Air tickets are the biggest single card transactions most of us make all year — and where you buy the ticket decides what it earns. The same S$1,000 fare can earn 4,000 miles or 400, depending on whether you booked on the airline’s own site or through a booking site like Agoda or Trip.com, and which card you paid with. This guide covers the best cards for flights in Singapore dollars first, then in a foreign currency.
If you are booking from Singapore, the fare is usually charged in Singapore dollars. But when your trip starts in another city, the airline often bills you in that city’s currency instead. That changes which card you should pay with — so the foreign-currency situation gets its own section at the end.
Booking Directly With the Airlines
Paying on the airline’s own website or app — Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Cathay.
Miles Credit Cards
| Card | Earn Rate | Min Spend & Cap | How to Pay | Can pay in foreign currency? (subject to 3.25% FX fee) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 DBS Woman’s World | 4 mpd (online spend) | Min: none · Cap: S$1,000 online spend/calendar month | Online only | Yes |
 HSBC Revolution | 4 mpd for direct airlines & hotels (Online travel agencies excluded); 8mpd for S$50,000 ADB in HSBC EGA | Min: none · Cap for 4mpd: S$1,000 spend/calendar month; Cap for 8mpd: S$1,200 spend/calendar month | PayWave Card Tap, Online or mobile wallet – magstripe swipe / chip insert will not earn 4 mpd. | Yes |
 UOB Lady’s | 4 mpd (Travel category) | Min: none · Cap: S$1,000 bonus spend/calendar month (for Classic) Category cap: S$750 bonus spend/calendar month (for Solitaire and above) | Card, online or mobile wallet | Yes |
 Maybank XL Rewards | 4 mpd (Travel category; ages 21–39 only) | Min: S$500/calendar month · Cap: S$1,000 bonus spend/calendar month, shared across its bonus categories | Card, online or mobile wallet | Yes, can use amaze to reduce to 2% fx fee |
 KrisFlyer UOB | 3 mpd on Singapore Airlines, Scoot only | Min: none for SIA and Scoot flights · Cap: none | Card, online or mobile wallet | Yes |
My Take
For tickets up to S$1,000 a month, DBS Woman’s World only earns online, while HSBC Revolution takes online or mobile-wallet payment. If you are between 21 and 39, Maybank XL Rewards matches the 4 mpd on flights, with a S$500 monthly minimum to hit. For big Singapore Airlines or Scoot tickets that go past S$1,000 in a month, KrisFlyer UOB gives you an uncapped 3 mpd.
If the fare is charged in a foreign currency, you will usually pay a 3.25% foreign exchange fee on top. That makes the earn rate even more important — prioritise the spend on DBS Woman’s World, UOB Lady’s or HSBC Revolution within their caps, so you are still earning 4 miles per dollar.
Maybank XL cardholders have one extra trick: link the card to an Instarem Amaze card and pay through Amaze instead. Amaze converts the fare to Singapore dollars at a cost of about 2%, so you skip the 3.25% fee — and because flights sit in the XL Travel category, the converted charge still earns your 4 miles per dollar (or the XL Cashback’s 5%). You can refer to my best cards to use with Amaze guide if you are new to Amaze.
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- You qualify if: you have no HSBC credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any HSBC credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 by the end of the month after you're approved. Example: approved in May → spend by 30 June.
- During the application, tick the box to receive marketing messages from HSBC. Don't unsubscribe until your gift arrives — if you do, HSBC can cancel the reward.
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
- You qualify if: you have no UOB credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any UOB credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 within the first 30 days from card approval
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
- You qualify if: you have no UOB credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any UOB credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 within the first 30 days from card approval
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
Cashback Credit Cards
| Card | Earn Rate | Min Spend & Cap | How to Pay | Can pay in foreign currency? (subject to 3.25% FX fee) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UOB EVOL | 10% on online or mobile contactless spend | Min: S$800/statement month · Category cap: S$30/statement month (about S$300 of spend) | Online or mobile wallet | Yes, you can earn up to 1% cashback (uncapped) on fcy spend with 0% fx fee till 31st Dec 2026 |
| OCBC FRANK | 8% on online spend or mobile contactless spend | Min: S$800/calendar month · Category cap: S$25/category (S$100/month) | Online or mobile wallet | Yes |
| DCS Flex | 6% on online or contactless spend | Min: S$600/statement month · Category cap: S$25/category | Online or contactless | Yes |
Maybank XL Cashback | 5% (Travel category; ages 21–39 only) | Min: S$500/calendar month · Cap: S$80/calendar month (S$1,600 of spend), shared across its bonus categories | Card, online or mobile wallet | Yes, can use amaze to reduce to 2% fx fee |
 HSBC Advance | 1.5% on all spend; 2.5% above S$2,000/month | Min: none for 1.5% · Cap: S$70/calendar month | Card or mobile wallet | Yes |
Cashback cards only make sense here if the card is already your main card. UOB EVOL and OCBC FRANK both count an online flight booking — you earn 10% and 8% — but their caps are small and shared with both online and mobile contactless spend so once a fare pushes you past the cap, the rest earns only the base rate. If you want something simpler, HSBC Advance gives you 1.5% on everything with no minimum, and a boosted 2.5% once you spend S$2,000 in a month; the cashback caps at S$70, which you reach at around S$2,800 of spend. And if you are between 21 and 39, Maybank XL Cashback gives 5% on travel, on up to S$1,600 of travel spend a month.
