KrisFlyer credit cards – how to earn KrisFlyer Miles in Australia

How do I earn KrisFlyer Miles with a credit card in Australia?

No Australian credit cards let you earn KrisFlyer Miles (points) directly.

Instead, you can get a credit card that lets you earn rewards points that convert to KrisFlyer Miles via partnerships with the Singapore Airlines loyalty program.

This includes American Express Membership Rewards, ANZ Rewards, NAB Rewards, St.George Amplify and Westpac Altitude Rewards.

How many KrisFlyer Miles will I earn with a credit card?

Most reward points that partner with Singapore Airlines convert to KrisFlyer Moints at a rate of 3 rewards points to 1 KrisFlyer Mile.

• Earn rate. If a card has an earn rate of 1.5 points per $1 spent, that works out 0.5 KrisFlyer Miles per dollar spent.
• Bonus Points. If a card offers 150,000 bonus reward points, that works out to 50,000 bonus KrisFlyer Miles.

Credit card reward programs that offer KrisFlyer miles

Here are details of the reward programs that offer point transfers to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, including Velocity Frequent Flyer. We've included the point transfer rates that are publicly available.

Pros and cons of earning KrisFlyer Points

Our expert says: Should you get a credit card for KrisFlyer points?

"You can get a credit card that offers 100,000 bonus Qantas or Velocity Points. Or a rewards card where the points convert at a rate of 2:1. But you can't earn KrisFlyer points directly with an Australian card, and most rewards points convert to KrisFlyer points at a rate of 3:1. So this is only going to work out if you are really committed to flying with Singapore Airlines. It's a great airline that flies to many destinations, but at a pure points value perspective it probably won't get you the most bang for your buck."

Richard Whitten

Editor

What else do I need to know about credit cards with KrisFlyer Miles?

If you want to earn more KrisFlyer miles with a credit card, make sure you think about these details:

• Earn rate. As well as looking at the number of credit card points you'll earn per $1 spent, work out what this converts to in KrisFlyer miles. For example, with a card that earns 2 points per $1 and has a conversion rate of 2:1, you'd essentially earn 1 KrisFlyer mile per $1 spent.
• Bonus points. Work out how many KrisFlyer miles you'll get once the bonus points are transferred (based on the card's conversion rate). Also look at the minimum spend requirement and decide if you'll be able to make enough purchases to meet it.
• Points caps. Some reward credit cards limit the number of points you can earn per month or year. If you think your spending will take you over a card's points cap, you may want to look for one that offers a higher cap or uncapped rewards.
• Point transfer times. It could take up to 15 business days from when you transfer points to when they're added to your KrisFlyer account. So you'll need to factor that in when you're planning to redeem KrisFlyer miles for a reward flight.
• Rates and fees. Check the ongoing annual fee, keeping in mind that some cards offer a reduced or $0 annual fee in the first year. Also look at the interest rate that will apply to your purchases if you don't pay off your whole balance each month.

Frequently asked questions

• Are there credit cards that earn KrisFlyer miles directly?

  Right now, there aren't any credit cards in Australia that accumulate Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles directly. But there are many credit cards on the market that earn reward points you can transfer to KrisFlyer.

• What credit card has the highest Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer earn rate?

  The HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card offers an equivalent earn rate of around 0.8 KrisFlyer miles per $1 on eligible spending. This is based on the earn rates for everyday purchases and the point transfer rates to KrisFlyer.

  But the HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card only offers this earn rate for the first $3,000 in a statement period. After that, it earns an equivalent to 0.4 KrisFlyer miles per $1 for the rest of the statement period.

• Can I set up an auto-transfer to get KrisFlyer miles instead of reward points?

  While some credit card reward programs do offer automatic transfers for frequent flyer programs, you'll typically need to transfer points to your KrisFlyer account manually.

• How can I get KrisFlyer Gold Status without flying?

  Sometimes there are promotions that allow you to get gold status without flying. One example of this is with the HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card, which offers gold status when you spend $4,000 in the first 90 days from account opening. You can also keep gold status by spending at least $60,000 on the card each year. As this is a Star Alliance card, you need to nominate Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer as the partnered program to get KrisFlyer Gold Status.

• How can I earn KrisFlyer miles with a Velocity credit card?

  If you get a credit card that earns Velocity Points per $1, you can transfer the points to KrisFlyer by logging into your Velocity Frequent Flyer account. You can also transfer any other Velocity Points you earn, even if you don't have a Velocity credit card.

  The transfer rate is 1.55 Velocity Points to 1 KrisFlyer mile. This is more competitive that the 3:1 transfer rate offered by most rewards cards. But the value would also depend on how many points you earned per $1 before conversion, so it's important to consider the earn rate (and bonus point offers) if your main focus is on getting more KrisFlyer miles.

• Can I transfer Qantas Points to Singapore Airlines?

  Qantas Points can't be transferred to KrisFlyer or redeemed for flights with Singapore Airlines. But if you are a Velocity Frequent Flyer, you can transfer points to KrisFlyer miles or redeem them for flights with Singapore Airlines.

• Is earning KrisFlyer miles with a credit card worth it in Australia?

  Just like any rewards program, the value of KrisFlyer miles depends on how you redeem them. But to give you an idea, a one-way business class ticket from Sydney to Singapore was worth 68,500 miles. In comparison, the lowest one-way business class fare we could find when we checked the Singapore Airlines website in November 2024 was $2,785.

  So in this example, every KrisFlyer Mile is worth around 4 cents. And every 1,000 miles redeemed is worth $40, which is at the high end of the scale for points-to-dollar values. But if you were earning miles through an Australian credit card, you'd also need to factor in the points transfer rate and how often you fly with Singapore Airlines to decide if it's worth it for you.

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Richard Whitten as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Amy Bradney-George

Editor

Amy Bradney-George was the senior writer for credit cards at Finder, and editorial lead for Finder Green. She has over 16 years of editorial experience and has been featured in publications including ABC News, Money Magazine and The Sydney Morning Herald. See full bio

Amy's expertise

Amy has written 565 Finder guides across topics including:

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