SINGAPORE, March 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- utu, a Singapore-headquartered start-up on a mission to transform tax-free shopping worldwide by returning control and ownership to the consumer, has partnered with KrisFlyer to offer travellers upsized VAT refunds in 50 countries worldwide. With the virtual utu Tax Free Card, users are rewarded with US$125 worth of utu miles for every US$100 of tax refunds claimed abroad, which can be automatically converted into KrisFlyer miles for KrisFlyer members.
As Singapore gradually reopens its borders through Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs), outbound air travel is also expected to continue picking up. For Singaporeans who are avid international shoppers, the utu Tax Free Card is a must-have for those who wish to receive more on their tax refunds on their purchases.
Travellers who have applied for VAT refunds in the past may have noticed that the refunds they received were rarely the full tax amount reflected on their receipts. This is because traditional VAT refund operators deduct a processing fee of 30-50% from each consumer's final refund amount. utu aims to transform the VAT refund system through its world's first utu Tax Free Card. Users of the utu Tax Free Card can enjoy 25% more on their tax refunds, in 50 countries where VAT and GST refunds are available. These countries include Singapore, France, Switzerland, Germany, South Korea, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This upsized reward comes in the form of frequent flyer miles, which has evolved into a form of global currency among today's travellers. Details on how the utu Tax Free Card works are available in the appendix below.
KrisFlyer, the lifestyle membership programme of the Singapore Airlines Group, offers a myriad of ways for members to earn and redeem miles, both in the air and on the ground. With over 3,000 partners - including hotels, travel services, restaurants, retail brands and more – in Singapore and around the world, members can enjoy exclusive travel, shopping, dining, and experience offers made miles better with KrisFlyer.
Ameer Jumabhoy, Co-Founder, utu, said: "utu was founded with the goal of giving travellers the best value for their tax-free shopping abroad by re-engineering the global tax refund system to put the customer first with our technology. Our partnership with KrisFlyer, a market leader in global aviation rewards, combines the best of both worlds of refunds and rewards by turbocharging their VAT refunds through utu miles that can be converted to KrisFlyer miles."
Sanjay Chinchwade, Chief Marketing Officer, utu, said: "We are excited to welcome KrisFlyer into the utu fold. Together, we are working to drive the travel industry forward in the new normal to shake up the tax refund world, so that we can bring back the joy in travelling and empower travellers to receive more when shopping overseas. We will continue our drive for customer-centricity by extending partnerships to other players and stakeholders in the tax-free shopping value chain."
utu's partnership with KrisFlyer is the latest in its series of collaborations with other frequent flyer programmes.
About utu
utu is transforming tax-free shopping worldwide by empowering travellers with the freedom to obtain a higher VAT refund, something they have been unable to do until now. utu goes beyond digitizing refunds to re-engineer the tax-free shopping value chain, eliminating the impact of high fees levied on shoppers. The utu management team has deep domain knowledge in tax-free shopping developed over 25 years refunding VAT and GST worldwide. By bringing the worlds of refunds and rewards together, utu unlocks new value in the form of rewards from retailers, airlines, hotels and others. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Singapore, utu's products can be used in over 50 countries.
For more information, visit www.utu.global or download the utu app at https://utu.global/get-the-app/.
Appendix: How It Works
