Singapore Airlines are known for their high quality products, as well as their expensive redemption rates when it comes to award tickets. However, did you know that there are ways to secure a Singapore Airlines Business Class ticket with way less miles than you might imagine? To miles beginners or intermediate gamers out there, here are the three things to know to save tons of Krisflyer miles in your next redemption:
1) Krisflyer Award Chart – Saver vs Advantage rates
2) Monthly Spontaneous Escape Promotion
3) Stopover trick.
1)Krisflyer Award Chart for Singapore Airlines Flight: Saver and Advantage Rates.
There are two kinds of redemption award tickets when redeeming Singapore Airlines flight with Krisflyer miles. Generally speaking, you would want to choose the Saver rates over the Advantage rates.
In a nutshell, below are the things that set these two award tickets apart:
| Saver | Advantage | |
| Redemption Rates | Lower | Higher |
| Seat Availability | Lesser | More |
| Cancellation fee | $75 | $25 |
| Change fee – routing, cabin class & award type | $25 | $25 |
| Change fee – date & time | $25 | Free |
| Free Stopover | One way: 0 Round trip: 1 | One way: 1 Round trip: 2 |
Definition for Stopover:
Simply put, a stopover is a break stop of over 24 hours in a ticket (can be on a round trip or one-way ticket).
Example of a Stopover:
If you book yourself an Advantage award ticket SYD – SIN – HKG, you can add a free stopover in Singapore where you can stay in Singapore for more than 24 hours.
Conclusion: By booking the saver rate, you can save a significant amount of Krisflyer miles. Generally speaking, there is always decent availability for most of Singapore Airlines flights (~75%). You may click here to access both the Saver and the Advantage award charts.
2)Singapore Airlines Monthly Spontaneous Escape – 30% Discount on Redemption Ticket
What is Spontaneous Escape:
Roughly around the 15th of every month, Singapore Airlines will publish a list of destinations that are on 30% off Saver rates. Travel period is always on the following month. The discount is applicable on selected Singapore Airlines and SilkAir flights. Cabin classes include Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class.
Here is a snapshot of what is being offered for December 2019. Travel period falls on the following month – January 2020.
- Singapore to Dusseldorf for 64.4k miles instead of 94k miles (Business Class)
- Singapore to London for 26.6k miles instead of 38k miles (Economy Class)
You may click on the article below to check out the complete coverage of Singapore Airlines Spontaneous Escape for December 2019.
3) Using Stopover Trick to Save Tons of Krisflyer Miles
Number of Stopovers You Are Entitled to on an Award Ticket
| Award Ticket | Free Stopover(s) | Additional Stopovers (Up to 3) |
| One-way Saver | 0 | $100 each |
| One-way Advantage | 1 | $100 each |
| Round-trip Saver | 1 | $100 each |
| Round-trip Advantage | 2 | $100 each |
Logically speaking, you would want to redeem your tickets on the Saver rate because it is cheaper than the Advantage rate. Although you have no free stopover, you should opt for a paid stopover ($100) to save tons of miles on your future redemption.
Stopover Trick – Using a Stopover to Your Own Advantage
I will explain this using a scenario. Suppose you are based in Singapore and you have the following trips coming up:
– Sydney to Singapore on Feb 2020
– Singapore to Hong Kong on May 2020
There are two options that you could take to book these trips.
Option 1:
Ticket #1 – Redeem one way Sydney to Singapore on Business Class for 62k miles (saver rate)
Ticket #2 – Redeem one way Singapore to Hong Kong on Business Class for 30.5k miles (saver rate)
Total Krisflyer miles spent – 92.5k miles
OR
Option 2:
Ticket #1 – Redeem one way Sydney – Singapore – Hong Kong on Business Class for 65k miles (saver rate) with a stopover in Singapore (between 24 hours to 355 days).
Total Krisflyer miles spent – 65k miles + $100 Stopover fee
See the difference here? By adding a stopover that cost you $100, Option 2 saves 27.5k miles as compared to Option 1 [92.5k miles vs 65k miles]
Some Other Routing Examples:
– One way Singapore-Frankfurt-New York with a stopover of up to a year in Frankfurt
– One way Singapore-Hong Kong-San Francisco with a stopover of up to a year in Hong Kong
Important Rules for Stopover Trick
It is extremely important that you understand all the rules below. Not all Singapore Airlines agents know their ticketing rules and I personally got myself into deep trouble before, as I was wrongly advised by an agent. If you do not want to ruin your holiday, I seriously urge you to understand the following rules below.
1. Call the Krisflyer team: You can’t add a stopover through online booking, when you redeem a one-way Saver ticket. You must call the Krisflyer team to book your ticket.
2.Stopover duration: Up to 355 days.
3.Routing: Pendulum/swing routing pattern, no backtracking.
4.Award space must be available on both flight sectors when you book a stopover ticket. Neither one of your flights can be on the wait list when the airline is issuing an e-ticket to you. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT AND I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH. In the event where you can’t get your desired date for your second flight, you can always book a random date and change it later for a small fee of $25.
Side note: When you ask to be placed on a wait list flight, Singapore Airlines will issue a document. This document is not an e-ticket.
Other Things That Are Good to Know
Before moving on, you should understand all the points above. You may need to revisit this section again another time – particularly when you want to change your flight dates and/or destination.
1.How Far Ahead Can You Set Your Second Sector?
Singapore Airlines opens up its award space up to 355 days in advance. Hence, at the time of booking, the departure date for the second sector can be extended up to 355 days in advance. In addition, once you have flown your first sector, you can actually change the date of your second sector up to 355 days from the day of your first flight. Below is an example:
When you first book your ticket:
Date change after you have flown your first sector:
2. Can you change the destination of your second flight?
You can change it only if you have not flown the first sector – subject to a $25 change fee.