Andrew Kunesh is TPG's Points & Miles editor. He has been active in the points and miles space since 2014, using them to travel far and wide around the world. He is originally from Chicago but moved to New York City after graduating from DePaul University. His work is featured on Credit Karma, UpgradedPoints, ValuePenguin and various other travel and finance publications. He currently holds Delta Diamond Medallion and Marriott Titanium status, and 20+ credit cards that each have a special place in Andrew's wallet.
January 7, 2021 • 13 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
Related stories
Quick summary
Singapore Airlines operates several unique long-haul and fifth-freedom routes from the US to Asia and Europe, offering premium cabins with high service standards.
There is currently wide-open business-class award space, and limited first-class space, on many of these routes for late 2021 travel.
Award tickets in premium cabins can only be booked using Singapore's own loyalty program miles, which are transferable from most major points currencies.
Travelers should be aware of ongoing pandemic-related restrictions, including closed borders and potential flight cancellations.
What to consider
Singapore remains closed to tourists and transit for Americans as of the article's publication, which may impact travel plans.
Award space is at the Saver level, offering better value, and stopovers can be added to round-trip Saver awards at no extra mileage cost.
Award holds may be possible for several months, but tickets are not confirmed until officially ticketed.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed guide to finding, booking and maximizing Singapore Airlines award tickets, including stopover rules and route-by-route award availability.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Singapore Airlines not only has some of the best first- and business-class products in the sky; it also operates them on some interesting routes that don't include its hub at Singapore Changi International Airport.
Interested in flying one of these routes post-pandemic? Now might be the time to book. We found wide-open, business-class award space on many of Singapore Airlines' routes in late-2021. In addition, there's a smattering of first-class award space on some routes.
Let's take a look at all of the available award space and how to book them. But before that, let's discuss the risk of booking travel during the coronavirus pandemic.
Let's dive in!
Should I book travel now?
(Photo by Fasttailwind/Shutterstock)
Before we talk award space, let's get the heavy stuff out of the way.
The coronavirus pandemic is still raging through most of the world. Here in the U.S., we're seeing record-high numbers of cases in many states. And despite multiple approved vaccines that are starting to roll out around the world, potentially pointing to an optimistic future for travel, there are still some risks in booking travel now.
The first is that international borders may not open at your destination by the time you're set to fly. Singapore remains closed for tourists, and Americans can't even transit through Changi Airport at this point. If these restrictions remain in effect, you may have to cancel or rebook your trip.
Doing so could incur change or cancellation fees, but most airlines have waived these due to the coronavirus pandemic. We expect most airlines to continue to extend these waivers if the pandemic continues to rage on.
There's also a chance that your route of choice could be canceled altogether due to low demand. If this happens, you'll likely be offered a refund or an alternate routing for your trip. You'll get your miles back, but you won't be able to convert them back to your transferable points credit card.
Even with all this in mind, I'm still speculatively booking travel for the end of 2021. There is a ton of excellent award space that we may not see for a while — so if you're comfortable with the risks, you may want consider doing the same.
With the heavy stuff out of the way, let's take a look at the award space.
As discussed, we're seeing wide-open, business-class award space on all of Singapore's fifth-freedom and many long-haul routes departing the U.S. There's a handful of dates with first-class award space too.
You can use this award space to connect to other destinations in Asia using the carrier's huge Asian route network. Plus, if Singapore's borders reopen, you can add a stopover for no additional miles on round-trip tickets.
(Image courtesy of Singapore Airlines)
Here's a look at all the open Singapore award space in October, November and December. All dates have at least two Saver seats available in business class, but some have three or more. This could be the perfect opportunity to take your family around the world in luxury with your points and miles.
Since first-class award space is limited, we're showing all dates with one or more seats available.
Long-haul Singapore Airlines award tickets in premium classes can only be booked with Singapore KrisFlyer miles. This means that your United MileagePlus miles and other Star Alliance partner currencies cannot be used for these awards.
Thankfully, you have plenty of options for earning Singapore miles.
All major transferable points currencies transfer to Singapore Krisflyer:
Marriott Bonvoy: 3:1 ratio, with a 5,000-mile bonus awarded for each 60,000 point transfer (equal to 25,000 miles)
Transferring credit card points to Singapore Krisflyer usually take roughly 24 hours to process, but we've heard reports of 7-day delays. On the other hand, Marriott Bonvoy transfers take around 48 hours to process.
We recommend calling Singapore Airlines to secure an award ticket hold before you transfer your points. This makes sure that no one else can book your award space while you wait for miles to process.
Finding and booking Singapore Airlines award tickets
You can find award space on the Singapore Airlines website.
Log into your account and then enter your flight details on the homepage. Make sure to select the "Redeem flights" option at the top of the search area.
(Image courtesy of Singapore Airlines)
You can see all available flights at the center of the screen. Note that "waitlisted" awards are not confirmed — instead, they'll ticket once an award seat opens in your specified class of service.
(Image courtesy of Singapore Airlines)
If you're transferring points to book a ticket, take note of the flight numbers and call Singapore's reservations line to ask for a hold. We've heard reports of holds lasting for up to 4 months, so this can is a great way to speculatively secure award space — though bear in mind that your seats aren't confirmed until the award is actually ticketed.
There are two different types of awards: Saver and Advantage.
Saver awards are less expensive but usually harder to find. That said, all the award space listed above is at the Saver level.
Note that you can also add a stopover to a round-trip Saver award. To do this, simply search for a normal, round-trip award. Then, from the results page, look for the "Add stopovers" section at the top.
Screen shot courtesy of Singapore Airlines
You can then input the details of where (and when) you'd like to build in the stopover.
Screen shot courtesy of Singapore Airlines
Again, booking these flights and adding stopovers assumes that borders are fully reopened by the time of your flight. If those travel restrictions are lifted, however, it's a great way to add an additional city to your itinerary.
For example, you can use this feature of the KrisFlyer program to book a nonstop flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Singapore (SIN). Then, you can enjoy a stopover in Hong Kong (HKG) before flying back home to San Francisco.
Screen shot courtesy of Singapore Airlines
This costs the same amount of miles as a simple, round-trip ticket from San Francisco to Hong Kong.
Alternatively, you can fly San Francisco to Hong Kong, stay for a few days and fly to Bangkok via Singapore. When you're ready to go home, you can hop on a flight back to San Francisco via Singapore. These layovers are necessary as you cannot add partner tickets to a stopover ticket.
(Screen shot courtesy of Singapore Airlines)
Advantage awards are more expensive, but you may find more award space. You can add stopovers to one-way Advantage awards, but I still think you're better off booking a round-trip Saver ticket to get a better deal.
(Screen shot courtesy of Singapore Airlines)
However, if there's no saver-level inventory on your preferred date(s) or your sitting on a massive pool of transferable points, the added flexibility of the more-expensive award could be worth it.
Earning transferable points
If you don't currently have enough credit card points to consider booking one of these flights, you may want to think about adding a new credit card to your wallet. There are several great offers available for new applicants right now, and all of the following cards allow you to convert your points directly to Singapore KrisFlyer at a 1:1 ratio:
The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards Points after you spend $6,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership.
Singapore Airlines offers Americans an excellent way to fly to Asia and Europe. Onboard these flights, you'll find some of the best premium-class products in the sky, complete with top-notch service, catering and in-flight entertainment.
This wide-open Singapore Airlines award space gives you the unique opportunity to book these tickets without endlessly searching for award space.
So if you're comfortable with the risks of booking travel during the pandemic, consider locking in your late-2021 travel plans now.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
