HighFlyer raises annual conversion cap to 100,000 KrisFlyer miles, removes other restrictions

Singapore Airlines HighFlyer members can convert their HighFlyer points into KrisFlyer miles at a 1:1 ratio for themselves or for nominated corporate travellers within their organisation.

However, there’s always been three major restrictions governing these transfers:

• Each HighFlyer account can only be linked to a maximum of five selected KrisFlyer accounts for the purpose of converting HighFlyer points to KrisFlyer miles
• Each HighFlyer account is only allowed to convert HighFlyer points to a maximum of 150,000 KrisFlyer miles per calendar year
• Each selected KrisFlyer account may receive a maximum of 30,000 KrisFlyer miles converted from HighFlyer points per calendar year, regardless of which HighFlyer accounts the points are converted from

This means that a one-man company would be limited to cashing out 30,000 miles per year, which at the 1.8 mpd earn rate works out to just S$16,667 of spend- not a lot for a card designed for corporate expenses (and you are putting corporate expenses on it, aren’t you?).

But now there’s some good news. Singapore Airlines has eased these restrictions significantly by removing the cap on the number of nominees and overall conversion limit, as well as increasing the per nominee conversion cap to 100,000 HighFlyer points per year.

HighFlyer lifts restrictions for KrisFlyer miles conversions

On 1 July 2024, the HighFlyer portal and T&Cs were updated to ease the restrictions on KrisFlyer miles conversions, as summarised below.

The biggest change is no doubt is the increase in the receiving limit. Each KrisFlyer account was previously restricted to receiving a maximum of 30,000 miles from HighFlyer points each calendar year. This has now been bumped to 100,000 miles. 

For every 1 HighFlyer point you convert, your nominated Corporate Traveller will receive 1 KrisFlyer mile. Each nominee can receive a maximum of 100,000 KrisFlyer miles every calendar year.

-HighFlyer portal

You can already see the increased limit on the HighFlyer portal, and transfers have been confirmed to work.

HighFlyer has also removed the restriction on the number of KrisFlyer miles that can be converted from HighFlyer points per calendar year (previously: 150,000), as well as the number of nominee accounts (previously: 5).

If you wish to add more than 15 nominees, however, you’ll need to contact HighFlyer customer service. This is probably a safeguard to ensure that the nominees are all actual employees, and not just you selling points on Carousell.

As before, all conversions are instant, and have no conversion fees. 

A fantastic change, albeit too late?

Now, in one sense this change comes a bit too late.

Back in the days when GrabPay top-ups could earn points with the AMEX HighFlyer Card, and AXS accepted GrabPay payments, this would have been amazing. AMEX HighFlyer Cardholders were minting miles by paying taxes, insurance premiums and every manner of bills via AXS, restricted only by the S$30,000 annual GrabPay limit (which you could still circumvent by using multiple GrabPay accounts).

That party ended in early 2023, but those who participated are no doubt sitting on a significant pile of HighFlyer points. In that sense, the increase in the annual receiving limit will enable them to liquidate their stash much faster than originally anticipated.

For instance, I currently have about 260,000 HighFlyer points. At 30,000 miles per year, that would take almost 9 years (!) to cash out- who knows what devaluations we’d have seen by then? With the revised 100,000 miles limit, that time is cut by a third.

So it’s still a welcome change in my book, just that I wish it’d happened sooner. As it is, the AMEX HighFlyer Card is a good general spending card, but a far cry from its early 2020s heyday.

What else can you use HighFlyer points for?

In addition to KrisFlyer miles redemptions, HighFlyer points can also be used for:

• KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership (125,000 HighFlyer points)
• LoungeKey pass for use at 1,500+ lounges worldwide (8,000 HighFlyer points)
• Paying the cost of a commercial booking (1,050 HighFlyer points = S$10)
• Redeeming Scoot vouchers (1,050 HighFlyer points = S$10)
• Redeeming awards on Lufthansa Group carriers (award chart)
• SIA Academy courses (lol)
• Offset carbon emissions (or, just hold your breath)

Some of these options appear new to me, while others have updated prices. I’ll be covering this in a separate article, so stay tuned.

Conclusion

Singapore Airlines has eased its restrictions on HighFlyer points conversions to KrisFlyer miles, with no more cap on the number of nominees or overall conversion limit, and raising the individual receiving limit to 100,000 miles per calendar year.

While this comes quite late in the game — how amazing this would have been a couple of years prior— it at least allows those with a big stash of HighFlyer points to cash them out faster. 

(HT: Mav)