As far as credit cards go, Amex cards are probably as prestigious as you can get in. And as far as airlines go, Singapore Airlines is one of the most expensive in the world to fly with. So what happens when atas meets expensive? Their lovechild is the American Express Singapore Airlines Business credit card, a heavyweight air miles card specially for business owners.
This SME-friendly card lets you rack up 8 HighFlyer points per S$1 on SIA and Scoot flights—plus 1.2 points per S$1 on almost everything else—while throwing in travel perks like Accor Plus membership, hotel stay, and Hertz Gold status.
There’s a $400 annual fee (with no waiver in sight), and the highest earn rates are locked to SIA Group bookings. But for business owners who spend big on flights and want travel benefits bundled in, this card might just deliver serious value.
In this review, we’ll break down how the AMEX SIA Business Card works, its key benefits and drawbacks, and whether it deserves a spot in your business wallet.
American Express Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card—Is it MoneySmart? | |||||
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Pros—What we like | Cons—What we don’t like | ||||
– Earn up to 8 KrisFlyer miles per S$1 spent with SIA Group (including Singapore Airlines, Scoot, and KrisShop) | – High annual fee of S$400 (incl. GST) | ||||
American Express Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card at a glance | |||||
Category | Our rating | The deets | |||
Earn rates: Cashback | ★★★★★ | – 1.2 HighFlyer points per S$1 spent on all eligible purchases (worth 1.2 KrisFlyer miles) with no cap | |||
Earn categories | ★★★★☆ | ||||
Annual fees and charges | ★★★★☆ | $400.00. First 2 supplementary cards free, $100.85 after. | |||
Accessibility | – | Undisclosed; card application is subjected to customers meeting the regulatory minimum income requirement and internal assessment. | |||
Extras/periphery rewards | ★☆☆☆☆ | – Complimentary ALL Accor+ Explorer membership each year with 2 complimentary nights’ stay, instant ALL Accor Gold status and up to 30% dining discounts. | |||
Sign-up bonus | ★★★★★ | Receive 20,000 HighFlyer points upon annual fee payment and minimum spending of $1,000 within first 2 months of card approval.Plus, earn up to 8,000 HighFlyer points based on $1,000 spent on eligible Singapore Airlines and Scoot flights. | |||
Overall: ★★★★☆ (3.8/5)See our credit card ranking rubric to find out how we rank credit cards.
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1. Amex Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card—Summary
The American Express Singapore Airlines Business credit card is no everyday card for the everyday Singaporean. What differentiates this card the most is that it’s only for those who either own a business, or have executive authority of a registered company/business. (Psst, if this isn’t you, but you fancy the benefits of the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card, jump straight to our last section on some alternative air miles cards you can get instead.)
An air miles credit card, the AMEX Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card is a top pick if your business spend regularly takes off with SIA or Scoot—and you want your expenses to rack up serious rewards. Here’s what stands out:
- 8 HighFlyer points per S$1 spent on Singapore Airlines or Scoot flights
- 1.2 HighFlyer points per S$1 on all other eligible purchases, with no cap
- Convert HighFlyer points to KrisFlyer miles at 1:1, up to 150,000 miles per account per year
- Complimentary Accor Plus Explorer membership (includes a free hotel night yearly)
- Hertz Gold status: 10% off, car class upgrade, and free additional driver
- 0% interest-free period (up to 22 days from statement due)
- Annual fee of S$400 (incl. GST) — no fee waiver
- First two supplementary cards are free; $100.85/year for each after that
It's best for business owners or SMEs who fly frequently, want to maximise travel perks, and are ready to pay an annual fee for serious SIA-centric rewards.
2. Amex Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card—Eligibility
Here are the known requirements you have to meet to qualify for the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card:
- Age: 21 years and older
- Minimum income: Amex doesn't give an exact figure, but states that, “Card application is subjected to customers meeting the regulatory minimum income requirement and internal assessment”.
- Be a business owner and/or person with executive authority of a company/business with a valid Unique Entity Number (UEN) issued to it by the government.
Although Amex doesn’t give an exact amount for their minimum income requirement, this probably isn’t the first thing you have to consider. The first thing you’ll notice about this card’s eligibility requirements is that you’ve got to be some kind of a business owner. Amex is catering here to entrepreneurs and businessmen and women whose work necessitates frequent and/or fairly regular travel overseas. If that sounds like you, read on to see how the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card works for you.
