Go places with these top Amex credit cards, from the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Blue to the True Cashback.
Being a global brand, American Express is known for its superior customer service as well as worldwide acceptance of their cards. In Singapore, the most common perk is the ability to travel with one of the world’s leading airlines – Singapore Airlines, especially if you own one of their co-branded cards like the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Blue or Ascend.
With these cards, you won’t have to worry about converting your miles to KrisFlyer miles and be charged the usual air miles conversion fees. A little less known benefit of American Express cards is that you can also benefit from luxury staycation experiences and shopping privileges around Singapore.
Here is a summary of the best Amex credit cards in Singapore for 2020.
- Best For Entry Level Miles Card: Amex KrisFlyer Blue
- Best For Airport Lounge Access: Amex KrisFlyer Ascend
- Best For Dining and Entertainment: Amex Platinum Card
- Best For Cashback: Amex True Cashback
- Best For Capitaland Shopping: Amex CapitaCard
- Best For Low Spenders: Amex Rewards Card
Best American Express Cards in Singapore
Best for entry-level miles chasers: American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Blue
If you’re commuting regularly with Grab and wishing you were on a Singapore Airlines flight, the American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer card will get you there faster.
Every $1 spent on Grab will earn you 3.1 KrisFlyer miles. To get you started, your very first Grab transaction (excludes top-up charges for GrabPay) with the card will unlock bonus 500 KrisFlyer miles. For every $1 spent on Singaporeair.com, SingaporeAir mobile app, silkair.com and KrisShop (in-flight and online), you’ll get 2 KrisFlyer miles with no cap. High spenders will also receive $150 Cashback for use on your next purchase when you spend $12,000 on your card, available until 30 June 2021. The first-year annual fee is waived for both the primary and supplementary card members.
The downside? Grab rides are capped at $200 each calendar month, in terms of the maximum eligible amount for the KrisFlyer miles earn rate. However, if you do clock $200 of Grab rides monthly, the points you’ll earn in a year (7,440 miles) are almost equivalent to a one-way ticket to Bali.
Best for airport lounge access: American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend
If you want to enjoy luxury travel but don’t have the budget, the American Express Sinsgapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend card, can be your saviour.
This card rewards you with miles pretty quickly. For first-timers to the card, receive 5,000 KrisFlyer miles the very first time you charge to the card. You’ll receive another round of bonus miles as well, provided you hit a certain amount of spending in the first three months. This is dependent on the seasonal promotion. For instance, if you’re applying for the American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend card between 1 August to 30 September 2020, you’ll get an extra 16,000 KrisFlyer miles if you spend at least $8,000 in the first three months.
You can also skip crowded food courts with four complimentary passes each year to SATS Premier Lounge in Singapore and Plaza Premium Lounges around the world. You’ll also receive a complimentary night stay each year at one of over 110 Hilton Properties in Asia Pacific as well as a complimentary upgrade to Hilton Honors Silver membership tier.
If you’re intending to tick off as many countries on your bucket list as possible, this card also provides an accelerated upgrade to KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership tier with a minimum $15,000 spend over 12 months.
It is worth noting that similar to the American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer card above, you can Grab your way to additional miles; every $1 spent on eligible Grab Singapore transactions earns you 3.2 KrisFlyer miles, subject to a cap of $200 each month.
The card is targeted at people with an annual minimum income of $50,000, compared to $30,000 needed for the American Express KrisFlyer Blue card.
Best for dining and entertainment: American Express Platinum Credit Card
If you’re a serious foodie, the Amex Platinum card is the perfect dining and entertainment companion.
Impress your clients, dates, boss, friends or family with Love Dining @ Restaurants privileges, which give you up to 50% savings at a selection of popular restaurants and selected 5-star hotels in Singapore, such as W Sentosa Cove and St. Regis Singapore.
