CATHAY PACIFIC ASIA MILES
CREDIT CARD American Express Cathay Pacific Elite
MILEAGE CONVERSION HK$6 (US$0.7) for 1 Asia Mile (local spending), HK$6 for 1.5 Asia Miles (overseas spending)
ANNUAL FEE First year free, then HK$1,800 (US$232) but this is waived for the following year if accumulated spending is HK$150,000 (US$19,348) or more annually, or if you hold a Silver of higher tier for The Marco Polo Club.
MINIMUM INCOME REQUIREMENTS HK$300,000 (US$38,697) per annum
WELCOME OFFER Up to 76,000 Asia Miles
ADDITIONAL PERKS Complimentary Priority Pass membership for first 12 months; unlimited Plaza Premium Lounge access; complimentary green-tier for The Marco Polo Club
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT Yes, there are credit cards that give better dollar to mile conversions (such as the DBS Black Card - see below), but we recommend this card due to its versatility. As a jack-of-all-trades, the CX Elite Amex card ensures that you are afforded lounge access even when travelling on economy or with another carrier. In addition, you earn double miles when booking via cathaypacific.com, enjoy a ten per cent discount on the purchase of Asia Miles (capped at 15,000 per year), and save US$50 for a Green tier Marco Polo Club status. Oh and did we mention, spending is converted to miles every month seamlessly and completely free-of-charge?
RUNNER UP DBS Black Card (American Express/MasterCard) – this card offers a superior dollar to mile conversion rate (local spend: HK$4/US$0.5 = 1 Asia Mile), but that’s pretty much it. The American Express Cathay Pacific Elite wins in all other categories.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES KRISFLYER
CREDIT CARD UOB PRVI Miles World MasterCard (also available in AMEX)
MILEAGE CONVERSION S$1 (US$0.7) for 1.4 miles (local spending), S$1 for 2.4 miles (overseas spending)
ANNUAL FEE First year free, then S$406.60 (US$304) the following year but this is waived if accumulated spending is S$50,000 (US$37,406) or more annually.
MINIMUM INCOME REQUIREMENTS S$80,000 (US$59,850) per annum
WELCOME OFFER None, but an ongoing promotion allows you to receive a Starwood Preferred Guest Gold membership by charging a single stay to the UOB credit card. Other promotions are also available throughout the year.
ADDITIONAL PERKS Travel insurance up to S$1,000,000 (US$748,137)
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT The UOB credit card may not come with a welcome offer, but its dollar to miles conversion rate is one of the most competitive around. Do note however that there is a fee of S$25 (US$18) per conversion, and this is done in blocks of 10,000 miles. Another winning perk is the SPG Gold membership, where benefits include receiving three Starpoints for every US dollar spent on eligible stays; 4pm late checkout; complimentary in-room premium internet access; and a welcome gift upon arrival.
RUNNER UP Citi PremierMiles (Visa) – a decent all rounder that offers an attractive dollar to miles conversion rate, but still lags behind the UOB card in most respects.
QANTAS FREQUENT FLYER
CREDIT CARD Citi Prestige Visa
MILEAGE CONVERSION A$1 (US$0.7) for 1 Qantas Frequent Flyer point (all spending)
ANNUAL FEE A base credit card annual fee of A$700 (US$551), plus another A$49 (US$38) per year to register for the Citibank Qantas Rewards program.
MINIMUM INCOME REQUIREMENTS A$150,000 (US$118,231)
WELCOME OFFER A one-time offer of 70,000 bonus Qantas Frequent Flyer points when you first spend on your card.
ADDITIONAL PERKS One free night stay per year at an eligible hotel; Priority Pass membership; complimentary international travel insurance
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT Yes, the high annual fee may put many people off, but consider this… 70,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points is a ton of points! To put this into perspective, it is roughly equivalent to the standard earning rate of seven (yes… seven) one-way first class flights with Qantas between Sydney and Singapore. This alone makes this card worth it – at least for a year. The complimentary hotel night per year is an added bonus and there are a respectable range of quality eligible hotels, including the likes of Mandarin Orchard Singapore, Le Meridien New Delhi and Sofitel Wentworth Sydney.
RUNNER UP Qantas American Express Ultimate – a nice alternative to those who do not want to spend so much on the annual fee.
BRITISH AIRWAYS EXECUTIVE CLUB
CREDIT CARD British Airways American Express Premium Plus
MILEAGE CONVERSION £1 (US$1.5) for 1.5 Avios (general spending), £1 for 3 Avios (British Airways flights and holidays)
ANNUAL FEE £150 (US$226)
MINIMUM INCOME REQUIREMENTS £20,000 (US$30,245)
WELCOME OFFER 25,000 bonus Avios upon spending £3,000 (US$4,535) or more within the first three months of card memebership (offer ends June 17)
ADDITIONAL PERKS Travel protection benefits; companion voucher every year upon spending of £10,000 (US$15,119); priority access to purchase tickets for a wide range of events, including music, theatre and film
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT The recent changes to BA’s frequent flyer programme have meant that many travellers are now required to use more Avios to redeem for fares. Therefore, it’s only natural that we have chosen a card that offers users the best way of maxing out their Avios fast. The limited time bonus of 25,000 Avios is an eye-catching perk, as that’s essentially a return economy flight between London to Moscow right there. Meanwhile, the companion voucher entitles users to receive a second seat for a companion of the same flight as the cardholder – not bad at all… particularly if redeemed on BA’s long haul flights.
RUNNER UP British Airways Visa Signature Card by Chase – offers superior perks to the AMEX card, but is ironically a US credit card.
UNITED AIRLINES MILEAGEPLUS
CREDIT CARD United MileagePlus Explorer Visa
MILEAGE CONVERSION US$1 for 1 mile (general spending), US$1 for 2 miles (tickets purchased from United)
ANNUAL FEE First year free, then US$95 the following year
MINIMUM INCOME REQUIREMENT US$40,000 per year
WELCOME OFFER 50,000 bonus miles after spending US$3,000 on purchase within first three months
ADDITIONAL PERKS Free first checked bag; priority boarding; no fees on foreign transaction; two United Club passes; never expiring miles
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT Even at first glance, the perks that this card offers is ideal for any frequent traveller. Extra baggage allowance, priority boarding, and the absence of any handling fee for foreign transactions make this card very travel friendly. In addition, the 50,000 bonus miles is significantly more generous than those offered by rival credit cards. That’s good enough to redeem a return economy class fare between mainland USA and Hawaii. As an added bonus, you will receive a further 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $25,000 in net purchases each calendar year – not bad at all as this effectively boosts your earn rate to 1.67 miles for every dollar.
RUNNER UP United MileagePlus Club card – lacks the huge 50,000 bonus miles welcome offer, but offers slightly better perks than the Explorer card (e.g. complimentary United Club membership). However, it just doesn’t justify the huge annual fee of US$395.
Clement Huang
