AMEX HighFlyer Card Takes a Nose Dive on 23 April 2025
- MilesWise
- Mar 24
- 2 min read
Effective 23 April 2025, American Express is slashing earn rates, removing perks, and making cardholders question if the AMEX HighFlyer Card still deserves a place in their wallet. Once a solid choice for businesses looking to rack up KrisFlyer miles, it’s now looking more like a relic of better days.
The Bad (a.k.a. "Why AMEX, Why?")
General spending earn rate plummets from 1.8 mpd to 1.2 mpd
1.8 mpd was arguably the only reason to pick this card, but now that it's dropping to 1.2 mpd—on par with any generic miles card—there’s zero incentive to use this for everyday spend. Especially when UOB PRVI Miles offering 1.4 mpd.
Singapore Airlines, Scoot & KrisShop earn rate chopped from 2.5 mpd to 2 mpd
Given that UOB KrisFlyer Card still offers 3 mpd uncapped for SQ and Scoot flights, why settle for less? This makes the HighFlyer card a weak choice even for loyal cardholders.
KrisFlyer Elite Gold qualification now harder
The S$15,000 minimum spend requirement only counts Singapore Airlines and Scoot bookings, meaning KrisShop purchases no longer help. So forget about gaming the system with overpriced duty-free perfume and flipping them on Carousell—you’ll actually have to book flights to qualify.
Two free Priority Pass visits are gone
Get ready to embrace your new pre-flight ritual: sitting near a charging station, fighting for outlets with economy passengers.
Annual fee jumps from S$304.59 to S$400
You get less but pay more—a true masterclass in corporate cost-cutting.
The Good (or "Is It Though?")
✈️ KrisFlyer Elite Gold status redemption now slightly cheaper – The cost drops from 125,000 to 100,000 HighFlyer points. However, since the general spend earn rate is dropping from 1.8 mpd to 1.2 mpd, you’ll now need to spend S$83,333 instead of S$69,444 just to get there. So much for making it "easier."
✈️ Higher transfer cap of 150K points, previously at 100K points, from HighFlyer points to KrisFlyer miles
💳 6,000 HighFlyer points just for paying the annual fee – A tiny consolation prize
Final thoughts
The AMEX HighFlyer Card was once the golden ticket for small business owners looking to rack up KrisFlyer miles. But after this nerf, it’s hard to see any real use case for it—except for niche spending categories like private hospitals, where AMEX still earns points.
If you’ve been using this card for general spend, now might be the time to explore better options. What do you think? Will you be keeping your AMEX HighFlyer, or are you jumping ship faster than a budget airline passenger avoiding excess baggage fees?
AMEX HighFlyer Card
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