Which Air Miles Credit Card are You?

We take a look at the best air miles credit cards for three types of Singaporeans: credit card newbies, world travelers, and high flyers. Which are you, and what's your air miles credit card?

Credit card terms and conditions are valid as of 14 October 2016.

With all the air miles credit cards in Singapore, you’re basically spoilt for choice. But it's not enough to compare the base miles you can accrue - there are other factors to consider as well.

Each air miles credit card has its own benefits, and one card might be better for you than another. Try finding yours in our best air miles credit cards list below:

1. Best Air Miles Credit Card for First Time Cardholders

Winner: American Express Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Credit Card

Here’s the scoop on the American Express Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Credit Card: it's the most convenient way to earn KrisFlyer miles. Unlike other air miles cards, which charge a fee to convert miles earned into their partner airlines' miles programmes, any Krisflyer miles earned on this card gets automatically credited to your Krisflyer account.

Earning miles is very easy. To start off, you earn 5,000 bonus KrisFlyer miles on your first charge, and 3,000 (plus additional 1,500 if you sign up before 15 November) KrisFlyer miles if you spend S$700 on your first 6 months.

You also get a cool 1.1 KrisFlyer mile for every dollar spent in Singapore and overseas, and 2 KrisFlyer miles on purchases made on singaporeair.com, silkair.com, and KrisShop. If you spend overseas during June and December, you get 2 KrisFlyer miles for every S$1.

We did some quick calculations of how many KrisFlyer miles you can potentially earn in a year, assuming you spend S$800 on your card each month, and book a weekend holiday in Hong Kong in June:

21,900 KrisFlyer miles is more than enough for a one-way ticket to Bali from Singapore!

With the first year’s annual fees waived, and subsequent ones at S$173.50--one of the lowest in the market--this card is great to start with if you have never owned a credit card. And its S$30,000 minimum income requirement allows the majority of Singaporeans to be eligible for it.

A number of perks also come with the Krisflyer Credit Card, including a S$100 cash rebate at Grab, 500 bonus miles on your first charge at GrabPay, an Expedia credit card discount, and up to 50% off restaurants in Singapore through the American Express Selects dining programme. Not bad for your first air miles card at all.

2. Best Air Miles Credit Card for World Travelers

Winner: ANZ Travel Visa Signature Card

Frequent fliers shouldn't do without the ANZ Travel Visa Signature Card in their wallets. For one thing, you earn an amazing 1.4 miles for every S$1 you spend in Singapore.

Cardmembers also get 2.8 miles for every S$1 spent for flight tickets on Jetstar and Qantas, as well as 2.8 miles for every S$1 spent when you holiday at Australia and New Zealand. These are the highest base miles you can earn on a non-Visa Infinite card!

New cardmembers can earn up to 25,000 bonus miles if they spend wisely in the first month - one of the highest welcome miles being offered in Singapore today.

Here’s how you can earn the full amount. First, opt to pay the first year annual fee to get 10,000 air miles. Then charge at least S$3,000 to your card during the first month to get a bonus 10,800 miles. Then based on the base miles of 1.4 mile per S$1 spent locally, you get 4,2000 more miles, adding up to a total of 25,000 welcome miles.

Don’t want to spend that much in a single month? Charging as little as S$500 in the first month gets you 2,000 bonus miles on top of the 10,000 miles from paying the annual fee. Then you get 700 miles on your S$500 spend (1.4 miles x S$500 = 700 miles). In total, you’ll still be picking up 12,700 miles.

So whether you’re wandering through cobblestone streets of European cities or admiring the scenery in Australia and New Zealand, the ANZ Travel Visa Card can get seasoned world travelers there.

3. Best Air Miles Credit Card for High Flyers

Winner: Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Card

For high flyers, this card wins all other air miles credit cards in the market hands down. With base miles of 1.4 miles per dollar spent locally and 3 miles per dollar spent overseas, the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Card accumulates points faster than most.

With a minimum income requirement of S$150,000, for non-priority/private banking customers and S$30,000 for Singaporean priority/private banking customers, this card is mostly applicable for frequent business travellers.

If you’re to use your own credit card to charge company expenses overseas, the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Card helps you rack up miles. Say you charge S$2,000 per month on flights, accommodations, and dining on business trips abroad - you’ll get 72,000 miles at the end of a calendar year!

You'll also receive 35,000 miles or 25,000 miles and S$100 Uber credits when you apply for the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card. Our detailed review has more details about the amazing privileges in store for you.

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