Singapore Airlines started flying as an independent airline in 1972 and launched its KrisFlyer rewards program in 1999. The program is a transfer partner of numerous rewards programs, making it a great catch-all option for pooling points to book award flights.
KrisFlyer allows award redemptions on over two dozen airlines. While many of those are in the Star Alliance, some of the unique, non-alliance partnerships can provide solid value.
KrisFlyer also has an extremely great and extremely frustrating aspect: The program provides expanded access to Singapore Airlines flights that’s far beyond what you’ll find through partner programs — in fact, it’s the only way to book Singapore Airlines’ celebrated first-class suites. However, the award search feature on the website is prone to errors.
That said, the program was rated as one of point.me’s top picks for frequent flyer programs in Asia. Here’s everything you need to know about the Singapore KrisFlyer program:
Overview of Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
When flying, you’ll earn KrisFlyer miles based on your fare class and distance. Unfortunately, your earning rates vary by airline, which makes things complicated. For example, you can earn 200% of the miles flown on Singapore Airlines in first class, or you could earn just 50% when flying in economy. With Scoot, you could earn as little as 10% of miles flown with the cheapest economy tickets, while the maximum you’ll earn is 25% of the distance flown with Singapore Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary.
On partner flights, it’s common to earn 150%-200% of miles flown in first class, 100%- 150% of miles flown in business class, and anywhere from 10% to 100% of miles flown in economy, depending on which fare class you booked with which airline. Luckily, there’s a chart you can reference to avoid surprises.
Along with flying, you can earn KrisFlyer miles in many other ways. The program offers co-branded credit cards in several Asian countries, and you can also earn miles when shopping, booking a rental car, staying at a hotel, or hiring a car service.
Credit card transfer partners of Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
One of the best things about Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is how easy it is to accumulate miles in the program. You can transfer all of the following currencies to KrisFlyer at a 1:1 ratio:
You also can transfer points from Brex Rewards at a 3:2 ratio or from Marriott Bonvoy at a 3:1 ratio. There’s also a 5,000-mile bonus when transferring 60,000 Marriott points, meaning you’ll get 25,000 KrisFlyer miles in the end.
With so many options, any credit card earning rewards in these programs can help you earn Singapore KrisFlyer miles.
Airline partners of Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Aside from Singapore Airlines flights, which airlines can you book with KrisFlyer miles? Many! Singapore Airlines is part of the Star Alliance, meaning you can book the following airlines with your miles:
- Aegean Airlines
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air India
- Air New Zealand
- All Nippon Airways (ANA)
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca
- Brussels Airlines
- Copa Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- EgyptAir
- Ethiopian Airlines
- EVA Air
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Shenzhen Airlines
- South African Airways
- Swiss International Air Lines
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- United Airlines
You also can book Singapore Airlines’ non-Star Alliance partners using your KrisFlyer miles:
- Alaska Airlines
- Juneyao Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin Australia
What we love about Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
There are multiple aspects of the KrisFlyer program that we love. These include:
- Ease of accruing miles: With so many transfer partners, it’s easy to build up your KrisFlyer balance for award tickets.
- Lack of competition for award seats in first class: Since Singapore Airlines rarely allows bookings in its famous Suites first class using miles in other programs, you won’t have to worry about these seats disappearing through award reservations from other frequent flyer programs. That said, they still book up quickly.
- Numerous redemption options: In addition to Singapore Airlines, you can book flights with roughly 30 airlines using KrisFlyer miles. This means you have more chances of getting to where you want to go using miles.
- Clear award chart: There is no dynamic or hidden award pricing here. KrisFlyer has a published award chart, and the costs don’t waiver from it.
- One-way awards at half the price of roundtrip: Some programs require you to book round-trip award tickets. Others incentivize it by charging a premium on one-way tickets. Not here. The award chart shows one-way award ticket prices at half the price of a roundtrip booking.
- Spontaneous Escapes for great value: KrisFlyer releases a list of discounted award tickets each month. Typically, you’ll need to book within a few weeks and travel within the next month. However, you can score a great deal on award travel if you can make the flights and dates work.
- Hold policy: You can put award tickets on hold while transferring in miles. That means seats won’t disappear while you wait for transfers to process. Putting award tickets on hold requires a phone call.
