Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Frequent Flyer program guide

Joining a frequent flyer program allows you to redeem your accumulated reward points for flights, flight upgrades, and other travel rewards, which is what you can expect from Singapore Airlines' KrisFlyer frequent flyer program. Members earn miles when they fly with Singapore Airlines or any of its airline partners, as well as when they spend through any of its non-airline partners.

Benefits and privileges vary in accordance to membership levels, which include basic, silver, and gold. As a KrisFlyer member, you also get access to a number of special offers from time to time.

Singapore Airlines Credit Cards Comparison

Krisflyer Credit Cards

Below are a snapshot of the credit cards that let you transfer into Krisflyer points.

• American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card
• American Express Velocity Escape Plus Card
• ANZ Rewards Platinum

Overview of Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

The origins of Singapore Airlines date back to May 1947, when a Malayan Airways Limited Airspeed Consul took off from Singapore Kallang Airport and flew to Kuala Lumpur. In the late 1960s, its annual revenue touched the one billion dollar mark for the first time. Singapore Airlines, in 1989, became the first airline in the world to cross the pacific on a B747-400 commercial flight.

In the late 1990s, this airline unveiled a range of new products and services worth around 500 million Singapore dollars. It launched KrisFlyer, its frequent flyer program, in 1999. Singapore Airlines is known for maintaining a relatively young fleet, with an average aircraft age of around 8 years.

When you become a member of the KrisFlyer frequent flyer program you get to earn miles each time you fly with Singapore Airlines or any of its airlines partner, and when you shop with their non-airline partners. However, since this is not the only rewards program of its kind, comparing a few before enrolling is a good idea.

Which banks can transfer rewards points to Singapore KrisFlyer Miles?

• American Express. American Express Membership Rewards points transfer to KrisFlyer miles at a 1:1 ratio, with a minimum transfer of 7,500 points.
• ANZ. Convert 6,000 reward points for 3,000 KrisFlyer points, starting with a minimum of 6,000 points, and then move forward in multiples of 3,000.
• HSBC. Allows you to transfer a minimum of 5,000 points, for which you'll get 2,500 Krisflyer miles. The maximum amount you can transfer in a single transaction is 10,000 points for 5,000 miles.
• NAB. A minimum of 3,000 NAB Rewards points will get you 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles when you have a NAB Rewards credit card.
• St.George. Transfer 1 KrisFlyer mile for every 3 Amplify Points converted, with a minimum conversion of 3,000 Amplify Points.
• Suncorp. Transfer a minimum of 10,000 Suncorp rewards points and get 5,000 KrisFlyer points.
• Velocity. Transfer 1.35 Velocity Points to 1.00 KrisFlyer Miles with a minimum of 5,000 points per transfer.
• Velocity. Transfer 1.55 Velocity Points to 1.00 KrisFlyer Miles with a minimum of 5,000 points per transfer.

KrisFlyer Rewards Program

The KrisFlyer rewards program gives you the ability to earn and redeem miles in various ways. Singapore Airlines is part of the Star Alliance network, so you stand to earn miles when you fly using any airline that is part of this network as well as some of the airline's other flight partners. You can also earn miles through Singapore Airline's non-airline partners, including credit card providers, hotel chains, car hire companies and more.

You can redeem your miles for flight rewards to over 1,000 destinations in more than 170 countries with Singapore Airlines and any of its airline partners. You can also redeem your KrisFlyer miles for a range of non-flight rewards through KrisFlyer partners.

Flying more often brings with it the possibility of moving to higher membership tiers that offer increased benefits.

