After all the cancellations in the wake of the corona pandemic, some frequent flyers are probably sitting on a large mountain of miles. If you want to get rid of them, you shouldn’t take too much time. We expect some price increases for award flights in the coming months.
KrisFlyer, Singapore Airlines’ frequent flyer program, announced a move in this regard yesterday. Customers have been informed that a new award chart will apply to mileage bookings effective July 5, 2022. And as we all know, that means that things are getting worse.
Award Flights with Singapore Airlines
The new award table for flights on Singapore Airlines can be viewed on the KrisFlyer website here. Interestingly, the old table (for bookings up to May 4) is no longer available there. Fortunately, the miles blog Milelion from Singapore has made a few backup copies – and made the old award chart available here as a PDF.
According to KrisFlyer, price increases average 10%. At least in business & first class from Europe, however, a price increase of 11% to 13% is more common, on other combinations even up to 16%.
We have compared the prices for award flights from Europe to destinations worldwide for you. For one-way flights with Singapore Airlines (Saver Award) from Europe, you get the following values:
| From Europe to… | Economy | Premium Eco | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 Singapore | 42,000 (+ 10.5%) | 71,000 (+ 10.1%) | 103,500 (+ 11.2%) | 141,000 (+ 12.8%) |
| Zone 2 Malaysia, Indonesia, … | 42,000 (+ 10.5%) | 71,000 (+ 10.1%) | 103,500 (+ 11.2%) | 141,000 (+ 12.8%) |
| Zone 3 Thailand, Philippines, … | 42,000 (+ 10.5%) | 71,000 (+ 10.1%) | 103,500 (+ 11.2%) | 141,000 (+ 12.8%) |
| Zone 4 China, Hong Kong, Taiwan | 47,500 (+ 10.5%) | 90,000 (+ 10.4%) | 118,500 (+ 12.9%) | 161,000 (+ 12.6%) |
| Zone 7 Japan, South Korea | 51,000 (+ 10.9%) | 98,000 (+ 10.1%) | 125,000 (+ 12.6%) | 172,500 (+ 12.7%) |
| Zone 8 Australia (only Perth, Darwin) | 47,500 (+ 10.5%) | 77,000 (+ 10%) | 119,500 (+ 10.6&) | 160,500 (+ 12.6%) |
| Zone 9 Australia + New Zealand | 58,500 (+ 10.4%) | 101,000 (+ 10.4%) | 130,500 (+ 12.5%) | 183,500 (+ 12.6%) |
| Zone 11 Europa | 11,000 (+ 10%) | 19,000 (+ 11.8%) | 34,500 (+ 13.1%) | 48,000 (+ 12.9%) |
| Zone 13 US east coast | 25,000 (+ 11.1%) | 52,000 (+ 10.6%) | 81,000 (+ 12.5%) | 97,000 (+ 12.8%) |
A sweet spot so far has been the flights from Turkey (Istanbul) to Asia. There are also adjustments there, but the prices remain attractive. Now you need about 56,500 instead of 49,000 miles (+ 15.3%) for a one-way Istanbul – Singapore in Business Class.
We have always compared the Saver awards above. These offer lower availability than the Advantage awards, higher cancellation costs and other restrictions, but are significantly cheaper in comparison. The prices for Advantage awards in business & first class will also be increased, while in economy class, they will remain untouched.
More Adjustments
With these changes, there are other bad news:
- Star Alliance award flight prices will also increase by approximately 8% to 16%. There is an overview at MileLion
- Upgrades with Singapore Airlines and the Star Alliance will also be more expensive. However, the increase in mileage is lower here. Nevertheless, redeeming KrisFlyer miles for Star Alliance awards is rarely of interest anyway.
- From July 5, 2022, the Star Alliance Round The World Award will also become more expensive. The new values are not yet known
- In future, a stopover may only last a maximum of 30 days
- So far, additional stopovers could be added for an additional charge of $100. From August 1, this is no longer possible.
Book Now, Fly Later
KrisFlyer announced the changes a month before they come into effect. This means that if you still have miles in your KrisFlyer account, you should spend them by July 4, 2022, if possible.
You can currently book trips with KrisFlyer until May 2023. A Saver award can then be cancelled at any time prior to departure for a US$75 (~€70) fee. So you’d still benefit from the old mileage values. If you want to change the date of the booking, this is subject to fees in the amount of US$50 (~€47). MileLion has been told by a KrisFlyer spokesperson that there will be no mileage difference to be paid.
Conclusion
Award flights with KrisFlyer are already comparatively expensive. Unless the Spontaneous Escapes (mileage bargains from KrisFlyer) are being offered, you need a whopping 184,000 miles for a round trip from Europe to Singapore in business class. This could only be justified because of the low taxes & fees.
From July, the same journey will require more than 200,000 miles. If you consider that last year the exchange ratio of MR points to KrisFlyer miles was worsened, the sweet spots are becoming fewer and fewer. But there are still a few good deals.
Cover Picture: Photo by Tim Dennert on Unsplash