The Amplify Rewards program of St.George, Bank of Melbourne and Bank SA will reduce the rate at which points transfer to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. This change is effective from 31 July 2023.
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Amplify devalues KrisFlyer transfers
Currently, Amplify Rewards points can be transferred to both Velocity Frequent Flyer and KrisFlyer at a 2:1 conversion rate. But from 31 July, the conversion rate to KrisFlyer will change to 3:1. That’s a 33% reduction in the value of Amplify Points transferred to Singapore Airlines’ frequent flyer program.
This effectively means that St.George Amplify Rewards Signature cardholders will soon earn the equivalent of 0.5 KrisFlyer miles per dollar spent, rather than 0.75 KrisFlyer miles (since cardholders earn 1.5 Amplify Points per $1 spent).
Those rates are before St.George’s 10% birthday bonus points are taken into account. There are no changes to the birthday bonus.
St.George Amplify Rewards Platinum cardholders will soon earn the equivalent of 0.33 KrisFlyer miles per $1 spent, rather than 0.5 miles.
The same earn rates apply to the equivalent cards offered by Bank of Melbourne and Bank SA, which also use the Amplify Rewards program.
There are no changes to the rate at which Amplify Rewards points convert to Velocity points, nor to the earn rates on St.George’s Amplify Qantas credit cards.
Annual fee increase on Amplify credit cards
From 20 July 2023, St.George Bank will also increase the annual fees on its Amplify Platinum and Amplify Signature credit cards. This will affect new cardholders who apply after this date, as well as existing cardholders when their next renewal (after 20 July 2023) is due.
The annual fee on the Amplify Rewards Platinum credit card will increase from $99 to $124. Meanwhile, the Amplify Signature fee is going up from $279 to $295 per year.
In addition, St.George is introducing an additional $75 “Annual Qantas Rewards Program fee” for cardholders who choose to earn Qantas points instead of Amplify Points with either of those credit cards.
Transfer your Amplify Points before 31 July to get the current rate
If you have an existing balance of Amplify Rewards points, you can still transfer them to KrisFlyer at the current 2:1 rate until 30 July 2023. A minimum amount of 3,000 Amplify Points per transfer applies, which is not changing.
However, beware that unused KrisFlyer miles expire after a fixed term of 3 years. Singapore Airlines had paused the expiration of miles during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that policy comes to an end from tomorrow.
An unpopular change
Until now, St.George Amplify Rewards Signature has been among the best value Visa credit cards in the Australian market for earning points that can be converted to KrisFlyer miles. Many AFF members have been using this card for that reason. With the upcoming devaluation, some are now reconsidering their options.
Here’s what a few AFF members had to say on our forum:
Sitting on about 400.000 points, time to convert and then reduce spend on the card. Pathetic
A 33% devaluation!! I will be dumping my entire balance of StG A pts to KF b4 31st July even though it starts the 3 yr KF expiry clock!
Last year, Amplify Rewards removed the option for members to transfer their points to Malaysia Airlines Enrich. But that was less of a loss as it wasn’t a particularly popular redemption (nor was it particularly good value).
Many Australians value KrisFlyer miles highly for the good access to Singapore Airlines Business Class award seats and low charges when redeeming miles.
Other Australian credit cards for earning KrisFlyer miles
If you’re looking for an Australian credit card to earn Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, there are still a few other excellent options.
Although there are no co-branded Singapore Airlines credit cards in Australia, you can transfer points from most major Australian credit card rewards programs into KrisFlyer.
With an American Express Platinum card, you could earn the equivalent of 1.125 KrisFlyer miles per $1 spent. The Amex Explorer card lets you earn the equivalent of 1 KrisFlyer mile per dollar spent. Neither of those cards have an earning cap, so you can earn unlimited Amex points and transfer them to KrisFlyer (or a range of other loyalty programs) as needed.
The HSBC Star Alliance credit card earns the equivalent of 0.8 KrisFlyer miles per $1 spent, although this earn rate halves after you spend $3,000 each month.
The ANZ Rewards Black card also remains a decent option, with an equivalent earn rate of 0.67 KrisFlyer miles per dollar on the first $5,000 spent each month.
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