the UOB PRVI Miles Card, which offers 3 mpd for participating airlines booked via this Expedia link.

Apply (AMEX)

Apply (MC)

Apply (Visa)

The list of participating airlines can be found below.

To be clear, you must make your booking via the special Expedia link. You will not earn the bonus miles if you book your tickets on the official airline website.

In general, air tickets should price roughly as they do on the official website, but you should always make a point of comparison shopping. Unlike hotels, air tickets booked via third-party OTAs are still eligible to earn miles and status credits, subject to the fare class.

Bookings must be made by 31 March 2026.

What if I’m redeeming award tickets?

When it comes to credit card strategy, there is no difference whether you’re booking a commercial or award ticket. In other words, the MCC is the same, and all the cards in this post will be equally applicable when you’re paying the taxes and surcharges component on an award ticket.

What if I’m buying airline miles?

Purchases of airline miles from Points.com (which processes sales for Air France/KLM, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, LifeMiles [ad-hoc], Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, and United Airlines), do not code as airline transactions.

Instead, these code as foreign currency transactions under MCC 7399 (Business Services Not Elsewhere Classified), and you can use the following cards instead:

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	Cap of S$1K per s. month
DCS Imperium Card Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$4K FCY spend per c. month, otherwise 2.4 mpd
Maybank XL Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Min S$500 per c. month, cap of S$1K per c. month
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd	Min S$1K, max S$1.2K FCY spend per s. month
StanChart Beyond Card Apply	3-4 mpd	3 mpd for regular, 3.5 mpd for PB, 4 mpd for PP. No cap
Maybank World Mastercard Apply	3.2 mpd	Min S$4K per c. month, no cap. Earn 2.8 mpd with min S$800 per c. month
Maybank Visa Infinite Apply	3.2 mpd	Min S$4K per c. month, no cap, otherwise 2 mpd
StanChart Visa Infinite Apply	3 mpd	Min S$2K per s. month, no cap, otherwise 1 mpd
BOC Elite Miles Card Apply	2.8 mpd	No min spend or cap
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply	2.8 mpd	Min S$800 per c. month, no cap, otherwise 1.2 mpd

If you’re buying airline miles directly from the airline (Singapore Airlines, LifeMiles [subscription]), then the purchase will code as an airline transaction, and you can use the cards mentioned earlier in this article.

Conclusion

Regardless of whether you’re booking a commercial ticket, redeeming miles or even buying them, using the right credit card can earn you up to 4 mpd towards your next trip.

If a purchase is likely to bust the bonus cap on a given card, you may want to see if the airline offers gift cards, because this is basically a way of splitting up a transaction over multiple cards.