The Shutterwhale's 2020 Guide to Converting TapForMore Points from PAssion Card to KrisFlyer Miles (and Vice Versa)

I first wrote about converting TapForMore (TFM) Points (that you can earn from your PAssion Card) into KrisFlyer Miles back in 2015 and revisited it back again in 2017 but the question remains after all these years - should you convert your TFM Points into Miles (and vice versa)?

Click HERE to find out more about the TapForMore Rewards Programme!

Pick Up More Miles With Your Grocery

TapForMore Points and KrisFlyer Miles Conversion

What is the TapForMore Rewards Programme?

Unless you are someone who does a lot of grocery shopping, you will probably not know much about the PAssion Card. Essentially the PAssion Card (which is also an EZ-Link card, but who needs them now anyway?) allows you to accrue TapForMore Points when they shop at Dairy Farm's participating stores - it also comes with various benefits (aptly termed as PAssion Deals) but that's not really the point of this article.

When shopping at Cold Storage, Market Place, Jasons, Giant and Guardian Health & Beauty stores in Singapore, PAssion Cardmembers will earn 1 TFM Point per S$1 (no minimum spend required) and subsequently, they will be able to redeem their TFM Points at the following rate:

• 150 TFM Points = S$1 (effectively 0.67% cash rebate)

Effectively, the TapForMore Rewards Programme allows PAssion Card members to benefit from a 0.67% cash rebate (on top of what your credit card earns) - not fantastic but you can't really say no to "free money". PAssion Silver Card Members enjoy more 3% discount at all Giant and Cold Storage outlets on selected days each week but I doubt many of them are following The Shutterwhale so I will skip that for now.

Photo Credit: TapForMore

Should I Convert TapForMore Points into KrisFlyer Miles?

As always, the answer to this question is "it depends" but hopefully the article will help you make that decision quickly. TapForMore Points can be used to offset purchases across participating brands as outlined in the section above but they can also be converted into KrisFlyer Miles at the following rate:

• 2.3 TFM Points = 1 KrisFlyer Miles

Before you get too excited, you will probably never accrue enough miles for free travel in First and Business Class if TapForMore points are your only source of miles - there are credit cards that offer 4 miles per dollar and that is definitely the way to go. Just to put things into perspective, a return-trip from Singapore to Bali in Business Class requires 38,000 KrisFlyer Miles (on Saver) so you will have to spend S$87,400 across all Dairy Farm outlets in order to earn enough miles. On the other hand, you will only need to spend S$9,500 (89% lesser!) on the right credit card to earn the same number of miles.

Getting 1 KrisFlyer Mile for every 2.3 TFM Points gets you approximately 0.43 miles per dollar so the opportunity cost of converting your TFM points into KrisFlyer Miles is $0.67. Now everyone knows that 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles are worth approximately S$20 - or at least S$16 depending on what credit cards you have access to - but in reality, they are often worth more (especially when you redeem them in First or Business Class). If you are converting your TFM points, you will require 2,300 TFM Points to get 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles. So for the sake of comparison, here's what 2,300 TFM Points will get you:

• 2,300 TFM Points = 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles

• 2,300 TFM Points = S$15.33 Cash Rebate

Obviously, if you have no desire to fly in premium cabins, the S$15.33 cash rebate is pretty decent but if you are a miles junkie, getting 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles (typically valued at S$20) makes even more sense! With that being said, there are already various ways to accrue KrisFlyer Miles in Singapore so you really have to make this decision yourself.

Photo Credit: Singapore Airlines

Can I Convert KrisFlyer Miles into TapForMore Points?

The short answer is yes but you should definitely not. KrisFlyer Miles can be converted into TFM Points at a really unattractive rate but you may choose to consider this conversion if you truly have no plans to travel (why?!) and have KrisFlyer Miles that are due to expire. This is the rate in which KrisFlyer Miles can be converted into TFM Points:

• 1 KrisFlyer Mile = 1.1 TFM Point

Since you get S$0.67 value with each TFM Point, you are getting approximately S$0.73 value with each KrisFlyer Mile if you were to do the conversion. For the sake of clarity and illustration, here's what converting 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles will get you:

• 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles = 1,100 TFM Points (S$7.33 Cash Rebate)

Remember how we said 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles are worth approximately S$20? That's right - you are only getting S$7.33 value if you were to convert your precious KrisFlyer Miles into TFM Points. That is extremely undesirable (even though it is still better than what you get out of KrisPay) so you should definitely try to avoid this method of redemption as much as possible.

If you really do have KrisFlyer Miles that are expiring, transferring them into Shangri-La Golden Circle Points will give you the most bang for your miles (especially if you hold elite status in the Golden Circle loyalty program). With that said, KrisFlyer Miles should always be used to redeem for premium cabin tickets to extract the most value out of them. As a quick reminder, you will get Jade Status in the Golden Circle program for simply holding The Platinum Card from American Express.