Best Miles Credit Cards for a Simple Setup (2026)

There is no single credit card that is “best” for every transaction.

The approach I prefer is much simpler:

Use a specialist card to earn 4 mpd where possible, then use a flexible general-spend card when the specialist card does not apply.

For a straightforward setup, the two cards I focus on are:

UOB Preferred Visa — high earn rate for qualifying selected-online and mobile-contactless spend
Citi PremierMiles — simple general-spend and travel fallback

This article is based on my original BAM miles-card strategy, updated for the current 2026 card terms.

Last updated: 9 September 2026. Credit-card terms, caps, fees and exclusions change regularly. Always check the latest bank terms before applying or making a large transaction.

My Simple 2-Card Setup

Card	Main Role	Current Headline Earn Rate
UOB Preferred Visa	Eligible selected-online + mobile-contactless spend	Up to 4 mpd
Citi PremierMiles	General local / overseas fallback	1.2 mpd local / 2.2 mpd foreign currency

The strategy is not to choose one card and use it everywhere.

It is:

UOB Preferred Visa when the 4 mpd conditions are met

↓

Citi PremierMiles when they are not

1. UOB Preferred Visa

The card previously known as UOB Preferred Platinum Visa (PPV) was rebranded as UOB Preferred Visa from 10 March 2026.

The core reason I like it remains the same:

Up to 4 mpd

UOB currently advertises:

Up to UNI$10 per $5 spend on selected online shopping and entertainment
Up to UNI$10 per $5 spend on mobile-contactless spending

Because:

UNI$1 = 2 airline miles

UNI$10 per $5 is equivalent to:

20 miles ÷ $5 = 4 mpd

Separate Monthly Bonus Caps

From October 2025 onward, UOB separated the monthly bonus caps into two categories.

Category	Bonus UNI$ Cap	Approx. Spend at 4 mpd Before Bonus Cap
Selected Online Transactions	UNI$1,080	$600
Mobile Contactless Transactions	UNI$1,080	$600
Combined	UNI$2,160	$1,200

This makes the card especially useful when you can deliberately route qualifying online and mobile-wallet spending through it.

Where I Would Use It

Examples can include:

Eligible online retail purchases
Qualifying mobile-contactless payments
SimplyGo transactions that meet the card’s current terms
Other transactions that clearly fall within UOB’s eligible categories

The key word is eligible.

Not every online or wallet transaction automatically earns 4 mpd.

Watch the MCC and Exclusion List

My original guide highlighted this because it is one of the easiest ways to lose bonus miles.

Banks use Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) and transaction types to determine eligibility.

Rather than relying on an old static exclusion list, I would now use a simpler rule:

Before making a large transaction, check the latest UOB terms. If I am uncertain, I may test with a small purchase and inspect the rewards earned in UOB TMRW Rewards+.

UOB Miles Conversion

UOB currently states:

UNI$1 = 2 KrisFlyer miles or Asia Miles

for one-time transfers, subject to its conversion requirements.

The current one-time conversion fee is:

$27

UOB’s KrisFlyer Auto Conversion Programme was discontinued from 20 May 2026, so the older BAM strategy of paying an annual auto-conversion fee is no longer current.

UNI$ Expiry

UOB states that UNI$ expire:

2 years from the last day of the periodic quarter in which they were earned.

So I would monitor the expiry date in UOB TMRW rather than leaving UNI$ untouched indefinitely.

2. Citi PremierMiles

Citi PremierMiles plays a different role.

It does not give me the same 4 mpd specialist rate, but it is much easier to use as a fallback card.

Citi currently advertises:

1.2 Citi Miles per $1 local spend
2.2 Citi Miles per $1 foreign-currency spend
Citi Miles do not expire
No cap on the standard miles earn

This makes it useful when I do not want to worry about a specialist-card bonus category.

Why I Like Citi PremierMiles as the Fallback

Simple General Spending

If a purchase does not qualify for UOB Preferred Visa’s 4 mpd categories, I can use a general-spend card rather than forcing the transaction onto the wrong specialist card.

Citi Miles Do Not Expire

This gives more flexibility over when to transfer them.

Once miles are transferred to an airline programme, however, the airline programme’s own expiry rules apply.

Transfer Fee

Citi currently charges:

$27.25 per Points Transfer

for eligible points/miles transfers, subject to its terms.

