How I Hack Business Class Travel Without Being Rich

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I have a confession to make: I don’t particularly like traveling.

What I do love is the act of flying itself, especially in First and Business Class. Think George Clooney’s character in “Up in the Air,” except less cool and more obsessed with credit cards.

My love for premium travel started when I worked for Singapore Airlines (SIA). As a ground executive, one of our perks was flying First or Business Class for work trips. Picture this: me sitting on a massive First Class seat on a Boeing 747, wearing an ill-fitting G2000 shirt, sheepishly asking the Chief Stewardess the proper way to eat caviar. Very sophisticated, I know.

When I decided to leave SIA, reality slapped me in the face: I might never get to enjoy the pleasures of Business Class again. One of my ex-colleagues warned me before I left: “Once you go flat, you can’t go back!” He was talking about those glorious lie-flat beds with fluffy duvets. And damn, he was right.

So I did what any rational person would do. I turned my fear of uncomfortable flights into a complex financial optimization system. Because apparently, I’d rather spend hours researching credit card benefits than pay full price for comfort.

Here’s the thing though: It worked.

For the past 10 years, my wife and I have flown Singapore Airlines Business Class for our holidays almost every year (and twice on Suites). We’ve paid only a couple hundred dollars in taxes instead of the thousands these tickets normally cost.

And here’s the secret that changed everything: I didn’t increase my spending to do this. I just moved my existing expenses to the right credit cards. Those credit cards earned me hundreds of thousands of miles, which I redeemed for Business Class seats.

The Miles Game: It’s Simpler Than You Think

On the surface, earning miles is straightforward. You earn them two ways:

  1. Flying (only useful if you’re a hardcore road warrior who travels for work regularly)
  2. Credit card spending (for us normal folks)

Those miles become currency. Got 52,000 miles? That’s a round-trip Business Class ticket to Bangkok. Or a one-way Premium Economy trip to Sydney, assuming you can snag Saver redemption awards.

But here’s where most Singaporeans mess up: They get one or two miles cards and dump all their spending on them. This works, but it’s like using a toothpick to eat a plate of fried rice.

You’ll earn miles, sure. Just painfully slowly.

The smarter approach? Spend on the right things with the right credit cards.

In this post, I’ll share the strategy I use to earn hundreds of thousands of miles a year. I’ll also share the exact cards I use and why. However, because card benefits change all the time, the exact details might be outdated by the time you read this. Pay more attention to the strategy rather than the specifics. For the nitty-gritty details, The Milelion is my go-to resource to stay current with the latest changes.

My Strategy: Specialised + General Cards

Here’s the thing: Not all credit cards are built the same. Many are incredibly good at one or two things and terrible at everything else. To play the miles game in Singapore, I use two types of credit cards in my wallet: Specialised cards, and General cards

Quick sidebar: Before we dive in, you need to understand one key metric: miles per dollar, or mpd. If a card earns 2 mpd, it means for every $10 you spend, you earn 20 miles. We’ll use mpd to figure out the right types of cards to use.

The Specialised Cards: Your Heavy Hitters

Specialized cards earn up to 4 mpd on specific categories, but only 0.4 mpd on everything else. They’re category kings, but terrible generalists.

My rule: Before any purchase, I ask myself, “Does this fall into a 4 mpd category?” Then I whip out the right specialised card with probably more enthusiasm than is socially acceptable, and flash my biggest smile at the scowling cashier.

Here’s my current lineup of specialized cards:

1. UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card (yes, guys can apply for this card too!)

  • What it’s for: Dining and Travel, which are my biggest spending categories
  • Why I love it: It’s flexible. You can select two categories to earn 4 mpd on, and change those every quarter
  • The catch: UOB recently nerfed their monthly spending cap from $3,000 to $1,500. And they limited each category’s cap to $750.

2. DBS Woman’s Card (another woman’s card for this guy)

  • What it’s for: Online transactions
  • Coverage: Everything from Grab to Shopee to Netflix
  • Pro tip: Link it to your Kris+ app (referral link here which earns you $5) to earn Kris+ miles on top of your usual credit card miles. Double dipping at its finest.

3. UOB Visa Preferred Platinum

  • What it’s for: Paywave and contactless transactions
  • Why I love it: Covers most of my day-to-day spending
  • Pro tip: Use it for categories that your specialised cards don’t cover. Example: My other two cards don’t cover shopping, but I can earn 4 mpd with the UOB Visa Preferred Platinum if I buy my Uniqlo shirts using Paywave.

Most people intuitively know which categories they spend the most on. But if you’re unsure, upload your latest bank or credit card statements to ChatGPT or Gemini and use the following prompt:

Task:
* Review my spend in the attached credit card statements
* Bucket them into spending categories (e.g. Dining, Travel, Transport, etc)

Format
* Display the categories and spend in descending order
* Give me 5 example transactions per category
* If I upload statements for multiple cards or time periods, show me the aggregated figure by category

The General Cards: Your Safety Net

General cards earn a flat 1.2 – 2 mpd on almost everything else. They’re the reliable backup workhorses of your miles strategy.

