Singapore Airlines is making changes to its Singapore Airlines award chart, increasing the price mostly of premium cabin international awards. They’re also introducing online booking of partner awards and a $25 telephone booking fee for awards that can be booked online.
While the price of many Star Alliance long haul awards will go up, this doesn’t affect the cost of the awards I actually use Singapore’s miles for. And online booking will be convenient. But I never like ~ 20% increases in mileage costs, period.
Star Alliance Award Prices Go Up As Much as 25%
Here are the old and new award chart prices, and the change in pricing, for one way awards to or from North America (except US domestic and Hawaii/Central America prices which do not change, click to enlarge):
US-South America remains a fantastic value. It’s shocking to now see US-South West Pacific costing 305,000 miles roundtrip as a saver award.
How I Use Singapore Miles Today, These Awards Mostly Aren’t Changing
I use Singapore miles mostly for their own flights, and they updated that award chart earlier in the year while eliminating fuel surcharges on Singapore metal.
The Star Alliance award chart became ironically a way to get Singapore’s flights for fewer miles by tacking on a partner flight in addition. That will actually go away.
There’s no change to the price of domestic US flights or US-Hawaii flights, two great values for travel on United.
- US – Hawaii costs 35,000 miles roundtrip in coach, 60,000 miles roundtrip up front
- North America domestic first class awards cost just 40,000 miles roundtrip
US-South America doesn’t change at all, and represents great pricing. US-Europe business class doesn’t change. Outside of South America, though (where first class isn’t prevalent), there’s not a single US route where first class awards aren’t getting more expensive.
I haven’t booked any Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Star Alliance first class awards though, I use KrisFlyer miles for travel on Singapore itself where KrisFlyer members get access to much better availability than Singapore’s Star Alliance partners do. My wife and I were fortunate earlier this year, for instance, to have the A380 Suites cabin all to ourselves for Singapore – Paris.
(HT: Straight to the Points)
Europe do SE Asia 258k in F. Are they smoking crack?
What about SIN to Australia.
too many points generated by banks flooded their system – exactly the same way central banks took turn in devaluating their own paper money, sad …
@excelsize – nope. (1) the US market with tranferrable points is a blip on the radar of the program, and was profitable under the old chart, (2) sq had simply gone much longer than most without a devaluation (3) it became inevitable when they updated their own chart that they would update partner award pricing too, and their own pricing update was driven by the elimination of fuel surcharges on sq metal
Boo
Sucks to see a 20% increase in under 1 month.
What will their rules be for changes to bookings made pre-12/17? If I have an F award waiting for space to open up on the LH sector, will they honor the F award price I already booked?
All this did is make me plan to jump ship to another *A program sooner rather than later. KrisFlyer just became less competitive than the other major frequent flyer programs.