This encourages me to transfer miles deliberately rather than making many tiny transfers.

Annual Fee

The current basic Citi PremierMiles annual fee is:

$196.20

Citi currently provides a first-year annual-fee waiver for the basic card, and its PremierMiles page also advertises a 10,000 Citi Miles renewal bonus upon qualifying annual membership renewal and payment of the annual fee.

Whether paying the renewal fee is worthwhile depends on how much you value the renewal miles and the card’s other benefits.

The Overseas-Spend Problem

Citi PremierMiles currently offers:

2.2 mpd on foreign-currency spend

which sounds attractive.

However, Citi also states that foreign-currency transactions may be subject to an administrative fee of up to:

3.25%

So I would not automatically use a miles card for every overseas purchase.

For smaller overseas spending, a low-FX travel wallet or debit product may sometimes make more sense even if it earns no miles.

The right comparison is:

Value of additional miles earned

versus

additional foreign-exchange cost paid

How I Would Use the Two Cards

Type of Spend	My First Choice
Eligible selected-online transaction	UOB Preferred Visa
Eligible mobile-contactless transaction	UOB Preferred Visa
Spend after UOB bonus cap is reached	Consider Citi PremierMiles / another suitable card
General local spend that does not qualify for 4 mpd	Citi PremierMiles
Overseas spend	Compare Citi PremierMiles against a lower-FX option
Uncertain MCC / eligibility	Check terms or test before a large purchase

Example Monthly Strategy

Assume I spend:

$500 on qualifying online purchases
$500 through qualifying mobile contactless
$700 on other local purchases

UOB Preferred Visa

$1,000 × 4 mpd = 4,000 miles

Citi PremierMiles

$700 × 1.2 mpd = 840 miles

Total

4,840 miles

If I had put the entire $1,700 onto a 1.2 mpd general-spend card:

$1,700 × 1.2 = 2,040 miles

The optimised setup earns:

2,800 more miles

without requiring more spending.

Why I Prefer a Two-Card Strategy

There are many miles cards available in Singapore.

You could optimise every individual spending category with multiple cards.

But more cards also mean more:

Caps to track
Expiry dates
Annual fees
Exclusion lists
Bank reward currencies
Transfer fees

For someone starting out, I think a simple setup can be easier to manage consistently.

A slightly less optimised strategy that you actually follow is often more useful than a perfect strategy that is too complicated to manage.

Important Rules I Follow

Never Spend Just to Earn Miles

Miles are a rebate on spending, not a reason to spend.

Pay the Bill in Full

Credit-card interest destroys the value of a miles strategy.

Check Bonus Caps

Once the 4 mpd cap is used, I reassess which card should receive the next transaction.

Check Large Transactions First

If I am relying on a bonus category, I check the current terms and MCC eligibility.

Convert Miles Intentionally

Transfer fees and expiry rules mean I do not convert miles randomly.

What Changed From My Original 2025 BAM Guide?

My original strategy document used the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa name and listed older conversion arrangements.

The important 2026 updates are:

Original Guide	Current Position
UOB Preferred Platinum Visa	Renamed UOB Preferred Visa from 10 Mar 2026
UOB transfer fee: $25	Current one-time fee: $27
UOB $50/year KrisFlyer auto-conversion	Programme discontinued from 20 May 2026
Citi PremierMiles: 1.2 local / 2.2 overseas	Still currently advertised
Citi Miles do not expire	Still currently advertised
Citi transfer fee: $27.25	Still currently stated

This is why miles articles should always display a last-updated date.

Bottom Line

If I wanted a simple miles setup rather than carrying many cards:

UOB Preferred Visa

→ Try to capture qualifying 4 mpd spending first.

Citi PremierMiles

→ Use as the simpler general-spend / travel fallback.

Low-FX payment option

→ Consider for overseas transactions where avoiding FX fees matters more than collecting extra miles.

This is not the mathematically optimal setup for every person.

It is a simple, manageable framework for understanding how specialist and general-spend cards can work together.

If the terminology in this article is new to you, start with Miles Basics: How Credit Card Miles Work.

For a deeper explanation of caps and MCCs, read Understanding Miles Per Dollar.

Official Sources

This article reflects my personal approach and is for educational purposes only. It is not financial advice, and credit-card terms can change.