How to Convert Credit Card Points to Miles

Air miles credit cards are an excellent way to earn air miles while you spend. Typically, you'll get anywhere from 0.4 to 8 miles per dollar on eligible transactions charged to your credit card. You'll often earn different rates for local and foreign spending, with overseas spending typically yielding greater rewards. Some credit cards offer air miles which never expire, such as the DBS Altitude Card and the Citi PremierMiles Card.

However, it’s important to understand that you do not always earn air miles directly. Rather, you will be awarded reward points by your bank, which you will then have to convert to air miles using the relevant mileage programme. Different points transfer partners will have their own transfer ratios and minimum transfer amounts.

The exceptions are co-brand air miles credit cards, such as the American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card, which allows you to earn KrisFlyer points directly with every eligible purchase. 

New to airline miles? Also called frequent flyer miles, air miles can be considered a type of reward currency you earn by flying with your preferred airline or its partners. 

Many credit cards allow you to earn miles by converting points earned from eligible transactions charged to the card. Once you’ve collected enough miles, you can use them to redeem benefits like discounted flights, seat upgrades, hotel stays and other travel-related perks. 

Each airline's loyalty programme has its own rules on how you can use your miles and the number of miles you earn with each eligible purchase.

If your air miles card is not a co-brand card, you may have to enrol on your card issuer's programme to benefit from direct dollar-to-miles conversion. For example, if you’re a DBS Insignia Card, Black Treasures Elite Card or Altitude Card principal member, you’ll be able to take advantage of the KrisFlyer Miles Auto Conversion Programme. Enrolment into the programme allows for automatic conversion of your DBS points to KrisFlyer miles in blocks of 500 points at the beginning of each quarter. If your credit card issuer does not offer such services, you will have to roll up your sleeves and convert your credit card points to miles yourself.

Generally speaking, here's how to convert credit card points to miles:

• Ensure you have sufficient reward points. Conversions can only be carried out in blocks, i.e., 10,000 points are worth 25,000 miles. Hence, you will first need to have the minimum number of reward points necessary for a conversion. 

• 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.

• Log onto 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.

• 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.

• 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.

After accruing points over time, you will likely want to check how many credit card points you have earned. This can be done by logging onto your card issuer’s rewards portal or your mobile banking app. DBS Bank offers no less than 5 ways for you to check your DBS points: DBS PayLah!, DBS digibot, digibank mobile, digibank online, the DBS Rewards site and your monthly statement.

UOB also lists each member's total points, or UNI$, on their monthly credit card statement. UOB members can also check on their credit card points via internet banking or the UOB TMRW app.

» MORE: How Much Are Travel Points and Miles Worth?

In Singapore, there are several airline miles programmes that tie up with credit card companies, making it easy for cardholders to earn points through their daily transactions for conversion into miles. Among the most popular are KrisFlyer and Asia Miles.

• KrisFlyer: This is Singapore Airlines’ signature frequent flyer programme and the most widely recognised in Singapore. Members can earn and redeem miles on eligible Singapore Airlines and Scoot flight bookings as well as KrisShop purchases. You can also use your miles with partner airlines in the 25-member Star Alliance network.

• Asia Miles: Managed by Cathay Pacific, Asia Miles is another popular choice among Singapore residents. This programme offers miles-earning and redemption opportunities across the oneworld alliance, which includes airlines like British Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, American Airlines, and Malaysia Airlines.

• Emirates Skywards: Operated by Dubai-based Emirates, you can earn Skywards Miles on the go by linking your Skywards Everyday app with your Visa or Mastercard. You'll start raking in points once you shop with participating merchants ranging from beauty and wellness brands to casual and fine dining restaurants. With nearly 20 partner airlines in their network, you’ll be able to fly with airlines such as United Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Qantas, Japan Airlines and more.

While choosing an air miles card, it’s worth noting that not all cards will give you access to the same set of frequent programme partner miles. A HSBC Revolution credit cardholder has a lot more transfer partners to choose from when converting their HSBC points to miles, versus a Standard Chartered Visa Infinite or Journey credit cardholder, for instance. 

