TL;DR
- Hyundai Card Korean Air 300: 3 miles per 1,000 KRW at overseas merchants (hotels, online stores)
- Cap: Overseas merchant bonus is capped at 6,000 miles/month (≈ 2,000,000 KRW). Anything above earns 1 mile.
- If you spend over 2M KRW abroad in the same month, the second charge earns only 1 mile/1,000 KRW.
- Triple miles apply when: previous month ≥ 500K KRW spent + foreign currency charge (overseas) or KRW charge (domestic luxury hotels, dept. stores, golf)
- Bottom line: If you plan to spend over 2M KRW abroad, split the charges across months
I use the Hyundai Card Korean Air 300 to accumulate SKYPASS miles. In months when I spend 500K KRW or more the previous month, I earn 3 miles per 1,000 KRW at Korean Air direct-ticketing, overseas merchants, domestic luxury hotels, department stores, and golf courses. Everything else earns the base 1 mile.
So when I booked hotels in Japan using this card, I expected the usual triple miles.
Then the second charge came through with 1 mile instead of 3.
“Is the app broken?”
It wasn’t.
What Happened
Two rooms at the Okinawa Mercure, two charges one week apart.
- January 24: 1,121,380 KRW charged → 3,357 miles earned. That’s 3 miles/1,000 KRW. ✅
- January 31: 1,166,480 KRW charged → 1,164 miles earned. That’s 1 mile/1,000 KRW. ❌
First charge, triple miles credited as expected.
Same card, same hotel. One week later. Only 1 mile.
Before calling customer service, I went back to the card’s product guide and found the answer myself.
The Cause: Monthly 6,000-Mile Cap on Overseas Merchants
The 3x overseas merchant bonus has a monthly cap of 6,000 miles.
6,000 miles ÷ 3 miles per 1,000 KRW = 2,000,000 KRW of eligible spend per month.
The first charge (1.12M KRW) nearly filled the cap. The second charge (1.17M KRW) spilled over — so it earned only 1 mile per 1,000 KRW. The cap is calculated across both your own card and any family-linked cards combined.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Overseas merchant 3x cap | 6,000 miles/month (≈ 2,000,000 KRW) |
| After exceeding the cap | 1 mile per 1,000 KRW |
| Korean Air direct ticketing | Annual cap of 30,000 miles (separate) |
It’s in the terms. The overseas merchant row is the only one with a monthly cap.
Things Worth Knowing Before You Spend
The 3x rate only applies to foreign currency charges. If you pay in KRW on an overseas site — some merchants let you choose — it’s treated as a domestic charge and earns only 1 mile.
Korean Air tickets need to be booked through their direct channels. Buying through travel agencies, Naver, or Kakao counts as a domestic merchant. No triple miles.
Domestic luxury hotels, department stores, and golf courses work in reverse. These earn 3x only when charged in KRW at a domestic merchant.
[!TIP] Planning to spend over 2M KRW abroad? Split charges across calendar months. Even multi-night hotel prepayments can be split — just check your running overseas total for the month in the app before charging. One quick look saves you miles.
For me, not knowing this cost me about 2,334 miles. None of those charges were urgent either.