How to Convert Credit Card Points to Miles

Your credit card points have to be converted to air miles before you can redeem plane tickets, upgrades and other perks on-board. Learn how you can convert credit card points to miles in this guide.

Air miles credit cards reward your spending with air miles. You will earn a certain amount of air miles for every dollar spent on eligible transactions charged to the credit card. No minimum monthly spend is required to earn air miles, and there is no limit to how many miles you can earn. Some miles earned also do not expire. 

Note that you do not earn air miles directly. Rather, you will be awarded reward points by your card issuer, which you can then convert to air miles at a frequent flyer programme offered by your credit card issuer with airline transfer partners. 

If you have a co-branded air miles credit card – identifiable via “Singapore Airlines” or “KrisFlyer” in the name – eligible transactions will earn KrisFlyer points directly and automatically deposited into your KrisFlyer account. 

Table of contents

• How many air miles can you earn?
• Other ways to get air miles
• Air miles credit cards and miles earn rate
• Converting credit card points into miles
• What is the conversion rate when redeeming credit card points for miles?
• How do I check how many credit card points I have available?
• What frequent flyer partner miles can I redeem my points for?
• How much is 10,000 miles worth?
• How many miles would I need to fly?
• Frequently Asked Questions

How many air miles can you earn?

You find out the number of miles you can earn by looking up the “miles per dollar” (mpd) metric – this indicates how many miles you will be awarded per S$1 spent. 

Note that there are usually different mpds available, each with a qualifying condition. 

• Mpd for local spends – This is the miles earned per dollar for card transactions in SGD.
• Mpd for foreign currency spends – The miles earned per dollar for transactions denominated in foreign currencies or using your card while overseas. This is higher than the mpd for local spends.
• Bonus mpd – Using your card at participating merchants and brands lets you earn more miles per dollar. Availability varies by card issuer. 

Other ways to get air miles

Besides paying with your air miles card, you can also receive air miles in other ways. 

• Welcome gift – When you sign up for a new air miles credit card, you may be offered a substantial amount of bonus air miles as a welcome gift. These bonus miles will be awarded as long as you fulfil the qualifying actions, which usually include charging a certain amount to your card within a specific time frame. 
• For paying the annual fee – You can also receive extra air miles when you pay the annual fee for your air miles credit card. This perk is only available at selected card issuers.

Air miles credit cards and miles earn rate 

There are several air miles credit cards available in Singapore, offered by different banks. Here’s a summary of every air mile card’s earn rate for local and foreign spends and bonus categories. 

Converting credit card points into miles

If you do not own a Singapore Airlines or KrisFlyer co-branded card, you will need to convert your reward credit card points into air miles yourself before you can redeem them for plane tickets, flight upgrades and other perks on-board. 

In general, here are the steps to follow:

1. Ensure you have sufficient reward points. Conversions can only be carried out in blocks, i.e., 10,000 points for 25,000 miles. Hence, you will first need to have the minimum number of rewards points necessary for a conversion. 
2. Register for the relevant frequent flyer programme. For instance, if you want to redeem KrisFlyer miles, you will need to register for a KrisFlyer account and provide your account number when requesting your conversion. 
3. Login to your bank’s rewards portal and select the number of points you want to convert, and the type of air miles you want. You may select any frequent flyer programme offered by your card issuer. 
4. Pay the conversion fee. You will be required to pay a points conversion fee for every conversion, which will be automatically charged to your credit card.
5. Wait to receive your air miles. When your request has been processed, you will receive your air miles in your frequent flyer programme account. You can then use the air miles to book your flights. 

 

Amex Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Credit Card Welcome Gift: Receive up to 17,000 KrisFlyer Miles when you make a min. spend of S$500 within the first month of card approval. For new-to-American-Express Card Members only. Valid till 30 April 2024. T&Cs apply.

What is the conversion rate when redeeming credit card points for miles?

The conversion rate from card rewards points to air miles varies according to the credit card you are using. 

Depending on the credit card and/or card issuer, you may be subject to a conversion fee. This is charged on a per-conversion basis.

