OCBC used to be one of the most generous banks for points conversions, with OCBC VOYAGE, OCBC 90°N and OCBC Premier Visa Infinite cardholders able to convert their points to KrisFlyer miles for free.
Unfortunately, that ended in early 2023 when a S$25 conversion fee was added. This fee was also extended to the eight new airline and hotel partners that OCBC added in July 2023.
However, OCBC is currently waiving its points conversion fee for all transfer partners except KrisFlyer. This isn’t a new promotion per se; it’s actually been going on for some time now. But I don’t believe I’ve covered it yet, so here are the details.
OCBC waiving conversion fees for most airline and hotel partners
OCBC cardholders can now convert 90°N Miles, OCBC$ and VOYAGE Miles to airline miles or hotel points, with a waiver of the usual S$25 conversion fee.
This applies to all programmes, except for KrisFlyer.
 Transfer Partners |
||
| 90°N Miles & VOYAGE Miles | OCBC$ | |
 |
1:1 (VOYAGE) |
25,000 : 10,000 |
| 1,000 : 1,000 (90°N) | ||
 |
1,000 : 1,000 | 10,000 : 4,000 |
 |
1,000 : 1,000 | 10,000 : 4,000 |
 |
1,000 : 1,000 | 10,000 : 4,000 |
 |
1,000 : 900 | 10,000 : 3,600 |
 |
1,000 : 900 | 10,000 : 3,600 |
 |
1,000 : 750 | 10,000 : 2,900 |
 |
1,000 : 700 | 10,000 : 2,800 |
 |
1,000 : 500 | 10,000 : 2,000 |
| All ratios expressed as OCBC points : partner miles/points |
||
As a reminder, all points conversions must be made through the OCBC app, following OCBC’s retirement of its desktop rewards portal late last year.
Tap on Rewards > Redeem > Points Exchange, then select your preferred airline or hotel programme. The fee waiver will be automatically reflected in the app.
Conversions are instant for all programmes except KrisFlyer. KrisFlyer conversions are usually completed within 24 hours.
Do note that this is positioned as a limited-time promotion, though no end date has been stated.
Which partners should you transfer to?
While the conversion fee is waived for (almost) all partners, some of them represent better value than others.
Transfers to Asia Miles receive 25-27.5% fewer miles than KrisFlyer, while transfers to British Airways and Etihad Guest receive 10% fewer miles than KrisFlyer. As for hotel partners, IHG and Marriott Bonvoy aren’t that appealing when you factor in the opportunity cost — you’re forgoing 1 KrisFlyer mile (~1.5 cents) for every IHG (~0.64 cents) or Bonvoy (~0.90 cents) point.
The only non-KrisFlyer programmes I might consider would be Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Accor Live Limitless (ALL). Flying Blue has transfer parity with KrisFlyer, and Business Class awards from Singapore to Europe start at 85,000 miles. With ALL, 2,000 points = €40, so each KrisFlyer mile you give up gets you about 1.5 cents of value, roughly what I’d deem acceptable.
OCBC used to offer periodic transfer bonuses, but we haven’t seen one for some time now.
- November 2024: ~20% transfer bonus to Asia Miles
- July 2024: 70% transfer bonus to Marriott Bonvoy
- June 2024: 15% transfer bonus to British Airways Executive Club
- November 2023: 15% transfer bonus to Asia Miles
- October 2023: 20% transfer bonus to Flying Blue
- October 2023: 50% transfer bonus to IHG One Rewards
Which other banks offer free conversions?
If you hate paying points conversion fees, the good news is that some card issuers and certain cards waive these fees:
- There are no conversion fees for AMEX Membership Rewards Points or HSBC Rewards Points
- The DBS yuu Card earns yuu Points, which can be converted instantly to KrisFlyer miles without fees
- The Citi ULTIMA, DBS Insignia and UOB Reserve Card offer free conversions (though they’re not exactly accessible to the general public)
- The UOB Visa Infinite, Visa Infinite Metal Card and Privilege Banking Card offer free conversions
Citi Private Clients enjoy two complimentary points conversions each year with the Citi Prestige Card.
Alternatively, cobrand cards such as the AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card, AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend and KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card automatically batch and deposit miles into your KrisFlyer account each month, with no conversion fee.
Conclusion
OCBC is currently waiving the points conversion fee for all of its airline and hotel programmes, except for KrisFlyer. That’s probably the programme most people want, though if you’re hoping to do a small top-up of your Accor or Flying Blue account, you might find this useful too.
We don’t know how long this promotion will go on for, so take advantage of it while you can.
