Worth It? KrisFlyer UOB Account Offers up to 180,000 Miles For Fresh Funds
UOB is offering a promo on KrisFlyer UOB Account where you can get as much as 180,000 miles for depositing fresh funds into the account and committing them for around 4 months. The bank seems fond of the “earmark” mechanic and has brought the fun to its miles-centric bank account.
Is this promo worth it?
Promo Details
The promo appears simple enough with just 3 tiers:
| Top-up Amount | Bonus Miles |
| S$30,000 | 12,000 |
| S$100,000 | 45,000 |
| S$300,000 | 180,000 |
Funds have to be “earmarked” for a period of approximately 3.5 months. For those who are unfamiliar with UOB’s concept of “earmarking”, the earmarked funds are made unavailable for use during the period and can only be withdrawn after the earmark date. It works a little like a fixed deposit.
| Incremental Fresh Funds Deposit Date or SMS Registration Date (whichever is later) | Earmark Start Date | Earmark End Date |
| 1st December 2024 to 31st December 2024 | 17th January 2025 | 17th April 2025 |
| 1st January 2025 to 31st January 2025 | 18th February 2025 | 18th May 2025 |
| 1st February 2025 to 28th February 2025 | 18th March 2025 | 18th June 2025 |
See the terms and conditions here.
Registration via SMS is required
To register for the S$30,000 tier, SMS KF30‹space›10 digit KrisFlyer UOB A/C number to 77862
For example: KF30 1234567890
Replace “KF30” with “KF100” or “KF300” for the S$100,000 or S$300,000 tier respectively.
Analysis from a “returns” perspective
The best way to treat miles is to take it as form of currency – one that is best used for buying flights, particularly of the business class variety. Unlike the value of say USD, for instance, there isn’t a definitive number you can put to it. You have to instead consider what the value of a mile is, and I’ve touched on this before so for brevity I will use a middle-of-the-road 1.5 cents per mile valuation to analyse this promo’s attractiveness.
| Top-up Amount | Bonus Miles | Cash Value at 1.5 Cents Per Mile | “Effective Interest” (for ~3.5 months*) |
| S$30,000 | 12,000 | S$180 | 2.06% p.a. |
| S$100,000 | 45,000 | S$675 | 2.32% p.a. |
| S$300,000 | 180,000 | S$2,700 | 3.10% p.a. |
With such a valuation, we can more easily calculate the cash value of the miles given. For instance, 45,000 miles amount to S$675 (45,000 miles × 1.5¢ per mile). Since the funds have to be earmarked for roughly 3.5 months, the “effective interest” would range from 2.06% p.a. to 3.10% p.a. depending on the tier you are registering for. These are not very attractive rates, except for the S$300,000 tier which might be considered passable.
If you’re someone who is willing to pay more for business class (and accordingly value miles at a higher cost), this promo will look a lot better… assuming your valuation of miles is 2 cents each.
| Top-up Amount | Bonus Miles | Cash Value at 2 Cents Per Mile | “Effective Interest” (for ~3.5 months*) |
| S$30,000 | 12,000 | S$240 | 2.76% p.a. |
| S$100,000 | 45,000 | S$900 | 3.10% p.a. |
| S$300,000 | 180,000 | S$3,600 | 4.15% p.a. |
Analysis from a (opportunity) cost per mile perspective
With S$300,000, you could possibly get 4% p.a. interest from things like UOB One (across 2 players), which translates into a interest amount of roughly S$3,500 in that 3.5 months.
| Top-up Amount | Bonus Miles | Opportunity Cost (4% p.a. Interest for ~ 3.5 Months) | Cost Per Mile |
| S$30,000 | 12,000 | ~S$350 | 2.92¢ |
| S$100,000 | 45,000 | ~S$1,167 | 2.59¢ |
| S$300,000 | 180,000 | ~S$3,500 | 1.94¢ |
Even at the “best tier”, giving up S$3,500 for 180,000 miles is equivalent to procuring each mile at 1.94 cents each. It’s pretty steep a price to pay. I think that going above a cost of 1.5 cents per mile is overvaluing miles, but that’s also because there are means to “buy miles” at 1.5 cents and under with promos like Citi PayAll and services like CardUp. That said, these methods might not be as straightforward as placing a sum of money aside for a while and getting a chunk of miles in return.
Bonus 5 to 6 miles per dollar (capped at 5% of average balance)
Another thing to consider in the overall value proposition is the account’s usual features which can tilt the value proposition significantly. The most notable of which is the ability to get 5 to even 6 bonus miles per dollar spent with eligible UOB Cards such as KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card or UOB PRVI Miles. Notably absent are UOB’s 4 miles per dollar options such as the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, but an additional 5 to 6 bonus miles is already pretty fantastic.
All you need to do to get 6 bonus miles per dollar is to do salary crediting to your account. I’m not 100% sure on this, but I see no reason why the salary crediting hack wouldn’t work here. Without salary crediting, you will get 5 bonus miles per dollar instead.
The catch is that the bonus miles is capped at 5% of your account’s Monthly Average Balance (MAB) per month. For instance, if you have an MAB of S$100,000, you can only earn a maximum of 5,000 bonus miles within the month. That’s worth S$75 at a 1.5 cents per mile valuation which is roughly 0.9% p.a. of interest.
For an MAB of S$300,000, you can earn up to 15,000 bonus miles which is worth S$225 (again at 1.5 cents per mile) which represents another 0.9% p.a. of interest.
0.9% p.a. isn’t much to shout about on its own, but when you add it to the promotional miles/returns you get, it can indeed turn the needle and make this deal worth it for quite a few people.
Too long didn’t read: S$300,000 tier may be worth considering for some
Based on the promo itself, I feel that people who are willing to pay a premium for business class flights would already be tempted, particularly by the S$300,000 tier. Such individuals probably value miles at around 1.5 cents at least, which means that their “returns” from this promo is 3.10% p.a for the S$300,000 tier. The deal is significantly sweeter if they able to put spend on the eligible UOB cards or are already doing so to get bonus miles.
| Tier | Promo “Returns”¹ | Spend Bonus | Spend Required² | Total “Returns” |
| S$30,000 | 2.06% p.a. | 0.9% p.a. | S$250 | 2.96% p.a. |
| S$100,000 | 2.32% p.a. | 0.9% p.a. | S$834 | 3.22% p.a. |
| S$300,000 | 3.10% p.a. | 0.9% p.a. | S$2,500 | 4% p.a. |
2. Assuming 6 bonus miles per dollar (i.e. salary crediting is done)
To put it in as few words as possible, I would only consider this promo if:
- I can meet the S$300,000 tier
- I can either max out or put significant amount of spend on the eligible UOB cards for 6 miles per dollar bonus every month
- I value miles at 1.5 cents or higher
Subscribe for more deals and updates!
If you’re someone who wants to earn more from credit cards, savings accounts and other financial deals, stay subscribed to the Telegram or WhatsApp so you can be notified of news and deals. Remember to unmute and turn on notifications or the updates may not reach you.
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.
Subscribe to the channel for free updates!
Disclaimer: I may receive an affiliate/referral fee when you sign up for services/products on this site, and such fees keep the site running. I would only recommend services/products I would personally use or recommend to my own friends and family, but I do not provide any warranty or guarantee for the quality of these services/products. Thank you for supporting my site!
Please exercise due diligence when signing up for any service/product as I will not be liable for any personal loss, financial or otherwise. Content published here are my sole views and personal opinion, and none of the information here constitutes personal financial advice nor represents the views of my employer(s).