Latest Sign Up Deals
- You qualify if: you have no UOB credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any UOB credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 within the first 30 days from card approval
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
- You qualify if: you have no HSBC credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any HSBC credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 by the end of the month after you're approved. Example: approved in May → spend by 30 June.
- During the application, tick the box to receive marketing messages from HSBC. Don't unsubscribe until your gift arrives — if you do, HSBC can cancel the reward.
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
Booking Through Agoda, Trip.com and Other Sites Coded As Online Travel Agencies
Booking sites process your payment themselves, under their own merchant code — MCC 4722, Online Travel Agencies.
| Card | Earn Rate | Min Spend & Cap | How to Pay | Can pay in foreign currency? (subject to 3.25% FX fee) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
DBS Woman’s World | 4 mpd — booking sites are not excluded | Min: none · Cap: S$1,000 online spend/calendar month, shared with your other online spend | Online only | Yes |
UOB Lady’s | 4 mpd at major booking sites like Agoda, Expedia, Hotels.com | Min: none · Cap: S$1,000 bonus spend/calendar month (for Classic) Cap: S$750 bonus spend/calendar month (for Solitaire and above) | Card, online or mobile wallet | Yes |
Maybank XL Rewards | 4 mpd — booking sites (MCC 4722) are in its Travel category (ages 21–39 only) | Min: S$500/calendar month · Cap: S$1,000 bonus spend/calendar month, shared across its bonus categories | Card, online or mobile wallet | Yes, can use amaze to reduce to 2% fx fee |
KrisFlyer UOB | 2.4 mpd on its booking-site list (Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia, Trip.com and others) | Min: S$1,000/membership year on SIA-group spend to unlock 2.4 mpd · Cap: none | Card, online or mobile wallet | Not that ideal |
My Take
DBS Woman’s World and UOB Lady’s work very well here. KrisFlyer UOB gives a slightly boosted 2.4 mpd on booking sites once you have made S$1,000 of SIA-group spend in your membership year.
Pro-tip: you can stack extra rewards on top by clicking through HeyMax (miles)/Shopback (cashback) before you book. Some travel booking sites or airlines show slightly inflated prices if they detect you arrived via a rewards platform or affiliate link. They do this to offset the commission they pay to HeyMax or ShopBack. Before finalizing your purchase, open an Incognito/Private window in your browser and check the flight price directly on the airline or booking website without clicking through any rewards portal.
If you are new to HeyMax, I explain how HeyMax works in my complete beginner’s guide to HeyMax.
Cashback Credit Cards
These same cards work for booking sites too. A booking through a travel agency counts as online spend, so UOB EVOL, OCBC FRANK, DCS Flex, HSBC Advance and Maybank XL Cashback all earn on it at the same rates as above.
Paying For Flights in a Foreign Currency
If you are paying for a flight in a foreign currency, the card matters more than usual — you are already paying a 3.25% foreign exchange fee on top, so you want one that earns well on it. Besides the other cards that have already been mentioned above, there is one more card that gives an uncapped 3.2mpd for overseas spend including flights. It is the Maybank World Mastercard. It earns up to 3.2 miles per dollar on your foreign-currency spend, with no cap. The rate follows how much you spend in the month: your foreign-currency spend earns 2.8 miles per dollar once you hit S$800 in a calendar month, and 3.2 once you pass S$4,000. Below S$800, it drops to 0.4. So it only pays off if you are comfortably spending at least S$4,000 a month in local and foreign spend.
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