So I was wrong – not all credit cards are created equal.

I’ve been swiping plastics for years to pay for all kinds of purchases, and while I understand some plastics are designed to appeal to specific markets based on offered lifestyle benefits, I was more interested in checking their monthly add-on rate (in the event I fail to pay my full balance) and annual fee (which I hate to pay so those with waived fees rank high in my list).

But now that we have a cap on credit card interest rates, and many credit cards offer waived annual fees for life so long as you reach their minimum required spend, I can look more closely into what I can get from my loyalty points.

Some caveats: one, this list will only cover credit cards I use and own; and two, they are being measured against just one travel reward – a one way business class air ticket to Singapore via Singapore airlines.

When it comes to rewards points, it’s important to know if they expire. Thankfully, none of my points have ever been forfeited and so I found myself with enough to convert to Krisflyer miles. The goal is to discover how much I needed to spend to earn enough rewards and reach 21,500 Krisflyer miles for a Business Saver Award Ticket.

Let’s start with the most expensive option until we hit the most rewarding card to own.

#1 BDO Platinum credit cards

Regardless of whether you own a JCB, MasterCard or Visa, your BDO Platinum card can no longer reward you with frequent flyer points. That’s because starting February 2021, they switched to a peso rewards system. Every P1,000 qualified spend on your card will give you P1. Are you disappointed? So was I when I discovered this change. But to be fair to BDO, they have year round promotions that award some generous discounts and rebates. You’ll need to register for each one of these offers though, and if you fail to do so, no incentive for you.

#2 Security Bank World MasterCard

At first look, this appears to give you more rewards for every spend with every P20 earning 1 point. But when I was about to redeem my points, I was surprised to discover that I will need 16,667 points for every 1,000 Krisflyer miles. And since I am going for 21,500 Krisflyer miles, that means I will need 358,340.5 points. At their conversion rate, I have to spend P7,166,810 to get my hands on the ticket of my dreams.

The math shocked me so I made sure to check with the bank and they verified this via email.

#3 BPI Gold MasterCard

Every P35 spent on a BPI Gold MasterCard will earn you 1 point. To redeem 1,000 Krisflyer miles, you’ll need 2,500 points. In peso terms, this means you have to spend P87,500 for 1,000 Krisflyer miles, or P1,881,250 to get 21,500 Krisflyer miles for that one way business class ticket. It’s steep, but far better than the P7.1 million of Security Bank World MasterCard.

#4 BPI Visa Signature

I honestly did not think I needed another BPI card, but I’m glad I said yes to this because unlike its Gold sister, I earn 1 point for every P20 spent. This means, I can redeem 1,000 Krisflyer miles from 2,500 points which I can earn faster with just P50,000 charged to my card. To lay my hands on my one way business class ticket, total spend needed is just P1.075 million. That almost cut in half the charges required for the Gold variant.

#5 Citi PremierMiles MasterCard

Going down from P7.16 million to P1.075 million is already impressive, but the Citi PremierMiles MasterCard trumps all the plastics on this list. Every P30 spent on the Citi PremierMiles MasterCard will earn you 1 point or 1 mile, and you need 1.6 miles to exchange that for a Krisflyer mile. This means I need a total of 34,400 Citi points or miles to claim 21,500 Krisflyer miles. In pesos, I have to spend about P1.032 million. But the thing with this card is I always get bonus miles for one reason or another, and that means I actually spent less than P1.032 million for that free ticket.

Sadly, Citi has sold its consumer banking business in the Philippines so this plastic will soon disappear from my wallet. But in the meantime, I’ll make sure to milk all the miles I can from swiping this plastic.

* * *
If you don’t have your heart set on the business class ticket to Singapore, that’s fine. But the one lesson I hope you learn from this is that you need to set your rewards goal, and then be wise in swiping the plastic that will get that to you for free. Rewards are always nice to have, but more so if these are the rewards you can use and want the most.

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