The MileLion’s 2026 Credit Card Strategy

As we speed through the last quarter of 2026, it’s time to update The MileLion’s 2026 Credit Card Strategy, my blueprint for earning miles on a day-to-day basis.

A lot has happened since my last update in May 2026, but don’t worry if you haven’t been keeping up — I’ll get you up to speed on the latest, then share how it’s changed my overall card strategy.

What’s changed since the last edition?

Here’s a summary of the key updates since I last published this guide in May 2026.

• Whisper it quietly, but HealthHub transactions might now be coding as MCC 8062 (#1, 2, 3), though other recent data points (#1, 2) also have it as MCC 9399 so proceed with caution. If it’s 8062, you can use the Trust Freedom Card for 1.3 mpd
• yuu Points to Max Miles conversions are finally available, turning the DBS yuu Card into a “Max Miles card”
• The new Trust Freedom Card now offers a “free miles” option on overseas spend, with 1.3 mpd and no FCY transaction fees
• CardUp had a major hike in payment processing fees, which places the cost per mile into unattractive territory — unless you use PayNow
• SC EasyBill quietly increased its admin fee to 2.5%, without notice
• The GXS Credit Card launched with 10% rebates on overseas Grab spend
• The Chocolate Visa Card received a buff to its caps, with 1 mpd on up to S$2,000 per month and 300 miles per month on bill payments
• HSBC Premier Mastercard now earns miles on overseas education
• UOB PRVI Miles added a 5,000 miles quarterly spending bonus, but also increased the minimum spend for its loyalty bonus to S$80,000
• HeyMax First has added an almost-too-good-to-be-true opportunity to generate credit card miles from just 0.36 cents each
• A small, obscure debit card called the EZ-Link Mastercard disappeared silently into the night…

I keep tabs on all the nerfs and buffs on this calendar, so be sure to bookmark it.

Important reminders

Before we talk about specific cards, here are a few important points to make. 

Not a comprehensive listing

First, this article is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of the best cards for each category. There are other cards that could work just as well, so please don’t flood the comments with “why not Card X for category Y?”

Remember, the idea here is to present a strategy rather than a compendium. If you’re interested in a comprehensive listing of the best cards for a given category, you should instead refer to the articles below.

Don’t forget sign-up bonuses

Second, this article doesn’t take into account ongoing sign-up bonuses.

These are opportunities for new cardholders to earn a lump sum of miles by spending a minimum amount within a certain period following approval. You should absolutely try to take advantage of these first, because the effective earn rate (in terms of miles awarded per dollar spent) will be superior to many of the cards in this post.

I publish a monthly article that covers all the sign-up bonuses in detail, and you can also bookmark my Welcome Offers page to keep tabs on the latest promotions.

Categories can overlap

Third, categories can overlap or be subsets of each other, so don’t think about them too rigidly.

For example, a card which earns bonuses on contactless payments can be used at a restaurant, department store, supermarket, or anywhere that contactless payments are accepted. Likewise, if a card earns bonuses on foreign currency spend, it doesn’t matter whether that spend is dining, shopping or travel-related.

Check the definitions

Fourth, different cards may define the same category differently. What counts as dining for HSBC may be different from UOB!

Always refer to the T&Cs for the exact list of eligible MCCs, and if you need to check the MCC of a given merchant, use the methods below.

Calendar month versus statement month

Your card’s bonus cap may be based on the calendar month or statement month.

• Calendar month is straightforward (e.g. 1-31 January)
• Statement month varies from person to person. You can check it by looking at the statement date on your eStatement. This is the last day of the statement month. For example, if the last day of the statement month is the 12th, the statement month runs from the 13th of this month to the 12th of the following month

It may be possible to call up the bank and request for your statement month to be shifted to a date that more closely aligns with the calendar month. That’s what I’ve done with my UOB Visa Signature, and now its statement date matches the calendar month (disclaimer: banks have a certain quota per date, so it might not be possible to shift yours).

