Singapore KrisFlyer will raise award rates, add dynamic pricing option
Singapore KrisFlyer is the latest airline loyalty program to devalue. Effective Nov. 1, the program will soon increase award rates for its own flights, partner flights and cabin upgrades.
The airline also announced that it's rolling out a new type of award ticket called "Access" on this date. Access awards will let members book seats on any Singapore Airlines flight — even if Saver or Advantage space isn't available — and they will be priced dynamically.
Here's what you need to know about these KrisFlyer changes.
Singapore KrisFlyer devaluation
Unfortunately, this devaluation affects almost every route you can book with KrisFlyer. If you're booking a flight on Singapore Airlines' own planes, you will see as much as a 20% increase in the number of points required to book. The worst changes are for KrisFlyer's Advantage awards, which cost more than Saver but include more flexibility.
Here's a breakdown of the devaluation for flights on Singapore Airlines:
- Saver redemptions (zones 1 through 9, Asia and Southwest Pacific): 5% decrease for economy and 5% increase for business and first class
- Saver redemptions (zones 11 through 13, Europe and U.S.): 5% increase for all classes
- Saver redemptions (Zone 10, Africa, the Middle East and Turkey): 10% to 20% increase for all classes
- Advantage redemptions (all zones): 5% increase for economy in Zone 10, 18% increase for business class in Zone 10 and 15% increase for first class in Zone 10; 10% to 15% increase for all classes in all other zones
Meanwhile, Star Alliance partner flights are also getting more expensive, with prices increasing by roughly 10% across the board. We won't run through every single change in this article, but some of the most notable ones for U.S.-based travelers include:
- Intra-North America flights: Increasing to 15,000 miles one-way from 14,000 miles for economy; increasing to 29,000 miles one-way from 26,000 miles for business class
- North America to Hawaii and Central America: Increasing to 20,500 miles one-way from 19,500 miles for economy; increasing to 43,000 miles one-way from 39,000 miles for business class
- North America to Europe: Increasing to 32,500 miles one-way from 30,500 miles for economy; increasing to 89,500 miles one-way from 81,000 miles for business class
Finally, the number of miles you'll need to upgrade a Singapore Airlines ticket is also increasing by between 5% and 10% in most cases. The increase amount will vary depending on the zone you're flying to and from.
This isn't the worst devaluation we've seen in the points and miles world, but these changes still make using KrisFlyer more expensive. If you're in the market for a KrisFlyer award ticket, book it now before prices increase this November.
Singapore Airlines will add Access awards
KrisFlyer will launch Access awards Nov. 1. These awards allow KrisFlyer members to book any available seat on a Singapore Airlines flight with their miles. Unlike Saver and Advantage awards, they will be dynamically priced based on demand.
The airline hasn't announced pricing specifics yet, so we'll have to wait until November. However, if Access awards work anything like comparable awards for Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus, expect popular routes to get extremely expensive over holidays and other peak travel times. Thankfully, this is only an additional option, and KrisFlyer's Saver and Advantage award charts are here to stay.
Bottom line
It's always unfortunate to see a loyalty program devalue, but we appreciate that Singapore Airlines gave us plenty of advance notice. With that in mind, if you've been waiting to book a KrisFlyer award ticket, do it before Nov. 1 to lock in the predevaluation redemption rates.
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