American Express has launched a new offer for the American Expressยฎ Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card (aka AMEX HighFlyer Card).
From now till 1 April to 30 June 2022, new cardholders will receive 2,000 bonus HighFlyer points with their first transaction of at least S$1. Cardholders who spend at least S$6,000 in the first 3 months will receive a S$300 statement credit.
๐ No minimum business size required |
While the AMEX HighFlyer Card is meant for businesses, there’s no minimum turnover or number of employees required to apply. If you’re running a home business, giving tuition or engaged in some other side hustle, setting up a sole proprietorship or LLC would qualify you to apply. |
All AMEX HighFlyer Card members will continue to enjoy a first year fee waiver and a complimentary Accor Plus membership, which offers a free hotel night and up to 50% off dining.
Cardholders will earn 8.5 mpd on Singapore Airlines tickets, and 1.8 mpd on all other spending (including GrabPay top-ups), making this card a must-have for anyone who owns a small or medium-sized business.
๐ณ Why get an AMEX HighFlyer Card? |
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AMEX HighFlyer Card Acquisition Offer
Apply Here |
AMEX HighFlyer Card members who apply by 30 June 2022 will receive the following:
- 2,000 HighFlyer points with their first transaction of S$1
- S$300 statement credit with a minimum spend of S$6,000 in the first 3 months of approval (do note that this is a S$1,000 increase from the previous offer that ended in February)
A cardholder who meets the full S$6,000 spend will therefore earn a S$300 statement credit plus 12,800 HighFlyer points (6,000*1.8 + 2,000). As a reminder, 1 HighFlyer point = 1 KrisFlyer mile.
โ First 3 months |
AMEX defines “first 3 months” as the first partial calendar month plus subsequent three full calendar months, so by applying early in the month, you have almost four months to meet the minimum spend. |
That may not be as high an earn rate as some other cards, but remember, American Express is fairly liberal with what counts towards sign-up bonus spending. With the exception of the following, everything else will count towards the S$6,000 spending requirement:
- Charges processed and billed prior to the Enrolment Date or charges prepaid on any Card Account prior to the first billing statement for that Card Account following the Enrolment Date
- Cash Advance and other cash services
- American Express Travellers Cheque purchases
- Charges for dishonoured cheques
- Finance charges โ including Line of Credit charges and Credit Card interest charges
- Late payment and collection charges
- Tax refunds from overseas purchases
- Balance Transfer
- Instalment plans, except where American Express determines otherwise
- Annual Card fees
- Amount billed for purchase of HighFlyer points to top-up your points balance
- Purchase and top-up charges for EZ-Link cards using American Express Cards
For avoidance of doubt, GrabPay top-ups and insurance payments will earn points and count towards sign-up bonus spending (unlike with AMEX consumer cards).
The statement credit should be deposited into your account within five business days of meeting the offer criteria, but may take up to 90 days from the offer end date in rare cases.
There is no requirement that you be new-to-AMEX. This offer is valid even if you already hold an existing AMEX consumer card.
Overview: AMEX HighFlyer Card
Income Req. | S$30,000 p.a | Points Validity | 3 years |
Annual Fee | S$299 (First Year Free) |
Min. Transfer | N/A |
Miles with Annual Fee |
None | Transfer Partners | SIA |
FCY Fee | 2.95% | Transfer Fee | None |
Local Earn | 1.8 mpd | Points Pool? | N/A |
FCY Earn | 1.8 mpd | Lounge Access? | Yes |
Special Earn | 8.5 mpd on SIA tickets | Airport Limo? | No |
Cardholder Terms and Conditions |
AMEX HighFlyer Card members earn 8.5 HighFlyer points per S$1 on Singapore Airlines and Scoot tickets (this includes the base 5 HighFlyer points that all HighFlyer companies already earn), and 1.8 HighFlyer points per S$1 on transactions elsewhere.
โ๏ธ What is HighFlyer? |
HighFlyer is Singapore Airlines’ loyalty program for SMEs. The program is free to join and does not require any minimum spend commitment; all you need to sign up is an ACRA business registration number. HighFlyer is essentially a cash rebate scheme. Companies earn 5 HighFlyer points per S$1 spent on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Scoot, Lufthansa, and SWISS (excluding airport fees and government taxes), and can redeem them at a rate of 1,050 HighFlyer points= S$10. HighFlyer points are valid for 3 years, and cannot be earned on Q, N, V and K booking classes (i.e. Economy Lite fares). They can be converted into KrisFlyer miles for nominated employees at a rate of 1 HighFlyer point= 1 KrisFlyer mile. |
This makes the AMEX HighFlyer Card the best general spending card on the market with a 1.8 mpd earn rate (versus 1.2-1.6 mpd for other cards).