What cards am I using for 2026?

Here’s a quick summary of the cards that I’ll be using the most in 2026.

Card	Categories
Citi Rewards Card Apply	Amaze Online transactions (except travel and in-app mobile wallet) 4 mpd Capped
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	Online transactions 4 mpd Capped
DBS yuu AMEX/Visa AMEX Visa	yuu merchants Public transport 10 mpd Capped
HSBC Revolution Apply	Atome Air tickets Dining HeyMax vouchers Hotels 4 mpd Capped
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	Singapore Airlines Scoot KrisShop Kris+  Pelago 3 mpd Uncapped
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply	Air tickets 2.8 mpd Capped
Maybank World Mastercard Apply	FCY spend 3.2 mpd Uncapped Petrol 4 mpd Uncapped
Maybank XL Rewards Apply	FCY spend Air tickets Dining HeyMax vouchers Hotels 4 mpd Capped
OCBC Rewards Card Apply	Shopee, Lazada, Taobao, TikTok Shop Watsons 6 mpd Capped Ends 31 Mar 27
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Dining  Fashion Apply	Dining HeyMax vouchers 4 mpd Capped
UOB Preferred Visa Apply	Mobile contactless spend HeyMax vouchers Public transport 4 mpd Capped
UOB Visa Signature Apply	Contactless spend FCY spend Public transport 4 mpd Capped

I realise that one dozen cards may seem like a lot to keep track of, but once you learn the general heuristics, it’s really not as complicated as it seems (honest!).

Also, if your monthly spending is more modest, it’s highly unlikely you’ll need all the cards shown above. Those spending less than S$3,800 per month could use the following “minipack” to earn 4 mpd on almost everything, without the need to memorise specific categories.

💳 “Minipack” For Smaller Spenders
Card	Monthly Spend	Remarks
Citi Rewards Apply	S$1,000 S. Month	Online transactions (except travel and in-app mobile wallet)
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	S$1,000 C. Month	Online spend
UOB Preferred Visa Apply	S$600* C. Month	Mobile contactless
UOB Visa Signature Apply	S$1,200^ S. Month	Contactless spend (min. S$1,000 per s. month)
*Additional S$600 monthly bonus cap for selected online transactions including dining, groceries, entertainment and shopping ^Additional S$1,200 monthly bonus cap for FCY transactions, with min. spend S$1,000 per s. month

You will miss out on some higher-earning opportunities — like 6 mpd with the OCBC Rewards or 10 mpd with the DBS yuu Card — but this keeps things extremely straightforward.

What card for which category?

Contactless Payments

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Preferred Visa Apply	4 mpd	Max S$600 per c. month Review
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd	Min S$1K, max S$1.2K per s. month in SGD Review

A bonus for contactless payments is practically a licence to earn 4 mpd everywhere, given how ubiquitous contactless terminals are nowadays.

Nothing changes here. The UOB Preferred Visa continues to be the go-to option, with 4 mpd on all mobile contactless transactions. Simply add it to your Apple, Google or Samsung Pay account and tap your phone or watch in-store to pay. 

The unfortunate thing is that the bonus cap for mobile contactless is just S$600 per calendar month. If you want to continue getting the most out of this card, you must utilise its lesser-known bonus category: 4 mpd for online food delivery, groceries, entertainment and shopping (hint: buying HeyMax vouchers is an easy way of maxing this out).

If you need more bonus cap, then the UOB Visa Signature offers 4 mpd on all contactless transactions of up to S$1,200 per statement month, with a minimum spend of S$1,000.

Do note that each card defines contactless spending slightly differently. You will not earn any bonuses if you tap the physical UOB Preferred Visa card!

	UOB PV	UOB VS
	✅	✅
	❌	❌
	✅	✅
Excludes MST	✅	✅
Tapping physical card	❌	✅

Since the bonus caps for contactless spending are fairly tight, it’s important to be familiar with ways of turning offline spend into online, in case you need to spend in-store and have busted the caps already.

