Best Credit Cards For Booking Flights And Hotels

Travelling soon? We’ve rounded up the best credit cards for travel rewards and the best miles cards in Singapore just for you!

Best Credit Cards For Booking Flights And Hotels On SingSaver

• Free lounge access & unlimited expiry-free miles: DBS Altitude Visa Card | Citi PremierMiles Card
• Premium travel benefits: American Express Platinum Card
• Singapore Airlines perks & fee-free miles transfer to KrisFlyer account: UOB KrisFlyer Card | American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Card
• No annual fee & 10X rewards (i.e. 4mpd):

In a sea of cards, which Singapore credit card is the ultimate best for travel? We don’t blame you for wondering which is the best credit card for flights, the best credit card for hotels or the best credit card for Airbnb. After all, credit cards aren’t the most straightforward thing to grasp. 

With revenge travel unfolding fast and furious, make haste to get your hands on one of the following best credit cards for booking flights and hotels. We’ve thrown in some helpful travel tips, too. 

Table of contents

• Best miles cards in Singapore
• Best for: Free lounge access & unlimited expiry-free miles
• Best for: Premium travel benefits
• Best for: Singapore Airlines perks & fee-free miles transfer to KrisFlyer account 
• Best for: No annual fee & 10X rewards (i.e. 4mpd) 
• How do credit card miles work?
• Which credit card can earn KrisFlyer miles?
• How to check KrisFlyer miles expiry?
• Travel insurance on credit cards: How does it work?

Best miles cards in Singapore

Best For	Credit Card
Free lounge access & unlimited expiry-free miles	DBS Altitude Visa Card DBS/POSB Credit Card Welcome Gift: Receive S$150 cashback when you key in the promo code 150CASH upon application and make a minimum spend of S$800 within 60 days of card approval. Valid till 30 June 2023. T&Cs apply. If you're not a new DBS/POSB credit cardmember, consider these promotions instead. Pick your DBS/POSB Credit Card now! Citi PremierMiles Card Apply Now
Premium travel benefits	Citi Prestige Card SingSaver Exclusive Offer: Receive a Dyson V8 Absolute™ (worth S$609) or Sony WH-1000XM5 (worth S$575) or Flujo Ayla Ergonomic Office Chair (worth S$1,139) or S$300 cash when you make a min. spend of S$500 within 30 days of card approval. Valid till 2 April 2023. T&Cs apply. Plus, enjoy up to 2% cashback on all qualifying spend and up to S$646 worth of exciting gifts when you apply for the Citi Cash Back+ card and join Citi Plus. T&Cs apply. Plus, score a BRONZE ticket (1x chance) in our March Madness Grand Lucky Draw when you apply for a chance to win your share of over S$20,000 worth of prizes! Valid till 2 April 2023. T&Cs apply. Pick Your Citibank Card Here! American Express Platinum Card AMEX Platinum Charge Card Welcome Gift: Receive up to 61,250 Membership Rewards points upon Annual Fee payment and min. spending of S$3,000 within the first month of Card approval. For new to American Express Card Members only. Valid till 3 April 2023. T&Cs apply. Plus, score a BRONZE ticket (1x chance) in our March Madness Grand Lucky Draw when you apply for a chance to win your share of over S$20,000 worth of prizes! Valid till 2 April 2023. T&Cs apply. Apply Now
Singapore Airlines perks & fee-free miles transfer to KrisFlyer account	UOB KrisFlyer Credit Card KrisFlyer UOB Card Welcome Gift: Get up to 31,000 miles plus a first-year annual fee waiver of S$194.40 for new-to-UOB credit cardmembers who apply and make a min. spend of S$2,000 within 2 months from card approval date. Valid till 30 April 2023. T&Cs apply. Plus, score a BRONZE ticket (1x chance) in our March Madness Grand Lucky Draw when you apply, for a chance to win your share of over S$20,000 worth of prizes! Valid till 2 April 2023. T&Cs apply. Apply Now   American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card  Amex Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card Welcome Gift: Receive 21,500 KrisFlyer Miles (worth a return trip to Bali on Singapore Airlines) when you make a min. spend of S$1,000 and annual fee payment within the first month of card approval. Valid till 3 April 2023. T&Cs apply. Plus, score a BRONZE ticket (1x chance) in our March Madness Grand Lucky Draw when you apply for a chance to win your share of over S$20,000 worth of prizes! Valid till 2 April 2023. T&Cs apply. Apply Now
No annual fee & 10X rewards (i.e. 4mpd)	HSBC Revolution Card  Apply Now

Best for: Free lounge access & unlimited expiry-free miles

DBS Altitude Visa Card

When it comes to the best credit card for flights and best credit card for hotels, you can’t look past what DBS Altitude Visa has to offer.

