🛡️ Last call: Sign up for AMEX My Travel Insurance and get Accor Plus, Samsonite luggage, Grab vouchers and bonus miles.
Home Blog Page 577

Travel hacking for beginners

7

I recently gave a short presentation to a group of friends to introduce them to the joys of travel hacking. I’d like to share the materials with the rest of you here. Do let me know if you spot any typos or mistakes, I’m sure there will be some in there.

Also, travel hacking is a dynamic game- as time goes on the information here will get less and less relevant. Be sure to check back often for all the latest!

You can get the slides here– feel free to share them with your friends!

The ugly truth of cashback cards banks don’t want you to know

23

Sorry about the click-baitish headline, but there’s something you need to know. A friend pointed me to an article by GET.com on the best cards to use for dining, a toss up between the OCBC 365 and the ANZ Optimum Card. That led me to think more about cashback cards and why GET.com was promoting them so heavily

There is a reason why I don’t like cashback cards- you can’t win. Try and get a bank to part with cash, and it will bend over backwards to stop you from doing so. The entire cashback game is a mirage- it lures you in with exciting headlines, but ultimately disappoints.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the terms and conditions of some of the “best” cashback cards on the market

Card Cashback Promised BUT…
ANZ Optimum World Card
  • 5% on one category- groceries, shopping, dining, travel
  • 1% on everything else
  • Limits this to $30 per transaction. If you are buying a big ticket item worth more than $600 (as is the case for say, airline tickets), you lose out
  • The cashback can only be used in intervals of $50, offset against your statement. In other words, until you accumulate $50, you get nothing
OCBC 365 Card
  • 6% on weekend local dining
  • 3% on weekday local/overseas dining
  • 3% on online spending, groceries, telecomms
  • Only if you spend more than $600  per month, otherwise 0.3%
  • Cashback capped at $80 per month
Citibank Dividend Card
  •  5% on groceries and pharmacies
  • 2% on dining
  •  Minimum spend per transaction of $50, otherwise 0.5% cashback only
  • If grocery store offers CitiRebates, you only get 3% cashback and the other 2% is awarded in CitiRebates usable on your next transaction only
American Express True Cashback Card
  • 5% on everything for the first 3 months
  • 1.5% everywhere else with no caps
  • 5% first 3 month promotion capped at $250
  •  AMEX does not waive annual fees, so after the first year you need to pay $171- meaning you need to spend  at least $11,400 on this card just to break even!
  • EDIT: Some people have reported successfully getting AMEX to waive their annual fees. For what it’s worth, AMEX didn’t waive mine on the AMEX Rewards card (spent $1.5K total in a year)
UOB One Card
  •  3.33% on all spend
  • 5.33% on overseas spend
  • 3.33% is theoretical-you need to spend at least $900 per quarter to qualify
  • Your rebate moves in steps- it’s either $30, $80 or $150, depending on spend. So even if you’re just shy of the required amount, you’re bumped down to the next lowest
  • 5.33% on overseas spend is capped at $5,000 per year
OCBC FRANK
  •  6% on online transactions
  • Lengthy exclusion list of online transactions which don’t qualify
  • Minimum spend of $500, capped at $60 per transaction, otherwise 0.5% cashback
  • Annual rebate capped at $720
POSB Everyday Card
  • 6% on  “everyday partners”
  • Everyday partners list limited to 6 merchants
  • Cashback at Sheng Siong is capped at $1,000 per month
  •  0.3% cashback on everything else

A general point applies to all cashback cards- if they don’t waive the annual fee after the first year, you’re already starting off significantly in the red as you try to earn back the annual fee through your spending.

Yes, miles cards also may not waive the annual fee post the first year, but they at least offer renewal gifts like bonus miles (which can be good value in some cases)

If you want the certainty of cash as opposed to the variable value of miles and points, you’ll pay for it, literally. Please don’t play the cashback game. There is no win here for you. The banks have carefully calibrated the payout ratios and T&C such that you’ll always be on the losing end.

Remember- the banks don’t care how you spend your miles. That’s a problem for the airline. They do care how much cash they have to give back to you though!

cover photo: taxrebate.org.uk

 

Ultra-exclusive credit cards- what’s the point?

19

I came across an article the other day talking about the most exclusive credit cards in Singapore, those which are made of metal, those without credit limits, those which give the user diplomatic immunity and free unicorn rides.

It got me thinking- I think we can all agree that many of the best miles and points credit cards on the market require you to have at least a certain income (which isn’t to say you can’t still try and apply for these cards if you don’t meet the income requirements– the worst the bank can say is no), but does higher income necessarily mean you get access to “better” credit cards?

Moreover, these ultra-exclusive cards come with very, very high annual fees. The banks point to the benefits that accompany such cards as justification. Let’s examine a few of these cards and see if the maths adds up.

Note: in the analysis below I’m only going to cover benefits that the BANK gives, not the card itself. For example, OCBC World Elite’s marketing materials talk about getting complimentary SPG Gold membership with 1 stay at any Asia Pacific property- but this offer is open to everyone with a World or World Elite Mastercard, not something exclusive to those with the OCBC World Elite Card.

