Yahoo Finance UOB KrisFlyer Credit Card – MoneySmart Review 2022
When the UOB KrisFlyer Card was launched, people got all excited (at least, the kind of people who hang out on forums like Flyertalk and Milelion).
It was the first credit card in Singapore to be linked with a bank account, letting cardholders boost their air miles earn rate by opening a KrisFlyer UOB Deposit Account.
A couple of years on and the hype has died down. Is the card still worth considering? Let’s find out.
Contents
1. UOB KrisFlyer Card: Summary
The UOB KrisFlyer Card was launched in 2019 to much fanfare. As you can guess, it’s an air miles credit card that lets you earn KrisFlyer miles when you spend on it.
Cardholders are encouraged to open a KrisFlyer UOB Deposit Account as it can be used in tandem with the card and enables you to earn additional bonus KrisFlyer miles.
There is also a UOB KrisFlyer Debit Card that lets you earn KrisFlyer miles on your spending, albeit at a lower rate.
Earn Miles on Everyday Spending
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card
More Details
Key Features
$1 = 3 KrisFlyer Miles for spend on everyday spend categories with S$500 min. annual spend on Singapore Airlines Group
$1 = 3 KrisFlyer Miles on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Scoot and KrisShop purchases
$1 = 1.8 KrisFlyer Miles on Dining, Online Shopping and Travel, and Transport Card Transactions with a min sum of S$500 charged on Singapore Airlines Related Card Transactions in a year
$1 = 1.2 KrisFlyer Miles on all other spend
2. UOB KrisFlyer Card Annual Fee, Minimum Income
UOB KrisFlyer Card | |
Annual Fee | $192.60 |
Annual Fee Waiver | First year |
Supplementary Card Annual Fee | $96.30 (free for first card) |
Interest Free Period | 21 days |
Annual Interest Rate | 26.9% (minimum charge of $3) |
Late Payment Fee | $100 |
Minimum Monthly Repayment | 3% or $50, whichever is higher |
Foreign Currency Transaction Fee | 3.25% |
Cash Advance Transaction Fee | 8% (minimum fee of $15) |
Overlimit Fee | $40 |
Minimum Income | $30,000 |
Card Association | Mastercard |
Contactless Payment | Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, UOB Mighty Pay, Mastercard Contactless |
3. UOB KrisFlyer Card Minimum Spend
The KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card is an air miles credit card that lets you earn KrisFlyer miles when you spend using the card.
Miles accumulation on local dining, food delivery, online shopping and travel and transport is boosted to 3 miles per $1 spent if you meet a $500 minimum spending requirement in the month. Otherwise, you just get the base rate of 1.2 miles = $1.
4. UOB KrisFlyer Card Benefits
The card’s air miles benefits are as follows:
UOB KrisFlyer Card | |
Singapore Airlines, Scoot and KrisShop purchases | 15 miles per $5 (3 miles = $1) |
Dining, food delivery, online shopping and travel and transport spending (minimum $500 annual spend) | 15 miles per $5 (3 miles = $1) |
All other spending | 6 miles per $5 (1.2 miles = $1) on all other spending |
KrisFlyer UOB Deposit Account holder | 5 bonus miles = $1 spend with monthly KrisFlyer UOB Deposit Account balance of $1,000 without salary crediting |
KrisFlyer UOB Deposit Account holder | 6 bonus miles = $1 with monthly KrisFlyer UOB Deposit Account balance of $1,000 with salary crediting |
Miles are credited directly to your KrisFlyer account, so you don’t need to spend any money or time converting them.
KrisFlyer miles expire after 3 years, so you want to make sure you rack up enough to redeem for a decent air ticket before their shelf life is over.
5. UOB KrisFlyer Card Terms and Conditions
You can earn at least the base rate of 1.2 miles for almost all spending, but as is usual with credit cards, the terms and conditions do exclude some types of expenditure from earning miles, such as the following:
NETS transactions
Utilities
Insurance
Banks or financial institutions
Foreign currencies and crypto
Rent
Parking
Gambling
Hospital bills
Doctors and other medical services
School fees
Charities, political or religious organisations
Fines
Taxes
Government services
Postal services
Recharging of stored value
6. How to maximise the UOB KrisFlyer Card?
Opening a KrisFlyer UOB Deposit Account and depositing at least $1,000 is essential if you want to maximise the number of miles earned on this card.
The amount of bonus miles you can earn through your KrisFlyer UOB Deposit Account is capped based on the monthly average balance in your account for that particular month. So, if you have $1,000 in your account, you can earn bonus miles on up to $1,000 worth of spending.
There is no cap on miles earned elsewhere. Be that as it may, if you find that you are busting the bonus miles cap, you should bump up the balance in your KrisFlyer UOB Deposit Account.
