Devaluation: Singapore Airlines Krisflyer to increase award rates

The time has come. Singapore Airlines has announced revisions (devaluations) to its award charts and stopover option with four weeks’ notice.

Key points to note

• Singapore Airlines is increasing award rates across ALL classes and zones
• Saver award prices will increase by 8-16%
• Changes will take effect on bookings made from 5 July 2022
• You can still make bookings before 5 July 2022 to lock in the current award rates
• Waitlist bookings that are cleared before 5 July 2022 will be charged the current award rates
• No rate change if you make future changes to an existing award booking (booked before 5 July 2022)

Award chart changes

This is how the “Saver” award rates will change for flights to/from Singapore from 5 July 2022:

Singapore Airlines Krisflyer award chart from 5 July 2022

Stopover changes

Singapore Airlines Krisflyer has also nerfed the “Stopover Trick”, where travellers could pay US$100 to add an extended stay in Singapore, before continuing their journey to another destination to save on miles. For example, flying from Tokyo to Singapore and onward to Sydney a few months later.

From 1 August 2022, this is no longer allowed.

Advantage rate changes

Advantage rates are also going up for travel to/from zones 10-13. But hey, If I am spending with miles/points credit cards only to redeem for insane “Advantage” rates, I would be better off using cashback credit cards instead. Awful value!

Related: Cashback vs Miles: Which cards are better?

My takeaways

Before this devaluation, Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles are only valuable for flights to/from a small number of destinations.

Related: Sweet Spots: Best ways to redeem Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles (to be updated soon)

Stay disloyal

If you have been open to other frequent flyer programs, this should not be a huge hit to your overall game plan in redeeming miles for high-value award bookings. I’ve always discouraged staying loyal to any hotel loyalty or frequent flyer programs because devaluation cycles like this are pretty common.

There is absolutely no point is having emotional attachments or loyalty to large corporations. You shouldn’t have to feel the burden of the airlines’ “financial struggles”, as much as the airlines do not care about yours.

Bad redemptions are getting worse

Bad redemptions are getting worse, but…who cares?

Unless if you absolutely have to fly direct, spending 92k miles for a one-way Business Class flight to Europe in Singapore Airlines’ 9-year-old hard product was already a huge waste of miles splurge. Redeeming 103.5k miles for the same route after 5 July 2022 is pretty much unthinkable to me. Especially when it costs between 45k to 75k miles for the same route with frequent flyer programs.

It is also kinda crazy to redeem 52k miles for Business Class flights to Japan/South Korea when Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan only charges 25k miles for the same route on Japan Airlines.

Where it hurts the most

For me, Krisflyer miles are most useful for Business Class redemptions to the front door of Europe, Istanbul. This redemption will now cost 56.5k miles (from 49k), a 15.3% increment.

Although this is a substantial devaluation, it is not a horrible one and can still be an amazing redemption if/when Istanbul appears as a Spontaneous Escape in the future.

The end of the “Stopover Trick” is also a hard one to swallow.

Bottom line

To stay on the winning side of travel-hacking, Singapore Airlines Krisflyer should not be your only frequent flyer program.

A frequent flyer program is only bad when there are other options that are clearly better. Always be prepared to sway wherever you find the most value. Maybe one day, this devalued award chart would be the best that we have. Who knows?!

I have now lowered my valuation of Krisflyer miles from 1.3 cents to 1.2 cents (USD).