OCBC Elite World Card

ocbcworld

Qualifying criteria:  Invitation only. Generally offered to OCBC Premier Banking clients who have a minimum of S$200,000 with the bank.

Annual fee: $1,605

Mile Earning Rate (per S$1): 0.4 miles local, 1.2 overseas

Key Benefits:

  • Concierge service
  • TPC Private Club Access when playing golf in the USA
  • The card is made of plastic and lightweight

The OCBC Elite World markets itself as a credit card targeting the top tier of society.  But what’s interesting is that the card isn’t even given the highest tier of Mastercard branding. In what is probably the biggest case of false advertising, the card’s Mastercard tier is World, not World Elite.World Elite is the highest tier of Mastercard and comes with several benefits the World card does not, such as complimentary airline tickets and elite status with rental car companies.

Moreover, the World tier is the “mass affluent” tier of Mastercard (similar to the Signature tier for Visa)- hardly poor people, but definitely not the top 1% that the OCBC marketing team would have you believe.

And that mile earning rate? I guess it wouldn’t be an OCBC card if it didn’t completely suck. Honestly, what is it with OCBC and its inability to get a miles card done right?

Really, when I read the OCBC Elite World Card guide I was trying to hard to pick out something, anything that would count as a special benefit.

They highlight things like SPG Gold membership with 1 stay, or 15% off meet and greet airport services, but these are things any World Mastercard holder gets (and you can get a World Mastercard with entry-level credit card qualifications- the Citibank Rewards Card)

You know the Bank is really digging at the bottom of the barrel when it promotes things such as “24 hour card replacement” or “Card anti-fraud protection” as benefits.

Oh, and they describe 1.2 miles on overseas earning as a benefit. Despite the fact that minimum income cards like the Citibank Clear Platinum and the Maybank Horizon Platinum give 2 miles and don’t have a $1,605 annual fee.

clap

I think what annoys me the most about this is that OCBC isn’t stupid. They definitely know that their premium card has close to no incremental benefits above other bank’s premium offerings – yet they believe that people will pay 1.6K just for exclusivity. This is perhaps a bit telling of what they think about their customers, or just downright cynical (because we know they’re capable of genuine innovation, eg the OCBC 360 account which was amazing while the bonus interest lasted).

UOB Privilege Reserve Card

uob reserve

Qualifying criteria:  For customers with min S$2M investment balance with UOB or spend a minimum of S$150,000 per annum on UOB cards

Annual fee:  $3,900

Mile Earning Rate (per S$1): 1.6 miles local, 2 miles overseas

Key Benefits:

  • Welcome gift of 100,000 miles
  • Tower Club and China Club access
  • Complimentary one-way limo service with the purchase of a pair of First/Business class tickets on SQ, BA, CX, EK, QR, QF
  • 50% off lunch at Grand Hyatt for 2 people (33% for 3, 25% for 4 etc)
  • GHA Black Membership
  • Priority Pass with unlimited visits

Not to be confused with the (relatively) plebian UOB Privilege Banking Credit Card (available to those with S$350,000 in AUM with UOB), the UOB Privilege Reserve Credit Card is metal-tastic and only available to those with S$2M in AUM with UOB.

Sadly, the benefits are rather stingy. Most of the travel benefits require that you book with the (overpriced) UOB Travel Concierge, and what’s your reward for booking two first/business class tickets through them (and generating a lot of merchant fees?)- a one way limo transfer, which you could get by spending $2,000 on the ANZ Travel Card.

The welcome miles are definitely attractive, but remember you’re paying for the privilege- I haven’t independently verified the annual fee for the card (got the $3,900 figure off a forum) but if it is, then you’re paying 4 cents a mile- roughly on par with a business class redemption. 

EDIT: More details on the annual fees from a helpful reader

if you clear 250k in annual spend, they give you another 100k miles on top of the welcome gift of 100k miles. so for 3900 in joining fee, it works out to be $0.019 per mile. I haven’t cross first year yet, but if you spend more than 250k a year, you are suppose to get 200k miles when you pay SGD 3900.

DBS Insignia Visa Infinite Card (Updated: 11 Sept 16)

insignia

Qualifying criteria: S$500,000 annual income

Annual fee: S$3,000

Mile Earning Rate (per S$1): 1.6 miles local, 2.0 miles overseas

Key Benefits:

  • 100,000 welcome miles
  • Priority Pass membership
  • 2 complimentary hotel nights at selected properties
  • Grand Hyatt dining membership and access to spa and fitness centre
  • Club access to One Degree 15 Marina

DBS recently relaunched the Insignia card in a metal version. They seem quite proud of the fact that it is the first metal card to have a paywave function.

100,000 welcome miles for a $3,000 annual fee is certainly not what I’d call a good deal in and of itself.  But I’m guessing if you earn $500,000 the sting of a $3,000 annual fee is much reduced. The miles earning rates are decent, better than the Altitude series but still inferior to the UOB PRVI (at least for overseas spend).

