When it comes to the speed of credit card points conversions, the good news is that banks often underpromise and overdeliver. While cardholders are typically quoted processing times of 2-3 weeks, most transfers are actually completed within 2-5 days.
But that’s still not as good as instant, and if award seats suddenly become available or a pricing glitch occurs, you’ll want to act immediately to secure the opportunity. We saw that with the recent Flying Blue error fares on Christmas Day, where those with instantly-converting points were able to snap up the seats before the programme fixed the bug.
In this post, I’ll highlight the credit cards and platforms which offer instant points conversions.
💳 Credit Card FAQs |
This article forms part of a series on Credit Card FAQs. Refer to the articles below for answers to other common questions. |
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Summary: Which cards have instant transfers?
Here’s a summary of the credit cards which offer instant points transfers, and the programmes those points can be transferred to (click on the name to jump to the relevant section).
Card / Platform | Partners |
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If you’re interested in just KrisFlyer specifically, refer to my separate post on quick and instant transfers to KrisFlyer miles, which has a few more options not mentioned here.
All AMEX cards
Instant Partners | 2 |
Conversion Fees | None |
Min. Conversion Amount | 250 miles |
Points Expiry | None |
American Express Membership Rewards (MR) points can be transferred instantly to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Qantas Frequent Flyer.
As for other transfer partners, my experience is:
- EVA Air Infinity MileageLands: 24h
- Hilton Honors: 24h
- Marriott Bonvoy: 24h
- British Airways Executive Club: 36h
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: 48h
All transfers are free of charge, and a minimum conversion of 250 miles (airlines), 1,000 points (Marriott Bonvoy) or 1,250 points (Hilton) is required.
All HSBC cards
Instant Partners | 18 |
Conversion Fees | None |
Min. Conversion Amount | 10,000 miles (5,000 points for ALL) |
Points Expiry | 37 months |
HSBC credit card points can be transferred instantly to all programmes except JAL Mileage Bank and Hainan Fortune Wings Club.
💳 HSBC Transfer Partners | |
Frequent Flyer Programme | Conversion Ratio (HSBC : Partner) |
50,000 : 10,000 | |
35,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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35,000 : 10,000 | |
35,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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35,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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35,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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30,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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30,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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25,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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25,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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25,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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25,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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25,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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25,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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25,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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25,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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30,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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25,000 : 5,000 Instant |
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25,000 : 10,000 Instant |
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25,000 : 10,000 Instant |
For JAL Mileage Bank and Hainan Fortune Wings Club, expect 10 and 5 working days respectively.
All conversion fees are waived. A minimum conversion block of 10,000 miles is required, but subsequent conversion can be in intervals of just 2 miles.
The main caveat here is that not all partners share the same ratio. While 10,000 British Airways Avios costs 25,000 HSBC points, for example, the same number of KrisFlyer miles requires 30,000 HSBC points.
While it’s generally advisable to stick to partners with a ratio of 25,000 points : 10,000 miles, it doesn’t necessarily follow that anything costlier than this is automatically out of the question. Air Canada Aeroplan, for example, has some excellent sweet spots where the haircut you take on transfers might be worth it.
All OCBC cards
Instant Partners | 8 |
Conversion Fees | S$25 |
Min. Conversion Amount | 500 to 4,000 miles/points |
Points Expiry | No expiry (90°N Miles & VOYAGE Miles) 2 years (OCBC$) |
OCBC credit card points can be transferred instantly to all programmes except Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
💳 OCBC Transfer Partners | ||
90°N Miles & VOYAGE Miles (OCBC: Partner) |
OCBC$ (OCBC: Partner) |
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1:1 (VOYAGE) |
25,000 : 10,000 |
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1,000 : 1,000 (90°N) | ||
1,000 : 1,000 Instant |
10,000 : 4,000 Instant |
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1,000 : 1,000 Instant |
10,000 : 4,000 Instant |
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1,000 : 1,000 Instant |
10,000 : 4,000 Instant |
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1,000 : 900 Instant |
10,000 : 3,600 Instant |
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1,000 : 900 Instant |
10,000 : 3,600 Instant |
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1,000 : 750 Instant |
10,000 : 2,900 Instant |
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1,000 : 700 Instant |
10,000 : 2,800 Instant |
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1,000 : 500 Instant |
10,000 : 2,000 Instant |
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All ratios expressed as OCBC points : partner miles/points |
Transfers to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer are usually completed within 24 hours- fast, but not quite instant!
Transfers cost S$25 each, and the minimum conversion ranges from 500-4,000 miles/points, depending on rewards currency and programme.
Just like HSBC, OCBC uses different ratios depending on partner. I personally would avoid transferring OCBC points to Asia Miles or British Airways, since you could convert points from other banks like Citi without having to take a haircut.