Online Transactions

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Excludes travel and in-app mobile wallet. Max S$1K per s. month Review
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month Review

Like contactless payments, online transactions are another big catch-all category.

Both the Citi Rewards and DBS Woman’s World Card earn 4 mpd on online transactions, so long as it doesn’t fall into:

• the bank’s general list of exclusions, or
• in the case of the Citi Rewards
  • travel-related transactions such as airlines, cruises, hotels, rental cars and travel agencies
  • in-app mobile wallet payments (e.g. FoodPanda + Citi Rewards = 4 mpd, FoodPanda + Google Pay (using Citi Rewards) = 0.4 mpd)

In other words, both the Citi Rewards and DBS Woman’s World Card would be well-suited to cover everyday transactions like:

• Food delivery
• Ride-hailing
• Movie tickets
• Google Play or Apple App Store purchases
• Netflix, Spotify and other streaming subscriptions
• E-commerce sites like Amazon, Lazada, Shopee etc.
• (WWMC only) Buying airline tickets, cruises, prepaid hotels or activities & attraction bookings with Klook or Pelago

If I had to choose between the two, I’d lean in the direction of the Citi Rewards Card, simply because its points have a longer validity (up to 5 years, versus 12-15 months for the WWMC) and more transfer partners (11, versus 4 for the WWMC). However, it does have an annoying exclusion for travel, so that’s something to consider too.

Head-to-head: Citi Rewards Card vs DBS Woman’s World Card

For spending specifically on Shopee, Lazada, Taobao or TikTok Shop, however, I’d bring in the OCBC Rewards Card to take advantage of its 6 mpd promo, available till 31 March 2027. This is capped at S$1,000 per calendar month.

HeyMax

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd	Max S$750 per c. month, with Fashion as bonus category Review
UOB Preferred Visa Apply	4 mpd	Max S$600 per c. month Review

HeyMax, better known for its MCC lookup tool, also sells vouchers for numerous merchants, and all purchases will code as MCC 5311 Department Stores.

Get 200 Max Miles when you sign up for a HeyMax account and complete one transaction
Sign up here
7-Eleven Airalo Amazon Singapore Best Denki Courts FoodPanda GetGo Grab IKEA Imperial Treasure Isetan iShopChangi Klook Lazada	Natureland NTUC FairPrice Oddle Eats Pelago Pupsik Ryde Sephora Shein Sheng Siong Shell TADA TANGS Wine Connection ZALORA

Therefore, whether you’re buying electronics or furniture, booking activities, taking a Grab or ordering food delivery, buying eSIMs or shopping online, you can use HeyMax to change the MCC to 5311.

Buying HeyMax vouchers also helps manage the annoying S$600/S$750 bonus sub-caps on the UOB Preferred Visa/UOB Lady’s Solitaire (I’ve switched one of my bonus categories to Fashion, which covers 5311), because it’s much easier to buy vouchers in exact denominations to hit the caps, rather than spending “in the wild”.

Of course, you could just as well use the HSBC Revolution, Maybank XL Rewards or OCBC Rewards here too, but in my case, those bonus caps are usually tied up elsewhere. 

Atome

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per s. month Review
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month Review
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month Review

Atome may have its detractors, but I think it’s a great tool for any miles chaser. With Atome, you can:

• Break up transactions into three interest-free monthly payments, stretching your cashflow and better optimising the monthly bonus caps on specialised spending cards
• Enjoy extra discounts at selected merchants
• Convert non-bonused MCCs into bonus-earning MCCs
• Convert ineligible MCCs into reward-earning MCCs (Atome partners with quite a few educational institutions)
• Double dip on credit card miles and Atome+ Points (which can be converted into KrisFlyer miles and Max Miles)

Do remember to trigger payments manually a few days before they’re due, as automated recurring payments may not be eligible to earn miles.

Atome counts as online spend, so you can use both the Citi Rewards Card and DBS Woman’s World Card, in addition to the HSBC Revolution Card. Since I prefer to save the first two for spending elsewhere, the HSBC Revolution usually handles this category.