What we don’t love about Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Despite its many positives, the KrisFlyer program has some negatives:
- The website is prone to errors: It’s not uncommon to see a “no flights available” message when searching for award flights. That’s true even if flights exist, unfortunately. You may need to call to inquire about award tickets after finding flights through a partner airline website first.
- Booking Singapore Suites in first class with miles is tough: You’ll need a lot of flexibility if you want to book Singapore Suites using miles. Because of the airline’s generous hold policy, people tend to sit on these awards even if they later cancel. That means waiting lists are common.
- Complicated system for redeeming miles for friends and family: You can add up to five redemption nominees to your account, allowing you to book award tickets for them. While adding people is free, removing them costs 3,000 miles or $30.
- Firm expiration policy: Miles expire three years after they are earned. In other programs, the validity of your miles is extended with earning or redeeming activity, but that doesn’t apply here. You’ll need to pay to extend the validity of miles if they’re about to expire.
- Unique sweet spots: Through its partnerships, you can find solid award prices on flights from the West Coast to Hawaii on Alaska Airlines, from the U.S. to South America on numerous airlines, or smoking-hot deals from the U.S. to Europe in economy (more on that later).
Singapore elite status tiers and how to earn them
The Singapore KrisFlyer program has three membership tiers: Member, Elite Silver, and Elite Gold. To move up the ranks, you need to earn elite miles. Elite miles aren’t the same as the miles you can redeem for flights. Instead, these are related to your flight distance and cabin bonuses.
Elite Silver
Reaching Elite Silver requires earning 25,000 elite miles within a 12-month period. You can earn elite miles through any combination of flights, and KrisFlyer doesn’t list a minimum number of segments you must fly with Singapore Airlines specifically.
Benefits at this tier include priority airport check-in, a 25% tier bonus on miles flown with Singapore Airlines and Scoot, complimentary seat selection on Singapore Airlines and Scoot flights, and extra checked baggage allowance.
Elite Gold
To reach top tier Elite Gold status requires earning 50,000 elite miles in a 12-month period. You’ll also get Star Alliance Gold status, which provides benefits when flying on partner airlines, including access to partner airline lounges.
Perks at this tier include priority baggage handling, priority reservation waitlist, additional checked baggage allowance, complimentary seat selection in the Forward Zone with Singapore Airlines, and flexibility with Scoot change fees.
How to earn Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles
You can earn Singapore KrisFlyer miles whether you’re shopping, renting a car, staying at a hotel, or spending on one of the airline’s credit cards.
- Shopping: Earn miles with retail partners like Bicester Collection, MASSHIRO&Co, and even KrisShop.
- Hotels: Earning rates vary, but you can earn miles on stays with partners like Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and more. You also can earn on stays booked through providers like Agoda.com and Rocketmiles, on day passes to resorts, or even convert hotel points from some programs to KrisFlyer.
- Transportation: Earn miles on rentals with programs like Avis and Budget, or earn when you buy a car from BMW. It’s also possible to convert points from Esso or Shell GO+ to KrisFlyer.
- Credit cards: KrisFlyer offers co-branded credit cards to help you earn miles on daily spending. These aren’t available in the U.S., but they’re available in Australia and multiple Asian countries.
- Point transfers: It’s also possible to transfer miles into your account from Amex, Brex, Capital One, Chase, and Marriott Bonvoy.
When it comes to flights, you’ll earn as much as 200% miles based on the distance flown or as little as 10%. This depends on the airline you fly and the fare code of your ticket. Fare codes are more complex than just knowing you flew in economy or business class. Instead, each airline may sell multiple types of economy fares, from basic economy to full fare.
Regardless of your fare class, you’ll earn miles based on flight distance and at a higher rate when flying on a more premium ticket.
Redeeming miles with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Booking an award ticket with Singapore Airlines is straightforward. KrisFlyer offers one-way and round-trip bookings, with a one-way ticket costing half the miles of a round-trip award. You’ll find pricing for economy, premium economy, business, and first class in the award chart. Knowing how many miles you need only requires lining up the zone you want to fly from and to.
