Founder and CEO of Upgraded Points, Alex is a leader in the industry and has earned and redeemed millions of points and miles. He frequently discusses the award travel industry with CNBC, Fox Business...
Edited by: Stella Shon
With a degree in media and journalism, Stella has been in the points and miles game for more than 6 years. She most recently worked as a Corporate Communications Analyst for JetBlue. Find her work in ...
& Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
58 comments
Kenny
March 10, 2018
Is there a way to find out what the surcharges would be for traveling on partner airlines before calling in? I’m trying to price out traveling from US to Greece using Singapore miles on a Star Alliance partner, but don’t want to be blindsided by surcharges when talking to an agent.
Alex Miller
March 10, 2018
Singapore Airlines now shows partner airlines online for award flights, so you’ll be able to see the taxes online too: https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/us/ppsclub-krisflyer/use-miles/redeem-miles/award-tickets-on-partner-airlines/
Nelson Amaya
June 27, 2018
So if I’m reading this correctly, if I want to book a flight from IAD to Honolulu, it would need to be a direct flight with no stopovers to get the 350k round trip price or 175k one way? Also can I purchase an economy saver using Krisflyer points and then upgrade to economy plus on United?
“There are some exceptions:
No stopovers in country of departure
No stopovers on a ticket entirely in 1 country or intra-Europe tickets
No stopovers on U.S.-Puerto Rico-U.S. Virgin Islands-Canada tickets”
Michael McHugh
June 28, 2018
Hi Nelson
An economy flight from IAD-HNL will be 17.5k one-way or 35k round-trip. You are correct in the exceptions which are found in Section J.2.e,f,g,h,i,j in the terms and conditions
Re: the award upgrade to economy plus, I am not showing Untied has economy plus/premium economy on this route. If you are interested in using miles to upgrade to a higher class, here’s the Singapore chart.
Daniel lee
July 03, 2019
According to Singapore airlines the flight from JFK to Frankfurt to Singapore is still on the old A380 and does not have the updated suites. Where you able to fly in the new suites for JFK=> Sing? Any tips on saver waitlist?
Alex Miller
July 04, 2019
Hey Daniel – you’re correct. The New Suites are not on the JFK > FRA > SIN route at all, the only way Nelson could have flown them on that route is due to a last minute equipment change.
PatBB
June 25, 2023
You are allowed CONNECTIONS, such as changing planes in IAH, LAX. or SFO! The prohibitio
of “stopovers” means that you are not allowed to spend days or weeks in any intermediate city!
Robert Hernandez
November 11, 2018
Is it a good idea to combine Amex points and Chase Sapphire Preferred points in one place like KrisFlyer Singapore Airline Miles? I also have 56,000 United Mileage plus Miles. Thank you for your reply
Alex Miller
November 12, 2018
Hi Robert – yes, you can certainly transfer from multiple sources (Amex, Chase, Citi, Marriott etc) if they share the same transfer partner…which they do in the case of Singapore Airlines! This is a common tactic, so go for it if you need to!
Tim
February 24, 2019
Hi,
can I use KrisFlyer miles to book United “First Everyday Award” or only “First Saver Award” space between IAD, SFO and HNL?
Thanks,
Tim
Stephen Au
February 24, 2019
Hey Tim,
Unfortunately, you can only book low-level awards on United using KrisFlyer miles. Therefore, you can only book First Saver Award space.
Julian Banks
February 26, 2019
Anyone else notice Singapore is mispricing United flights to Hawaii from the U.S.? It’s coming in at 60k roundtrip (at least from San Antonio, TX).
Stephen Au
February 27, 2019
Julian,
Be sure to call Singapore Airlines to book. Disregard what the United website says because you’re paying with Singapore KrisFlyer miles. Whatever mileage price United says is not the end price you’ll pay.
Han
March 04, 2019
It seems that many domestic airports in the US are not found in the Flight Search Box such as Kansas City, Little Rock, etc.
Would we need to call to book or is the award ticket simply not offered?
Erin Miller
March 04, 2019
Hi Han, if you’re planning to book an award flight flying on Singapore metal and the domestic airport does not show up from the drop-down menu, this means there is no award availability to those airports.
It’s very common with international airlines to only offer award flights to a few select airports in the U.S.
Check out this article for more info on routes offered by SQ: The Definitive Guide to Singapore Airlines U.S. Routes Hope this helps! 🙂
Jay Kay
March 06, 2019
Is there a certain award type that has to be available on Alaska for it to be bookable with Krisflyer miles? I’ve found availability (50k one way) from OGG to DFW (via SEA or PDX) on 1/3/20, but when I called and emailed Singapore Airlines, they couldn’t see any availability. What am I doing wrong?
Stephen Au
March 19, 2019
Hey Jay,
Alaska Airlines’ award inventory isn’t equal to partner inventory. We’d suggest checking with other partners such as British Airways. Thanks for reading.
George Z
April 24, 2019
It is very informative. I wish it would have some kind of comparison chart as well. For example I like to fly mostly to Asia – westward direction and to Europe – eastward direction. So which program is most practical Miles & More v/s KrisFlyer or ANA Mileage Club. Please share with me your opinion.
Stephen Au
April 26, 2019
Hey George,
Generally speaking, ANA is the best for business class redemptions. However you cannot book one-way flights.
Miles & More is great for booking Lufthansa first class more than 15 days before departure.
Singapore KrisFlyer is best for Singapore Airlines business or first class due to the fact that you can’t book it with points otherwise.