However, certain banks offer an annual fee that covers multiple conversions within the year. This may be a more cost-efficient option for those who foresee themselves making multiple conversions in a year (although there’s no real reason to, as banks usually do not limit how many points you can convert at once).  

See below for a summary: 

*Subject to GST 

How do I check how many credit card points I have available?

You can check how many credit card points you have earned by logging into your card issuer’s rewards portal via online banking or on your mobile banking app. 

Another way is to check your credit card statement; you may be able to see how many credit card points you have accrued listed somewhere in there. 

What frequent flyer partner miles can I redeem my points for?

Not all air miles cards will give you access to the same set of frequent program partner miles. Instead, it will depend on the tie-ups your card issuer has managed to establish. Hence, if you aim to accrue air miles on a particular frequent flyer programme, it may be prudent to check with your card issuer to see if they offer the air miles you desire. 

Having said that, bear in mind that you can often make use of air miles in one frequent flyer programme for flights operated by other partner alliance airlines. For example, you can use your KrisFlyer miles to redeem any flight flown by Star Alliance partners, which include All Nippon Airways (ANA), Thai Airways, EVA Air, etc. 

How much is 10,000 miles worth? 

On the surface, you may think of the value of 10,000 miles as equivalent to how much you spent on your credit card to earn it. So, for example, if we earn 2 miles per S$1, we might think of 10,000 miles as having a value of S$5,000.

However, this is not accurate, as 10,000 air miles are insufficient to redeem a flight ticket worth S$5,000. Instead, the true value of an air mile depends on how many miles are needed to redeem a particular flight route or itinerary, and this is up to the airline’s discretion. 

Here are some examples we found from Singapore Airlines.

As you can see, the value of one air mile changes according to the flight itinerary. However, this is a highly simplistic way of valuing air miles, as there are several other factors to consider. 

For one, the examples quoted were for SIA Saver Awards, which have limited seats available for redemption. There is also the Advantage Awards, which is a higher tier of miles-redeemable flights that have more seats available but cost more miles. 

By comparison, Saver Awards start from 8,500 KrisFlyer miles, but Advantage Awards start from 15,000 KrisFlyer miles for the same destination. Clearly, this would cause a drastic drop in the value of one KrisFlyer mile. 

How many miles would I need to fly?

To redeem a certain flight itinerary, you must have sufficient air miles. You can look up the airline’s flight redemption chart online to determine how many miles you need to fly to a particular destination. 

Flights are organised according to zones, with airports roughly the same distance from your origin grouped together. The further away your destination, the more air miles it would cost to redeem your flight. 

Note that you can top up the remaining in cash if you do not have sufficient air miles. Air miles may only be allowed to cover the cost of the flight, not for taxes and fees (such as those imposed by airports and tourism authorities). 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: How do I earn air miles?

You can earn air miles by using an air miles credit card, which awards you a certain amount of air miles per dollar spent. You can also earn air miles through sign-up bonuses, paying the annual fee on selected cards, and bonus miles on purchases at participating merchants and brands. 

Q2: How do I check how many air miles I have?

You can check your air miles in your credit card statement, mobile banking app or by logging in to your online banking account. 

Q3. Why do I have to convert my points to air miles?

Many air miles credit cards give you reward points that match the advertised miles-per-dollar rate. For example, the DBS Altitude Card gives you 3.25 DBS Points per S$5 spent, and 1 DBS Point is equal to 2 air miles. Hence, this works out to 1.3 miles per dollar. 

After accruing the minimum number of points required (in DBS’s case, 5,000 points for 10,000 KrisFlyer miles), you can convert them to air miles when you want to redeem a plane ticket or purchase flight upgrades. 

However, with co-branded credit cards such as the American Express Singapore Airlines Credit Card, or the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card, you earn air miles directly, which are automatically credited to your air miles account. 

Q4. How much does it cost to convert points to miles?

The cost of converting credit card points to miles ranges from zero to S$50. This varies according to the type of card you have and the options offered by your bank. 

Co-branded air miles cards do not charge a conversion fee; miles earned are automatically deposited in your account. 

For paid conversions, you may be charged a S$25 fee per conversion, with no limit to how many points you can convert at once. Some banks provide an annual fee option ranging from S$40 to S$50 per year for unlimited conversions.