Read the full coverage on all the benefits the Insignia card has here

HSBC Visa Infinite

hsbc

Qualifying Criteria: Min income of $250,000

Annual Fee: $488

Miles Earning Rate (per S$1): A bit unique, in the sense that it varies depending on how much you spend with them and how long you’ve been a member. In Year 1, 1 mile local, 2 miles overseas. In Year 2, 1.25 miles local, 2.25 miles overseas if you spent more than $50,000 the previous year, 1.5 miles local, 2.5 miles overseas if you spent more than $75,000

Key Benefits:

  • 50% off Marriott Singapore dining (25% when solo, 50% with 2, 33% with 3, 25% with 4)
  • Complimentary access to ESPA at RWS
  • 30,000 miles welcome gift
  • One way limo service and expedited immigration clearance with min spend of $5,000 each quarter

The HSBC Visa Infinite is possibly the cheapest “luxury” credit card out there (well- the CIMB Visa Infinite has no annual fee, but we’ll cover that another day). It used to have JetQuay Terminal access but that was phased out on 1st May this year.  In any case, JetQuay access is nothing special, because it just means you get free instant noodles. Seriously.

Again, benefits are plain vanilla. The 50% off Marriott Singapore dining is probably HSBC’s response to UOB (which enjoys the same thing with Hyatt), and the welcome miles are a good value at a cost of 1.6 cents each. Otherwise, don’t bother.

Conclusions

You’ll notice I’ve excluded some cards here- the AMEX Centurion, the Citibank Ultima are two of the other big ones that come to mind. That’s simply because I can’t find enough online (and am too lazy to try harder). I do know the Centurion card is probably the closest thing that comes close to justifying the annual fee, due to the number of  (alleged) benefits such as elite status in several hotel and airline programs.

Let’s make one thing clear- you’re not getting these cards because they have great mile earning rates. The other workhorses on the market do a much better job of earning you those miles.

You’re also not getting them because the cards have great published benefits. Private club access aside, I’m really struggling to see what these cards give which justifies the annual fee.

You are getting them because (1) you are the sort who feels important owning such a card (and if you are, I feel genuinely sorry for you) or (2) there are some unpublished benefits that only card members know about which change the equation dramatically and make the cards worth it (in which case, fair enough).

Long story short- you do need a slightly higher income to play the miles and points game, but you certainly don’t need the stratospheric requirements these cards have.

The Milelion easy reference guide to credit cards

2

Hello everyone- I’ve written more than a few guides on how to maximise your credit card sign up bonuses and earnings, which I hope have been very useful

Some readers have asked me for a quick 1 picture summary of those articles. I’m happy to oblige, but I caution that without the full context you may miss out on some important details and caveats. Nonetheless, here goes…

credit card bonuses
Maximising credit card sign up bonuses

Here’s the guide for card spending- Protip: why not save this on your phone so that next time when you’re out you have a quick reference guide? Just right click on the photo and save it

milelion card guide v2

Starwood Promos: Free Sheraton nights, extra weekend points

0

Although I love the SPG program, I’m generally not a big fan of Sheratons. This may in part be due to my rather sub-par experiences staying at Sheratons, in particular the dismal Sheraton Towers Singapore and the Sheraton Casablanca. The Sheraton Towers Singapore has tired, old rooms and refuses to upgrade Platinum members even when suite inventory is available, not to mention the lack of a decent lounge breakfast. The Sheraton Towers Casablanca, to be fair, had fantastic staff and upgraded me to an obscenely big suite, but the rooms again were dank, dark and cold, plus the building had clearly seen better days. The abundance of working girls in the lobby didn’t help either

IMG_20150105_221201

IMG_20150105_221243

IMG_20150105_221812

IMG_20150105_221214

IMG_20150105_221249

IMG_20150105_221755

But Starwood presumably is tired of the Sheraton brand being known as a functional but depressing business hotel and plans to change that.  As part of their Sheraton 2020 plan, over 100 of the top Sheraton hotels will be put into the new Sheraton Grand tier, with the aim of “creating a halo effect” across the group’s portfolio.

No word yet as to which properties will get flagged as Grands (although there are a few properties already called Sheraton Grand, such as the brand new Sheraton Grand Dubai), but this is clearly a step in the right direction

In conjunction with this, Starwood intends to launch what they call their most generous Sheraton-focused promotion ever. From 9 July -30 Sept, you earn 1 free Sheraton night with every 5 nights you spend at any Sheraton. The free night can be used at any Sheraton property, in any category.

