Do you need to spend a lot to fly with credit card points?

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Yet another common comment. Wow, your spending must be high to collect so much points to fly in Business class! Well, not necessarily, but also not wrong to think so. Let’s dig deeper.

How does it work?

I will not go through the different strategies, which credit cards to use, etc, in this article. There are already so many resources available on this matter. And as you will see later, it is not the point of this article.

Suffice to say, every spend charged to a credit card typically earns points that can be converted to an airline programme points (commonly known as miles) which then allows you to redeem flight tickets. Some cards grant bonus points for certain categories of spend. Some card issuers also run acquisition campaigns awarding lump-sum points when you sign up for their cards.

The idea is to maximise the amount of points (and hence miles) you earn, by leveraging on these bonus points.

So… spend more, fly more? Not wrong. But do you have to spend a lot to reap the benefits?

Back of envelope calculation

I promise, this is the only math part of this post. It’s necessary for illustration.

To partially answer the question, let’s calculate how much spend is required to redeem flight tickets to certain destinations.

The typical miles earning rate for credit cards in Singapore is in the range of 1 to 4 miles-equivalent per $1 spent (or typically known as "miles per dollar", or mpd), which consist of base and bonus rates, if applicable. Let us take a conservative blended average earning rate of 3 mpd, since you might not always manage to get the bonus rate for everything.

Suppose a redemption ticket requires 30,000 miles, that translates to $10,000 worth of spend at 3 mpd. Remember it’s cumulative spend, not a single spend!

Here is a table of typical spend required (when earning points at 3 mpd) for some destinations at various cabin classes.

Note: Based on Singapore Airlines One-Way Saver Award in 2025

Bonus: Is it “free” air tickets?

You might think: wow, this is a good way to fly for free. Sorry to burst your bubble, it's not "free".

There are non-financial, indirect financial, and direct financial costs related to this pursuit. To mention a few:

• Non-financial cost: Mental load, effort, and time spent in maintaining and organising spend around multiple cards to get as much bonus points as possible, plus following up on endless and frequent changes to airlines' and banks' rewards programmes. Moreover, redemption tickets require advance planning since availability often runs out very quickly especially for popular destinations.
• Indirect financial cost: There is always opportunity cost. You could have earned cash-back with your spending, which can eventually be used to buy flight tickets in cash, or redeemed your points for other items or experiences.
• Direct financial cost: Redemption tickets typically still require cash payments to cover for taxes and other fees. Moreover, you may decide to pay fees to earn points for expenses that are otherwise ineligible to earn points to boost your points balance to reach a redemption target. (Note: Please do not attempt to "buy miles" from supposed miles purchase sites or groups – this is against the airlines programmes terms and you will get banned.)

If the discussion in this section is what you are actually interested in, it might be a topic for future articles. So, do keep a look out and subscribe to receive updates. I might also consider releasing exclusive tools for subscribers.

Do you need to spend a lot?

Finally. Well, as you might have guessed from the above, it depends on the destination and cabin class. It also depends on how frequently you want to redeem a ticket.

Suppose you want to redeem a return ticket to East Asia (e.g. Japan or South Korea) in Business class every year, then the required spend is approximately 17,400 x 2 / 12 = $2,900 per month. For some, this is a lot, for others, this is not – depending on your stage of life, circumstances, and lifestyle.

Remember, you can always adjust your redemption frequency, destination, and cabin class.

But that is not the crux of this article.

Instead, the idea is to not generate spend just to accumulate points, but to get as much points from what you are already spending on – by that, I mean every single expense; as much as possible. Even $500 monthly spend can get you a return Economy ticket within Southeast Asia in 18 months.

That is assuming you have decided to get into the game, which brings us to the next point.

Do you need to?

Some might argue that redeeming Economy tickets is not optimal. Some might say they can just buy the Economy tickets in cash. Some might say the miles are only worth a certain value if they are going to buy the Business class ticket in cash anyway. Some might say this is the only way they can fly in Business class. Some might want to pay fees for points; some might do more calculations; some might never consider that. Some might prefer to get cash-back instead of points. Some might not want to use credit cards. Some might tell you to sign up for this card, or that promotion, or do this and that... The list never ends.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Instead of fixating on accumulating points or miles or cash-back or whatever, focus on enjoying and appreciating each and every day. If whatever expenses you have now – spends that allow you to sustain your life, have a good time with friends and family, develop your relationships, appreciate creation and the world – also allow you to redeem flight tickets, that's a bonus.

Is it worth it?

It might be for some, it might not be for others. Only you can answer this for yourself with the information you have. Whatever you choose to do, make your life easier and better, not more difficult and confusing.

Summary

Strictly speaking, there are strategies to optimise how you collect points and miles to achieve your target redemption.

But if it makes your life more difficult than it already is, then it might not be worth doing. Instead, direct your attention and energy to enjoying your life experiences, and should you choose to let that generate points to fly, may that also be a part of the experience that you enjoy as well.

In case it was not clear the first time: No, do not purposely spend a lot to collect more points so you can fly in First class. And spend only what you can afford.

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