A fresh graduate can earn enough miles to fly business class for free, so can you

Don’t leave miles on the table.

| Jason Fan | Sponsored | January 23, 2020, 06:00 PM

Like most young people, I love travelling.

And if I get to do it in comfort and style, that’s naturally an added bonus.

Just last year, half of my travels were done in either business class or first class, which is nice.

So how did I manage to afford this as a fresh graduate?

Unfortunately, I am not a trust fund baby, neither do I earn big bucks at work. (Don’t fire me, boss.)

Instead, I focus on earning KrisFlyer miles to redeem flights on Singapore Airlines (SIA), SilkAir, Scoot, and her partner airlines.

Huh? Miles? What’s that?

Miles are basically a currency used by airlines to reward their customers for flying with them.

Once you accumulate enough miles, you can redeem them for a variety of different rewards, although you normally get the best value by redeeming for flights.

The amount of miles needed to redeem for flights vary based on distance as well as class of travel, and you can see the award chart here.

If the award chart is too complicated, you can also use SIA’s handy award calculator to find out how many miles you need for your next holiday.

With enough KrisFlyer miles, not only can you redeem for flights on SIA, SilkAir and Scoot, but you can also redeem on the other 25 Star Alliance airlines, as well as SIA’s partner airlines, such as Virgin Australia.

If you travel frequently, and you don’t know what miles are, there is a good chance that you have left money on the table.

Hmm. But don’t you need to fly a lot to earn miles then?

This is a common misconception about frequent flyer programmes and miles in general.

Many people believe that the only way to earn miles is to fly, but in reality, there are a multitude of ways to earn miles in Singapore.

For example, instead of heading to a shopping mall, you can do your shopping on KrisShop.com, SIA’s flagship online retailer.

Do your shopping on KrisShop to earn miles. Image retrieved on Jan. 6.

You can also use KrisPay, SIA’s miles-based digital wallet, to earn miles for your purchases at participating outlets such as Llao Llao and STAR 360.

If you take Grab often, you can even convert your GrabRewards points to KrisFlyer miles.

If you are a Platinum GrabRewards member, you can convert points to miles at a better rate. Image retrieved on Jan. 6.

Last but not least, the best way to earn miles (apart from flying, of course) is to spend on certain credit cards.

Maximise miles on everyday spending

Credit card spending is one of the fastest and easiest ways to earn miles.

Think about it, you are already going to spend a certain amount of money each month. So why not earn rewards for your spending?

For those who value convenience, consider spending with KrisFlyer co-brand credit cards, such as the American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Co-Brand Card, or the KrisFlyer UOB Co-Brand Card.

They will net you 1.1 and 1.2 miles per dollar respectively for most local spend, which is pretty solid.

After all, this means that practically every dollar you spend on the card gets you closer to redeeming a free flight.

Spending on a KrisFlyer co-brand credit card also allows one to earn miles directly, which will be credited to your linked KrisFlyer account automatically without conversion fees, which is great.

Hint: You should also look out for generous sign-up bonuses when signing up for a new card. For example, if you sign up for the American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Co-Brand Card, you will receive 5,000 welcome miles for the first spend you charge to your card.

However, there are many credit cards that offer you a much higher earning rate on certain categories.

Spending on hotels and flights on the DBS Altitude Card will earn you three miles per dollar instead, which is significantly higher.

The UOB Preferred Platinum offers an even higher four miles per dollar on online shopping and entertainment, as well as contactless transactions.

Pay attention to special spending categories to earn more miles. Image from Mastercard.

The latter means that any time a merchant accepts Mastercard PayPass, Apple Pay, or any other form of contactless payment, you can earn four miles per dollar, if you use the right card.

With so many ways to accelerate earning your miles, there is really no reason for you to leave money (or miles) on the table.

Are you sure it won’t take me forever to earn enough miles?

Don’t just take my word for it. Here’s a simple example of how a fresh graduate can easily earn enough miles to redeem for business class flights.

According to Business Insider, the median salary of a fresh graduate in 2018 is S$3,500.

After deducting CPF, the graduate would bring home S$2,800.

Assuming you deduct S$1000 a month for savings and other incidentals, you are now left with S$1,800 of spending a month.

You spend S$100 on public transport, using the DBS Altitude Visa Card for 4 miles per dollar (for the first three months for new cardholders, promotion ends on Mar. 31, 2020).

You spend another S$200 on the occasional Grab ride to and from work (because you’re lazy), using the American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Co-Brand Card for 3.1 miles per dollar.

You spend S$1,000 on general spending, including food and shopping, and make sure to only use merchants who accept contactless payment, earning four miles per dollar on the UOB Preferred Platinum Card.

If shopping is your main expense, the OCBC Titanium Rewards Card also offers four miles per dollar when you shop online, and in stores both locally and overseas.

Pro tip: Use the card to shop on KrisShop.com, to double dip and earn the most amount of miles for your purchases.

And naturally, if you’re reading this article, I assume you would spend a decent amount on travel as well.

While most people may not travel monthly, let’s assume over a year, you spend an average of S$500 a month on hotels or flights, using the DBS Altitude Card for 3 miles per dollar.

Still with me? Good. By spending in this manner, you will net a total of 6,520 miles per month, for only S$1,800 worth of spending.

This means that you would have earned 78,240 miles by the end of the year, with a total spend of S$21,600, just by doing your everyday spending.

That’s more than enough for a return business class flight to the Maldives or Shanghai.

Image from Jason Fan.

A few extra months of spending will net you 99,000 miles, which is enough to redeem a one-way business class flight on the world’s longest flight to Newark, allowing you to travel to New York City in luxury.

If you have the flexibility to book last minute trips, you can also consider looking out for KrisFlyer’s monthly Spontaneous Escapes promotion, where you can enjoy 30 per cent off the usual miles required.

Occasionally, the promotion gets even better. For example, if you book between Jan. 15 and Jan. 31, 2020, for travel in February 2020, you can enjoy 51 per cent off usual redemption rates.

This means that you could be redeeming for business class, and pay only economy class prices!

This is so confusing. Why don’t you just use cash-back?

I get it. Trying to figure out the best way to earn miles or how many miles you need to redeem a flight can be frustrating.

Sometimes, it may seem easier to default to using a cash-back credit card instead.

However, if you are looking to redeem for flights, using a cash-back card may not be the fastest way.

The Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Credit Card provides a flat 1.5 per cent cash-back on all spend, which sounds pretty sweet.

Until you realise that to earn enough cash-back to purchase a round-trip business class ticket to Shanghai, which may cost about S$3,200, you need to spend over S$200,000.

Instead of spending S$1,800 per month for a year, the cash-back route will take you more than nine years to buy the same return ticket.

Ouch.

This sounds great. How do I get started?

Simple. Simply sign up for an account with KrisFlyer (it’s free), and start earning your hidden miles.

If you sign up anytime from now until Mar. 31, 2020, and use the promo code MOTHERSHIP, you can earn 500 bonus miles straight off the bat.

Although almost every airline has their own frequent flyer program, and issues their own miles, KrisFlyer miles are undoubtedly the best option for anyone in Singapore.

You can earn KrisFlyer miles in a myriad of different ways, without having to spend more money than before.

Time to put that kiasu spirit to good use, and collect every last mile when you spend your hard-earned money.

Top image from Unsplash.

This sponsored article by Singapore Airlines made the writer wish he can redeem miles for a holiday right now.