Why should you care? Well, there are a handful of very attractive Sheratons in resort areas which may be on your to-visit list. One that is on mine is the Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort, which is on a private island and has that quintessential Maldives experience- overwater bungalows.

oceanvilla2 oceanvilla waterbungalow2 waterbungalow

Or perhaps you’d like to stay at the Cervo Resort in Porto Cervo, Italy?

she64gr.116129_xx she64po.130717_xx she64po.162402_xx she64gr.162413_xx she64gr.162410_xx she64gb.162416_xx

Registration for this promotion hasn’t opened yet but I’ll update this post when it is. The price point of Sheratons across the world really varies, I’ve seen sub $100 rates in Indonesia before. Earn cheap, redeem expensive, that’s the mantra

In the meantime you can sign up for the SPG Make it Count promo, where you get 1,000 bonus starpoints whenever you make a stay of 2 nights or more including a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Not the most amazing of promotions, but if you’ve already got Starwood stays blocked off there’s no reason not to earn this bonus.

spgpromo

Week 4 Winner: The best minimum income credit cards for miles

1

Welcome to the fourth and final week of the Milelion launch competition! Hard to believe a month has already gone by, but thank you so much for your participation and questions. Your readership means everything to me.

This week’s winner, C., has the following questions

1) Is the DBS Altitude AMEX for hotels/Flights still the best after 6 months ?

2) How about when I’m overseas ? Do I still stick with these cards for their category ?
I believe the best general spending card is the UOB PRVI Miles Amex ?

3) What if I only earn 30k a year, just enough for the basic credit cards in the market. What cards would you recommend me to use ? Especially for the ‘online’ and ‘hotels/flights’ category ?

To answer Q1- it depends on what category you’re looking at. With the 50% earning promotion, the DBS Altitude AMEX is currently the best general spending card to use locally- the 1.8 miles per S$1 it generates is ahead of the 1.4 miles the ANZ Travel Visa and the UOB PRVI Miles cards generate. The 50% earning promotion lasts for 6 months from the date you get the card, after which you’re back to 1.2 miles per S$1.

dbsaltitude

However, even after the promotion ends the DBS Altitude AMEX still earns you 3 miles per S$1 on online hotel + airfare expenditures. No doubt you can do better on that (eg the DBS Woman’s World Card will give you 4 miles per S$1 on online transactions, of which certain OTA and airlines will qualify), but it’s still a useful card to keep for that reason.

I’ve also sort of dealt with Q2 in answering Q1- the “gold standard” for general spending in Singapore has been reduced to 1.4, after the PRVI Miles cut from 1.6. Given that UOB has also cut the annual fee for the UOB PRVI MC to S$256.80. there’s really no reason why you should go for the AMEX version anymore.

uobprvi

Q3 is the intriguing one- what is your gameplan if you only qualify for the basic cards? You can still  play the miles and points game with only the “basic” card, but you have to pay more attention because

1. There are no good general spending cards at the $30,000 income bracket. It sucks, but that’s the facts of life. The lowest income you’d need for what I would consider to be a general spending card would be $50,000 for the DBS Altitude Visa (which, when launched ,used to be $80,000) or the Citibank Premiermiles Card

2. The basic cards only provide category spend bonuses. This isn’t a bad thing per se, but you’ll need to keep a few more cards in your pocket and remember which one to use in which situation

I’ve compiled the game plan below. All these cards can be obtained with a minimum of S$30,000 annual income

Online Spending- general
  • DBS Women’s Card Mastercard (2 miles per S$1 spent, capped at S$2,000 per month)
Online spending- shopping
  • Citibank Clear Platinum Visa (2 miles)
  • Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa (2 miles)
Online Spending-air tickets
  • Maybank Horizon Platinum Visa (2 miles)
Online spending- hotels
  • DBS Woman’s Card (2 miles at Agoda, Hotels.com, Otel.com, possibly other OTAs)
  • DBS LiveFresh Visa (1.2 miles at Agoda, AirBnB and Expedia only)
Dining
  • UOB Preferred Platinum AMEX (4 miles)
Anywhere with Paywave (eg Burger King, Giant, Cold Storage etc)
  • UOB Preferred Platinum Visa (4 miles, capped at S$12,000 spend per year)
 General Spending
  •  UOB Preferred Platinum AMEX (0.8 miles)

A few points about the above

  • the DBS Woman’s card mentioned here is not the same as the DBS Woman’s World card I’ve been mentioning elsewhere. That card has a higher income requirement and earns 4 miles per S$1 on online spending, versus the 2 miles for the basic card
dbs woman's card
DBS Woman’s Card (regular) on the left, DBS Woman’s World Card on the right
  • if you encounter a merchant who does not accept AMEX, then the cards all pretty much become the same- you’re looking at 0.4 miles per S$1 (dismal, I know)

As you can see from above, you can still generate very decent miles from these cards, if you monitor which card you use when.

horizon platinum
Maybank Horizon Platinum card- use this for your airticket purchases

Your best bet is still to try your luck applying for the higher income cards (eg PRVI Miles, Altitude etc). The worst the bank can say is no. If you’ve got an account with them, if you’ve got a solid credit history, if the marketing team is trying to hit sign up targets… who knows? The MAS only sets a minimum income requirement for credit cards (S$30,000), so the it’s perfectly lawful for the bank to give you a S$50,000 credit card when you earn between S$30,000-S$49,999.