However, the topic of choice may matter less to those who heavily lean towards any one airline in particular. These individuals may be best suited for a co-brand air miles credit card, although these cards come at the sacrifice of limited rewards earning. This is because the best earn rates are often reserved for brand purchases. For example, the KrisFlyer UOB credit card offers 3 miles per dollar on Singapore Airlines, Scoot, KrisShop, Kris+ and Pelago purchases. Meanwhile, you'll only be able to unlock rates of 2.4 miles per dollar on select category spend with a minimum annual spend of S$1,000 on Singapore Airlines, Scoot and KrisShop goods.

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

Aiming to accrue air miles on a particular frequent flyer programme? You'll need to check with your card issuer to determine if your desired programme is part of the equation.

If not, don’t fret just yet. Your preferred frequent flyer programme may belong to an airline alliance, which allows you to redeem flights from any of its member airlines. To illustrate, racking up Asia Miles isn't just for flying with Cathay Pacific, you can also use your points to redeem flights with Japan Airlines and Qantas. If you’re a KrisFlyer member, you'll be able to put your miles to good use to redeem flights with Star Alliance partners such as All Nippon Airways, Thai Airways and EVA Air.

The world's biggest airline alliances include Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and oneworld. If your preferred airline is a member of any of these alliances, you'll benefit from being able to transfer miles to a frequent flyer programme under a partner airline. For instance, SkyTeam members will be able to use their miles on airlines as diverse as Air France, Xiamen Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

» MORE: Best Miles Credit Cards With No Miles Expiry

Star Alliance

• Aegean Airlines

• Air Canada

• Air China

• Air India

• Air New Zealand

• All Nippon Airways (ANA)

• Asiana Airlines

• Austrian Airlines

• Avianca

• Brussels Airlines

• Copa Airlines

• Croatia Airlines

• EGYPTAIR

• Ethiopian Airlines

• EVA Air

• LOT Polish Airlines

• Lufthansa

• Shenzhen Airlines

• Singapore Airlines

• South African Airways (SAA)

• Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS)

• TAP Air Portugal

• Thai Airways International

• Turkish Airlines

• United Airlines

SkyTeam

• Aerolíneas Argentinas

• Aeromexico

• Air Europa

• Air France

• China Airlines

• China Eastern Airlines

• Delta Air Lines

• Garuda Indonesia

• Kenya Airways

• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

• Korean Air

• Middle East Airlines

• SAS

• Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) 

• TAROM - Romanian Air Transport

• Vietnam Airlines

• Virgin Atlantic

• Xiamen Airlines

oneworld

• Alaska Airlines

• American Airlines

• British Airways

• Cathay Pacific

• Fiji Airways

• Finnair

• Iberia

• Japan Airlines

• Malaysia Airlines

• Oman Air

• Qantas

• Qatar Airways

• Royal Air Maroc

• Royal Jordanian

• SriLankan Airlines

From credit card points to miles: Conversion rates

Air miles conversion rates can vary significantly based on the airline and reward programme involved. Certain banks may bill you fees on a per-conversion basis, whereas others will levy an annual fee that covers multiple conversions within the year. You'll often need to hit a certain points threshold in order to convert your credit card points to miles. For UOB, this would be UNI$2500 while DBS converts points to miles in blocks of 5000.

With so many air miles credit cards to choose from, it's important to remember that advertised miles per dollar rates are based on a single airline's rewards ratio. Converting your credit card points to airline miles for a separate transfer partner would result in a different miles per dollar exchange rate. Simply put, 1 MileagePlus mile is not the same as 1 KrisFlyer mile.

Converting your AMEX points to airline miles

Using the American Express® Platinum Credit Card as an example, which has an advertised rate of 0.69 miles per dollar, we can see that this actually equates to 1.25 miles per dollar when we look at points to miles conversion rates for various transfer partners.

Converting your HSBC points to miles

Now let’s take a look at the HSBC TravelOne Credit Card, which has an advertised rate of 1.2 miles per dollar for local spend and 2.4 miles per dollar for overseas spend. Unlike the AMEX card above that has similar conversion rates for each airline, HSBC’s points conversion rate can differ wildly from partner to partner.