3. Amex Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card—Annual fees
This is an Amex card we’re talking about. Amex cards are notorious for a level of exclusivity that somehow translates into letting Amex get away with not only higher annual fees, but higher annual fees that often cannot be waived. It’s no different for the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card. While Amex used to offer a first year fee waiver back in 2021, these days, you can expect to have to pay the hefty annual fee of $400 (inclusive of GST) per year. Comparatively, here’s a look at the annual fees for other miles credit cards:
Air miles credit card | Annual fee for main cardholder | Supplementary card annual fee |
$400 | $100.85 (first 2 supplementary cards free) | |
$196.20 (Waive from second year onwards if you spend more than $25,000 per year) | Free, up to 5 supplementary cards | |
$196.20 | $0 | |
$261.60 (1 year fee waiver) | $130.80 (free first 2 supplementary cards) | |
$196.20 | $98.10 | |
$196.20 (1 year fee waiver) | $98.10 | |
$196.20 (1 year fee waiver) | $98.10 (1 year fee waiver) |
The Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card has one of the highest annual fees out there—aside from, well, other Amex credit cards. For example, the American Express The Platinum Card has an annual fee of a whopping $1,744. *faints*
4. Amex Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card—Rewards points
Ok, so the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card comes with a pretty hefty annual fee. But do its rewards more than make up for it?
Here are the mile earn rates for the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card:
Spend | Earn |
S$1 spent on eligible Singapore Airlines Group flights | Up to 8 HighFlyer Points |
S$1 spent on all other eligible spend | Up to 1.2 HighFlyer Points |
Extra perks for new HighFlyer members & loyal cardholders
- New to HighFlyer? If your business signs up for the Singapore Airlines HighFlyer programme for the first time, you’ll score an extra 10,000 HighFlyer points when one of your team completes a flown SIA booking via the Singapore Airlines corporate portal within 12 months of getting your card. This bonus is a one-time welcome for each business, making it a nice head start on your miles journey.
- Renewal reward: Each year you renew your card and pay the annual fee, you’ll also receive 6,000 bonus HighFlyer points—a recurring reward that helps your points balance grow with your business loyalty.
These are regular card benefits independent of any welcome bonuses, which you should check out too below. Spoiler: they’re good!
What are HighFlyer points?
HighFlyer by Singapore Airlines is a travel reward programme for businesses. It lets you and your employees earn HighFlyer points when you fly, which are valid for 3 years. You can then redeem these points to offset future flights or redeem extras like additional baggage and cabin class upgrades.
You also have the option to convert your company’s HighFlyer miles into KrisFlyer miles at a 1:1 rate. These KrisFlyer miles then work as per normal.
ALSO READ: KrisFlyer Miles Redemption Guide—How to Start Playing the Miles Game in Singapore
You might be wondering, what’s the difference between HighFlyer points and KrisFlyer miles? Essentially, HighFlyer points are to businesses what KrisFlyer miles are to individuals. Here’s a quick look at how they compare:
HighFlyer points | KrisFlyer miles | |
Who owns the points/miles? | Businesses. Each business can nominate up to 5 Corporate Travellers. | Individuals |
How do you earn them? | Selected flights operated by:
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When do the points/miles expire? | After 3 years | After 3 years for KrisFlyer Basic, KrisFlyer Elite Silver and KrisFlyer Elite Gold members. Miles never expire for Priority Passenger Service (PPS) Club members. |
What can you redeem them for? |
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Don’t take the 1:1 HighFlyer to KrisFlyer miles conversion rate for granted. Many cards don’t come with such friendly rates—for example, if you have the HSBC Revolution Credit Card, you’ll earn HSBC rewards points that can only be redeemed for KrisFlyer miles at a rate of 25,000 HSBC rewards points to 10,000 SQ Krisflyer miles.
However, do note there is one catch to converting HighFlyer points to KrisFlyer miles: you can only convert a maximum of 150,000 HighFlyer points into KrisFlyer miles per KrisFlyer member, per calendar year.
Can I earn HighFlyer points and KrisFlyer miles at the same time?
The beauty of the HighFlyer programme is that it lets you earn HighFlyer points at the company level, while your employees can still earn their good old KrisFlyer miles on the individual level.
In a way, this doubles the earnings. Using the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card, your employee can collect up to 8 HighFlyer points on an SQ flight for the company, while still earning KrisFlyer miles as an individual on their personal KrisFlyer account. You can then even convert those HighFlyer points into KrisFlyer miles for the employee to maximise savings.
5. Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card—Travel benefits
The Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card is as miles-y as a miles card can get. Even its “lifestyle” benefits are travel related! However, that isn’t to say these perks are disappointing. In fact, they’re pretty darn good benefits you can get from a single credit card if you are a frequent flyer.
