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Cheapest ways to fly between Singapore and Europe using Miles

Have you been accumulating a lot of miles/points by using the best miles cards in Singapore for your spending? In this article, I’ll be ranking the cheapest award flights to/from Europe that you can redeem your hard-earned miles/points for.

Here’s a quick summary of the lowest one-way award rate for each cabin class:

  • Economy Class: 30k miles (KLM, Air France)
  • Premium Economy: 43.5k miles (Finnair)
  • Business Class: 62.5k miles (Finnair)
  • First Class: 107.5k miles (Singapore Airlines)

Looking to make more high-value redemptions? Have a look at our other articles covering award sweet spots:

Singapore Credit Card Transfer Partners

Miles/Points from most credit cards can be transferred to KrisFlyer and Asia Miles. However, as shown in the table below, Citibank and HSBC cards have many more transfer partners than others, giving cardholders fantastic flexibility when redeeming for an award flight.

Flexibility is very important in the miles game. When deciding which card to transact with (between cards with similar earn rates), I recommend picking Citi and HSBC cards over the others.

Related: My Miles & Credit Card Strategy for 2025, as a Singapore-based traveller

P.S. Although AMEX has many transfer partners, they do not have any good cards for earning miles/points.

Frequent Flyer
Program
Citibank HSBC OCBC DBS UOB Maybank American
Express
Standard
Chartered
Singapore Airlines
KrisFlyer
Cathay Pacific
Asia Miles
EVA Air
Infinity
MileageLands
         
Qatar Airways
Privilege Club

(via BA
Club only)
       
(via BA
Club only)
 
British Airways
Club
       
Finnair
Plus

(via BA
Club only)

(via BA
Club only)
       
(via BA
Club only)
 
KLM/Air France
Flying Blue
         
Qantas
Frequent Flyer
       
Turkish Airlines
Miles&Smiles
           
Thai Airways
Royal Orchid
Plus
           
Etihad
Guest
         
Malaysia Airlines
Enrich
           
Vietnam Airlines
Lotusmiles
             
Air Canada
Aeroplan
             
United Airlines
MileagePlus
           
Hainan Airlines
Fortune Wings
Club
             
Japan Airlines
Mileage Bank
             
Emirates
Skywards
             
China Airlines
Dynasty Flyer
             
Marriott Bonvoy          
Hilton Honors              
Accor
Live Limitless
           
IHG
One Rewards
         
Wyndham
Rewards
             
  = Poor transfer ratio
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Frequent Flyer Programs and Partner Airlines

These are the top 9 Frequent Flyer Programs (FFPs) that Singapore credit cardholders should consider, when booking award flights between Singapore and Europe.

Follow the booking links below to check for award availability and redeem your miles:

Frequent
Flyer
Program
Alliance Booking
Link
Singapore Airlines
KrisFlyer
Star
Alliance
All airlines
Cathay Pacific
Asia Miles
oneworld All airlines
Qatar Airways
Privilege Club
oneworld Qatar Airways
EVA Air
Infinity
MileageLands
Star
Alliance
EVA Air
Star Alliance
British Airways
Club
oneworld All airlines
Finnair
Plus
oneworld All airlines
KLM/Air France
Flying Blue
SkyTeam All airlines
Qantas
Frequent Flyer
oneworld All airlines
Turkish Airlines
Miles&Smiles
Star
Alliance
Turkish Airlines
Star Alliance

Miles/Points from every airline’s FFP can also be redeemed for flights on partner airlines.

For example, miles in Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles can be redeemed for flights on its Star Alliance partners like Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Lufthansa.

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Star Alliance

Here are some Star Alliance airlines that you can fly in, between Singapore and Europe:

  • Singapore Airlines
  • Turkish Airlines
  • Thai Airways
  • EVA Air
  • SWISS
  • Lufthansa
  • Air India
  • All Nippon Airways

oneworld

Here are some oneworld airlines that you can fly in, between Singapore and Europe:

  • Cathay Pacific
  • Qatar Airways
  • Finnair
  • British Airways
  • Sri Lankan Airlines

SkyTeam

Here are some SkyTeam airlines that you can fly in, between Singapore and Europe:

  • KLM
  • Air France
  • Garuda
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Cheapest ways to fly between Singapore and Europe using Miles

The award rates shown below are only for the lowest rates available on each FFP, ignoring low-value “Advantage”, “Flexi” or “non-promotional” rates that some FFPs offer.

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Economy Class flights to Europe

Travellers are usually advised against redeeming miles/points for Economy Class flights as they can often get far better value on Premium classes. For example, Business Class flights from Singapore to Europe cost as much as 5 times more in cash (vs Economy), but only 2 times more in miles.