At the end of the day it’s in the bank’s interest to issue more cards- they earn when you spend with them anyway. I know some banks like to have artificially high income requirements to create the image of faux exclusivity (I’m looking at you, OCBC Voyage), but over time those requirements come down as the buzz wears off and product managers are pressed to boost the income flow from a card offering.

Week 2 & 3 Winners: All about credit cards

0

cover photo by peaceful-jp-scenery

Sorry for the delay in the competition! I’ve been busy travelling and work has piled up in my absence. But don’t worry, we’re going to have a bumper giveaway this week with Weeks 2 & 3 combined.

We have 2 great questions today, from Ling and Jason. First question is from Jason-

Best cards for 1st time travellers?

The answer to this question again depends on your objectives. I’m assuming that since you came here you’re interested in earning miles and points instead of cashback (which by the way, is totally the right decision). So therefore I’ll answer in that manner.

Assuming your income allows it, you should have the following gameplan

1. Get the DBS Altitude Visa, make a first spend of S$800 and get 12,000 miles. Thereafter put card into storage

2. Get the AMEX Rewards card, make a first spend of S$1,500 and get 13,333 miles. Transfer the miles for S$20 and put the card into storage

3. Get the Krisflyer Ascend card and go for the first year fee waiver option. Go to Watsons and buy a packet of tissues, pay with the card to get your 5,000 mile activation bonus. Put card into storage.

4. Get the ANZ Travel card, spend S$500 and get 2,000 bonus miles (on top of the 700 miles that this spending would normally generate)

5. Get the DBS Altitude AMEX. Apply online so you get 2,000 free miles. For the next 6 months, put all general/overseas/online spending on this to get the 50% bonus. 1.8 miles for local general spend, 3 miles for overseas spend and 4.5 miles for online purchases of airtickets and hotels (per S$1). Get the UOB Preferred Platinum Card and use it for all restaurant bills- 4 miles per S$1

There- you’ve now got 6 cards (which is completely manageable- just make sure to set up GIRO and cancel them before annual fees are charged). Of these 6, you only need 3 in your wallet- the DBS Altitude AMEX, the UOB Preferred Platinum AMEX and the ANZ Travel Card (to be used where AMEX is not accepted)

You’ve also spent $2,801 (assuming your Watson’s tissues cost $1) and got 35,033 miles out of it- that’s enough for a one way economy class ticket to most SQ destinations (but you shouldn’t be using your miles on that, of course), or a one way business class ticket to Japan.

You’re also in a great position to build up those miles over the next 6 months thanks to the 50% bonus on your AMEX Altitude. Just remember that the 4.5 miles per S$1 is only valid for hotel and flight bookings that are transacted entirely online. That’s to say- if you book a prepaid rate and make payment online for a hotel, that’s ok. If you use your card to secure a refundable rate and make payment later at the hotel, that’s not counted and you’ll earn either 1.8 miles or 3 miles, depending on the currency the transaction goes through.

Now, I certainly believe that 6 cards is more than manageable (I’m on 11 now, but that’s probably a bit too much for most people). However, if I had to pick 3, as ling asks in the question below, what would I do?

 if I only want a max of 3 cards, and the bulk of my expenses are dining, online and misc, am I right that the correct cards are Citibank rewards, Uob preferred platinum Amex and Anz travel card?

If you only want 3 cards, and if that’s your pattern of spending you should get the following

  • ANZ Travel Card (use on general spending, 1.4 miles per S$1)
  • UOB Preferred Platinum card (4 miles per S$1 on restaurants
  • DBS women’s card (for online shopping, online transactions, 4 miles per S$1 up to S$2,000 per month)

The Citibank card is an ok call if you mainly shop for clothes, handbags, shoes, or at department stores. You get 4 miles per S$1 with no cap. However, if you do most of your shopping online the DBS Women’s card is more flexible. Remember- you get bonus points for all your online transactions- so even things like Uber, airline tickets etc will get 4 miles per dollar. Refer here for a list that the helpful people over at HWZ have compiled that shows their track record for getting 4 miles.

can points from different credit cards go towards claiming a single plane ticket?

Ling’s second question was about whether points can be pooled. Short answer, yes they can all be pooled. For example if i have a DBS, citibank and uob card, all I do is specify my FFP number at the time I transfer the miles. You’ll be paying 3 separate transfer fees, though, approx $20 per transfer (DBS’s fee is about $40 but that’s a fee that covers unlimited conversions for the year).

But if you’re asking whether someone else can transfer points from their card to your FFP, the answer is a bit less clear. This is definitely possible- in fact if you look online you’ll find points brokers who offer to sell you miles at a particular rate. But it’s against the T&C of the FFP, and if you’re caught they can shut down and confiscate all your miles. In any case, you need to enter your FFP number when registering to transfer points, and the name on the FFP should match the name you have with the bank.

Keep sending those questions in- 1 week of the competition left!