Foremost, this credit card lets you earn 3mpd on online flights and hotel transactions (capped at S$5,000 per month), 2mpd on overseas spend and 1.2mpd on local spend. Plus, it lets you earn a whopping 10mpd on Kaligo hotel transactions! 

The miles that you can earn on the DBS Altitude Visa don’t have any expiry date. Feel free to transfer them to frequent flyer programmes like KrisFlyer or AsiaMiles if you’d like to redeem them for flights. 

Take note that the miles will be awarded in the form of DBS Points, for every S$5 transaction made. 

Exclusive to DBS Altitude Visa Signature Card, cardmembers can enjoy two free Priority Pass lounge visits within every 12 months of their membership!

Citi PremierMiles Card

Citi PremierMiles is another accessible air miles credit card that’s great for flights and hotels. This credit card lets you earn unlimited, expiry-free 1.2mpd on local spend, 2mpd on foreign currency spend, up to 7mpd on Agoda bookings and up to 10mpd on Kaligo bookings.

Besides earning accelerated Citi Miles on your travel bookings, you get to enjoy two complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits each calendar year. 

Additionally, you also enjoy the added perk of having free travel insurance coverage of up to S$1 million when you charge your travel tickets to Citi PremierMiles. 

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Best for: Premium travel benefits

Citi Prestige Card

Best for avid travellers and Citigold or Citigold Private Client customers, Citi Prestige is the best value-for-money premium travel credit card you can get your hands on. For starters, this credit card offers spectacular travel and lifestyle perks that could pay for itself in no time. 

What’s in it for you? Unlimited complimentary night stay when you book a minimum consecutive four-night stay at any hotel or resort via Citi Prestige Concierge, unlimited global airport lounge access, eight complimentary one-way airport limousine transfers, preferential rates on World Elite private jets and luxury tours and cruises, golfing privileges, up to S$1 million travel insurance coverage and more. 

Although its miles earning rates aren’t spectacular (1.3mpd on local spend and 2mpd on foreign currency spend), you’ll be happy to learn that your ThankYou Points do not expire. Of course, depending on your relationship with Citibank, you can receive up to 30% additional ThankYou Points. Think of this exclusive perk as a bonus present from Citibank! 

American Express Platinum Card

Are you a discerning individual who appreciates all the finer things in life and loves travelling? Do you also happen to be a high-income earner? If you answered “yes” to both questions, then the American Express Platinum Card is just for you.

Despite the card’s hefty annual fee of S$1,712, card owners will enjoy luxury perks such as annual S$800 Travel Credits, S$750 worth of FINE HOTELS AND RESORTS benefits, free Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite Status, free Hilton Honors Gold Status and free Radisson Rewards Gold Status.

Beyond the exclusivity that the American Express Platinum Card provides, it also gives you free access to the Platinum Concierge Desk and 1,400 airport lounges worldwide (including The Centurion® Lounge), as well as other Platinum-worthy perks including golf privileges, complimentary access into the elite, members-only Tower Club Singapore, up to 50% savings off your Love Dining food bill, global assistance, and more. 

Apply Now

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Best for: Singapore Airlines perks & fee-free miles transfer to KrisFlyer account 

UOB KrisFlyer Credit Card

UOB KrisFlyer Credit Card is an easy-to-use KrisFlyer miles credit card for those who enjoy flying with Singapore Airlines and Scoot (or travelling in general). This miles credit card lets you earn 3mpd on SIA-related purchases, dining, food delivery, online shopping, travel (including Airbnb) and transport, and 1.2mpd on all other spend. 

There’s no limit to how many miles you can earn, and there’s no miles conversion fee that you need to deal with — your miles will be automatically credited into your KrisFlyer account. 

A travel-oriented credit card through and through, you’ll be pleased to know that the UOB KrisFlyer Credit Card offers a host of tangible travel benefits anyone would appreciate: 

• Fast track to KrisFlyer Elite Silver status
• Earn 4.5mpd at KrisShop
• S$20 KrisShop rebate 
• S$15 off Grab rides
• S$15 off ChangiWiFi
• Additional baggage allowance on Scoot
• Booking Flexibility waiver on Scoot
• Standard seat selection on Scoot, and more

The only bugbear associated with UOB KrisFlyer Credit Card is the fact that bonus miles earned on dining, food delivery, online shopping, travel, transport transactions will only be awarded within two months after the card membership year. 