7. UOB KrisFlyer Card: Earn KrisFlyer Miles Directly
The KrisFlyer UOB Card deposits miles directly into your KrisFlyer account. Unlike other UOB air miles credit cards, there is no need to convert UNI$ into KrisFlyer miles.
You can simply check your KrisFlyer miles balance by logging in directly to your KrisFlyer account.
8. Should I get the UOB KrisFlyer Card?
This card is best for people who have some spare cash and don’t mind depositing it in the UOB KrisFlyer Deposit Account to bump up their interest rate.
If you’re able to do that, the card gives a great earn rate for everyday spending (dining, food delivery, online shopping and travel and transport spending), as well as Singapore Airlines and Scoot bookings.
9. UOB KrisFlyer Card Promotions
UOB is currently offering a welcome gift of up to 12,000 KrisFlyer miles when you sign up for the card and spend at least $1,500 within 30 days from card approval date (limited to first 100 new-to-UOB cardmembers in the month).
There’s also a bunch of dining, lifestyle and travel promotions here.
Here’s how their welcome promotion compares to what’s being offered by competitors:
Air Miles Credit Card | Promotion | Base Earn Rate |
UOB KrisFlyer Card | 12,000 KrisFlyer miles when you spend spend $1,500 within first 30 days | $3 = 1 mile on Singapore Airlines, Scoot and KrisShop purchases $3 = 1 mile on dining, food delivery, online shopping and travel and transport spending (minimum $500 annual spend) 5 / 6 bonus miles = $1 with UOB KrisFlyer Deposit Account balance of at least $1,000 with/without salary crediting |
DBS Altitude Card | Complimentary Digital Priority Pass membership with 2 free lounge visits 7% off Agoda hotel bookings 10% cashback on Booking.com accommodation bookings 8% off Hotels.com bookings | $1 = 10 miles on hotel transactions at Kaligo $1 = 6 miles on flight and hotel transactions at Expedia $1 = 3 miles on online flights and hotel transactions $1 = 2 miles on overseas spend $1 = 1.2 miles on local spend |
AMEX KrisFlyer | Up to 22,000 mile welcome gift when you spend $2,000 within first 3 months | $1 = 3.1 miles on Grab $1 = 2 miles on Singapore Airlines and KrisShop $1 = 2 miles on overseas spend in June and December $1 = 1.1 miles on local spend $1 = 0.5 miles on Singapore Airlines installment plans |
Maybank Horizon Card | Free Samsonite luggage worth $550 | $1 = 3.2 miles on local restaurant dining, local petrol, local public transport including Grab and taxis and Agoda hotel bookings $1 = 2 miles for air tickets, travel packages, cruise packages and foreign currency transactions for online purchases or overseas spending |
10. Air Miles Card Similar to UOB KrisFlyer Card
Not impressed by the UOB KrisFlyer? Consider these other cards instead:
DBS Altitude Card – Up to $1 = 10 miles conversion rate on travel bookings and overseas spending. Miles never expire, so this can be a good option if you don’t spend much.
Earn Miles That Never Expire
DBS Altitude Visa Signature Card
More Details
Key Features
Base earn rate: 1.2 air miles per S$1 local spend
Base earn rate: 2 air miles per S$1 overseas spend charged in foreign currency
AMEX KrisFlyer – Up to $1 = 3 miles on Grab rides, Singapore Airlines purchases and overseas spending. Convenient as miles are credited directly to KrisFlyer account.
MoneySmart Exclusive
Convenience & Perks for Frequent Flyers
American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Credit Card
Get up to 27,000 worth of KrisFlyer Miles from Amex when you apply. Min. spends of S$2,000 within the first 3 months of Card Approval required. T&Cs Apply.
Valid until 30 Sep 2022
More Details
Key Features
Earn 2 KrisFlyer miles for every S$1 equivalent in foreign currency on eligible purchases during June and December each year, with no cap.
S$1 = 3.1 KrisFlyer miles for Grab Singapore transactions, capped at S$200 per month
First Year Fee Waiver of S$176.55
Receive 5,000 KrisFlyer miles upon first spend on card
Eligible with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay
Maybank Horizon Card – Great local spending earn rate of up to $1 = 3.2 miles on dining, petrol, public transport and Agoda bookings, but you must meet their minimum spending requirement of $300.
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature
More Details
Key Features
Earn 3.2 air miles (8X TREATS Points) for every S$1 spent on dining, petrol, taxi fares and hotel bookings at Agoda.com/horizon
Earn 2 air miles (5X TREATS Points) for every S$1 spent on air tickets, travel packages and foreign currency transactions
Complimentary lounge access with minimum spend of S$1,000 in a single transaction on a retail purchase
Complimentary Travel Insurance up to S$1,000,000
3 years annual fee waived
What do you think of the latest UOB Air Miles card? Tell us in the comments!
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