My Pursuit of Amex SIA KrisFlyer’s Welcome Bonus

My Pursuit of Amex SIA KrisFlyer’s Welcome Bonus

Okay, so, I’m really late to the miles game.

I have no one to blame but me, honestly. 10 years ago, when I first got my credit card, I googled about travel hacking for Asia. After a few minutes of clicking next, I called it a day. “There’s no such thing as travel hacking in Asia,” I sighed. In the following years, I didn’t bother to search for that topic anymore because it simply doesn’t exist. Or so I thought.

Fast forward, these days there are tons of information on the internet about travel hacking in Singapore. I’ve been reading and learning about the miles game from Lionel and Aaron. My main strategy up to last year was to use Citibank PremierMiles Visa for all of my expenses and accumulate never-expire miles over the years.

In October 2018, I stumbled upon American Express SIA KrisFlyer promotion booth at one of the shopping malls in Singapore. The first thing they mentioned about the cards were the sign-up bonuses. “There aren’t many cards that offer miles as sign-up bonus in Singapore, that I can qualify for,” I told myself (months later, I found out I was wrong, but that’s another story).

I was intrigued. Then, I was obsessed. Then, I signed up.

From then, life was a rollercoaster, filled with curiosity, anxiety, hopelessness, joy, creativity and doing things I’d never had done otherwise.

Here’s my pursuit of American Express SIA KrisFlyer’s sign-up bonuses a.k.a how I earn these sign-up bonuses when Amex is not accepted by a lot of merchants in Singapore, and when I’m not a big spender.

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8 Awesome Places in Singapore You Can Visit for Free (and You Should!)

8 Awesome Places in Singapore You Can Visit for Free (and You Should!)

I think it’s safe to say that Singapore is the most expensive country to live in Southeast Asia.

In general, the Southeast Asia region is pretty cheap compared to other regions, such as North Asia (where Japan and Korea are located at). Budget travellers are mostly attracted to Thailand because of its low living cost. Many would skip Singapore in a heartbeat.

As someone who have lived in the tiny red dot for over a decade, let me tell you the truth that you deserve to know: It is possible to travel Singapore on a budget. To convince you, I’ve come up with a list of 8 awesome places you SHOULD and COULD visit for free.

Should, because these places are so gorgeous you’ll thank God that you have made the right decision to come. Could, because the transportation system in the country is so extensive, it’ll cost you not more than $3 transport fare from wherever you are to these places.

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24 Hours Itinerary in Phi Phi Islands

24 Hours Itinerary in Phi Phi Islands

Is 24 hours in Koh Phi Phi enough? How big are Phi Phi Islands?

The answer to the first question: absolutely not, but it’s completely doable. By now, you could probably answer the second question, they’re big enough that one day is barely enough.

But, if you really really only have a day, like me and my hubby when we visited Phuket a couple months ago, here’s how we make the best of our 24 hours stay in Koh Phi Phi. (more…)

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Half-Day Snorkeling in Phi Phi Island

Half-Day Snorkeling in Phi Phi Island

We had made the decision to visit Phi Phi Island without a tour because we wanted to spend a night at Phi Phi Island, and we succeeded. We even had the opportunity for sightseeing around Phi Phi Le with the cruise that we took to come to Phi Phi Island.

But here’s our next problem: we want to go snorkelling in Phi Phi Island but we only have half a day. Is it possible given that we arrive at the island about 11.30 am? How to snorkel with only half a day? How can we do it cheaply?

It was indeed a stressful situation that started the minute we landed on Phi Phi Don island. We figured, we had to quickly check-in our hotel and then run around, from one travel agent to another, to learn if there’s any snorkelling tour that still has slots on that day, and if we could make it. (more…)

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Singapore Tourist Pass, EZ Link or Standard Ticket? Which One is Better?

Singapore Tourist Pass, EZ Link or Standard Ticket? Which One is Better?

To take public transportation in Singapore, you need either cash or card.

Paying by cash is rather inconvenient because you need to give the exact amount, otherwise no change will be given. Majority people use cards, but which card is better?

There are 3 cards that travellers can use in Singapore: Singapore Tourist Pass, EZ Link and Standard Ticket. Each has its own pros and cons, and each is suited for different types of travellers.

In this post, I write about the details of each card, followed by situations when a certain card is more favourable than the other.

To learn about all the different types of transportation in Singapore, read my in-depth guide about getting around Singapore.

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Year 2018 in Review: A Year of Challenges and Opportunities

Year 2018 in Review: A Year of Challenges and Opportunities

I’m always a latecomer to the party, aren’t I? Other people have started their reflections in December, but I still couldn’t make up my mind whether I should write a review post of my life in 2018.

Year 2018 is a real rollercoaster for me. My life went from great, to not so great, to nice, to bad, to amazing, to hell, to fabulous, to nightmare, to great again. I guess that’s how life goes, isn’t it? I almost didn’t want to write this post because I’m afraid if I write about all the hardships that I faced, this blog would turn into a complaint outlet.

At the same time, I want to show that my life is definitely not as picture-perfect as how my blog might portray. I want to paint an honest picture that everybody can relate to. Without further ado, let’s start. (more…)

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Visiting Phi Phi Island from Phuket Without a Tour

Visiting Phi Phi Island from Phuket Without a Tour

If you have time constraints, take a day tour to visit Phi Phi Island from Phuket. If you love to travel deep, skip the day tour; instead, take the ferry from Phuket to Phi Phi Island and stay at least a night on Phi Phi Don.

My hubby and I decided to stay a night on Phi Phi island on the second night of our Phuket trip because we want to see Phi Phi island up close. Our next step was to look for a ferry from Phuket to Phi Phi Island.

We searched online, and a bunch of websites came up. All of these websites show different ferry schedules from different companies and have links to book the ferry tickets in advance. However, we didn’t dare to book these online because: (more…)

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First Time in Patong

First Time in Patong

We spent so many hours looking for the perfect place to stay at in Phuket. Well, our definition of perfect involves the adjectives cheap and nice. And I think we found a gem.

To be honest, there are too many things I like about Phuket. First, its efficient transport and travel agent. Second, the huge varieties of food. And, the number of affordable hotels. There are literally hundreds of affordable hotels all around Phuket.

Since it was our first visit to Phuket, I wanted to stay at a busy location with plenty of amenities and crowd. I want to be able to walk safely at night along busy roads with countless cheap massage parlours.

It looks like Patong is the area that could fulfil my requirement. So, Patong it is! We booked Lub d Phuket Patong for our first 2 nights because of the many rave reviews. We told ourselves not to have any expectations. After all, it’s only SGD 50.9/night after tax. (more…)

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