American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card 

The American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card is the premium sister of the American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Credit Card. 

While its miles earning rates are quite standard — unlimited 1.2mpd on local spend, 2mpd on Singapore Airlines and KrisShop spend, 2mpd on overseas spend in June and December, and 3.2mpd on Grab, capped at S$200 each month — its highlights lie in the travel and lifestyle privileges it has to offer. 

For starters, cardmembers can enjoy a free one-night stay at participating Hilton Properties in the Asia Pacific, a complimentary upgrade to the Hilton Honors Silver membership tier, as well as four free airport lounge passes each year to participating SATS Premier Lounge in Singapore and Plaza Premium Lounge around the world. 

Cardmembers can also work towards the accelerated upgrade to the KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership tier, where they will enjoy an extra 20kg check-in allowance, priority airport check-in, priority baggage handling, KrisFlyer Gold Lounge access at Changi Airport and access to over 900 Star Alliance Gold Lounges globally. Simply spend over S$15,000 on eligible purchases made on singaporeair.com within the first 12 months upon card approval to enjoy this automatic upgrade. 

Needless to say, this credit card offers exclusive Hertz privileges worldwide, up to S$1 million coverage for travel inconvenience and travel accident insurance as well as preferential rental rates of portable Wi-Fi routers — perks perfect for globetrotters.

Best for: No annual fee & 10X rewards (i.e. 4mpd) 

HSBC Revolution Credit Card

The HSBC Revolution Credit Card is one of the best credit cards for Airbnb, flights and hotels. Why’s that so? This easy-to-use credit card lets you load up on 10X rewards points (i.e. 4mpd) on the first S$1,000 spent online or via contactless spending each month. There’s no minimum spend requirement you need to hit to start earning 10X rewards, too! 

That’s not all. Apart from getting to avoid an annual fee for life, you will also get to enjoy complimentary travel insurance of up to S$300,000 for you and your family when you charge the full cost of the air ticket(s) to your HSBC Revolution Credit Card.

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How do credit card miles work?

Credit card miles are great because they can be exchanged for things like free flights, flight upgrades, gifts or even cash rebates that you can use to offset purchases. 

Some frequent flyer programmes even let you redeem your miles for hotel loyalty programme points — this can translate into free hotel nights! 

In short, miles can be put towards your next holiday or vacation. However, you’ll have to be strategic with the cards you use. 

As a matter of fact, some air miles credit cards offer miles while others offer rewards points that you can later redeem for miles. Depending on your preference, the right miles credit card for you may or may not be the same as the most ideal one for your friend or family member. 

Which credit card can earn KrisFlyer miles?

KrisFlyer miles credit cards like American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Credit Card, American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card, and UOB KrisFlyer Credit Card let you earn KrisFlyer miles. 

That being said, you don’t necessarily need to use these co-branded KrisFlyer credit cards to earn KrisFlyer miles — other miles and reward credit cards let you redeem your miles and rewards points for KrisFlyer miles too!

Some examples include DBS Altitude, Citi PremierMiles, HSBC Revolution, Citi Prestige, OCBC VOYAGE, OCBC 90°N, UOB PRVI Miles, Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card and more. 

How to check KrisFlyer miles expiry?

To check your KrisFlyer miles expiry, follow these simple steps:

1.  Log in to your KrisFlyer account on singaporeair.com or the SingaporeAir mobile app
2. Navigate to ‘Miles’, then ‘Miles Validity’

The page will show you the number of miles expiring in the next six months, if any.

In case you didn’t already know, KrisFlyer miles expire in three years at the end of the equivalent month in which they were earned.

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Travel insurance on credit cards: How does it work?

Some credit cards throw in complimentary travel insurance coverage when you charge your full travel tickets or travel fares to the cards. 

For example, Citi PremierMiles and Maybank Horizon Visa Signature offer up to S$1 million coverage while UOB PRVI Miles and CIMB Visa Signature offer up to S$500,000 coverage. 

Be sure to read the terms and conditions to find out what’s covered exactly and whether or not you have to ‘activate’ the coverage before travelling! 

As it stands, some complimentary travel insurance on credit cards is more holistic than others as they even cover things like luggage delay, missed flight connections, loss of luggage etc.

Read these next:
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