KrisFlyer is a great frequent flyer program for redemptions in Business and First Class with Singapore Airlines and a range of Star Alliance partners.
Earning KrisFlyer miles from credit card spend is one of the key ways that many KrisFlyer members earn their points – if you happen to put a lot of your day to day spend on any of American Express, Visa or Mastercard, there are some high points earning options out there.
We have updated our round up of the highest KrisFlyer earning cards on the market after the Amex changes took effect in April 2019, with American Express options earning at least 1 KrisFlyer mile per $, and the Visa/Mastercard options earning over 0.75 miles per $.
We’ve included an overview table so you can assess the cards that are out there, versus those you may have in your wallet. We also include some of the current sign up bonuses for new card applicants.
Redemptions on domestic Virgin Australia Business Class flights are one of the best uses of KrisFlyer miles
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer-earning credit cards
| Card | American Express KrisFlyer Miles earned / $ spent | Visa/MasterCard/Diners KrisFlyer Miles earned / $ spent | Points Cap | Annual Fee | Our Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Explorer ↓ | 1 mile | - | uncapped | $395 | → |
| American Express Business Explorer ↓ | 1 mile | - | uncapped | $395 | → |
| American Express Velocity Platinum ↓ | 0.80 miles on general spend except utilities and ATO 1.45 mile with Virgin Australia | - | uncapped | $375 | → |
| Westpac Altitude Black ↓ | 1 miles on general spend 1.67 miles on foreign currency spend | 0.41 mile | uncapped | $250 for the Mastercard $199 for the Amex | → |
| American Express Platinum Charge ↓ | 1.125 miles on all eligible spend, and 0.5 mile on spend at government bodies | - | uncapped | $1,450 | → |
| American Express Platinum Edge ↓ | 0.5 point on general spend including utilities and ATO 1 points on overseas spend 1.5 points at supermarkets and petrol stations | - | uncapped | $195 | → |
| American Express Business Platinum Charge ↓ | 1.125 miles on all eligible spend, and 0.5 mile on spend at government bodies | - | uncapped | $1,750 | → |
| Diners Club Card + World MasterCard | - | 1 mile on Diners 0.375 mile on Mastercard | uncapped | $299 | n/a |
| St. George Amplify Signature ↓ | - | 0.75 mile | uncapped | $279 | → |
| Citi Prestige Mastercard ↓ | - | 0.4 mile on general spend 0.8 mile at major petrol stations, supermarkets and retailers 1.2 miles at major restaurants, airlines and international spend | uncapped | $700 | → |
How to analyse this list
For all the cards and offers listed on this page we are only touching on the ‘effective earn rate’ – this is when points in the parent bank / credit card rewards program are transferred to KrisFlyer, and is a way to compare the specific points earn rates for each card across various credit card rewards programs that offer different headline earn rates and transfer rates to frequent flyer programs.
Each card has other benefits too, along with other transfer partners, annual fees and terms and conditions – so be sure to check out the full guide to each card.
There’s also the signup bonus of a card to consider. A large signup bonus may help to offset a lower earn rate on a card, so bear that in mind. It depends how much spend you put through your credit card each month, and how long you keep the card for.
Each card offer, with bonus, fee and other offer information on this page will be up to date at the date of publication, however please note that we update offers over time.
Transferring to KrisFlyer through Velocity
One of the unique things about Singapore Airlines partnership with Virgin Australia is that you can immediately transfer points / miles between the two programs, at a rate of 1.55 points / miles in one program = 1 point / mile in the other.
What does this mean for credit card choice? Well, this opens up any Velocity-linked card to KrisFlyer transfers. You’ll need 5,000 points minimum in Velocity to be able to transfer, but otherwise it’s useful to be able to earn KrisFlyer miles from other credit cards.
This partnership is also why I’d be surprised to see a KrisFlyer-branded credit card in the market again here in Australia – Westpac used to issue one, but it’s no longer open to new applicants.
As a result, we’ve included Velocity-branded cards in this KrisFlyer round up too, and specified their effective earn rate per $ after transferring points to KrisFlyer.
Some current offers for key Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer-earning credit cards
The American Express Explorer’s earn rates are very similar to the personal version, which earns the equivalent of 1 KrisFlyer Mile per dollar with no points cap, including utilities. Government bodies earn at 0.5 Mile per $ spent.
The American Express Business Explorer also earns the equivalent of 1 KrisFlyer Mile per dollar with no points cap, including utilities. Government bodies earn at 0.5 Mile per $ spent.
The American Express Westpac Altitude Black earns the equivalent of 1 KrisFlyer Mile per dollar on local spend, and 1.67 Miles per $ on overseas spend. While the Mastercard account earns 0.41 miles per dollar on spend.
Government bodies earn at 0.16 Miles per $ spent with the American Express account.
The American Express Velocity Platinum earns the equivalent of at least 0.80 KrisFlyer Mile per dollar for most transactions, and 1.45 Miles per $ on spend with selected Virgin Australia products and services, after being transferred from Velocity.
Utilities & government bodies earn at 0.32 Mile per $ spent.
The American Express Platinum Charge Card earns the equivalent of at least 1.125 KrisFlyer Miles per dollar for most transactions, and 0.5 mile per dollar on spend at government bodies.
The American Express Edge earns the equivalent of at least 0.5 KrisFlyer miles per dollar for most transactions including utilities and at the ATO, 1 mile per $ overseas, and 1.5 miles at supermarkets and on fuel spend.
The American Express Platinum Business Charge Card earns the equivalent of at least 1.125 KrisFlyer Miles per dollar for most transactions, and 0.5 mile per dollar on spend at government bodies.
The St. George Amplify Signature Visa earns the equivalent of 0.75 KrisFlyer Miles per dollar with no points cap, along with a 10% points bonus of all points earned in the previous year on your birthday.
The Citi Prestige Mastercard earns the equivalent of 0.4 KrisFlyer Mile per dollar on general spend, 0.8 mile at major petrol stations, supermarkets and retails and 1.2 miles at restaurants, and international spend.
Many other cards with lower annual fees are also linked to KrisFlyer, but with lower points earn rates too. Check out the cards table for the list.
For the American Express Platinum Edge card, how do you arrive at 1.125 Krisflyer miles per $1? Shouldn’t it be 1.5 Krisflyer miles per $1
Our guide states the following regarding the Platinum Edge card:
0.5 point on general spend including utilities and ATO
1 points on overseas spend
1.5 points at supermarkets and petrol stations
As long as you keep transferring points to your Krisflyer before reaching the 100,000 limit you can consider this card also uncapped.
However the points are bonused on earning them, not on transferring them. You can see this on your points activity statement – you’ll see double, up until the point at which you earn 100,000. After that they earn at 1 point per dollar. The transfer rate to KrisFlyer doesn’t change though, so the card does have a cap for the 2 points per $ earn rate – but you do keep earning after the cap (points don’t drop down to 0).
I didn’t factor in the St. George birthday bonus into the earn rate – people should if they intend to keep the card year on year, but firstly if you don’t keep the card until that point then the earn rate is 0.75, and secondly, just like most of the cards on the list – they could devalue their earn rates or take away that feature at any time, so I chose not to factor it in given it’s a long-term benefit.
The DJs Amex would give:
1.5 miles at supermarkets and fuel
1 mile at DJs
0.5 miles on everything else
The Platinum DJs Amex would give:
1.5 miles at supermarkets and fuel
2 miles at DJs
0.5 miles on everything else
Unless you shop a lot at DJs the regular card looks like a good deal for supermarkets and fuel (especially for only a $99 annual fee).