Last year I wrote about using Sniip to pay my ATO tax bill. In this article I am going to go into more detail in using Sniip to boost Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Miles. For many people who are considering making post tax superannuation contributions you can even use Sniip to boost both your superannuation balance and your miles balance!!
In this post:
What Is Sniip?
Sniip is an intermediary that helps you pay BPAY bills without using your banking app. It uses the BPAY payments system to safely send money to most billers. While these are predominately councils, there are opportunities to use Sniip to pay some large bills and accrue even more air miles. Sniip is one of the best ways to use your AMEX card to accrue points when paying a BPAY bill.
Can I Pay BPAY Bills Directly With Amex?
No, as the BPAY scheme was established by banks and Amex is not a bank it was excluded.
Are All BPAY Billers Accepted By Sniip?
While you can pay most BPAY billers there are exceptions, For example, you can’t use Sniip to pay off your credit card with another credit card. My philosophy is to try every bill I get first to see if I can use Sniip and my Amex. I even tried with the recent ANZ share offer (it was not accepted)
How Much Does Sniip Cost?
When using my AMEX Explorer Credit Card I am charged 1.5c per $100 spend. The American Express Explorer Credit Card provides two points per dollar spent with Sniip. It conveniently converts to Singapore Airlines Miles at a 2:1 ratio. Simply put each Singapore Airlines Mile costs 1.5c
How Long Does it Take to Transfer from Amex to Singapore Airlines?
While the Amex website says it can take 24 hours to move points, my experience is that it is quite fast and took approximately 30 minutes to appear in my Singapore Airlines profile.
What are Singapore Airlines Miles Worth?
To make the scenario real I found the cheapest business class return Milan flight from Sydney for the peak summer period next year and compared it to a Business Saver return flight. Based on my calculations each point is worth around 3c.
| Sniip Amex Points | Krisflyer Miles Value | |||
| Maximum Annual Super Contribution | $110,000 | Return Business Class | $7,708.00 | |
| Sniip Fees @1.5% | $1,650 | |||
| Amex Explorer Credit Card Points | 220,000 | |||
| Singapore Krisflyer Miles Converted | 110,000 | Singapore Business Saver Miles Sydney to Milan Return | 261,000 | |
| Cost Per Mile | $0.015 | Cost Per Mile | $0.030 | |
| Cost for a return business Saver flight (inc taxes) | $3,915 | |||
| Savings | $3,793 |
Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Miles vs Qantas Frequent Flyer
As a frequent flier to Europe I prefer Singapore Airline Miles over Qantas.Put simply Singapore Airlines provides much better value than Qantas as it has more awards flights available to more destinations. Read more about Krisflyer here. Of course it is harder to collect Singapore Miles which is why you need to be more creative on how you get your miles.
Example Business Class Krisflyer Miles booking from Sydney to Milan
Using Sniip to Top Up Your Superannuation
Depending on the balance of your superannuation account you may be eligible to top up your superannuation. The table below shows how much you can contribute. You can learn more from the ATO website or your financial planner.
I tried two superannuation funds, Plum Super and UniSuper. Both accepted Sniip and Amex as a payment method.
Depending on your circumstances the maximum you can contribute is $330,000 using the three year bring forward rule. You could earn enough points for a return trip to Europe. This year I plan to transfer $110,000 into super by moving a small amount across each month to keep within my credit card limit and dollar cost average into superannuation.