Dining

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
DBS yuu AMEX Apply	10 mpd	FoodPanda only. Min. spend of S$800 & cap of S$823 per c. month. Must spend at 4x participating merchants Review
DBS yuu Visa Apply	10 mpd
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month Review
Maybank XL Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$500, max S$1K per c. month Review
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd	Max S$750 per c. month, with Dining as bonus category Review

The dining category includes both dining at restaurants and ordering through food delivery platforms like Deliveroo, GrabFood and FoodPanda (for which the 10 mpd DBS yuu Card should be the only choice).

Dining is the other bonus category on my UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card. However, this can also be covered by the HSBC Revolution, along with the Maybank XL Rewards Card.

Just be careful about how dining is defined, as the HSBC Revolution excludes MCC 5814 (Fast Food). Even if you don’t care for McDonald’s, Burger King or other junk food, 5814 can pop up in unexpected places because Visa and Mastercard have historically offered preferential rates for this MCC. 

That created an incentive for restaurants to push for this classification, even if what they’re offering is the furthest thing from fast food. MCC 5814 has been reported at Shin Katsu, PS Cafe, Beyond the Dough, Tipo Pasta, MODU High, Sushisamba, Cafe Nesuto, and bakeries like Noci Bakehouse and Paris Baguette. It’s also used by GrabFood in Singapore.

Another MCC to be careful of is MCC 5499, which is used by Bengawan Solo (certain outlets), Nespresso, Cheers, 7-Eleven, Farm Frozen, and GrabFood in Malaysia. This MCC is excluded by the HSBC Revolution and Maybank XL Rewards. 

🍽️ Dining MCC Coverage
MCC	UOB PV Online	Revo	XL	Journey Online	Lady’s Dining	KF UOB
5811	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
5812	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
5813	❌	✅	✅	❌	❌*	✅
5814	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅
5441	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
5462	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌
5499	✅	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌
*MCC 5813 is covered under the Entertainment category

Foreign Currency (FCY) Spend

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Amaze + Citi Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per s. month Review
Maybank XL Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$500, max S$1K per c. month Review
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$1K, max S$1.2K per s. month on FCY spend Review
Maybank World Mastercard Apply	3.2 mpd	Min. S$4K per c. month. 2.8 mpd with min. S$800 per c. month. No cap Review
Trust Freedom Card Apply via app with referral code 2GQEAM81	1.3 mpd	No cap Review

This is the category that’s seen the most disruption, with the launch of the Trust Freedom Card.

We’ll get to that in a bit, but my first choice continues to be pairing the Citi Rewards Card with Amaze to earn 4 mpd on overseas spending with a ~2% FCY fee.

Otherwise, I’ll use the Maybank XL Rewards Card, which also earns 4 mpd provided the minimum spend of S$500 is met (you can also pair it with Amaze, though this should only be for whitelisted categories like dining, shopping, travel and entertainment).

Next in line is the UOB Visa Signature, though unfortunately the “sweet spot” for spending is now much narrower, following the introduction of bonus sub-caps. You used to be able to spend between S$1,000 and S$2,000, but now the target range is between S$1,000 and S$1,200, which leaves less room for error.

But what happens when the 4 mpd opportunities are exhausted? 

Normally, I’d switch to the Maybank World Mastercard for an uncapped 3.2 mpd on FCY spend, but this requires a hefty minimum spend of S$4,000 per month.

Moreover, with the Trust Freedom Card offering 1.3 mpd and no FCY fee, the cost per mile with the Maybank World Mastercard is actually 1.62 cents per mile [3.25% ÷ (3.2 mpd x (1 + 3.25%) – 1.3 mpd)].

The math is marginal — it’s cheaper than the “ceiling price” set by the UOB Payment Facility of 1.8 cents per mile, but it’s still high enough to make me think twice. For some people, paying 1.62 cents each for an accelerated 3.2 mpd might be better than earning free miles at 1.3 mpd — especially if you’re getting reimbursed for your spending. If your miles balance is already healthy, you may feel otherwise. 