I use them in three specific scenarios:

Scenario 1: Category Gaps. Sometimes you need to spend on stuff that falls outside your specialised card categories. Examples: SimplyGo transactions on MRT or bus rides, grocery shopping, telco bills etc. Your general cards can help you earn a baseline 1.2 – 2 mpd instead of a measly 0.4 mpd.

Scenario 2: Spending Cap Overflow. Specialised cards only give you 4 mpd up to a monthly limit (spending cap). Once you hit that limit, you’re back to earning a pathetic 0.4 mpd. If I’ve maxed out my $750 dining limit on the UOB Lady’s Card this month, I’ll switch to my general card instead.

Scenario 3: Ineligible Transactions. Here’s where it gets interesting. Expenses like mortgage, car loans, insurance and tax payments eat up a huge chunk of my monthly spending. But these are often NOT eligible for credit card miles.

Enter bill payment platforms like CardUp (referral link which will save you up to $30 in fees) and SCB’s EasyBill. They’ll give you miles for such transactions for a small admin fee. Here’s a more detailed post on how it works, but in a nutshell:

Say I need to pay $1,000 in insurance premiums. Normally, I’ll get zero miles for this since its an ineligible transaction. But by paying through CardUp with my SCB Beyond Card, I earn 2,000 miles (2 mpd) and pay a 2.25% admin fee. Essentially, I’m paying $22.50 to “buy” 2,000 miles I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. Not a bad trade.

Here’s my current lineup of general cards:

1. SCB Beyond Card

  • Why I love it: Uncapped 2 mpd on local spend, and 3.5 mpd on foreign currency spend for Priority Bank members
  • The catch: Only worth it if you’re an SCB Priority Bank or Priority Private client. Plus, there’s a hefty $1,600 annual fee, but I signed up because they had an attractive 100K mile bonus this year

2. UOB PRVI Miles Visa

  • Why I love it: Uncapped 1.4 mpd on local spend, and 2.5 mpd on foreign currency spend. Straightforward card that earns on most things
  • The catch: UOB only earns miles in $5 increments. Spend $12.50? UOB rounds down to the nearest $5 block, so you’ll only earn $10 x 1.4 miles = 14 miles for this transaction. This also means I never use this card for transactions under $5.

Tips and Watchouts

As you can tell, every card has its own quirks. The miles game isn’t just about “get the best card and spend on it.” If dealing with T&Cs and shifting spend between cards sounds like torture, stick with a simple cashback or rewards card instead.

Here are the key watchouts you need to know:

Not All Spending Counts: Banks don’t usually let you earn miles on utilities, medical bills, insurance, taxes, YouTrip top-ups, etc. It’s crucial to understand what counts and what doesn’t. Milelion’s “What card do I use for…?” guide is the best resource for this.

The Game Changes Constantly: Banks nerf and improve card benefits all the time. Airlines regularly devalue their miles. That amazing card you got last year might be mediocre now. I stay updated through the Milelion Roars Telegram channel, which is like having an early warning system for changes.

Complexity Creeps Up Fast: At one point, I juggled 8 credit cards. It was exhausting to keep track of my spends, annual fees, and figure out which card to use in which scenario. Aaron from Milelion reportedly has 30+ cards, which honestly sounds like a nightmare. Find your sweet spot between coverage and sanity.

The Non-Negotiable Rules

  • Pay off your cards in full, every month. Can’t afford to do that? Don’t play the miles game. Late fees and interest charges will crush any benefits you earn.
  • Track annual fees religiously. Set calendar reminders to waive your annual fees before they hit, as part of your overall money automation system.

The Breakthrough Moment

A year after leaving Singapore Airlines, I had accumulated enough miles for my first redemption: A Business Class seat to Japan that would have cost me over $3,000.

As I settled into that familiar lie-flat bed, it hit me. This wasn’t just sustainable – it was scalable.

I hadn’t increased my monthly spending by a single dollar. I just redirected existing expenses through the right channels. That $500 dinner? Instead of earning $5 in cashback, I earned 2,000 miles on my specialised dining card. That $1,000 insurance payment? Instead of zero miles, I earned 2,000 miles through CardUp.

It was like finally cracking a code I didn’t even know existed. All this luxury was sitting there, waiting for me to just redirect my spending.

Your Next Steps (If You Want To Play The Miles Game)

This strategy isn’t for everyone. If managing multiple cards gives you a headache, stick with a vanilla cashback or rewards card. But if you’re willing to invest some time upfront for years of comfortable flights, here’s how to start:

  1. Analyse your spending patterns. Download 3-6 months of bank statements and identify your biggest categories
  2. Choose one specialised card that matches your heaviest spending category (dining, online, travel, etc)
  3. Pick one general card as your backup for everything else
  4. Master these two cards first before adding more complexity
  5. Apply for both cards and start redirecting your spending strategically

So there you have it—my strategy for hacking Business Class without breaking the bank. It’s not about spending more money. It’s about spending the money you’re already spending more strategically.

Note: This article is accurate as of July 2025, but the miles game changes constantly. Focus on the principles rather than the specific cards or details.

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