However, travellers who can only travel during peak holiday seasons (when Business Class availability is bad), or have a large family to redeem for can still receive good value by redeeming their miles/points for Economy Class flights on some airlines/FFPs, especially when the cash fares are very high.

Here are the cheapest ways to travel between Singapore and Europe, in Economy Class, using miles/points from Singapore credit cards:

Frequent
Flyer
Program
Airline Miles
(one-way,
Economy)
Taxes/
Fees
(estimated)
Flying
Blue
KLM,
Air France
From
30k
~S$140
Asia
Miles
oneworld 27k –
40k
~S$260 –
S$350
Asia
Miles
Finnair 40k ~S$90
BA
Club
Finnair 30k ~S$85
BA
Club
oneworld 45k –
55k
~S$200 –
S$350
Finnair
Plus
Finnair 30k –
43k
~S$130
Privilege
Club
Qatar
Airways
37.5k –
45k
~S$230
Qantas
Frequent
Flyer
Finnair 37.8k –
45k
~S$85 –
S$105
KrisFlyer Singapore
Airlines
42k ~S$65
KrisFlyer Air India 49.5k ~S$65
KrisFlyer Star
Alliance
49.5k ~S$150 –
S$350
Miles&
Smiles
Singapore
Airlines,
Air India
50k ~S$65
Miles&
Smiles
Star
Alliance
50k ~S$180 –
S$350
Infinity
Mileage-
Lands
EVA Air 50k ~S$180
Infinity
Mileage-
Lands
Singapore
Airlines,
Air India
52.5k ~S$65
Infinity
Mileage-
Lands
Star
Alliance
52.5k ~S$180 –
S$350

Premium Economy Class flights to Europe

This is a smaller list, as not all airlines offer Premium Economy seats on flights to/from Singapore. On top of that, not all FFPs have the Premium Economy class listed in their award charts.

Here are the cheapest ways to travel between Singapore and Europe in Premium Economy Class, using miles/points from Singapore credit cards:

Frequent
Flyer
Program
Airline Miles
(one-way,
Premium
Economy)
Taxes/
Fees
(estimated)
Finnair
Plus
Finnair 43.5k ~S$160
Flying
Blue
KLM,
Air France
From
50k
~S$240
Asia
Miles
Cathay
Pacific
50k ~S$260
Infinity
Mileage-
Lands
EVA Air 55k ~S$180
BA
Club
British
Airways
65k –
89k
~S$400 –
S$500
KrisFlyer Singapore
Airlines
71k ~S$65

Business Class flights to Europe

Here are the cheapest ways to travel between Singapore and Europe in Business Class, using miles/points from Singapore credit cards:

Frequent
Flyer
Program
Airline Miles
(one-way,
Business)
Taxes/
Fees
(estimated)
BA
Club
Finnair 62.5k –
82.5k
~S$85
BA
Club
oneworld 75k –
135k
~S$350
Finnair
Plus
Finnair 62.5k –
82.5k
~S$240
Privilege
Club
Qatar
Airways
75k –
90k
~S$350
Infinity
Mileage-
Lands
EVA Air 75k ~S$180
Infinity
Mileage-
Lands
Singapore
Airlines,
Air India
80k ~S$65
Infinity
Mileage-
Lands
Star
Alliance
80k ~S$180 –
S$350
Flying
Blue
KLM,
Air France
From
85k
~S$280
Asia
Miles
Cathay
Pacific
88k –
115k
~S$260 –
S$330
Asia
Miles
oneworld 89k –
115k
~S$260 –
S$750
Asia
Miles
Finnair 89k ~S$90
Qantas
Frequent
Flyer
Finnair 90k –
104.5k
~S$85 –
S$105
Miles&
Smiles
Air India 90k ~S$65
Miles&
Smiles
Star
Alliance
90k ~S$180 –
~S$550
KrisFlyer Singapore
Airlines,
Air India
103.5k ~S$65
KrisFlyer Star
Alliance
103.5k ~S$150 –
S$350
Redeem miles for Qatar Airways Qsuite Business Class (read my review)
Redeem miles for Singapore Airlines Business Class (read my review)
Redeem miles for Finnair Business Class (read my review)
Redeem miles for EVA Air Business Class (read my review)
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First Class flights to Europe

This is also a small list as not all airlines offer First Class seats on flights to/from Singapore, and not all FFPs allow booking of First Class awards for partner airlines.

Here are the cheapest ways to travel between Singapore and Europe in First Class, using miles/points from Singapore credit cards:

Frequent
Flyer
Program
Airline Miles
(one-way,
First)
Taxes/
Fees
(estimated)
Infinity
Mileage-
Lands
Star
Alliance
107.5k ~S$65 –
S$400
KrisFlyer Singapore
Airlines
141k ~S$65
Redeem miles for Singapore Airlines First Class (read my review)
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Why are some taxes/fees so high?