What should be clear is that any overseas spending option earning 2.8 mpd or less should be off the menu for now, since that would push the cost per mile to 2.04 cents each or more.

Groceries

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
DBS yuu AMEX Apply	10 mpd	Giant and Cold Storage only. Min. spend of S$800 & cap of S$823 per c. month. Must spend at 4x participating merchants Review
DBS yuu Visa Apply	10 mpd

The DBS yuu Card is the only logical option for grocery spending at Giant or Cold Storage, with its unbeatable 10 mpd (shopping at both also helps rack up two unique merchants towards the four merchant minimum).

For the occasions when I visit NTUC, or buy groceries on RedMart, I simply resort to cards which award bonuses for contactless payments (i.e. UOB Preferred Visa or UOB Visa Signature) or online transactions (i.e. Citi Rewards, DBS Woman’s World Card).

Petrol

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Maybank World Mastercard Apply	4 mpd	No cap Review

For petrol, the best card to use really depends on which chain you frequent the most, because the goal is to stack 4 mpd with the highest discount possible. 

In my case, Shell is the most convenient, which means I use the Maybank World Mastercard for an uncapped 4 mpd, with no minimum spend necessary (there’s a further 15% discount from the Corporate Fuel Card). Do note that this only applies to in-person payments made in Singapore, so payments made through apps or overseas won’t qualify.

However, I’m not dogmatic about this. I’m just as likely to use Kris+ with the DBS Woman’s World Card when at Esso, which offers an extra 2 mpd on top of the standard 4 mpd reward. Alternatively, if I see a Sinopec then I can just take advantage of the 23+% discount with any 4 mpd card at my disposal. 

Public Transport

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
DBS yuu AMEX Apply	10 mpd	Min. spend of S$800 & cap of S$823 per c. month. Must spend at 4x participating merchants Review
DBS yuu Visa Apply	10 mpd
UOB Preferred Visa Apply	4 mpd	Max S$600 per c. month, must use mobile payments Review
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd	Min S$1K, max S$1.2K per s. month on contactless & petrol Review

SimplyGo is one of the easiest ways of clocking one merchant towards the DBS yuu Card’s four merchant minimum, and the fact that you earn 10 mpd doesn’t hurt either.

Alternatively, if I need to conserve my yuu cap for elsewhere, I could use the UOB Preferred Visa or UOB Visa Signature instead, since they now recognise SimplyGo bus and MRT rides as contactless spend.

Travel

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Maybank XL Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$500, max S$1K per c. month Review
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month Review
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	3 mpd	SIA & Scoot. No cap Review
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply	2.8 mpd	Min. S$800 per c. month, capped at S$10K Review

For air tickets, the Maybank XL Rewards and HSBC Revolution both earn 4 mpd.

However, given that both of them are capped at just S$1,000 per calendar month — and the fact that I might use them for other categories of spending — I need some uncapped options too. That comes in the form of the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card (uncapped 3 mpd for SIA and Scoot) and Maybank Horizon Visa Signature (2.8 mpd on air tickets in general, with a S$10,000 monthly cap).

For hotels, the Maybank XL Rewards and HSBC Revolution also work, though if the transaction is in FCY I can also bring in the cards from the FCY section.

yuu Merchants

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
DBS yuu AMEX Apply	10 mpd	Min. spend of S$800 & cap of S$823 per c. month. Must spend at 4x participating merchants Review
DBS yuu Visa Apply

If you’re spending at a yuu merchant, there is absolutely no question about which card you should use: the DBS yuu AMEX or DBS yuu Visa (or both, since they each have their own bonus cap) for 10 mpd.

The only speed bump here is the minimum spend of S$800 per calendar month, but between groceries, food delivery, pharmacy items and ride-hailing, it’s doable for me— especially since I discovered the wonders of Singtel Billing, which allows you to charge app store purchases, Cast.sg apps and subscriptions, and Singtel PayLater phones and gadgets to your Singtel bill. 

