For many travelers, flying in business and top quality, especially on international flights, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
A business class ticket can cost as much as five times greater than an economy ticket on Singapore Airlines — and a whopping 13 times more for a first-class one.
Consequently, these cabins are sometimes booked by big-time business travelers, or the well heeled, including — to borrow a movie title — crazy wealthy Asians.
A Singapore-to-London economy class ticket on Singapore’s flag carrier, booked about six months prematurely, costs 1,700 Singapore dollars ($1,303.68) for a round trip. A business class ticket jumps to SG$6,300, and a first-class ticket just over SG$13,000.
Admittedly, the difference may be smaller on shorter-haul flights. For instance, a flight with the identical conditions from Singapore to Tokyo Haneda airport can cost about SG$1,300 on economy class, just over SG$4,200 on business and SG$7,600 in top quality.
Aaron Wong, who flies first and business class when he travels, says: “You do not must be wealthy to enjoy such things.”
Source: Aaron Wong
Nonetheless, Singaporean Aaron Wong, a former management consultant who left his job in 2015 to establish the travel website The MileLion, said he flies about eight to nine business and first-class flights per 12 months.
Some are regional flights, others are long-haul ones. But one of the best part? He flies almost free of charge.
A ‘best miles card?’
Wong said the secret is to maximise points earned on his bank card expenditures, that are then converted to airline miles. Nonetheless, it isn’t so simple as just picking up any mile-earning bank card and spending a bunch of cash, he said.
First, “there is no such thing as a such thing as one of the best card,” he said. “It depends.”
As a substitute, Wong said so-called “miles chasers” should join for cards that match their spending habits.
He recommends having several bank cards that award “bonus” miles, covering an individual’s major spending categories. One card may grant bonus miles for online purchases; a special card may achieve this for dining. Others may award extra miles for groceries or transportation.
Aaron Wong, in Singapore Airlines’ private “First Class Check-in Reception” area at Singapore Changi Airport.
Source: Aaron Wong
That could make an enormous difference, he said, because a typical “bonus” rate in Singapore is 4 miles per dollar spent, greater than the 1.2-1.4 miles on other bank cards.
“It’s form of like different tools within the toolbox, right? You would not use a beer opener for wine. So if people wanted only one card … It’s form of like attempting to use a beer bottle opener to open each form of beverage on the market.”
Wong said a $30,000 expenditure on a bank card earning 1.4 miles per dollar would earn one about 45,000 miles on Singapore Airlines — enough for a round-trip economy class ticket to Perth.
Nonetheless, if one were to place the identical $30,000 on several cards that give “bonus” miles, one could earn 120,000 Singapore Airlines miles, which could net a round trip to Cape Town in business class.
If someone paid for a meal with a card that earns 1.3 miles per dollar somewhat than one which earns 4 miles per dollar, “You have left 2.7 miles on the table, right? That is free value that you just didn’t take,” he said.
The ‘nitty gritty’
Wong admitted that the miles game may be “nitty gritty,” unlike holding a cashback card, which supplies bank card holders a refund on a percentage of their spending.
Miles cards users have to keep track of which cards garners probably the most miles, in addition to understand the wonderful print: bonus categories, exclusions, and aspects similar to points pooling from different cards from the identical bank.
For instance, in Singapore, points earned on DBS bank cards may be combined, but bank cards from Citibank Singapore don’t work that way.
Wong said he wouldn’t pay to fly in business or top quality. “But because miles exist, I do not have to pay.”
Source: Aaron Wong
Some bank card points never expire, while some have a validity period. Some cards routinely convert spending to miles, while some give bank points, which should be redeemed for miles.
“I do know numerous people get a bit intimidated,” he said, adding many individuals think you would like at the least 10 bank cards to maximise points. “Truth be told, three cards, possibly 4 will probably be greater than sufficient for most individuals, unless you are spending really big amounts every 12 months.”
Most cards that give bonus miles in Singapore have a cap on the quantity of spending that may accrue bonus miles. For instance, Citi’s Rewards card in Singapore gives only 4 miles per dollar on the primary $1,000 of monthly spend.
But despite all those hoops, Wong said it’s value it: “The rewards are good. I feel that is why persons are willing to commit that period of time [and] mental capability.”
He added that he wouldn’t spend SG$6,000-$7,000 to fly in business class. “But because miles exist, I do not have to pay … to unlock that form of experience.”
To aspiring “miles chasers,” Wong advises not spending more simply to amass more miles. “For some people, they’ll try to justify spending more to get more rewards, but I do not advocate that,” he said.
As a substitute, his view is that miles are simply rewards an individual earns on what they were going to purchase in the primary place — a reward, he said, that gives a “five-star experience on a one-star budget.”
