My first miles game success story: Singapore trip for family of 4
I was completely new to the credit card miles game till a few months back.
For years, I only had basic cards like ICICI Amazon Pay, Axis Flipkart, and Scapia mainly for UPI. Never really understood how people were getting “free” travel through points and miles.
Then we started planning a Singapore trip with my wife and 2 kids, and through Reddit I discovered the whole miles/rewards ecosystem.
I upgraded to Axis Horizon and also applied for HSBC TravelOne (T1), which luckily got approved. Total joining fees I paid were around ₹9.5k.
Here’s how things worked out:
Flights
Booked 4 Air India round-trip tickets to Singapore via HSBC Hopper for \~85k.
Got:
\- 13.5k points back
\- Additional 3k bonus after crossing ₹1 lakh spend milestone
Axis Horizon rewards
Accumulated around 9k points total (including welcome + regular spends).
Hotels
Got Accor Explorer membership effectively for \~₹15k after 2k points return.
Booked Grand Mercure Singapore for 6 nights at \~₹65k after using:
\- 1 free night from Accor Explorer
\- 25k points redeemed from Axis + HSBC
\- 2k bonus points from Accor
Actual out-of-pocket for hotel became only around ₹8–9k.
So effectively:
\- Flights + 6-night hotel stay for family of 4 cost me around ₹94k total.
And the savings didn’t stop there.
In Singapore:
\- HSBC T1 gave Marina Bay elite membership benefits
\- Got free tickets for:
\- SkyPark Observatory
\- ArtScience Museum
\- Sampan rides
Used HSBC T1 for most spends there because of 0 forex till June + 4% rewards.
Total trip expense including:
\- cabs everywhere
\- food
\- Universal Studios
\- Aquarium
\- Cable Car
\- Gardens by the Bay
\- Boat rides
\- other attractions
came to around ₹2 lakhs all-inclusive for a family of 4. Its inclusive of joining fees and accor membership. Still have 1 night left with accor and 1k points in accor.
Honestly, without Reddit and all the people sharing knowledge around cards, points, rewards, hotel programs, and hacks, I would never have figured any of this out.
Big thanks to everyone who contributes here and helps beginners learn 🙌