Nerfed: Amex Highflyer Cuts Earn Rates, Worsens Benefits and Now Costs S$400 Per Year
In a press release sent out to media partners, American Express and Singapore Airlines announced that their co-branded Amex HighFlyer card is being “enhanced” from 23rd April 2025 onwards. Oh boy.
Earn rate slashed
The Amex Highflyer card will see its earn rate reduced from the current 1.8 miles per dollar to 1.2 miles per dollar, going from the highest earn rate for spending without any spend category requirement or limits to one of the lowest.
For spend on Singapore Airlines Group transactions, the earn rate will also drop from 2.5 miles to 2 miles per dollar.
Benefits worsened/removed
The card will also see some of its benefits worsened or even removed altogether.
Removed: Priority Pass Lounge Access
Amex HighFlyer currently offers 2 complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits a year and this benefit will be removed from 23rd April 2025. Cardholders who have enrolled for the membership before 22nd April 2025 can continue to utilise the visits until 31st August 2025 or until the validity period specified under their Priority Pass account, whichever is earlier.
Removed: annual spend bonuses
Amex HighFlyer cardholders can also get 15,000 bonus miles each year with at least S$10,000 spend on Singapore Airline Group transactions each membership year. This will no longer be the case from 23rd April 2025.
Nerfed: Accor Plus requires annual fee and redemption
The complimentary Accor Plus membership remains, but will require the card’s annual fee to be paid. Last year, I got an annual fee waiver and could still enjoy the membership that comes with one free hotel night stay. This will not be possible after the change happens.
Nerfed: annual fee increased to S$400
To make things worse, the annual fee will be going up from S$304.59 to S$400, both figures inclusive of GST.
Enhancements
Buffed: one-time bonus of 10,000 miles
Currently, new Amex HighFlyer cardholders can get a one-time credit of 5,000 bonus miles with S$500 Singapore Airline Group spend within the first year of their card membership. This will be replaced by a one-time credit of 10,000 bonus miles for the first flown flight booking purchase on the Singapore Airlines corporate portal within the first year of card membership.
Buffed: 6,000 miles for annual fee payment
There will be 6,000 miles awarded for paying the increased S$400 annual fee where there were previously none.
Buffed: increased conversion limit of 150,000 and cheaper KrisFlyer Elite Gold redemption
Amex HighFlyer awards points that have to be converted to KrisFlyer miles for flight bookings. This is currently capped at 100,000 per transferee per year and will increase to 150,000. It’s not much of an improvement for most, I’m assuming, except for those who have accumulated large amounts of HighFlyer points. With earn rates significantly decreased, it will be more difficult to earn HighFlyer points.
Presently, it is possible to redeem KrisFlyer Elite Gold with 125,000 HighFlyer points. This will drop to 100,000, which is still a very steep price to pay for this status tier in my opinion.
Existing cardholders — keep or junk?
For existing cardholders, the nerf is a bitter pill to swallow. The enhancements are meagre while the nerfs are hard and heavy. My card fee was charged a few weeks ago and I was already thinking of cancelling it. These changes make it a no-brainer decision to make. Remember to use any unused lounge visits and/or free hotel night before cancelling your card.
The good news is that my HighFlyer account will continue to exist even after the cancellation of my card. I confirmed this with customer service from the HighFlyer team at Singapore Airlines, though they did also mention that HighFlyer accounts without any flight bookings in a 36-month period will be deactivated.
New cardholders — stay tuned
For those who have yet to sign up for a HighFlyer card, I wouldn’t write this card off yet. It has long been one of those cards you sign up for the lucrative sign-up rewards, and past promos have been generous enough that people register companies just to be able to sign up for this business-oriented card.
American Express has significantly upped the sign-up promos for cards like Amex Platinum Charge after nerfing card features, so this may well be the case for Amex HighFlyer. With a good enough sign-up promo, nerfed cards can still provide very good first-year benefits. Stay tuned for updates.
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Seth Wee was a licensed financial adviser representative from 2009 to 2025, with over 16 years of experience in Singapore’s financial advisory industry.
He started Sethisfy.com in 2019 to share practical insights on credit cards, banking products, and miles strategies, helping readers identify financial products that deliver the best value. Seth has been featured in CNA, Channel 8, Today, and a host of other publications. In 2025, he was also part of a panel at CPF’s Ready For Life festival.
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