50% off Krisflyer redemptions till 10th July

0

cover photo by kenh

To celebrate SG50, Krisflyer is offering 50% off economy saver redemptions booked and travelled from now till 10th July.

If you remember from my other post, I said you should never use your miles to redeem economy class tickets. However, this 50% discount makes such redemptions a feasible option.

A round trip ticket to Bali, for example, would cost you 7,500 miles +S$150 in surcharges. Assuming you can’t find a budget flight or a promotional fare, this could be a good way to burn off a low mileage account and get ~8 cents per mile (based on the cost of a Flexi ticket, which would be your next best option if discounted/budget flight tickets weren’t available. Of course if SQ has a promotional $318 fare to Bali (as they do now), such a redemption makes no sense and nets you only 2.2 cents per mile)

A long haul round trip to Zurich would cost 35,000 miles + S$502. A commercial ticket would cost you anywhere between $2.3-2.6K, depending on flexibility. This means a value of ~5.5 cents per mile, which is excellent for an economy redemption.

Note that the online 15% discount does not apply to these already discounted redemptions.

See the chart below for the possible redemption options.

FROM FLIGHT NO. MILES REQUIRED
South-East Asia
SINGAPORE TO BALI
BALI TO SINGAPORE
SQ948/MI176
SQ949/MI175
3750
3750
SINGAPORE TO JAKARTA
JAKARTA TO SINGAPORE
SQ950/SQ958
SQ951/SQ957
3750
3750
SINGAPORE TO JOG-JAKARTA
JOG-JAKARTA TO SINGAPORE
MI154
MI153
3750
3750
SINGAPORE TO KUCHING
KUCHING TO SINGAPORE
MI372
MI371
3750
3750
SINGAPORE TO BANGKOK
BANGKOK TO SINGAPORE
SQ982/SQ974
SQ973/SQ981
6250
6250
SINGAPORE TO HANOI
HANOI TO SINGAPORE
SQ176
SQ175
6250
6250
SINGAPORE TO MANILA
MANILA TO SINGAPORE
SQ918
SQ919
6250
6250
SINGAPORE TO PHUKET
PHUKET TO SINGAPORE
MI749
MI758
6250
6250
North Asia
SINGAPORE TO CHANGSHA
CHANGSHA TO SINGAPORE
MI954
MI951
7500
7500
SINGAPORE TO CHENGDU
CHENGDU TO SINGAPORE
MI938
MI937
7500
7500
SINGAPORE TO HONG KONG
HONG KONG TO SINGAPORE
SQ856
SQ871
7500
7500
SINGAPORE TO TAIPEI
TAIPEI TO SINGAPORE
SQ878
SQ879
7500
7500
SINGAPORE TO BEIJING
BEIJING TO SINGAPORE
SQ802
SQ807
10000
10000
SINGAPORE TO SHANGHAI
SHANGHAI TO SINGAPORE
SQ832
SQ835
10000
10000
SINGAPORE TO NAGOYA
NAGOYA TO SINGAPORE
SQ672
SQ671
11250
11250
SINGAPORE TO SEOUL
SEOUL TO SINGAPORE
SQ602/SQ608
SQ607/SQ609
11250
11250
West Asia and Africa
SINGAPORE TO BANGALORE
BANGALORE TO SINGAPORE
MI424
MI423
9250
9250
SINGAPORE TO COLOMBO
COLOMBO TO SINGAPORE
SQ468
SQ469
9250
9250
SINGAPORE TO MALDIVES
MALDIVES TO SINGAPORE
SQ452
SQ461
9250
9250
SINGAPORE TO MUMBAI
MUMBAI TO SINGAPORE
SQ426/SQ421
SQ425/422
9250
9250
SINGAPORE TO CAPE TOWN
CAPE TOWN TO SINGAPORE
SQ478
SQ479
12500
12500
SINGAPORE TO JOHANNESBURG
JOHANNESBURG TO SINGAPORE
SQ478
SQ479
12500
12500
South West Pacific
SINGAPORE TO DARWIN
DARWIN TO SINGAPORE
MI802/MI804
MI801/MI803
10000
10000
SINGAPORE TO PERTH
PERTH TO SINGAPORE
SQ225
SQ224
10000
10000
SINGAPORE TO BRISBANE
BRISBANE TO SINGAPORE
SQ255
SQ256
12500
12500
Europe
SINGAPORE TO LONDON
LONDON TO SINGAPORE
SQ308
SQ317
17500
17500
SINGAPORE TO ZURICH
ZURICH TO SINGAPORE
SQ346
SQ345
17500
17500
Americas
SINGAPORE TO HOUSTON
HOUSTON TO SINGAPORE
SQ62
SQ61
18750
18750

 

I fully anticipate a Krisflyer devaluation later this year when the award chart is revised for premium economy, so now might be a good time to use some of those miles

Save on rental car insurance

8

Please refer to the latest version of this article here

The Idea

  • Insurance offered by the rental car company is very expensive (anywhere from US$10-30 extra per day)
  • Buy 3rd party rental car insurance before you travel and have peace of mind for much less

The Details

Driving holidays are fun, but whenever I’m behind the wheel of a rental car I always have a certain paranoia that something will happen to the car, resulting in a huge inflated repair charge (online horror stories of people getting 4 figure bills for a small scratch come to mind)

The best solution, as always, is insurance. But if you were to buy the insurance offered by the car rental company (called LDW/CDW), that’s easily an extra US$10-30 dollars per day. Which over a 1-2 week rental really adds up. So what’s the alternative then? Third party rental car insurance.

