American Express has launched an improved sign-up bonus for the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend, valid for applications submitted by 1 November 2026.
Cardholders will receive a S$100 eCapitaVoucher and up to 45,000 bonus miles with a minimum spend of S$5,000, although — as is the practice for all AMEX cards now — part of the bonus miles are deferred until the 15th month, upon payment of the second year’s annual fee.
Even so, it’s a significantly better promotion than the previous offer, which had a minimum spend of S$8,000 for the same number of miles and no eCapitaVoucher.
Details: AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend welcome offer
 AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend |
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| Apply |
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| New-to-AMEX | Existing | |
| Pay Annual Fee | S$100 eCV | S$100 eCV |
| First Spend | 5,000 miles | 5,000 miles |
| Spend S$5,000 (First 180 days) |
20,000 miles | 10,000 miles |
| Pay 2nd Year Annual Fee & Spend S$1 | 20,000 miles | 10,000 miles |
| Total Spend | S$5,000 | S$5,000 |
| Total Bonus | 45,000 miles + S$100 eCV | 25,000 miles + S$100 eCV |
| Both new and existing cardholders will earn 6,000 base miles from S$5,000 spent at 1.2 mpd | ||
To be eligible for the following offers, you must submit an application for an AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend from 1 October to 1 November 2026, and receive approval within 45 days.
New-to-AMEX
| ❓ Definition |
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New-to-AMEX customers are defined as those who:
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All first-time American Express KrisFlyer cardholders will enjoy 5,000 bonus miles on their first spend of any amount. This is a once per lifetime bonus, so if you’ve held an American Express KrisFlyer card before, you won’t receive it a second time.
New-to-AMEX customers who pay the first year’s S$397.85 fee and spend at least S$5,000 within the first 180 days of approval will receive 20,000 bonus miles and a S$100 eCapitaVoucher.
They will receive a further 20,000 bonus miles for paying the second year’s S$397.85 fee and making a spend of at least S$1 in the 15th month of card membership.
Existing customers
| ❓ Definition |
| Existing customers are defined as those who have not cancelled a principal AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend in the past 24 months. |
All first-time American Express KrisFlyer cobrand cardholders will enjoy 5,000 miles on their first spend of any amount. This is a once per lifetime bonus, so if you’ve held an American Express KrisFlyer card before, you won’t receive it a second time.
Existing customers who pay the first year’s S$397.85 fee and spend at least S$5,000 within the first 180 days of approval will receive 10,000 bonus miles and a S$100 eCapitaVoucher.
They will receive a further 10,000 bonus miles for paying the second year’s S$397.85 fee and making a spend of at least S$1 in the 15th month of card membership.
When will the bonuses be credited?
If you’re eligible for the 5,000 bonus miles for first-time AMEX Singapore Airlines cobrand cardholders, these will be credited to your KrisFlyer account after the month of approval and first spend.
The first half of the welcome bonus (20,000 bonus miles for new-to-AMEX, 10,000 bonus miles for existing) will be credited 12 weeks after meeting the minimum spend.
The second half of the welcome bonus (20,000 bonus miles for new-to-AMEX, 10,000 bonus miles for existing) will be credited 12 weeks after spending at least S$1 in the 15th month of card membership.
All questions about fulfilment should be directed to American Express.
What counts as qualifying spending?
Applicants must spend at least S$5,000 within the first 180 days of approval.
American Express provides a list of excluded spending categories here, but the key ones to take note of are:
- Bus/MRT rides
- Donations
- Education
- GrabPay top-ups
- Insurance
- Public hospitals and polyclinics
- SPC transactions
- Utilities
CardUp and private hospitals, as well as anything else not explicitly stated in the exclusion list will count as eligible spend. Do note there are certain restrictions on AMEX payments with CardUp, as summarised in the article below.
All spending on supplementary cards will pool with principal cards when determining whether the minimum spend has been met.
Is it worth it?
Here’s what you get for paying the S$397.85 annual fee, in the first year of membership (remember, part of the bonus miles are deferred until the second year).
| Feature | Value |
| Complimentary Hilton hotel night voucher | S$200 Value depends on where you redeem the voucher |
| eCapitaVoucher | S$100 |
| 25,000 bonus miles (new) 15,000 bonus miles (existing) |
S$375 (new) S$225 (existing) Based on 1.5 cents per mile |
| Total | S$675 (new) S$525 (existing) |
New-to-AMEX and existing AMEX customers should get S$675 and S$525 of value respectively, though it really boils down to how much you value the free night and miles.
The key restriction is that American Express has tightened its new-to-AMEX criteria such that holding any principal or supplementary AMEX card in the past 24 months (previously: 12 months) will render you ineligible.
Also, since the bonus is split into two tranches, you will have to pay the second year’s S$397.85 annual fee if you want to get an additional 20,000 (new) or 10,000 (existing) miles.
Terms & Conditions
Overview: AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend
| AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend |
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| Apply |
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| Income Req. | N/A* | Points Validity | 3 years |
| Annual Fee | S$397.85 |
Min. Transfer |
N/A |
| FCY Fee | 3.25% | Transfer Fee | None |
| Local Earn | 1.2 mpd | Points Pool? | N/A |
| FCY Earn | 1.2 mpd | Lounge Access? | No |
| Special Earn | 2 mpd on SIA, Scoot, KrisShop, Pelago, Grab | Airport Limo? | No |
| *AMEX no longer publishes income requirements for the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend. The last published income requirement was S$50,000 p.a. | |||
| Cardholder Terms and Conditions | |||
The AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend is the more premium counterpart to the AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card, and carries an annual fee of S$397.85.
Cardholders earn 1.2 mpd on local and overseas spend, as well as 2 mpd on Singapore Airlines, Scoot, KrisShop and Pelago. Frankly speaking, these are far from the best earn rates on the market, and can easily be beaten by other alternatives.
Key card benefits include:
- One-night stay at participating Hilton Hotels across Asia Pacific
- Hilton Silver status (which allows you to enjoy the 5th night free on award redemptions— valuable if you’re buying Hilton points)
- A Foreign Spend Miles Redemption Voucher worth 18,000 miles for spending S$10,000 between 1 November and 31 October of the following year
- A Renewal Miles Redemption Voucher worth 10,000 miles for paying the second and subsequent years’ annual fees
From now until 16 December 2026, AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend cardholders who spend at least S$15,000 on their card — with a minimum of S$5,000 on Singapore Airlines, Scoot, KrisShop and Pelago — will be fast-tracked to KrisFlyer Elite Gold, bypassing the usual qualifying requirements.
Don’t forget to check out my full review of the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend below.
Conclusion
| AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend |
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| Apply |
The latest AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend welcome offer is significantly better value than before, with the minimum spend reduced to S$5,000 and an extra S$100 eCapitaVoucher added to the mix.
However, half the bonus miles are still deferred until the following year, and this isn’t the sort of card you should be spending on outside of the welcome offer. If you’re looking for a cobrand card with good earn rates, the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card does a much better job — though it doesn’t have any welcome offer to speak of.