- Complimentary ALL Accor+ Explorer membership (worth $299), with 2 complimentary nights’ stay, instant ALL Accor Gold status and up to 30% dining discounts.
- Complimentary Hertz Gold Status with 10% off standard rates, one car class upgrade and the additional driver fee waived.
- Complimentary Accor Plus membership (worth S$418), inclusive of a free nights stay every year. Accor Plus is a programme that rewards you with hotel and dining privileges in about 1000 hotels in 20 countries. Participating hotels include Fairmont, Sofitel, Swissôtel, Grand Mercure, and Novotel.
- Accelerate to KrisFlyer Elite Gold status when you spend $15,000 on purchases from Singapore Airlines Group in the first year. This tier gets you privileges like priority airport check-in, priority baggage handling, and additional baggage allowance.
6. Is the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card the fastest track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold status?
The Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card gives you KrisFlyer Elite Gold status when you spend $15,000 on purchases from Singapore Airlines Group in your first year. Normally, it takes 50,000 Elite miles earned in a year to upgrade your KrisFlyer tier to Elite Gold. Mind you, that’s Elite miles you gotta earn, not your regular KrisFlyer miles. You might be wondering, how much harder is it to earn 50,000 Elite miles compared to spending $15,000 a year on SQ flights? Let’s take a closer look.
What are Elite miles and how are they calculated?
Elite miles are a special type of miles Singapore Airlines uses to determine if you deserve to be an Elite Silver or Elite Gold KrisFlyer member. Nope, they don’t actually earn you any rewards and are not redeemable for any goodies, unlike your regular KrisFlyer miles. These Elite miles are just for SIA to decide on your membership tier.
Elite miles are calculated based on actual miles. The Elite miles you earn can be anywhere between 50% to 250% of the KrisFlyer miles you earn, depending on the booking class of your flight ticket.
Here’s an example. Say you’re doing a return trip from Singapore to London on SQ Standard Economy. That’ll earn you about 10,138 KrisFlyer miles, according to their online KrisFlyer miles calculator. Here are the Elite miles you can earn, depending on your booking class:
KrisFlyer miles earned | Booking class under Economy | Earn rate for Elite miles | Elite miles earned |
10,138 KrisFlyer miles | Flexi (Y, B, E) | 100% | 10,138 Elite miles |
Standard (M, H, W) | 75% | 7,604 Elite miles | |
Value (Q, N); Lite (V, K, G) | 50% | 5,069 Elite miles |
Getting that KrisFlyer Elite Gold—what’s the fastest, cheapest way there?
If you want to be in the KrisFlyer Elite Gold tier, you normally have to earn 50,000 Elite miles in a year. In the best case scenario in the example above, it’ll take you 5 round trip flights from Singapore to London under booking classes Y, B or E (Flexi). A Standard Economy round trip SQ flight from Singapore to London will cost you anywhere between $2,200 to over $4,000, which comes up to about $11,000 to over $20,000 for 5 such flights.
In the worst case scenario, we’re looking at 10 round trip flights from Singapore to London to hit the 50,000 Elite miles minimum. That’s $22,000 to $40,000 a year!
Comparatively, the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card requires a $15,000 minimum spend on Singapore Airlines Group. This may sound like a rather lofty sum at first, but based on our calculations above, it’s probably going to be the easier way to get that KrisFlyer Elite Gold.
7. Amex Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card—Sign-up promotion
Amex has ridiculous annual fees, but admittedly good welcome bonuses. The Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card is giving out 20,000 free HighFlyer points with $1,000 spend within the first 2 months. If you convert these to KrisFlyer miles, that’s roughly a return trip from Singapore to Sydney, Australia or 2 round trips to Bangkok, Thailand!
Plus, you'll get 8,000 HighFlyer points based on S$1,000 spent on eligible Singapore Airlines and Scoot flights.
Valid till 27 Jan 2026. T&Cs apply.
8. Should I get the Amex Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card?
Are you a business owner? Do you and/or your employees travel a few times a year, especially on Singapore Airlines? If you answered yes to both of these questions, you should get the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card. Here’s why.
Earn rates. This card beats the rest of the competition out hands down when it comes earning miles on SQ flights. At a whopping 8 HighFlyer points per $1 spent on Singapore Airlines Group purchases, the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card currently offers the best deal out there when it comes to rewards for SQ bookings. The next best is the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card, which earns you 3 KrisFlyer miles per $1 spent on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Scoot and KrisShop. Considering the fact that your HighFlyer points convert to KrisFlyer miles at a 1:1 conversion rate, the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card leaves the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card in the dust when it comes to SQ miles earn rates.