Although some third party rental car insurance sellers offer worldwide plans, Singaporeans are not eligible to apply for these. Therefore you’ll need to select the appropriate plan based for what region you’re going to.

When I go to the States, I use InsureMyRentalCar (underwritten by Chubb), which offers both daily and single trip coverage.

insuremyrentalcar

On their website, I got the following quotes

2 days- $10

3 days- $15

4 days and up- $36

This covers you for damage to the car up to US$50,000 with no deductible. They also include US$5,000 to cover accidental death and dismemberment. The maximum coverage period is 30 consecutive days

Note that this will cover you plus anyone who is named as an authorized driver on the rental contract. That is, if you’re holidaying with your significant other and both your names are on the rental contract, the insurance will cover incidents arising from either of you driving the car. However, the insurance holder (i.e. you) must be the one making and paying for the rental.

If you’re going to Europe, try icarhireinsurance . If you’re a non EEA resident, the only plan you’re eligible for is the Excess Europe plan, which is £2.99 per day (3 day minimum) or £39.99 per annum. This features £6,000 excess cover and covers damage to things like windscreens, tyres, roof and undercarriage that regular CDW/LDW doesn’t.

icarhire

If you’re going to Australia, the only option I have found so far is Hiccup. A 5 day plan costs you AUD$84.50 with AUD $4,000 and zero excess. I’m not sure why insurance options in Australia are so expensive- that’s a point worth researching. I’ll update this if I find a cheaper option for Australia.

hiccup

Remember that some rates you book with car rental companies already include CDW/LDW. Before you buy any 3rd party insurance for your rental car, be sure to check if this applies to you.

Trip Report: SQ business class SIN-ICN-SFO

2

cover photo by kaddisudhi

note: all trip reports will be featured as posts for 2 weeks, after which they’ll be archived under the trip reports section on the drop down menu


SQ 16 SIN-ICN

0925, 24th April 2015, Terminal 3

Cost: 68,000 miles + S$391.90 in taxes

We arrived at Terminal 3 at 0730 for a 0925 departure. SQ has a special check in area for First Class and Solitaire members. There is a separate driveway to pull up to at the start of  T3

The check in area is fancy but isn’t really a place you want to spend longer than necessary. There are 4 or 5 dedicated counters to check in passengers, while the rest of your party can wait in the seating area. My father handled the formalities and I took the opportunity to take a few photos

collage1L1000851

There’s no drinks or newspapers here- the idea is to expedite your check in as much as possible so you can get to the lounge. Our bags were checked through to SFO and we were in and out (in-n-out, haha) in less than 5 minutes.

Outside the SQ reception area is a dedicated passport control checkpoint for First/Solitaire passengers with 2 automated kiosks and 1 ICA officer. Photos aren’t allowed here so I don’t have any.

Past immigration and it was through to the lounge.

When it comes to lounges, SQ plays it pretty safe. Its lounges are never going to be up there with the crazy out of this world ones like Virgin Atlantic in London (free spa treatments, haircuts, full ala carte menu dining for all passengers) or Turkish Airlines in Istanbul (mini race car track, golf simulator, pool table, library, PS4) , but it’s always going to be solid enough. It’s a comfortable place to wait and there is a good food selection in the First class area.

L1000856

L1000870

The other thing about the First class lounge is that there’s actually a lounge within the lounge called The Private Room. This is only for Singapore Airlines First Class passengers (it used to be worse- only for First Class revenue passengers as opposed to award tickets, but thankfully they did away with that silly rule).

The implication is that the dining in the First class lounge is really intended for (1) Solitaire PPS Club members and (2) Star Alliance First Class partner airline passengers. You’d think this might limit their incentive to stock the good stuff here, and you’re sort of right, but I found the selection to be good nonetheless.

L1000879

L1000877

L1000875

Second live cooking station- this one had fish congee (really good) and prata to order

L1000876

L1000858

My mum, dad and I had the following

L1000869

L1000867

L1000865

L1000864

DSCF3874

The lounge has a few internet workstations, a slumber room and a good selection of newspapers. Again, there’s no way this lounge can ever hope to be as hip as a Virgin Clubhouse, but it’s probably more in line with SQ’s image as a quietly dignified airline (not that there’s anything undignified about free haircuts)

We boarded at 0900 onto SQ16, operated by 9W-SWA today. SWA was actually the first 777-300ERs to be delivered to SQ and unfortunately its age is showing (see photos below). SQ2 was recently switched to one of the 777WNs with the new first, business and economy products and I was hoping against hope that a last minute equipment swap would land us on SWU, SWV, SWW, SWY or SWZ, all of which have the new products, but alas.