Since this gets asked a lot, I want to clarify that the minimum spend need not be on yuu merchants alone. However, I find it a waste to spend on non-yuu merchants because you’ll earn just 0.14 mpd, which will drag down your overall earn rate. Even if you’re slightly short of the minimum spend, buying Cold Storage or Giant vouchers would be a better way of making up the balance than non-yuu spend.

What other cards can you consider?

Chocolate Visa Card

Chocolate Visa Card

Apply

It’s been a mixed year for the Chocolate Visa Card.

In September 2026, the monthly spending cap for its 1 Max Mile per S$1 earn rate was doubled to S$2,000, and the monthly bill payment cap tripled to 300 Max Miles.

But one of the biggest use cases for the Chocolate Visa Card was fee-free overseas spending, and that’s run right smack into the Trust Freedom Card, which offers better earn rates. Because of this, the use cases for Chocolate are fewer than ever before, and I only really use it to earn 300 Max Miles a month on things like insurance and utilities. 

I’ve done a detailed comparison of the Chocolate Visa Card and Trust Freedom Card below, highlighting the situations where you’d choose one over the other.

Head-to-head: Chocolate Visa Card vs Trust Freedom Card

GXS Credit Card

A cashback card? Here???

Well, first of all, I’ll have you know that the GXS Credit Card earns GrabCoins, not cashback, at least where Grab is concerned. And since it offers 50 GrabCoins per S$1 — equivalent to a 10% rebate — on overseas Grab spending with no minimum spend, I’ll gladly use this on my travels, and conserve my 4 mpd cards for other uses.

GrabCoins have a nominal value of 0.2 cents each, but you can get outsized value for them during the monthly Grab Flash Sales.

UOB Lady’s Card

Depending on who you ask, the UOB Lady’s Card might actually be superior to the UOB Lady’s Solitaire now, because some people find 4 mpd on up to S$1,000 in a single category more useful than 4 mpd on up to S$750 across two categories. 

I’ve made the case for and against downgrading in the post below.

Should you downgrade to the UOB Lady’s Card?

StanChart Beyond Card

The StanChart Beyond Card has a hefty S$1,635 annual fee, and if you’ve decided to take the plunge, you’d better start using it religiously.

Not only do you have a minimum spend of S$20,000 to meet for the welcome bonus, but this card’s mechanics are structured in a way that the more you spend, the more you get rewarded. 

The local earn rates of 1.5-2 mpd are already good for a general spending card, but what’s even more impressive is the FCY earn rates of 3-4 mpd (and 8 mpd for overseas dining if you’re a Priority Private customer).

StanChart Smart Card

The StanChart Smart Card — no longer accepting new applications — earns up to 9.3 mpd on streaming, public transport, electric car charging and fast food, but there’s a big catch here. You need to spend at least:

• S$800 per statement month to earn 7.4 mpd (Tier 1)
• S$1,500 per statement month to earn 9.3 mpd (Tier 2)

I don’t know about you, but I would find it very difficult to spend that much on bonus categories alone, though I’m sure there’ll be some who could make it work (e.g. a Grab driver with an EV).

That said, you could also meet the minimum spend by spending on non-bonus categories (where the regular earn rate of 0.46 mpd, but increases to 0.93 mpd if you spend at least S$1,500). This would drag down the average earn rate, but might still make sense depending on the split of bonus vs non-bonus spend.

General spending cards

I make it a point to avoid general spending cards as much as possible, for the simple reason that you shouldn’t earn 1.2-1.6 mpd when you could be earning 4 mpd. 

However, general spending cards can still be part of a sound miles strategy, in situations where:

• There’s a lucrative welcome offer
• You’ve exhausted the bonus caps on higher-earning specialised spending cards
• You have a big-ticket transaction that can’t be split across multiple cards
• There’s a limited-time promotion that upsizes the earn rates
• You’re using CardUp or Citi PayAll, which aren’t eligible for bonuses with specialised spending cards

In these situations, it’s all about picking the highest-earning general spending card there is. 

