For someone who travels by plane quite a fair bit each year, I’m actually not the most savvy traveller when it comes to saving money on my flight tickets. There are a ton of people out there who are great travel hackers who know how to turn their daily spending into miles, which saves them a ton of money in the long run.
It’s a lot of work though – you need to research and figure out which scheme works the best for your spending patterns, and then constantly ensure that you are maximising the use of your chosen plan… Frankly, way too much work for lazy me!
So when I was introduced to Standard Chartered’s SGD Miles Time Deposit, I was a bit intrigued by the idea of earning miles via saving rather than spending. I have a fair bit of savings from my (previous) job just sitting around now in a savings account now as I haven’t figured out investments yet at this point.
Let’s take a closer look and see whether this SGD Miles Time Deposit is something worth considering. Keep in mind that I’m no expert when it comes to miles hacking, I’m merely offering an opinion, so feel free to chime in with your own thoughts but please, no flamethrowers!
More miles means more travels! Pic via Flickr CC: Roderick EIM
HOW IT WORKS
For every S$27,000 that you put into this 6-month Singapore Dollar Miles Time Deposit account, you will receive 10,000 Krisflyer miles instead of getting monetary interest.
If you’ve ever put your money in a savings account, you’ll know that the interest you get is pretty miserable – I think I was lucky to be getting a dollar each month! However, 10,000 Krisflyer Miles can get you an economy saver ticket to Malaysia or Indonesia, or bump you from economy saver to business saver.
You can get more miles for every S$27,000 you deposit into the SGD Miles Time Deposit. If you have and can deposit up to the maximum amount of $162,000 (has to be fresh funds, so not in an existing StanChart account and not withdrawn/redeposited in the last 30 days), you can get up to 60,000 Krisflyer Miles, which can easily score you 2-3 economy tickets or a nice business class seat if you prefer.
(Note: A Krisflyer Mile doesn’t have a standard dollar worth – it depends on whether you are looking to redeem fares in full or in part, the length of the trip or whether you are using it to upgrade your seat. More at the Krisflyer website)
Have a good sum of money lying around? Make it work for you! Pic via Flickr CC: Alamosbasement
WHAT TO CONSIDER
The miles redemption only happens once so you get your miles upfront by 31 October 2016 and then your funds don’t generate anything else for the rest of the time. You’ll need to move the money to some other account or investment, but only after the full 6-month period otherwise you will have to pay a penalty of $270 for every $27,000 placed in the SGD Miles Time Deposit to withdraw the money early.
WHO WOULD THIS WORK BEST FOR?
Based on all that, here’s who it seems will benefit the most from this:
- People who have a fair bit of spare cash lying around – you’re either generating a steady income or just fairly well to do to begin with so you have a nice sum of money to start off with as you will have to leave a fairly large sum in this account for awhile.
- People already collecting Krisflyer miles through other means (usually spending earns you points which you can exchange for miles) – 60,000 Krisflyer miles is a nice chunk to add to existing miles collected.
Right now I’m not doing either of these things, but even if you do, make sure you read the T&Cs clearly so you know what you are getting into!
PROMOTION!
The Miles Time Deposit campaign started in Oct 2016 – it’s still a very new product. You have till 31 September 2016 to consider if this works for you as that is when the promotion ends. More about the campaign here.
Disclaimer:
This article was produced in conjunction with Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited. All information provided is on an “as is” basis and for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. It is not an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to anyone to enter into any investment transaction. It has not been prepared for any particular person or class of persons and does not constitute and should not be construed as investment advice nor an investment recommendation. It has been prepared without regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. You should seek advice from a financial adviser on the suitability of an investment or financial product for you, taking into account these factors before making a commitment to invest in an investment or financial product. Standard Chartered and The Occasional Traveller are not liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein. For the most updated information on SGD Miles Time Deposit promotion, please click here.
Deposit Insurance Scheme:
Singapore dollar deposits of non-bank depositors are insured by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, for up to S$50,000 in aggregate per depositor per Scheme member by law. Foreign currency deposits, dual currency investments, structured deposits and other investment products are not insured.