Miles Junkie

In case you haven't noticed, I have recently changed the feel and look of my SRS blog. I have also decided, for my own sanity, to have only two blogs from now on ... (instead of 5 blogs covering different topics from trading to traveling previously).

Streamlining of blogs

The Singapore IPOs blog will continue to write about IPO stuff but the SRS blog will evolve into a personal finance and lifestyle blog (to attract more advertising dollars perhaps? 😂)... and I will stop updating the other blogs (which I haven't been doing anyway 😅)

Here comes the first "lifestyle" blog post  for the November! 

Miles Junkie

Due to my frequent traveling, I consider myself to be a miles junkie, i.e collecting Krisflyer miles ("KF Miles") in whatever ways possible... ✈️ ... so what are the possible ways to collect miles? 

Tip 1 - Choose a Credit Card that meets your lifestyle and spending patterns 

Other than actual flying, earning miles from credit cards is probably one of the "fastest" way to earn KF Miles. 

I have had many credit cards (only some are shown above 😆) and over time, I just use those that have the best spending per mile conversion to rack up the highest miles possible. Some cards reward you for dining (eg HSBC Evolution) while others for buying air tickets and hotels bookings online (Privi Miles) etc.

You may want to read the MileLion for the best credit card or ways to earn miles but it has to suit your lifestyle and spending patterns. 

I heard of a dental surgeon who runs his own practice and uses credit card to pay for his medical supplies... you can imagine how many miles he racked up...

Of course, charging your daily expenses to credit cards and timing your "expensive" purchase in conjunction with promotional miles for new card application is another effective strategy. Make sure you pay all credit cards bills on time though as the interest rates are as good as loan sharks 🦈

My personal favorite is the UOB Amex Privi Miles. It has a few features which I like:

In addition to the above, you get to enjoy 2 Free limousine rides to the airport each quarter (if you spend >$1,000 overseas that quarter). If you spend > $50,000 per annum, you get your annual fee waived and an extra 20,000 KF Miles! (You can time your bulky or company purchases here)

Do note however that when you are traveling, you should charge those spendings in that country's currency. Don't select to pay in SGD, otherwise you suffer a double whammy of bad forex rate and local $ spend. (Refer to ST article here)

Tip 2 - Pump Petrol ⛽️ for Miles 

If you are brand agnostic like me, who don't care whether the gasoline for my car is from Shell or Esso or Caltex, then you may want to pump petrol from Esso. The smiles points accumulated can be converted to KF Miles automatically. 

Tip 3 - Make your travel plans 🏖 with Krisflyerspree

Some travel sites touting good miles like Kaligo are just a waste of time as they jack up the hotel prices for you to "earn" the miles. 

If you want the best hotel at the lowest price that also earn you the miles, book your hotel or airfares through the Krisflyerspree website from Singapore Airlines. Remember to clear your  web browsing cookies so that they can track your spending on websites such as hotels.com or booking.com. 

Tip 4 - Chope your way to KF Miles ! 

Look out for apps that give you miles (provided the conversion is reasonable)

Always look out for apps such as Grab or Passion Card that has tie up with SQ to earn KF Miles. However,  some are so ridiculously bad that you know that no matter how you spend, it will be difficult to convert them to KF Miles. 

One surprise find is actually from the Chope app. I have been using the app to make restaurant reservations over the last two years and has never converted the chope dollars. I was pleasantly surprised that the conversion is so reasonable and have converted my first 1,000 KF Miles from the chope app. Such a breeze! 

Tip 5 - Krisflyer Business Saver offers the best value for money redemption

You can refer to the SQ redemption page here. Always redeem the "saver" series if you can. For example a First Class Saver will cost less miles and is more "worth it" than a Business Standard redemption. (Guess you got the drift)

If you want to save the miles for the best "value for money" redemption, it will be the Business Saver redemptions. I wouldn't recommend redeeming the premium economy tickets as it is a total ripped off in terms of value for miles 🤣 I would rather take the economy seats instead...

Conclusion 

Earning miles to redeem for tickets is not as difficult as it sounds. You just have to plan for it. Go read MileLion if you need guidance and you can travel in style to check off the Bucket List. 

What is my bucket list? I will share with you in another post 😊