But gourmet pleasures can’t come without a side of tipples. The ‘Chillax! by American Express Platinum’ program gives you one more reason to celebrate the end of the work week at popular bars in Singapore; you can stand to enjoy complimentary cocktails at places like Anti:Dote and Horse’s Mouth Bar.
You can also indulge with a trip to the spa with vouchers and discounts offered at selected spas, including Adeva Spa and Spa Rael. For every $1.60 spent, earn 2 membership reward points which can be redeemed for over 200 rewards, or you can redeem for miles without incurring any conversion fees. Your points never expire.
New signups will receive 25,000 bonus Membership Rewards® points if a minimum spending of $5,000 is hit in the first three months. The minimum income requirement for this card is also higher than most; Singaporeans and PRs need to earn at least $50,000 a year.
Best for cashback: American Express True Cashback Card
If you like the idea of simplicity, immediate rewards and no-nonsense cashback, then the American Express True Cashback Card is your go-to American Express card.
We can see why it features a ‘True’ in the name. You get 1.5% cashback on ALL spends, without being subject to any minimum monthly spending or cashback caps. That means there is absolutely no need to track any categories of spending. The first six ‘honeymoon’ months is made even better for you as the cashback rate you’ll enjoy is doubled to 3%, although that is subject to a maximum of $5,000.
After this promotional period of 6 months, the cashback rate drops to 1.5% so remember to time a big purchase when you apply for this card!
Singaporeans and PRs will only need to have an annual income of $30,000 to qualify. The card annual fee is $171.20 and only the first year is waived. Be careful not to overindulge though because there is a high interest of 25.9% if full payment is not made within the due date.
Best for CapitaLand shopping: American Express CapitaCard
Calling all Capita-shoppers! If you do most of your shopping at CapitaLand malls such as Bugis Junction, ION Orchard, Funan and Westgate, be sure you have the American Express CapitaCard by your side!
For starters, you’ll earn 5 STAR$® for every $1 spent on eligible purchases. But if you were to do it at participating CapitaLand malls, it’ll be fast-tracked to 3X STAR$® (15 STAR$®). It doesn’t stop there; under the STAR$® X’TRA programme, you’d be looking at up to 10X STAR$® at selected outlets in participating CapitaLand Malls.
You must be wondering what you can do with these STAR$® chalked up. For every 10,000 STAR$® you gain, you can redeem a $10 CapitaVoucher to offset your purchases. That’s a $10 discount for every $667 spent, assuming the fast-tracked earning tier of 15 STAR$® per dollar spent.
Complimentary three-hour parking at CapitaLand malls is also part of the deal for American Express CapitaLand card members, provided that a minimum spending of $1,200 per month is reached.
If you’re able to hit a spend of $3,000 within the first three months of card approval, you could be towing away the American Tourister Hypebeat 79/29 Spinner Exp TSA luggage (worth $239).
Best for low spenders: American Express Rewards card
If you don’t want to spend extravagantly but still want a way to quickly earn rewards points and miles, the American Express Rewards card allows you to do just that.
With a reasonable $5,000 spend per calendar year, you will receive 50% bonus Membership Rewards® points on all spends. This bonus rate is supercharged to 100% in the first three months of card membership. Just be sure to pick your Favourite 5 places (there are 150 outlets to choose from, including supermarkets, petrol stations, fashion outlets, restaurants and electronic stores) where the bonus Membership Rewards® points is active.
If you’re saving up for a globe-trotting spree, you can easily convert your Membership Rewards points to frequent flyer miles with over 40 airlines worldwide. Another major plus is that Membership Rewards points never expire, which allows you to accumulate the points before a major redemption.
Read these next:
American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Card Review
Top 6 Air Miles Credit Cards In Singapore 2020
Credit Cards With The Best Dining Perks
Cashback vs Miles vs Rewards: Which Is The Best Type Of Credit Card For You?
Credit Card Welcome Offer (2020): A Comparison of The Best Gifts
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