Adulting is tough. Most of us can barely stretch our budgets to cover a home renovation or an annual trip to Japan, let alone both. But what if we told you there’s a way to turn your hefty renovation bill into points that could unlock a “free” holiday?
By wisely utilising credit card sign-up bonuses and the rewards that come with spending, you can potentially redeem 2 return tickets to Tokyo in stylish business class. Here’s a quick guide on converting your renovation costs into airline miles and hotel points and making the most out of your cash.
Understanding how credit card rewards work
Image credit: CrytoRank
Before you start planning your dream itinerary to Europe, it’s important to understand how credit card rewards work. Typically, there are 2 types of rewards to earn: Miles and Cashback. Miles are essentially points that you can use to redeem flights and hotel stays; sometimes they come as airline miles, while other times they are credit card points that you can exchange for miles.
Image adapted from: Standard Chartered
Another way to earn miles is through sign-up bonuses. These are one-off rewards that can only be accrued when you register and get approval for a credit card. The devil’s in the details with these bonuses, as they usually require you to be new to the bank and spend within certain categories. Yes, paying your utility bills and buying TOTO tickets might not count towards a card’s minimum spend.
The big caveat with this method is that many contractors don’t take credit cards for payment. Sure, you can use them to pay for your furniture and appliances—and those payments will stack up—but you’d still want to maximise the money you’re paying for the hacking and carpentry.
In the past, you would have been out of luck. However, contractors and ID firms are more flexible with their payments in this era. There are even services like Citi Payall and CardUp that let you make big payments on your credit card for a small fee, provided you have the credit limit available.
How to use services like Citi PayAll & CardUp
Image adapted from: CardUp
Most contractors and ID firms still prefer bank transfers, which is where payment services like Citi PayAll and CardUp come in if you want to get credit card rewards when paying for your renovation.
Citi PayAll is exclusive to Citibank customers and allows you to schedule large payments directly to a bank account; you just need the bank and account number for your recipient. There is a small processing fee of 2.6%, which can add up, and this fee has to be paid to earn rewards—an $8,000 payment to a contractor would incur a $208 fee.
Another option if you’re not a Citi customer is CardUp. The service works with a wider range of banks, including DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered, and HSBC. It works similarly to Citi PayAll where you can pay invoices using your credit card with a small fee. Usually, it’s 2.6%, but CardUp often has promotions to reduce the fees, down to 1.55% for certain cards.
Planning your renovation budget for maximum miles
Image credit: @cairnsairport
Now that you know how to earn miles and pay for your renovation, it’s time to combine both and score a “free” trip to Tokyo in November in a comfortable business class seat. Here’s a strategy you can use with a scenario that you might find yourself in.
Let’s say your renovation will cost around $60,000, with the furniture and appliances costing another $30,000. First, you should research the credit cards you qualify for—we have a list below of the best credit cards to sign up for. Then, the trick is to break up your total spend to make the most out of the sign-up bonuses.
For example, if you are the new owner of 3 credit cards, you should first spend the minimum needed to hit the sign-up bonus; most cards require $800-$1,000 to be spent within 2 months. Most credit card reward programs also have a minimum redemption amount: Citi transfers in blocks of 10,000 miles, while HSBC’s program needs a minimum of 30,000 points to redeem.
So if you get 38,000 miles by signing up for and spending a minimum of $800 with the DBS Altitude Visa credit card, you’d only be able to redeem 30,000 miles while the other 8,000 is stuck until you earn another 2,000 miles. It’s important to plan your purchases so that you finish in blocks of 10,000. You don’t want to be short a few thousand miles for those Saver Business Class fares.
Once you’ve met the minimum spend for your credit cards, you can start optimising your purchases. Most cards get you around 1.2 miles per dollar spent, but some get you 1.3 to 1.6 miles per dollar even. You can put the bulk of your payments on those cards, and remember to request a credit limit increase just in case.
With the $90,000 renovation spend, you can earn a minimum of 108,000 miles, which is enough to redeem 2 tickets in Economy Class to Tokyo on Singapore Airlines. That’s not including the potential sign-up bonuses you can earn, which might upgrade you to the front of the plane.