The taxes and fees on award flights depend on a number of factors:

  1. Airport taxes/fees (United Kingdom airports charge over S$300 in “Air Passenger Duty” for long haul flights in a Premium cabin)
  2. Whether the airline carries fuel surcharges (e.g. Singapore Airlines, Finnair and Air India don’t)
  3. Whether the FFP passes on fuel surcharges (e.g. Privilege Club don’t, but only on Qatar Airways flights)
  4. The amount of fuel surcharges (e.g. EVA Air has fairly low fuel surcharges, but Qatar Airways has much more, for a similar flight distance)
  5. Other additional FFP/airline fees (e.g. Privilege Club charges additional fee per award segment on Qatar Airways flights, Finnair Plus has surcharges)

Should you only aim for redemptions with low taxes/fees? The short answer is no.

In some cases, the FFP-airline combination that has lower taxes/fees, also has a much higher award rate.

For example, a traveller can redeem 75k miles + ~S$350 in taxes/fees for Qatar Airways Business Class flights on Privilege Club. With KrisFlyer, the traveller would need 103.5k miles + ~S$62. In short, that’s S$238 less cash for 28.5k more miles (worth S$428).

While Privilege Club may look like a winner here, there are other factors that can influence your decision, as every traveller has different needs and priorities:

  1. Is there award availability on your preferred route/date/airline/class?
  2. Do you only want to fly direct?
  3. Does the airline fly to your preferred destination?
  4. Do you care about the values of miles?
  5. Are you earning miles much faster than you have time to redeem them?
  6. Do you have miles that are expiring very soon?
  7. Do you enjoy trying out different airlines and lounges?
  8. Are there any special transfer bonus or award discount offers?
  9. Do you prefer the seat/food/service on some airlines?
  10. Do you feel the need to “make good use” of your airline status by sticking to a particular airline/alliance?

How to search for award space

To check if there is award availability, travellers can visit the respective FFPs’ website. However, most of them are really slow, as they only allow users to search date-by-date or week-by-week.

Search faster with calendar views

For oneworld flights, travellers can search for partner award availability much faster through the calendar view on American Airlines’ website.

Related: Best ways to search for Oneworld award availability

For Star Alliance, this can be done on United or Lifemiles websites.

Note: Use these websites only as a guide and ignore the award rates listed. Once you see availability, simply repeat the search on the website of your preferred FFP and complete your booking there.

Also note that some airlines like Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and EVA Air tend to release more award seats on their own FFPs. This means that members will not be able to see the additional award availability on partner websites like AAdvantage or Lifemiles.

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Independent award search engines

Travellers can also find near-term award availability across different FFPs, airlines or alliances through independent search engines like seats.aero.

Again, use these websites only as a guide and repeat the search on the website of your preferred FFPs.

Get alerted when there is award space

Travellers can also receive alerts when there is award availability on their preferred date and route, with paid services from websites like seats.aero.

Bottom line

The “best” award redemption depends almost entirely on your preferences. There is no right answer. Travellers who earn flexible miles/points through their credit cards will always have the upper hand in finding award availability across multiple FFPs.

I hope that this guide gave you the required knowledge to make the best decisions to suit your travel needs, when redeeming miles/points for flights between Singapore and Europe.

Avatar photo

Fai

Founder & Writer at Suitesmile

Suites and miles make me smile :)

9 thoughts on “Cheapest ways to fly between Singapore and Europe using Miles”

  1. Hi Fai! Was just thinking that it’d be nice to have your green/red highlights indicated on the various options, like the ones you do for SE. Keen to know your choices on the various “Cheapest ways” posts. Thanks for putting these posts up!

    Reply
    • Hey, thanks for the suggestion! I considered that, but felt that it’s a little too subjective to mark “good” and “bad” value redemptions on this page. Will keep it sorted by no. of miles required for now, but I’ll keep this in mind.

      Reply
  2. How do you guys search for availability?

    seems like Avianca Lifemiles’ website is down.

    Whats the best free and paid service to search for flight availability ?

    Reply
  3. I am having difficulty in redeeming Qatar Airways flights on Asia Miles. They are available as shown on the AA web site and also on Qatar’s Privilege Club. And there is also an error message except when searching for flights out of Hong Kong!

    Reply
  4. Thanks for the very useful article. My own experience however is that this is true “on paper” but when trying to book a trip to a less travelled country, eg. Portugal, I was unable to find availability on ANY Staraliance airline… Not SQ, not Swiss, not Turkish, nothing of nothing. Not sure if that’s true all the time, but even 8 months ahead I couldn’t get anything on any Airline. On the other hand, I always get seats for my miles with Middle Eastern airlines.
    Will keep looking and keep trying!

    Reply

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