SWIPE THE PLASTIC
DEAL HSBC Red Hot Rewards
COUNTRY Hong Kong
VALID FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMMES Asia Miles, Krisflyer, Executive Club (latter two reserved for HSBC Premier customers)
DEAL VALIDITY Until December 31, 2015
HOW IT WORKS HSBC cardholders in Hong Kong that sign up for the Mileage Programme will know that they can convert their RewardCash points to air miles at a rate of 1:15. Given that they earn 1 RewardCash point for every HK$250 spent, this effectively means that every mile earned costs HK$16.6 at the standard rate – not an attractive deal at all by any measure.
However, by taking advantage of the “HSBC Red Hot Rewards” promotion, you can sweeten the deal considerably with six-times more RewardCash points all year round, and 11 times every Friday. This means that spending HK$250 on Fridays will earn 11 RewardCash points, or 165 miles. At this rate, the cost of each mile is a mere HK$1.5.
HSBC preferred spending categories
So how do you do it? Well, the first step is to enrol for the promotion, which can be done online for free. You have the option to choose from six spending categories (see above). However, to ensure you maximise the full bonus, its best to choose just one preferred spending category. Next, simply spend and watch the points roll in!
BOOK A HOTEL
DEAL Kaligo
COUNTRY All
VALID FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMMES AAdvantage, Asia Miles, Executive Club, Etihad Guest, Flying Club, Krisflyer, Mileage Plus, and more
DEAL VALIDITY Ongoing
HOW IT WORKS Kaligo is the first online hotel booking portal that awards air miles for every booking made.
By partnering with a large number of airline frequent flyer programmes (FFP), Kaligo is offering customers air miles for every hotel booking. Earning rates vary between hotels, but there are some truly attractive deals available.
For example, a four-night stay in late June at the Fort Canning Lodge in Singapore will earn you 7,300 Krisflyer miles (1,825 miles per night), with the stay setting you back S$1,040 (US$768).
On top of that, if you pay for the stay using a credit card that grants air miles, you stand to earn even more! Take the American Express Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Ascend credit card for example. This has an earn rate of 1 mile for every S$1.20 (US$0.89) spent, meaning this hotel stay would earn 866 miles – on top of the 7,3000 bonus miles by booking through Kaligo. That’s a total of 8,166 Krisflyer miles earned!
SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP
DEAL Qantas Points Online Mall/Krisflyer Spree
COUNTRY Varies
VALID FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMMES Qantas Frequent Flyer, Kris Flyer
DEAL VALIDITY Ongoing service
HOW IT WORKS Both online shopping malls by Qantas and Singapore Airlines provide FFP members the opportunity to earn miles. The services allow members to purchase clothing, accessories, electronics, food and beverage items, toys, cosmetic products, and more, while earning air miles.
Accrual rates vary depending on the brand or item (country specific), and these are updated regularly.
Currently, the KrisFlyer Spree service allows members to earn 50 miles for every US$10 spent at French Connection Japan – that’s five miles for every dollar! Other noteworthy brands to consider include Tommy Hilfiger USA (46 Krisflyer miles per US$10), Macys UK (37 Krisflyer miles per US$10), and Xbox in Singapore (23 Krisflyer miles per US$10).
Meanwhile down under, Qantas is offering six points for every A$1 (US$0.88) spent with Samsung, while there is also a David Jones clearance sale that not only allows customers to save up to 50 per cent on products bought, but comes with a accrual rate of five points per dollar spent.
onlinemall.qantaspoints.com and krisflyerspree.com
BUY IN BULK
DEAL Alitalia bonus miles
COUNTRY All
FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMMES MilleMiglia
DEAL VALIDITY Until July 20, 2015
HOW IT WORKS Alitalia allows members of its MilleMiglia FFP to purchase miles for a standard rate of EUR25 (US$28) per every 1,000 miles. The cost of a purchased air mile by Alitalia is 2.8 cents, which is pretty expensive compared to the industry average of 1.7 cents.
However, the Italian carrier is now offering a limited time deal that grants you bonus points upon the purchase of miles. Not only that, but Alitalia has also increased the annual limit of purchasable miles from the standard 40,000 to 60,000! Here are the promotional rates.
- From 1,000 to 10,000 Miles = 20% miles bonus
- From 11,000 to 20,000 Miles = 30% miles bonus
- From 21,000 to 30,000 Miles = 40% miles bonus
- From 31,000 to 40,000 Miles = 50% miles bonus
As indicated above, members that purchase between 31,000 and 40,000 miles stand to earn the highest levels of bonus points, but is this really a good deal? Let’s find out.
40,000 miles will set you back EUR1,000 (US$1,123), but given that you get a 50 per cent bonus, that means that you’ll receive a total of 60,000 miles for the purchase. Taking into account the extra miles, this means that each mile ends up costing you a much more reasonable 1.8 cents.
Oh, and did we mention that as a member of Skyteam, you will be able to use your newly bought miles to redeem flights on Asian carriers such as Garuda Indonesia, Korean Air and China Airlines!
SPECIAL PROMOS
DEAL 2X Jet Privilege miles on Airberlin flights
COUNTRY All
FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMMES Jet Privilege, topbonus
DEAL VALIDITY Bookings made before June 30, for travel until August 15, 2015
HOW IT WORKS It’s pretty straightforward! In celebration of its new airline partner, Jet Airways is rewarding members of its Jet Privilege programme with double mileage when they travel on eligible flights with Airberlin.
Reciprocally, Airberlin’s topbonus cardholders will also earn 2x miles when they fly with Jet Airways.
This deal is valid for all flights across both carriers’ networks, but do keep an eye out for the fare classes. As is standard across most airlines, discounted tickets earn you less miles. You will however still earn the double mileage for these, with the exception of those that do not earn you any mileage at all.
Topbonus mileage accrual chart for flights operated by Jet Airways
Jet Privilege mileage accrual chart for flights operated by Airberlin
jetairways.com and airberlin.com
Clement Huang