These differences are what you should keep an eye out for, in order to find the most cost-effective ratio that works for you.

While many credit cards offer the convenience of direct dollar-to-miles conversion, the process is more hands-on if you do not own a Singapore Airlines or KrisFlyer co-branded card. In such cases, 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 are worth 25,000 miles. Hence, you will first need to have the minimum number of reward 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. Log in 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.

Understanding the value of your accumulated miles is crucial for maximising the benefits of your credit card's rewards programme. By knowing the true value of your miles, you can make informed decisions about how to redeem them, ensuring you get the most out of your rewards and travel aspirations.

How much is 10,000 miles worth?

Although accumulating 10,000 miles may seem impressive, the real question is how that figure translates into actual monetary value. On the surface, this may seem like a simple question. 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 you earn 2 miles per S$1, you might think of 10,000 miles as having a value of S$5,000.

On closer inspection, you'll realise it is quite unlikely that anybody would be able to redeem a flight ticket worth S$5,000 with just 10,000 air miles. The true value of an air mile then depends on how many miles are needed to redeem a one-way or round-trip flight, which is up to the airline's discretion.

Miles per dollar cost of flying with Singapore Airlines

*All figures are based on one-way Economy Class tickets booked on singaporeair.com for 12 December 2025

To help you visualise how many miles you'll need to accumulate with your credit card spend for that ski trip to Niseko, here's a breakdown on what 5,000 KrisFlyer miles looks like in terms of accumulated spend.

Miles to dollar conversion for 5,000 KrisFlyer miles

Sometimes, the best deals come at a high price. For instance, you won't find the Maybank Visa Infinite Card's best possible rates of 3.2 air miles per dollar on overseas spend on this chart due to its minimum spend criterion of S$4,000 per calendar month. 

On a similar note, you'll only be able to earn 5 KrisFlyer miles per dollar with your UOB PRVI Miles Card if you sign up for a KrisFlyer UOB Deposit Account, and maintain a minimum monthly average balance of S$1,000. 

» MORE: Scoring Cheap Flight Tickets: When to Book International Flights

Last but not least, there's the Standard Chartered Journey Credit Card, which offers a 3 miles per dollar rate for transport-related spend. Unfortunately, this does not include air travel, since this rate only applies to ride-hailing services with providers such as Grab, Gojek and Tada.

Now, let's take a look at how much accumulated spend you'll need to obtain 1,000 KrisFlyer miles. 

Miles to dollar conversion for 1,000 KrisFlyer miles 

Unfortunately, when it comes to credit card points and air miles, not all rewards are forever. We have compiled two handy tables here for your easy reference, so you can quickly compare expiry dates across various providers.

Credit card reward points expiry

What about air miles expiry?

Accumulated a whole bunch of credit card points and pondering if you should convert them to air miles or hotel points? Take a pause. Even though your credit card company may have a good relationship with your hotel chain of choice, hotel points are generally worth less per point than air miles. 

If you're open to redeeming points for hotel stays, one way to make it worth your while is to look out for fee waivers, especially on luxury accommodations. Some hotel loyalty programmes, such as World of Hyatt, waive your resort fees on award stays. If you're dreaming of a staycation, this could net you some savings if you're staying at the Grand Hyatt Singapore or at Andaz Singapore.

Another way to save on hotel stays is to follow your favourite hotel chain on your preferred social media platform so you know when their hotel points are going on sale! (Yes, hotel points do go on sale.) For reference, if you're an HSBC TravelOne cardholder converting your HSBC points to miles, you'll be at the mercy of their 3 HSBC points per dollar ratio if you're spending locally. 

Since 30,000 HSBC points is equal to 10,000 KrisFlyer miles or 10,000 Wyndham Rewards points, each KrisFlyer mile and Wyndham Rewards point works out to be worth a dollar. To determine which is more bang for your buck, ask yourself: would S$10,000 be better spent on a flight or a hotel stay? There's no right answer, of course, as it depends on your personal preferences.

» MORE: Round-Trip vs. One-Way Flights