Earlier today, I wrote about American Express temporarily suspending new applications for the AMEX HighFlyer Card last week, which pointed to an impending relaunch in the near future.
The good news? We didnโt have to wait longโ American Express has now revealed the details of the refreshed AMEX HighFlyer Card.
The bad news? The changes are almost universally negative. Earn rates have been slashed, benefits have been reduced, and to add insult to injury, the annual fee has jumped by 30% to S$400!
As youโd expect, these changes have been spun as an โenhancementโ that provides โgreater travel rewardsโ for cardholders.
American Express and Singapore Airlines today announced new and refreshed benefits for the American Express Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card, designed to provide greater travel rewards and enhanced redemption options for Singaporeโs SMEs.
The enhancements include a higher limit on converting HighFlyer points to KrisFlyer miles and the ability to redeem points for KrisFlyer Elite Gold status at a discounted rate. These changes will take effect on 23 April 2025.
-American Express
But, to paraphrase the words of one community member, thatโs better spinning than David Guetta.
 Summary: AMEX HighFlyer Changes |
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| New T&Cs | |
| โ Nerfed | โ Buffed |
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AMEX HighFlyer Card: Whatโs nerfed
Annual fee increased to S$400
| Till 22 Apr 25 | From 23 Apr 25 | |
| Annual Fee | S$304.59 | S$400 |
The AMEX HighFlyer Card currently has a S$304.59 annual fee.
From 23 April 2025, this will increase by 30% to S$400. If your annual fee is billed before 22 April 2025, you will still pay the current S$304.59 annual fee.
Earn rate for general spend cut to 1.2 mpd
| Till 22 Apr 25 | From 23 Apr 25 | |
| General Spend | 1.8 mpd | 1.2 mpd |
The AMEX HighFlyer Card currently offers 1.8 mpd on all local and foreign currency spending, without any minimum spend or cap.
From 23 April 2025, the earn rate will be cut by 33% to 1.2 mpd, also without any minimum spend or cap.
Earn rate for SIA Group cut to 2 mpd
| Till 22 Apr 25 | From 23 Apr 25 | |
| SIA Group | 2.5 mpd | 2 mpd |
The AMEX HighFlyer Card currently earns an uncapped 2.5 mpd on all SIA Group spending, defined as:
- Singapore Airlines
- Scoot
- KrisShop
From 23 April 2025, the earn rate will be cut by 20% to an uncapped 2 mpd.
| โ I thought SIA tickets earned 8.5 mpd? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thereโs often a lot of confusion about the earn rates for Singapore Airlines tickets, because American Express markets it as 8.5 mpd (or 8 mpd going forward). This figure is comprised of the miles earned from the AMEX HighFlyer Card, as well as the miles earned from the HighFlyer account for the ticket itself.
As before, the HighFlyer account does not award points on tickets issued in the V or K booking classes (Economy Lite). Tickets issued in the Q or N booking classes (Economy Value) will only be eligible for 50% accrual.
If all thatโs too confusing for you, hereโs a summary of how many miles you can expect to earn, depending on the ticket type you purchase.
For the avoidance of doubt, using the AMEX HighFlyer Card to pay for taxes and surcharges on KrisFlyer award tickets will earn the regular 2 mpd, whether itโs for Singapore Airlines or any other partner airline. |
No more Priority Pass membership
The AMEX HighFlyer Card currently offers 2x Priority Pass lounge visits per membership year.
This benefit will be removed with effect from 23 April 2025. Cardholders with existing unutilised Priority Pass lounge visits must utilise them by 31 August 2025 or the end of their Priority Pass membership year, whichever comes first.
KrisFlyer Elite Gold accelerator no longer includes KrisShop
| Till 22 Apr 25 | From 23 Apr 25 | |
| Min. Spend | S$15,000 in first 12 months of approval | |
| Eligible Spending |
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Flights must originate from Singapore and be charged in SGD |
The AMEX HighFlyer Card offers a fast-track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold to cardholders who spend at least S$15,000 with the SIA Group within the first 12 months of approval. While this sounds similar to the KrisFlyer Elite Gold fast-track offered by the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend, itโs actually more generous because the scope of eligible spending is wider.
Well, not anymore. From 23 April 2025, the fast-track terms will be harmonised with that of the Ascend, which means:
- KrisShop transactions no longer count towards the minimum spend
- Singapore Airlines and Scoot tickets must now originate from Singapore and be purchased in Singapore dollars
Apparently, itโs possible to trick the system by changing the transaction currency to SGD, where the Singapore Airlines or Scoot website allows it. But the converted rate may involve a markup, and youโll need to do your sums to make sure itโs still worthwhile.
