Fly the world's longest flight for just 136k miles round-trip in Singapore business class
Editor's Note
If you've been reading TPG for the past month or so, you've probably heard us say that while now isn't the time to be traveling, it may be an excellent time to book travel for late 2020 and early 2021. This is largely due to massive amounts of open award space; over the past month, we've found a plethora of awesome deals, including Emirates and American Airlines first class on long-haul flights.
Today we're back with another awesome deal: wide-open award space on the world's longest flight. As reported by View from The Wing, Singapore Airlines has released a ton of business-class award seats at the Saver level for its famous Newark (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) ultra-long-haul route.
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Seats are available from September 2020 through the end of the flight schedule, with some dates offering two or more open award seats. Even better, the airline has opened these award seats up for partner bookings too, so you're not restricted to booking with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
This is extremely rare for Singapore Airlines as the airline usually restricts long-haul business- and first-class award space to members of its KrisFlyer loyalty program. With this in mind, you can book the EWR to SIN route using miles from Star Alliance partners like ANA Mileage Club, United MileagePlus and Aeroplan. Likewise, you can also book with non-alliance partner Alaska Mileage Plan.
The cheapest way to book this award is through ANA Mileage Club — a round-trip ticket from EWR to SIN costs just 136,000 miles and roughly $51 in taxes and fees. In contrast, this booking would cost 198,000 miles round-trip if you booked with Singapore Airlines miles. Just note that you can only book round-trip awards with ANA; booking a one-way ticket isn't possible, but you can book open-jaw tickets if you want to return from another city.
You can also use just 77,500 Aeroplan miles to book a one-way ticket on the route. While this is more expensive than the ANA example above, Aeroplan does allow you to book one-way tickets, and you're still saving points over booking with Singapore Airlines miles. Just be sure to familiarize yourself with the various ongoing Aeroplan issues before you set up your booking.
Looking to book with United MileagePlus miles instead? The award won't show on United.com, but you can use the ANA or Aeroplan website to search for award space and then call United to book. You should be able to get the phone representative to waive the phone booking fee since the award isn't showing on the airlines' website.
If you opt to book with Singapore Airlines, you can transfer in points from American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards or Marriott Bonvoy. On the other hand, ANA Mileage Club and Aeroplan transfer in from Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.
Related: A guide to earning transferable points and why they're so valuable
Be aware of travel restrictions before you book
While this redemption can be an excellent deal, make sure to familiarize yourself with the risks of booking late 2020 and early 2021 travel before you book. One of the main risks here is that Singapore is currently not accepting international visitors. We expect this ban to be lifted as soon as the outbreak is contained, but there's no guaranteeing when this will happen.
And even if the country does reopen, it's in your best interest to keep an eye on the CDC's travel website in the weeks leading up to your travel dates. You may have to cancel your ticket if it isn't safe to travel, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the cancellation policy of the airline you book with.
Related: Airline coronavirus change and cancellation policies: A complete list of major carriers
Bottom line
It's extremely rare to see wide-open award space on Singapore Airlines' EWR to SIN ultra-long-haul flight — especially space that's bookable through Star Alliance partners. If this is something you're interested in booking, be sure to familiarize yourself with the risks before you book a ticket.
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