The best credit cards to get in April 2025 for maximising miles
Before you go off applying for every credit card and splurging beyond your means, we’ve narrowed down some of the best credit cards you should apply for. They are also cards best meant for travel, so you can use them on your trips to Europe and Vietnam as a reward to yourself after finishing a gruelling renovation.
Citi Premiermiles—Get 30,000 bonus miles
The Citi Premiermiles Mastercard is one of the most classic credit cards in Singapore; ask any frequent traveller and the odds are good they have it in their wallet. You can earn 1.2 miles for every $1 spent locally, and 2.2 for every $1 spent in foreign currency. Plus, the card comes with 2 complimentary lounge passes each year.
Citi Miles can be transferred to plenty of frequent flyer programs, including Singapore Airlines’s KrisFlyer, Cathay Asia Miles, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Flying Blue, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, and Etihad Guest. However, you can only transfer miles in blocks of 10,000, and you’d have to pay an administrative fee of $27.25 with each miles transfer request.
Currently, new Citi card members can earn up to 30,000 miles as a welcome gift by spending $800 within 2 calendar months and paying the $196.20 annual fee.
DBS Altitude Visa—Get up to 38,000 bonus miles
Another card to consider—especially if you aren’t already a DBS/POSB member—is the DBS Altitude Visa. It has a higher local earn rate of 1.3 miles per $1 spent locally, and up to 2.2 miles per $1 spent in foreign currency. The miles are awarded in the form of DBS points which can then be converted into miles at a ratio of 1 DBS Point to 2 miles.
DBS only has a few transfer partners, including Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Qantas Frequent Flier, AirAsia Points, and Cathay Asia Miles. A fee of $27.25 will be charged for each redemption, except for Air Asia Points until 31st December 2025. There is also a processing time of 5-10 days for mile transfers, which can be frustrating as tickets can be snapped up at any time.
Applicants who are not holding on to any DBS/POSB credit cards, and have not cancelled any DBS/POSB credit cards within the last 12 months, can earn 28,000 miles by spending a minimum of $800 within 60 days of your card’s approval date. You can earn another 10,000 miles by paying the first year’s annual fee of $196.20, bringing your total bonus miles to 38,000.
HSBC TravelOne Credit Card—Get up to 36,000 bonus miles
One last card to consider is the HSBC TravelOne Credit Card. The card lets you earn up to 1.2 miles per $1 spent locally, and up to 2.4 miles per $1 spent on foreign currency. New HSBC cardholders can earn up to 36,000 miles by spending a minimum of $1,000. Existing cardholders can also get up to 24,000 miles, so they’re not missing out either.
The best perks about redeeming with HSBC are that mile redemptions get cleared instantly, and there is no redemption fee with each transfer. However, there is a minimum point transfer of 25,000 up to 35,000 points, but at least you don’t have to transfer in blocks.
HSBC also has many redemption partners like Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, JAL Mileage Bank, United Airlines MileagePlus, and Qantas Frequent Flier.
HSBC TravelOne Credit Card website
So let’s break down the math on how you can maximise sign-up bonuses to accrue 210,800 miles:
- Citi Premiermiles: Spend $10,000 for 42,000 miles
- DBS Altitude Visa: Spend $70,000 for 122,000 miles
- HSBC TravelOne: Spend $10,000 for 46,800 miles
With the cheapest return trip tickets on business class to Tokyo costing 104,000 miles, your $90K renovation could pay for a round trip for 2. Finding availability for ticket redemptions is another ordeal, however. But it’s nice to have those miles at hand to redeem whenever a flight becomes available.
How to convert your renovation costs into airline miles
Renovations and travelling can easily burn a hole through your wallet, but you can make your dollar work double duty and pay for both your new cabinets and a week-long jaunt to escape. All you need to do is research the credit cards you can apply for and spend wisely—the last thing you’d want to do is to sip on margaritas while drowning in debt.
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Cover image adapted from: Singapore Carpentry, TheSmartLocal
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