Features of the KrisFlyer membership

When you sign up as a new KrisFlyer member, you'll start off at the base level. Depending how often you fly and shop with non-airline partners, you can steadily move up to elite silver and elite gold level. The benefits you can expect will depend on your membership level:

• KrisFlyer Basic. At this level you can redeem your miles for flight tickets and flight upgrades, and you can save 15% on the required miles if you redeem your miles online. You'll also receive regular updates about the latest promotions.
• KrisFlyer Elite Silver. You can get to the elite silver level if you earn 25,000 Elite miles within 12 consecutive months. When you get to this level you also make it to the Star Alliance Silver status, which gives you access to priority reservation waitlist and priority airport standby services. You get 25% tier bonus on KrisFlyer miles, and you can look forward to reduced or waived KrisFlyer service fees.
• KrisFlyer Elite Gold. Earning 50,000 Elite miles within 12 consecutive months gets you to the Elite Gold level. Here, you get Star Alliance Gold status, through which you can make use of priority reservation waitlist and priority airport standby services. This level offers the following benefits as well.
  • Access to Star Alliance Gold lounges
  • Priority check-in
  • Priority boarding
  • Priority baggage handling
  • Excess baggage allowance
  • Reduced or waived KrisFlyer service fees

Benefits of being a KrisFlyer member

As a KrisFlyer member you can look forward to a number of benefits, which include the following:

• Earn and redeem miles. This, without doubt, is the primary benefit of this frequent flyer program. You can redeem your miles for flights and flight upgrades through Singapore Airlines and SilkAir, through Star Alliance partners, and through its other airline partners like TAM, Virgin, and Vistara. If you don't have enough points to redeem for a particular flight reward, you can consider buying the required miles. If you don't want flight rewards, you can convert your miles to TapForMore Points which you can redeem through your PAssion Card.
• Online redemption discount. Members get a 15% discount on the number of points they need to book tickets if they turn to Singapore Airlines' or SilkAir's online ticketing facilities.
• PPS Club. Membership to this club is only open to people who frequently travel in First or Business Class on Singapore Airlines or SilkAir, or in the Singapore Airlines Suites onboard the Singapore Airlines A380. It requires that you earn a PPS value of at least 25,000 Singapore dollars in 12 consecutive months. Membership brings with it a 25% tier bonus on the actual miles flown, as well as class bonuses on eligible Singapore Airlines fare types. PPS members get Star Alliance Gold status automatically.

KrisFlyer points value

Just how many miles you earn depends on the class you're flying, and this is where this frequent flyer program rates better than most others. As you can see, flying higher classes with Singapore Airlines brings with it considerably more miles:

• Economy: 100% in B, E, H, L, M, W, and Y; 50% in N and Q; and 10% in K and V
• Premium Economy: 110% in P, S, and T
• Economy: 100% in B, E, Y; 75% in H, M, W; 50% in K, N, Q, V, G
• First Class: 150% in A and F
• Suites: 300% in R, and 150% in F

The following applies when you fly using SilkAir:

• Economy: 100% in B, E, H, L, M, W, and Y; 50% in N and Q; and 10% in K and V
• Business Class: 125% in C, D, J, U, and Z

KrisFlyer's partners

Below are some lists of KrisFlyer partners that give KrisFlyer members the ability to earn additional KrisFlyer miles:

How to join KrisFlyer

You can sign up to the KrisFlyer frequent flyer program online for free by visiting the Singapore Airlines website and following the prompts. Once you have clicked on the "sign up" botton, you will have to fill out a secure form and provide the following information:

• Your complete name, gender, date of birth, and nationality
• Your email address
• Name you want displayed on your KrisFlyer card
• A six-digit PIN
• Your correspondence address

During the application process, make sure you read the terms and conditions for the program. It's also worth noting that anyone aged between 2 and 16 years will need parental or legal guardian consent to join the program.

Pros and cons of the KrisFlyer membership

Frequently asked questions

• Does the KrisFlyer program allow redemption nominees?

  Yes. KrisFlyer members can nominate up to five individuals for whom they can redeem miles for rewards. They can give such nominees the authority to collect tickets for flight rewards on their behalf.

• Can I use a combination of miles and cash to pay for flight rewards?

  Yes, but you can increase your miles using cash only if you have at least half of the miles needed to redeem any given flight reward. You can, in such a scenario, buy blocks of additional miles at the rate of USD $40 per 1,000 miles.

• How do KrisFlyer flight upgrades work?

  You have to start by purchasing a commercial ticket in an eligible booking class. When flying Singapore airlines, you can use your miles to upgrade from economy to business class or from business class to first class/suites. When flying SilkAir, you can upgrade from economy to business class. You can also get upgrades to the next cabin class onboard select Star Alliance partners.

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