Within each zone for Singapore Airlines’ own flights, you’ll see two prices: Saver and Advantage awards. Saver awards are much cheaper, but they sell out faster. They also have increased fees if you need to change or cancel a ticket. Advantage awards also allow you to add a stopover in each direction, which could be worth the cost difference.
Unfortunately, nearly anything other than an award ticket provides poor value for your Singapore Airlines miles. That even includes upgrades.
Related: How to Book a Singapore Airlines Flight with Points and Miles
How much are KrisFlyer miles worth?
To understand what these miles are worth, let’s see what you can do with them.
25,000 KrisFlyer Miles
With 25,000 miles, you could book a one-way flight from the East Coast to Europe. This price applies no matter which airline you fly with, including Lufthansa, United, Air Canada, Brussels Airlines, and more.
Singapore Airlines even operates a flight between New York City’s JFK airport and Frankfurt, Germany. Depending on date, season, and demand, these flights can cost around $240 per person one-way on other airlines.
50,000 KrisFlyer Miles
Aside from a round-trip ticket to Europe in economy class, you could book a one-way economy ticket from anywhere in the U.S. to Singapore for 42,000-44,000 miles per person.
You could also book a round-trip economy award within North America (excluding Hawaii) for 28,000 miles or in business class for 52,000 miles.
100,000 KrisFlyer Miles
With 100,000 Krisflyer miles, you can book a round-trip business class ticket between Hawaii and Central America or between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. Either of those will cost 78,000 miles round-trip.
Alternatively, you could fly between North and South America for 66,000 miles round-trip and still have enough miles left for a round-trip economy ticket within North America (28,000 miles per person).
The best KrisFlyer redemptions
If you want to use your KrisFlyer miles for fantastic value, consider these options (all of which are Saver awards):
- Singapore Airlines Suites: As one of the best first-class flights available, booking these suites with miles can require a lot of flexibility on dates. However, this is a prime use of KrisFlyer miles. The cheapest award in first class costs 30,500 miles per person for a flight between Singapore and either Malaysia, Indonesia, or Brunei. If you want to fly from the U.S., Suites class is available on flights between New York City and Frankfurt, Germany. You’ll need 97,000 miles per person for this flight. That flight continues on to Singapore, and booking the whole trip in first class costs 148,500 miles per person.
- West Coast to Hawaii with Alaska Airlines: You can redeem 13,500 miles per person to fly with Alaska Airlines to Hawaii. This price only applies to nonstop flights, however, but it’s an excellent deal when you consider the hefty cost of flights to Hawaii during holidays and peak periods.
- U.S. to South America in business class: You’ll pay 65,000 miles per person each way or 130,000 miles round-trip for flights to any part of South America. The best value here is on flights further into South America, such as Buenos Aires and Santiago. Airline options for your flights include United, Avianca, and Air Canada.
- U.S. to Europe in economy: You can fly to Europe for as little as 25,000 miles each way. However, this applies to Singapore Airlines’ flight from New York City to Frankfurt only. If you’re flying on other carriers, you could pay 30,500 miles per person in economy, which is still decent.
Tips for using Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles
Follow these tips to redeem your KrisFlyer miles like a pro.
Be willing to pick up the phone
Given the website issues and the ability to put award seats on hold with a phone agent, be willing to call. Hold times are usually fair, and phone agents are friendly. It’s worth calling to explore your redemption options.
Use the hold policy
Speaking of the hold policy, use it. If you see an award ticket that sounds like a “maybe,” put it on hold while you check other options. Or put it on hold before transferring points from your credit card reward program. That way, seats won’t disappear while you get everything ready or explore plan B.
Use other tools to find awards
The best tool for redeeming your KrisFlyer miles might be visiting another airline’s website or using a tool like point.me. Since the KrisFlyer award search is prone to errors and phantom award space, looking for awards elsewhere can help you know what’s available before you call KrisFlyer or try to replicate the flight results on Singapore Airlines’ buggy website.
Add stopovers
Advantage awards permit one free stopover on one-way awards. Saver awards permit one free stopover on round-trip awards. If you’re booking a Star Alliance award, you can add one free stopover per round-trip award. These can be a great way to break up a trip, explore a second destination, and add value to your redemptions without needing to redeem extra miles for another ticket. Stopovers are limited to 30 days.
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