L1000916

L1000917

L1000921

L1000920

L1000919

As you can see from the photos above, the leather is starting to peel in several places, there are non-removable stains and the velcro has torn off in minor areas. But when you consider this product has been around since 2008, that’s some significant mileage that has been put on it

I was greeted at the door but not escorted to my seat, unlike the previous few times I flew Business. Maybe they’ve changed the SOP. In any case it wasn’t a big deal because I was in 12F, the mini cabin just after First Class. These are arguably the best seats on the 77W because they’re quiet (provided you don’t get a snorer next to you) and they don’t seat babies in this section

seatmap

The menu for the flight

L1000881 L1000882 L1000883 L1000884 L1000885

I had already ordered the Book the Cook (BTC) service from SIN-ICN and for one meal from ICN-SFO.

Takeoff was uneventful and we were shortly at cruising altitude. Abut 30 minutes after the seatbelt sign went off the crew started with the satay service. SQ views this as a precursor to the main meal as opposed to part of it, so they don’t dress the table before they serve it. I’ve always found that weird, given that the appetizer comes directly after the satay, so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t just dress the table at the onset. Anyway, photos-

L1000897

L1000899

L1000902

L1000903

The chicken rice was surprisingly good. The last time I ordered chicken rice on BTC (maybe 6 years ago), the chicken had that microwave taste- the kind you get when it’s been nuked to death. This time the chicken was soft and tender, even a little bloody (which I know is a big no no to Westerners but you need that kind of texture for chicken rice chicken). Rice was fragrant and the sauce was acceptable for something served on a plane. The garlic bread that went with the salad was excellent too- out of some stations the garlic bread is more like a burnt hockey puck which has been clearly over toasted, but this garlic bread was warm, moist and soft.

The meal was completed about 2 hours after take off, after which it was time to do some work. This flight unfortunately did not have wifi (it’s always a bit of hit and miss with SQ- some of their 77Ws have wifi but others don’t. I’m guessing because SWA was one of their first 77Ws they’ve not gotten around to installing wifi).

The movie selection was great but nothing in particular that I was dying to watch. They had the entire Hobbit series plus the Hunger Games- I ended up watching Memento again.

After 5.5 uneventful hours we landed at ICN. As with all flights going to the USA we had to alight and clear security again. One curious thing about ICN is that security took forever to clear, which was very surprising for an Asian airport where things normally go so smoothly. They were clearing maybe 1 person every 2 minutes at the checkpoint.

Through security and it was time to hit the lounge again. SQ has a dedicated lounge in ICN. The spread was decent for a satellite lounge-

L1000912

L1000911

L1000910

L1000909

L1000908

L1000907

We re-boarded after an hour to a fresh crew and the flight left at 1750. With eastbound flights that stretch over the night, it’s normal that the crew try and complete meal service asap so that passengers can sleep. I was surprised therefore that it took nearly 2 hours before they started serving the meal.

L1000923

L1000926

L1000927

L1000929

The BTC pork belly and jasmine rice was ridiculously good. The pork was tender and the rice was firm and fragrant. I’ve recently developed a new appreciation for rice from Korea and Japan, and I’ve decided to buy a bag and try making it myself when I get back

After the meal it was time to sleep

L1000931 L1000932

I don’t know how to feel about the SQ business class bed. The sheets are Givenchy branded and it’s full flat, but I’m more partial to the type of seat that reclines into a bed, as opposed to the kind you need to flip over. The reason is that when you can manually recline you can opt for any degree you want. I find sometimes that the airline’s version of 180 degrees puts a lot of pressure on the lower back, so I prefer to sleep at maybe 170 degrees or so. In any case this time the bed just felt right and I slept like a baby.

I woke up half way through and saw that the crew had set up a snack station in the gallery

L1000933

Satiated, I went back to bed again. 2.5 hours before landing I was awoken for breakfast

L1000934

L1000936

I deliberately went easy on breakfast because I was anticipating eating a double double In N Out upon landing.

After breakfast there was still around 90 minutes to landing, so I decided to snooze a bit more. A little while later I felt someone tapping at my arm. I awoke to this

DSCF3878 DSCF3879 DSCF3880

DSCF3882

They figured out it was my birthday and catered a cake out of ICN. That was really sweet of them and very unexpected. And they gave me a second bear.

DSCF3888

It was a cheesecake and really quite good, but again I was saving my stomach for In N Out, so my dad and mum and I took one slice each and gave the rest to the crew.

We landed 1 hour ahead of time at SFO. Overall the flight was another solid SQ experience. SQ has announced plans to retro-fit its new cabin products into its existing 77W fleet, and I hope it does so sooner rather than later because the current product is showing its age. Still, it’s amazing to think that SQ’s last gen business class is still miles ahead of some competitor’s current gen.