Do note the following restrictions when converting HighFlyer points to miles:
- Each HighFlyer account can only be linked to a maximum of five selected KrisFlyer accounts for the purpose of converting HighFlyer points to KrisFlyer miles
- Each HighFlyer account is only allowed to convert HighFlyer points to a maximum of 150,000 KrisFlyer miles per calendar year
- Each selected KrisFlyer account may receive a maximum of 30,000 KrisFlyer miles converted from HighFlyer points per calendar year, regardless of which HighFlyer accounts the points are converted from
Purchases of Singapore Airlines tickets will enjoy 0% interest for six months, and other purchases get 51 days of interest-free credit. Employees who purchase tickets with the card will still be entitled to accrue miles for personal use, based on the fare class purchased.
In terms of personal benefits, cardholders enjoy:
- Two complimentary visits to Priority Pass lounges per year
- A complimentary Accor Plus membership with one free stay every year and up to 50% off dining
- Hertz Gold status with 10% off best available rates and one class upgrades
- A fast track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold status with S$15,000 or more spent on Singapore Airlines group transactions in the first year of card membership
- Complimentary travel insurance when travel tickets are bought with the card
AMEX HighFlyer Card members will also enjoy the following spending bonuses:
- First year only: 5,000 HighFlyer points for S$500 SIA Group spending
- Every year: 15,000 HighFlyer points for S$10,000 SIA Group spending
Complimentary Accor Plus Membership
One of the highlights of the AMEX HighFlyer Card is the free Accor Plus membership, which includes one complimentary hotel night each year.
This can be redeemed at hotels in Singapore, as well as VTL countries like Australia, Thailand, India, Malaysia and South Korea. I recently used my certificate for a free stay at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour.
Accor Plus members also get access to the periodic Red Hot Rooms sale, which may be a good opportunity to book cheap staycation rates. I’ve seen the Fairmont Singapore going for as low as S$143 nett, and the Grand Mercure for as little as S$64 nett.
The other big draw of an Accor Plus membership are the dining discounts. The discount structure works like this:
- 25% off dining: 1 member only
- 50% off dining: 1 member and 1 guest
- 33% off dining: 1 member and 2 guests
- 25% off dining: 1 member and 3 guests
- 15% off drinks in Asia
Some examples of participating Accor Plus restaurants in Singapore include Prego, Mikuni, Asian Market Cafe and Szechuan Court at the Fairmont, SKAI, Bar Rouge, Cafe Swiss and Kopi Tiam at Swissotel and The Cliff, The Garden, Kwee Zeen at the Sofitel Sentosa Resort.
In fact, should you enjoy the benefits of an Accor Plus membership, it’s still cheaper to pay the AMEX HighFlyer Card’s S$299 annual fee instead of buying an Accor Plus membership (S$408 for the version with one free hotel night).
For those who have already received their AMEX HighFlyer Card, here’s how to go about activating your Accor Plus membership.
Conclusion
New cardholders can enjoy a S$300 statement credit and 2,000 bonus HighFlyer points with a new AMEX HighFlyer Card, and factoring in its first year fee waiver, free hotel night and dining discounts, it’s a no-brainer to apply.
This limited-time offer will lapse on 30 June 2022, so remember to submit your application before then.
Question, if i am working in the company and i know the ACRA, can i just input it even though i don’t own the business? or owning the business is a requirement?
You would need to have access to the corp pass to apply. So no, you wouldn’t be able to do that
Just FYI if you refer yourself instead of using Aaron’s link you can get another $300 in capitaland vouchers
How do you refer yourself when you dont have the HF card to begin with?
Question > If I purchase an eligible air ticket via the SQ website with this card, do I get the 8.5mpd? Or purchase has to be through the highflyer account?
Hi,
Can I top up my grabpay, then use it to pay for my prudential insurance? since prudential only accepts master and visa.
assuming prudential accepts the grabpay mastercard (some portals may be fussy), yup. best to top up like $10 and try it first.
Each selected KrisFlyer account may receive a maximum of 30,000 KrisFlyer miles converted from HighFlyer points per calendar year, regardless of which HighFlyer accounts the points are converted from
The restriction of only a max of 30k miles can be transferred per year seems like a big problem? Is there any way around this?
Sorry but how do you get 8.5MPD for Air tickets purchased ?
“AMEX HighFlyer Card members earn 8.5 HighFlyer points per S$1 on Singapore Airlines and Scoot tickets (this includes the base 5 HighFlyer points that all HighFlyer companies already earn), and 1.8 HighFlyer points per S$1 on transactions elsewhere.”
This works out to only Base 5 Highflyer points + 1.8 Highflyer points = 6.8 Highflyer points.
The extra $100 capitaland voucher offer expired right?