Should you bother getting a general spending card?

Final reminders

Don’t forget Kris+

Whenever you’re at a restaurant, store, spa or hotel, always be sure to check whether they’re a Kris+ merchant, because that’s an easy opportunity to stack a further 0.5-9 mpd on top of your credit card miles. 

S$5 for new Kris+ Users

Get S$5 when you sign up with code W644363 and make your first transaction

I’ve written a separate guide on the best cards to use with Kris+, which can be found below.

What’s the best card to use for Kris+?

Don’t over-optimise

As much as we want to maximise 4 mpd everywhere, is it possible to overdo it?

Definitely. The way I see it, there are two additional considerations:

(1) Conversion Fees

By spreading your cards across multiple banks, you’re collecting different points currencies and will have to pay multiple conversion fees.

However, I’m not too worried about this. Conversion fees are annoying and we try to minimise them where we can, but paying them isn’t the end of the world. In the grand scheme of things, an extra S$27 here and there isn’t going to destroy the overall value proposition of the miles game.

💰 Points Conversion Fees by Bank
Issuer	Per Conversion	Annual Option
	Free	N/A
	S$30	N/A
	S$27.251	N/A
	S$27.252	S$43.603
	Free	N/A
	S$27.25	N/A
	S$25	N/A
	S$27.25	N/A
	S$27.25	N/A
	S$274	N/A
1. Waived for Citi ULTIMA Card 2. Waived for DBS Insignia Card 3. Automatic conversions in blocks of 500 DBS points (1,000 miles) each quarter. Additional ad-hoc redemptions can be done for free. Waived for DBS Insignia Card 4. Waived for UOB Reserve, UOB Visa Infinite Metal, UOB Visa Infinite and UOB Privilege Banking Card

Moreover, it doesn’t necessarily mean more cards = more fees. If you own multiple cards from the same bank, you may still pay only a single conversion fee, provided the points are pooled.

For example, a UOB customer could hold a UOB PRVI Miles, UOB Preferred Visa, UOB Visa Signature and UOB Lady’s Card, all while paying only a single conversion fee. 

(2) Orphan Points

Orphan points are a bigger concern than conversion fees. If you spread yourself too thin, you may end up in a situation where you’re optimising on individual transactions, but not in an overall sense. 

What are orphan miles, and how do you avoid them?

To illustrate, suppose I drive infrequently but get a Maybank World Mastercard just so I can earn 4 mpd on petrol. I may be optimising on that particular transaction, but it counts for very little if I end up with a small chunk of TREATS points that I can’t cash out. 

All things equal, non-pooling credit card points with larger minimum conversion blocks are more likely to result in orphan points.

tl;dr: Optimisation is good, but you need to look at both the micro and macro picture. If you don’t spend a significant amount on a particular category, then consider using a blacklist card like the Citi Rewards or UOB Preferred Visa, or even a general spending card instead.

Quality vs quantity of points

Not all credit card points are made equal. They differ in terms of:

• Expiry
• Minimum conversion
• Pooling
• Transfer partners
• Transfer fees
• Transfer speed

In other words, two cards could offer 4 mpd, but one card’s 4 mpd might be more valuable than the other’s. I personally consider AMEX Membership Rewards points, Citi Miles/ThankYou points and HSBC points to be the three most valuable rewards currencies in Singapore.

