2024 Edition: Best Credit Cards for Air Tickets

Booking your air tickets with the right credit card can help rack up extra miles for your next trip, with up to 4 mpd on offer. 

In this post, we’ll look at the best cards to use for this category, as well as the various permutations possible.

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 3000-3299 or MCC 4511
• For OTA bookings: MCC 4722

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

Booked directly with airline

Most airlines will code in the MCC 3000-3299 range, and major carriers have their own unique MCCs. For example, Singapore Airlines codes as MCC 3075, British Airways codes as MCC 3005 and 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. 

Do note that the MCC will be the same whether you’re booking a commercial or award ticket. In other words, all the cards in this post will be equally applicable when you’re paying the taxes and surcharges component on an award ticket.

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

✈️ For All Airlines
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$2K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category Review
DBS WWMC Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.5K per c. month Review
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month Review
UOB Visa Signature  Apply	4 mpd FCY only	Min S$1K max S$2K FCY spend per s. month Review
Maybank Visa Infinite Apply	3.2 mpd (till 31 Aug 24)	No cap Review
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply	3.2 mpd (till 30 Jun 24)	Min. retail spend of S$800 per c. month. Capped at S$10K per c. month if SGD, no cap if FCY Review

In addition to the cards mentioned above, here are some options if you’re travelling on Singapore Airlines and Scoot specifically. 

✈️ For Singapore Airlines & Scoot
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	3 mpd	SIA and Scoot Review
AMEX HighFlyer Card Apply	2.5 mpd^	SIA and Scoot Review
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card Apply	2 mpd*	SIA only Review
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend Apply	2 mpd*	SIA only Review
AMEX Platinum Charge Apply	1.95 mpd	SIA and Scoot Review
*For travel originating in Singapore, billed in SGD ^Earn up to 6 mpd extra from HighFlyer account, depending on fare class

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$2K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category Review
DBS WWMC Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.5K per c. month Review
UOB Visa Signature  Apply	4 mpd FCY only	Min S$1K max S$2K FCY spend per s. month Review
Maybank Visa Infinite Apply	3.2 mpd (till 31 Aug 24) FCY only	No cap Review
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply	3.2 mpd (till 30 Jun 24) FCY only	Min. retail spend of S$800 per c. month. No cap Review
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	3 mpd	Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia, Traveloka, Trip.com, UOB Travel Review

UOB PRVI Miles Offer

Apply (AMEX)

Apply (MC)

Apply (Visa)

The UOB PRVI Miles Card offers up to 6 mpd with participating airlines booked via this Expedia link. 

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 December 2024. The full T&Cs of this offer can be found here.

What if I’m redeeming award tickets?

When it comes to earning miles, there’s no substantial difference whether you’re using your credit card to buy a commercial ticket outright, or paying for taxes and surcharges on an award redemption.

What if I’m buying airline miles?

Purchases of airlines 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
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd	Min S$1K, max S$2K FCY spend per s. month
SCB Visa Infinite Apply	3 mpd	Min spend S$2K per s. month
Maybank Visa Infinite Apply	3.2 mpd (till 31 Aug 24)	No cap
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply	3.2 mpd (till 30 Jun 24)	Min. retail spend of S$800 per c. month
S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month

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 or redeeming miles, using the right 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. Alternatively, consider using the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature, which lets you earn 2.8 mpd (temporarily upsized to 3.2 mpd) on up to S$10,000 of air tickets per month.