Starting on July 5th, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer award prices are going up. On average, a KrisFlyer redemption award will go up by 10%. Since Singapore Airlines only opens most award space in business and first-class to its own members, these devaluations will make a difference if you were looking to fly on one of the best airlines in the world.
If you’ve been putting off booking an award flight, this is the time to put up or shut up. Fortunately Singapore Airlines partners with all four major points currencies and Marriott Bonvoy. However, if you’ve waited this long to book a flight, it’s helpful to know that not all transfers to Singapore Airlines are created equal.
Back in 2019, I transferred points from American Express, Citi and Chase to my KrisFlyer account. It took almost a day for the AMEX and Citi points to appear and over 2 days for the Chase points to show up. I later learned that was because I hadn’t previously linked my KrisFlyer account with Ultimate Rewards.
If you’ve waited this long, you don’t have a few days to book a ticket. You only have a few hours until prices go up. I did some looking online and I found the answer on a FlyerTalk thread (Yes, they are still helpful in some circumstances).
According to recent experiences, AMEX Membership Rewards transfers to Singapore KrisFlyer were almost instant.
I already had 26,000 KrisFlyer points from rebooking our trip in 2019. Singapore points usually expire in 3 years but Singapore Airlines extended the expiration on award points until the end of 2022.
I needed an additional 164,000 points to book two Business Class award tickets from SIN-SFO or LAX. I logged into my AMEX account and put in a transfer. AMEX says that transfers are normally instant but can take up to 48 hours.
I logged out of my KrisFlyer account and then signed back in. The 164K points were already in my account.
I immediately put a flight from SIN-LAX on the waitlist and booked two saver tickets from SIN-SFO as a backup. However, I think I might just stick with my backup plan even if the LAX flights clear.
I was thrilled to fly with Singapore Airlines from JFK-FRA but I slept much of the overnight flight (which is a testament to the comfort of their business class seats.).
Singapore Airlines Business Class
While I can’t say that I’m ever looking forward to a 15-hour flight, if I have to spend that much time on a plane, I’d prefer it to be on a carrier like Singapore.
If you want to book a last minute award with Singapore KrisFlyer before the devaluation, transferring points from AMEX will probably be your best bet.
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3 comments
Thanks for the post. Almost forgot to book my tickets before the devaluation.
Yes, it also took me 2 days for my Chase Points to transfer to SQ. My points transfered just in time before the devaluation. That was close.
Unfortunately flights waitlisted will be priced at the amounts in effect at time of issuance. Therefore even if they do clear you woul have to pay the higher price to confirm your booking.