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Last updated Oct 24, 2026

Which banks transfer points to which airline, hotel and points programmes

Programme	AMEX	BOC	Citi	DBS	HeyMax	HSBC	Maybank	OCBC	SCB	Trust	UOB
Star Alliance
Singapore AirlinesKrisFlyer	Yes, instant transfer	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes, instant transfer, haircut rate	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, instant transfer	Yes
Air CanadaAeroplan	No	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer, haircut rate	No	No	No	No	No
Air IndiaMaharaja Club	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Ethiopian AirlinesShebaMiles	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No	No
EVA AirInfinity MileageLands	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes, instant transfer	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No
Thai AirwaysRoyal Orchid Plus	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes, instant transfer, haircut rate	No	No	No	No	No
Turkish AirlinesMiles&Smiles	No	No	Yes	No	Yes, instant transfer	Yes, instant transfer, haircut rate	No	No	No	No	No
United AirlinesMileagePlus	No	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer, haircut rate	No	Yes, instant transfer, haircut rate	No	No	No
oneworld
British AirwaysBritish Airways Club	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	Yes, instant transfer, haircut rate	No	No	No
Cathay PacificAsia Miles	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, instant transfer	Yes	Yes, instant transfer, haircut rate	Yes	No	Yes
Japan AirlinesJAL Mileage Bank	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	Yes, haircut rate	No	No	No	No	No
Malaysia AirlinesEnrich	Yes	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
QantasQantas Frequent Flyer	Yes, instant transfer	No	Yes	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No
Qatar AirwaysQatar Privilege Club	No	No	Yes	No	Yes, instant transfer	Yes, instant transfer, haircut rate	No	No	No	No	No
SkyTeam
Air France-KLMFlying Blue	No	No	Yes	No	Yes, instant transfer	Yes, instant transfer	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No
Garuda IndonesiaGarudaMiles	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No	No
SASEuroBonus	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No	No
Vietnam AirlinesLotusmiles	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No
Xiamen AirlinesEgret Miles	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No	No
Other airlines
AirArabiaAir Arabia Rewards	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No	No
AirAsiaAirAsia Rewards	No	No	No	Yes	Yes, instant transfer	Yes, instant transfer	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Air AstanaNomad Club	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No	No
EmiratesSkywards	Yes, instant transfer, haircut rate	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Etihad AirwaysEtihad Guest	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	Yes, instant transfer, haircut rate	No	No	No
Hainan AirlinesFortune Wings	No	No	No	No	No	Yes, haircut rate	No	No	No	No	No
Philippine AirlinesMabuhay Miles	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
VietJet AirSkyJoy	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Hotels
AccorAccor Live Limitless	Yes	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	Yes, instant transfer	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No
Hilton Honors	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
IHGIHG One Rewards	No	No	Yes	No	Yes, instant transfer	Yes, instant transfer	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No
MarriottMarriott Bonvoy	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No
RadissonRadisson Rewards	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No	No
Shangri-LaShangri-La Circle	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No	No
WyndhamWyndham Rewards	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No
Points currencies
HeyMaxHeyMax	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No	No	No	No	No	Yes, instant transfer	No

Because of this, I’d be more inclined to max out the online bonus cap on my Citi Rewards Card first, before switching over to my DBS Woman’s World Card.

Conclusion

The biggest shake-up to my card strategy has really come from the Trust Freedom Card, which makes me reconsider any overseas spending card that earns less than 4 mpd.

Elsewhere, the DBS yuu Card got a huge upgrade now that yuu Points can be converted into Max Miles, the Chocolate Visa Card has been relegated to bill payment duty, and CardUp has priced itself out of contention unless you’re paying through PayNow. But the core of my strategy hasn’t changed much, nor my advice for those just starting out.

Remember, for most people, a simple four-card combo of the Citi Rewards, DBS Woman’s World Card, UOB Preferred Visa and UOB Visa Signature will be enough to earn 4 mpd on most transactions.

The other cards come in when you:

• have specific use cases (e.g. Maybank World Mastercard for overseas education spend)
• have already burst the monthly bonus caps on those four cards
• want to take advantage of “beyond 4 mpd” opportunities (e.g. UOB Lady’s Card + Lady’s Savings Account, OCBC Rewards for Shopee & Lazada, DBS yuu for yuu merchants)

If everything remains as-is, then this should be the last update for 2026. See you in 2027…whatever that looks like!