For the avoidance of doubt, the minimum spend must still be met within the first 12 months of card membership. If you miss this window, you canโt try again in your second year.
SIA Group annual spend bonus removed
The AMEX HighFlyer Card currently offers a recurring bonus of 15,000 HighFlyer points to cardholders who spend at least S$10,000 on the SIA Group within a 12-month membership period.
From 23 April 2025, this bonus will be removed.
SIA Group first year spend bonus removed
The AMEX HighFlyer Card currently offers a one-time bonus of 5,000 HighFlyer points to cardholders who spend at least S$500 on the SIA Group within the first 12 months of approval.
From 23 April 2025, this bonus will be removed.
Accor Plus now requires annual fee payment
The AMEX HighFlyer Card currently offers a complimentary Accor Plus Explorer membership to all cardholders. This membership is renewed so long as you remain a cardmember, whether or not the annual fee is paid.
From 23 April 2025, the Accor Plus Explorer membership will be offered in the form of a voucher code, which will be included in the welcome and renewal packs. This code will be used to claim or renew the membership.
On the surface, this seems like an innocuous procedural change, but itโs not. Iโve confirmed with American Express that cardholders who do not pay their annual fee will not receive a voucher code, which marks a change from the status quo.
AMEX HighFlyer Card: Whatโs buffed
6,000 HighFlyer points for paying annual fee
The AMEX HighFlyer Card currently does not offer any bonus points for renewal, but for annual fees billed from 23 April 2025 onwards, 6,000 bonus HighFlyer points will be awarded.
These points will be credited about 10-12 weeks after renewal, and will not be awarded if the annual fee is waived.
Annual conversion limit boosted to 150,000 points
HighFlyer account owners can convert HighFlyer points into KrisFlyer miles at a 1:1 ratio for nominees. The current cap is 100,000 points per nominee per calendar year, having been increased from the previous 30,000 points cap in July 2024.
From 23 April 2025, this cap will be raised to 150,000 points per nominee per calendar year.
KrisFlyer Elite Gold redemption cut to 100,000 points
HighFlyer accounts owners can currently redeem a KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership for a nominee for 125,000 HighFlyer points.
From 23 April 2025, HighFlyer accounts that are linked to an AMEX HighFlyer Card can redeem this membership for 100,000 HighFlyer points instead.
10,000 bonus points for first SIA flight booking
From 23 April 2025, 10,000 bonus HighFlyer points will be awarded to cardholders who complete their first flight booking made through the Singapore Airlines corporate portal, within the first 12 months of enrolment in the HighFlyer programme.
This benefit is only available to AMEX HighFlyer Cards approved from 23 April 2025 onwards, so existing cardholders miss out.
How bad are these changes?
Very.
Thereโs almost nothing to cheer here. Itโs bad enough to cut earn rates, remove the lounge membership, tighten the T&Cs for various benefits and remove spending bonuses. But to tack on an annual fee increase on top of all that? Wow. Just wow.
Sure, American Express will play up the โenhancementsโ that have been made, such as an increased annual conversion cap, or a reduced cost for KrisFlyer Elite Gold redemptions. However, when you think about it, these benefits are of little value at all.
What good is an increased conversion cap if earn rates have been nerfed so badly? What good is cutting the points required for a KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership by 20%, when youโve slashed earn rates by 33%? 6,000 bonus HighFlyer points for paying the annual fee? Thatโs worth maybe S$90, and youโve hiked the annual fee by S$95.
That being said, this nerf isnโt entirely unexpected. When the AMEX HighFlyer Card first launched, it was extremely competitive, even compared to consumer cards.
A first year fee waiver, a complimentary Accor Plus Explorer membership and two lounge visits, virtually no rewards exclusions (not even GrabPay top-ups), a generous welcome offerโ itโs no wonder so many people rushed to register their informal side hustles with ACRA, just so they could apply for this card.
But somewhere along the way, American Express figured out that the HighFlyer Card didnโt need to be competitive vis-ร -vis consumer offerings. It just had to be better than other corporate cardsโ and the sad thing is, thatโs still the case (though this speaks more to how terrible corporate cards are more than anything else).
The vast majority of corporate credit cards offer absolutely abject rewards and benefits, as theyโre created with cashflow and internal controls in mind. Companies are more concerned that employees arenโt charging gentlemanโs clubs to the corporate coffers, rather than how many miles theyโre racking up.