Double the miles. Don’t forget that the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card lets you earn HighFlyer points for your company while letting your employee earn KrisFlyer miles for their own KrisFlyer accounts.
Sign-up bonuses. It feels like we’ve been talking about miles for miles and miles now, but the generous welcome bonus is definitely worth considering here—a total of 20,000 free HighFlyer points with $1,000 spend over 2 months.
Travel benefits. With a complimentary ALL Accor+ Explorer Membership and Hertz Gold Status, the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card sweetens the deal by letting you (and your employees) live comfortably, affordably. Not to mention, it may very well be your fastest track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold status. Hello, priority check-in/baggage handling/everything at the airport.
Now all this sounds great, but we also have some words of caution when it comes to the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card. Hear us out:
Hefty annual fees. $400 for the main cardholder and $100.85 for supplementary cards is kinda normal for Amex, but ludicrous to me when I consider all the other credit cards out there. I mean, there are some credit cards with no annual fees at all!
There is a KrisFlyer conversion cap. You can only convert a maximum of 150,000 KrisFlyer miles per year per cardmember. This is probably no biggie if your company is not too big, but larger companies are going to feel held back by this limit.
All in all, the miles and savings you earn + lounge/hotel privileges you get amount to more than the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card’s sizable annual fee, it’s probably worth getting. Just take note of the KrisFlyer miles conversion cap.
9. Alternatives to the Amex Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card
We’re not all business owners, and not many of us are willing to pay over $300 in annual credit card fees. If you still want a credit card that rewards you for flying SQ, the next best alternative to the Amex Singapore Airlines Business credit card is the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card, which annual fee is S$194.40 (first year waived).
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- on Singapore Airlines, Scoot, KrisShop, Kris+ and Pelago purchases
- S$1 = 3 Miles
- on dining, food delivery, online shopping, online travel and transport spend
- S$1 = Up to 2.4 Miles
- on all other spend
- S$1 = 1.2 Miles
The HSBC Revolution Credit Card earns you 4 air miles per S$1 spend on selected categories. These include contactless payment methods, online spending, food deliveries, and travel bookings.
- on Contactless & Online Spending for cardholders who maintain at least S$50,000 average daily balance in your HSBC EGA SGD Account
- S$1 = 20X Points (8 miles)
- on Contactless & Online Spending for all other cardholders
- S$1 = 10X Points (4 miles)
- on All Other Spend
- S$1 = 1X Point
Get S$420 UPSIZED Cash or 6,140 SmartPoints (worth up to S$499 of Gifts) when you spend S$500 from Card Account Opening Date to end of the following calendar month!
PLUS, win a S$15,000 Dream Holiday to your preferred destination! T&Cs apply.
Want to start earning miles for your next holiday while you’re tucking into your Foodpanda delivery? The Standard Chartered Journey Credit Card lets you earn a generous 3 miles per S$1 spent on online transactions for transportation, grocery and food delivery.
- on Transportation, Food Delivery & Online Grocery merchants
- S$1 = 3 Miles
- for all Eligible Foreign Spends
- S$1 = 2 Miles
- for all Eligible Local Spends
- S$1 = 1.2 Miles
Get S$180 Cash via PayNow or 2,800 SmartPoints (worth up to S$429 of Gifts) when you spend min. S$800 in 60 days AND apply to any of the following SCB products through MoneySmart (Bonus$aver Account, CashOne Loan, EasyPay or Funds Transfer). T&Cs apply.
[Stackable Miles Promotion]
Get 20,000 miles when you spend a min. of S$800 within first 60 days of card approval. T&Cs apply.
P.S. Here's our MoneySmart credit card ranking rubric
In case you're wondering, here's how we decide on our credit card rankings.
Is that credit card MoneySmart? Our MoneySmart credit card ranking rubric | |
Category | Our rating |
Overall | The average rating for the credit card on the whole, calculated from the ratings for the individual categories below. Plus, we’ll give you a one-liner on who we think the credit card is best suited for. |
Earn rates: Air miles / Cashback / Rewards points | Air miles ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ / Cashback / Rewards points . This category looks at the depth rather than breadth of earn rates.
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Earn categories | This category looks at the breadth rather than depth of your earnings.
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Annual fees and charges |
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Accessibility | Minimum income requirements:
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Extras/periphery rewards | These include:
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Sign-up bonus |
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Check out all our MoneySmart credit card reviews: The Ultimate List of Credit Card Reviews in Singapore.
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