How I Earn 100,000 Air Miles Every Year With 3 Credit Cards (2024) – Beragampengetahuan

This is going to be a straightforward update on the credit cards that I will be using in 2024.

For this year, my primary goal is going to be the accumulation of air miles, whereas my secondary goal would be to minimize foreign currency fees.

Why Do I Choose Air Miles Instead Of Cashback?

Inevitably, there will be the question of whether the air miles strategy or the cash-back strategy is more worth it when it comes to credit card usage.

I guess the answer really depends on your lifestyle, with no clear-cut answers.

In 2023, my wife and I spent about 45 days overseas (which is record-breaking for us) if we were to start counting.

And that’s a total of eight flights (a mix of both economy and business class) for each of us, which is plenty since we don’t used to travel that much in the past.

Our experience last year has once again reinforced the idea that the flexibility offered by the redemption of air miles far outweighs the monetary benefit of cash rebates since it suits our lifestyle perfectly.

We could decide to travel during peak seasons (e.g. dry summer in Hoi An and Da Nang) even when budget flights tend to be rather pricey.

Or when we feel like splurging our air miles, we can choose to travel in luxury.

How Do I Spend When It Comes To Monthly Expenses?

Having answered the “why” for air miles, perhaps we can talk about the “how” as well.

At the moment, the primary mode of payment for my monthly expenses is via credit cards, followed by PayNow/PayLah! and lastly, cash.

To “make full use of” i.e. optimise the expenses that I am paying with credit cards, I have broken down these payments into the following categories:

1. Contactless Spend e.g. PayWave
2. Online Spend e.g. Lazada and Shopee
3. General Spend

Now that I know the above, the next steps are going to be easy.

My strategy is to prioritise simplicity instead of relentlessly seeking out the best option.

With that, I will be using a specific credit card for each of the three corresponding categories, which will allow me to earn air miles efficiently.

What Are The 3 Credit Cards That I Use?

The guiding principle when coming up with my simple air miles strategy is rather basic.

I would only use the credit cards that suit my lifestyle instead of adjusting my lifestyle to adapt to the best miles-earning credit cards.

In short, I am only willing to expend minimal effort for optimal results.

Card 1. Contactless Spend – HSBC Revolution

With no annual fee, the HSBC Revolution is a handy card to have in my wallet, and I’m going to be using it almost exclusively with PayWave transactions.

• Payment mode – Contactless & online spend
• Earn rate – 4 miles per dollar
• Monthly cap – $1,000 per calendar month
• Miles earning potential – 4,000 miles per month

From grocery shopping at FairPrice NTUC to meals at food courts, the acceptance of credit cards is incredibly high in Singapore.

I have little trouble difficulty hitting the monthly cap of $1000.

This is estimated to help me earn about 4,000 miles per month or 48,000 miles per year if I am able to hit the limit in most months.

Learn more →
Review: How I Earned 80,000 Miles With The HSBC Revolution Credit Card

Card 2. Online Spend – Citi Rewards

As the secondary choice to the HSBC Revolution, Citi Rewards will be able to fill in for common use cases such as online shopping, private hire car rides and food delivery.

• Payment mode – Online spend
• Earn rate – 4 miles per dollar
• Monthly cap – $1,000 per statement month
• Miles earning potential – 4,000 miles per month

One huge plus point about Citi Rewards is the incredibly long expiry date of its earned points at 60 months.

Citibank is also extremely generous when it comes to annual fee waivers, and I have been automatically given them even when I hadn’t even asked.

The ability to pair the Citi Rewards with Instarem Amaze makes it possible to earn 4 miles per dollar on a wide variety of transactions.

Learn More →
Review: How I Use My Citi Rewards Credit Card To Earn 100,000 Miles

Card 3. General Spend – Citi Prestige / PremierMiles

One must always have a general spend card when the expenses we are paying do not fall under either of the previous two categories.

• Payment category – General spend
• Earn rate – 1.2 miles per dollar (or more)

As for myself, I was previously using the Citi PremierMiles as my general spending card before I upgraded to the Citi Prestige.

Both of them are suitable options as a no-frills general spend credit card.

With the Citi Prestige, getting 25,000 miles (62,500 ThankYou Points) for paying the un-waivable annual fee is not a fantastic deal, but I would prefer to look at the benefits in totality.

In my opinion, unlimited lounge access (for the cardholder plus one guest) is the best perk to have.

The cherry on the cake comes in the form of staycation deals, 1-for-1 dining deals and unique offers that come up from time to time.

Last but not least, complimentary travel insurance has made a difference, too.

The Citi PremierMiles card earns Citi Miles, whereas the Citi Prestige card earns Citi ThankYou Points.

Assuming that we earn a maximum of 4,000 miles on both the HSBC Revolution and Citi Rewards, that leaves 333 miles per month to be earned using the Citi PremierMiles (or Citi Prestige), which is possible if we spend on bigger ticket items or things that don’t qualify for miles under contactless and online spend.

Learn More →
Citi PremierMiles Review: General Spend Card With Free Airport Lounge Visits

Learn More →
Citi Prestige Review – Valuable Perks Despite Pricey $540 Annual Fee

Where Can 100,000 Miles Take Us?

100,000 miles might not be a lot to some people, but it is plenty to us, with loads of possible destinations.

Once again, the value of air miles lies in the flexibility it grants when it comes to travel planning.

Simple Reasons For Sticking To Just 3 Cards

To me, simplicity is happiness.

The ability to declutter mentally and still earn miles with minimal effort is a very appealing prospect.

As I have mentioned, it really depends on the individual’s earning prowess and spending habits to come up with the optimal strategy.

Finances are definitely a lot easier to manage when we are only dealing with a handful of credit cards.

I have already been using this exact setup for the past year or two, and it has served me extraordinarily well.

At the moment, I am tracking my air miles on Notion, and I love that I easily store all the relevant information in one place, but you could do it on a spreadsheet, too.

Possible DBS & UOB Card Alternatives

In case you already own credit cards that are issued by either DBS Bank or UOB Bank, you can consider an alternative 3-card combination below.

I have used all three of these cards previously, and the points that I have covered in this blog post apply similarly, although you would have to look closer at the terms and conditions for the transactions excluded from earning any air miles.

Are you a fellow travel enthusiast? Do share with me your tips on air miles hacking with me!

My Air Miles Resources

Start earning air miles today and pay zero FX fees:

The credit cards I use to earn air miles:

Air miles redemption guides to help you out:

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Kevin started beragampengetahuan when his net worth languished at negative $25,755. His desire to turn things around led him to build passive income from investments and side hustles that pay for his daily expenses and vacations. You can learn more about Kevin here.