So as much as it pains me to say this, the AMEX HighFlyer Card is still a competitive corporate card. It just canโt hold a candle to consumer cards anymore, and if your company allows you to charge business expenses to your personal cards, thereโs no question which one you should choose.
Conclusion
From 23 April 2025, the AMEX HighFlyer Card will be relaunched with reduced earn rates and benefits, and a higher annual fee. And since thereโs no more Accor Plus membership for annual fee waivers, I see very little reason to continue holding this card, even if they do waive my fee.
Unfortunately, American Express has been in a nerfing mood this year. Weโve already seen significant cuts to the benefits of the AMEX Platinum Charge and the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend, and this is merely a continuation of the trend.
What do you make of these changes to the AMEX HighFlyer Card?
they should honour all the pre-nerf details for a year (since annual fee is charged) for those who sign up (like 1.8mpd, etc). imagine signing up last week, getting the card then seeing this news a week laterโฆ
Well โ Iโve cancelled all my AMEX personal cards including Plat Card, so cancelling my Corporate HiFlyer too after this. Means Iโll be new to AMEX next year! ๐๐๐
If itโs any consolation a highflyer card never rendered you ineligible for new to amex bonuses!
This is still a competitive, if not the most competitive, corporate card out there. Especially on SQ spend at 8 mpd, which can be converted to miles, it is the best deal you can get. Is there anywhere else you can earn such quantum of miles?
Out of that 8 mpd, 5 mpd comes from the highflyer account itself- you donโt need an AMEX highflyer card for that. the miles attributable to the highflyer card is actually only 3 mpd, and there are alternatives out there (e.g. krisflyer uob credit card, uncapped 3 mpd on sia tickets)
Hi Aaron, does this mean that I can continue to redeem/transfer HF points after cancelling this card, i.e. there is no need to burn all the HF points before cancellation? Since my HF account will still be maintained.
Hi Aaron, I currently have the Amex HighFlyer card.
You mention above that the 5mpd is from the highflyer account. Do I just need to book flights via the highflyer account to get the 5mpd?
Also, what alternative do you recommend over the Amex HighFlyer card? Iโve been using it for all my SIA ticket purchases so I could get the 8.5mpd.
Good point, but I think HF pts are more versatile. Can redeem KF Gold, lounge passes, etc, on top of converting to KF miles (same benefits). So pts better than miles?
So now I have two cards to cancel in 2025. The American Express platinum and now the Highflyer.
In Singapore, good things never last.
Seems like the only good Amex-network SG-issued cards I have now are both from from DBS: Yuu (10mpd but not sure now with sale of DFI to Mโsia) and Treasures Black (no AF for almost-no-restriction 2.4 mpd without DCC outside Singapore). Planning to drop all the โnativeโ Amex cards next renewal. Maybe Amex doesnโt care about losing subscrivers of SG-issued cards if they have achieved a higher merchant acceptance rate, which may now be driven by non-SG issued Amex cards from tourists, expats, and money-from-I-donโt-know where residents. And they get the forex fee when those are used in SG. Theโฆ Read more ยป
May be that means annual fees is able to waive without subjecting to min spend. If u want Accor, then pay annual fees.
Although it sucks, canโt really blame them judging by how lack of competition in the consumer card space in Singapore. In the US you have Capital One and Chase trying to outdo even the Amex plat in benefits and prestige, whereas in Singapore our huge profit making banks just couldnโt give an arse about consumers.
I agree on Amex. But I think Citi and DBS have some useful cards but theyโre probably going to be overused at some point and get limited eventually. UOB has a few 4mpd cards but IMHO the tone to members isโฆ..regrettable. So Iโll have Citi DBS HSBC (itโs my 4mpd Shopee card) after I drop Amex.
You think our market is huge huh? Deluded.
This was a great card (for the past 3 years or so) to chalk up miles. But now,1.8 mpd to 1.2 mpd is a huge 50% haircut โฆ in the outstanding feature of the card.
Time to move on maybe
May I know what will happen to complimentary hotel stay? My HK AMEX card and Accor Plus expire on June and October 2025 respectively. Can I redeem for free stay after June 2025?
I read that the Accor Plus cancels together with the HF card. So i think its better to use your stay before June.
The Amex team clearly threw in some lame improvements to cover the nerfs LOL
Hey Aaron where would you reckon we use for AWS / Alicloud / Google in SGD costs now? As these are usually coded as a form of business services will it be excluded in general spending cards?