Heymax points transfers
Instant Partners | 14 |
Conversion Fees | None |
Min. Conversion Amount | 1,000 miles/points |
Points Expiry | None |
While it’s not a credit card, we shouldn’t ignore Heymax either, as Max Miles can be converted instantly to 14 airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio.
Heymax Transfer Partners | |
✈️ Airlines | |
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🏨 Hotels | |
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No conversion fees apply, and the minimum transfer amount is 1,000 miles or points.
AMEX HighFlyer Card
Instant Partners | 1 |
Conversion Fees | None |
Min. Conversion Amount | 1,000 points |
Points Expiry | 3 years |
AMEX HighFlyer Cardholders can convert their HighFlyer points to KrisFlyer miles instantly at a 1:1 ratio, via the HighFlyer portal.
HighFlyer points | KrisFlyer miles |
1,000 | 1,000 Instant |
Transfers are in blocks of 1,000 points, and processed free of charge.
Do remember that each KrisFlyer account is limited to receiving a maximum of 100,000 miles from HighFlyer points per calendar year. However, there is no longer any limit to the number of nominee accounts that can be paired with a HighFlyer account (although if you want to link more than 15, you’ll need to write in to customer service), nor the number of KrisFlyer miles you can convert from a given HighFlyer account.
To convert HighFlyer Points to KrisFlyer miles, login to your Corporate Travel Manager account, click on Travellers > Add New Traveller.
Once you’ve added the details, click on Use Points > Convert into KrisFlyer miles. You’ll be able to see how many more points each corporate traveller is eligible to receive for the rest of the year.
Select the traveller you want to convert points for, as well as the number of points you wish to convert.
DBS yuu Card
Instant Partners | 1 |
Conversion Fees | None |
Min. Conversion Amount | 200 points |
Points Expiry | 24 months |
yuu Rewards Club added KrisFlyer as a transfer partner in 2024, and members can now convert points instantly at a 3.6:1 ratio.
yuu Points | KrisFlyer miles |
3.6 points | 1 mile Instant |
Min conversion block: 200 yuu Points |
All conversions are free of charge. A minimum conversion block of 200 yuu Points (56 miles) applies, after which conversions are in blocks of 1 mile.
To convert yuu points to KrisFlyer miles, open the yuu app, tap on Me > Transfer to KrisFlyer > Transfer Points > Enter KrisFlyer membership > Select points to transfer
Not that it makes that much of a difference, but transfers are rounded up to the nearest KrisFlyer mile, i.e. 209 yuu Points = 59 KrisFlyer miles (rounded up from 58.06).
Kris+ Points Transfers
While DBS, Citi and UOB do not offer instant points conversions via their own rewards portal, you can convert your points via Kris+ to KrisFlyer instantly.
Programme | Transfer Ratio | Min. Transfer |
1 Citi Mile: 0.85 miles |
4,000 Citi Miles Instant |
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1 TY Point: 0.34 miles | 10,000 TY Points Instant |
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1 DBS Point: 1.7 miles |
100 DBS Points Instant |
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1 UNI$: 1.7 miles |
1,000 UNI$ Instant |
Here’s the catch: the Kris+ transfer rate represents a 15% haircut compared to the number of miles you’d receive if you used the bank’s rewards portal.
For example, 100 DBS Points is normally worth 200 miles via the DBS Rewards portal, but only 170 miles via Kris+.
💳 Example: Transfer DBS Points via… | ||
Kris+ | DBS Rewards Portal | |
Min. Transfer | 100 DBS Points | 5,000 DBS Points |
Transfer Fee | None | S$27.25 |
Transfer Time | Instant | 2-3 working days |
Transfer Ratio | 1 DBS Point = 1.7 miles | 1 DBS Point = 2 miles |
On the plus side, there are no conversion fees via the Kris+ route, conversion blocks are smaller, and your miles are credited instantly. So if you’re looking to do a small top up, this could still be a viable option.
How small? Well, a S$27.25 transfer fee at 1.5 cents per mile is 1,817 miles. Based on a 15% haircut, anything less than 12,000 miles could make sense.
⚠️ Don’t forget the second step! |
As with earning via Kris+, don’t forget that these points transfers are a two-step process. After converting points to KrisPay miles, you need to transfer them to KrisFlyer (which thankfully, can be done on the same screen with an additional tap). If more than 21 days have passed, or if you’ve spent any portion of the transferred miles, the remaining portion will be stuck in the Kris+ app with a six-month expiry and a value of 0.67 cents each. |
Conclusion
Instantly-transferrable points are a great weapon to have at your disposal, as they let you take advantage of unexpected award space or error fares. They also let you maintain your flexibility by keeping points on the bank/platform side as long as possible, and only making transfers when you have an immediate need for miles.
Are there any other cards that offer instant points transfers in Singapore?