Virgin Atlantic is best for ANA or Delta redemptions. However, you get less access to ANA awards compared to using ANA miles. Thanks for reading.
viviane
May 16, 2019
Booking US to North Africa/Middle East (roundtrip) is 90k/153k/198k. Here is the updated chart:
https://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/pdf/ppsclub_krisflyer/charts/Star%20Alliance_Round-trip%20Award_Apr19.pdf
Stephen Au
May 17, 2019
Viviane,
The information presented in the guide is correct. You are looking at round-trip prices. For one-way prices (as listed in the guide), please divide the mileage cost in half.
Aaron
June 25, 2019
Doesn’t seem possible to book Alaska flights on the Singapore site. Do I have to call? Anyone know about the fees?
Stephen Au
July 01, 2019
Hi Aaron,
You’ll have to call Singapore Airlines to book flights on Alaska Airlines using KrisFlyer miles. Generally, Alaska Airlines doesn’t levy fuel surcharges. Fees would probably run around $20-$30 one way. Thanks for reading.
Jae
July 20, 2019
You have typo subheading: Best Ways to Earn Flying Blue Miles
Jarrod West
July 20, 2019
Hi Jae,
Thank you for catching that and thanks for reading!
TN
August 23, 2019
Is it possible to book a one-way ticket using points (transfer from Chase) from Maldives with 2 stopovers at Singapore and Tokyo, on our way home to San Francisco? Is this considered backtracking? If I want to search for availability, should I search for each segment and then call the airline agent to book? Any inputs are greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Stephen Au
August 26, 2019
Hi TN,
You can add a stopover in Singapore and Hong Kong, but not Singapore and Tokyo if you’re flying to San Francisco. Singapore Airlines doesn’t fly between Tokyo and San Francisco, only Tokyo and Los Angeles. The flight from San Francisco is to Hong Kong on SQ 1.
MM
November 21, 2019
Do you have any information on how to book a one-way JFK-FRA business class using KrisFlyer miles and cash? I can find a flight, it is 72,000 miles, but I never see the ability to use both miles and cash.
I do not have any points in my account, I intend to transfer them from Chase and/or Amex. Before I do, I want to see the choices of cash/miles. Am I required to have at least 980 miles in KrisFlyer points before I see the option on the payment page?
Jarrod West
November 22, 2019
Hi MM,
You can view your options for booking a Singapore Airlines flight with miles and cash through this website: https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/us/ppsclub-krisflyer/use-miles/pay-with-miles/
Bob
November 22, 2019
We also were unable to book Alaska Air using Kris Flyer. The Singapore Airlines rep said Alaska Airlines did not provide award seats on any of the routes that she checked (SFO-HNL, LAX-HNL, SEA-HNL)! How can this be? Seems like fraud when they advertise this but there is no availability!
Andrew Kunesh
November 25, 2019
Hey Bob, we recommend looking for Alaska Airlines award space on American Airlines’ website. Any awards operated by Alaska Airlines that show as “MileSAAver” awards should be bookable with Singapore Krisflyer points. You may need to call a couple of agents before you can have the award booked as this isn’t a common Alaska award.
Sam
January 06, 2020
Hello,
I just checked availability of award tickets through Krisflyer on United flights from ORD-PUJ in March 2020. It looks like the only award tickets available through Krisflyer for that route are the ones that are also priced at 17.5K MileagePlus miles each way, so there is really no savings if I use Krisflyer instead.
I can’t find any policy or rule about only being able to use Krisflyer to book the lowest-level MileagePlus award flights. The flight has a TON of open seats as of this writing. I think I should be able to use 17.5K Krisflyer miles to book a United flight that would cost more, say 25K MileagePlus miles, as long as it is between the US and Caribbean. Can anyone offer some insight?
Stephen Au
January 06, 2020
Sam,
United has many different buckets of award fares, thanks to variable award pricing. You will only be able to book the true lowest-level saver award using KrisFlyer miles. If the lowest level award is 15,000 miles and United is charging 17,500 miles, you still won’t be able to book using KrisFlyer miles.
GS
January 18, 2020
WTF…..this makes it totally useless for any semi-peak or peak travel which is the main use of using miles/points. These airlines keep coming up with ways to stab you in the back.
William
July 05, 2020
SFO to SIN through SIA (Singapore Airlines) is now 190,000 – 260,000 miles according to the website.
Jarrod West
July 06, 2020
Hi William,
This is correct but our post seems to show the accurate figures. Are you referring to #3 on our list? If so, the 95,000 figure quoted from San Francisco to Singapore is the one-way business class saver price – which is half of 190,000.
Edward Paul Joseph
September 03, 2020
As we are not flying at the moment, what else can we redeem our Krisflyer points on?
Jarrod West
September 04, 2020
Hi Edward,
Here are some other options for ways to use your Kisflyer miles.
Tom
September 21, 2020
KrisFlyer surcharges on Swiss and Lufthansa premium cabin award space are brutal. I just searched for two seats in business on Lufthansa December 17 DEN-MUC and they want 144,000 miles plus ~$1500 LOL meanwhile if you can (and I can’t at the moment and probably won’t) find UA business space it’s same points but plus $10. For SWISS out of ORD-MUC via ZRH is plus ~$1650
Matthew Eldridge
March 11, 2021
Does Singapore still offer the 35,000 miles from the US mainland to Hawaii? I can’t find it on their latest award chart that was published last year.
Jarrod West
March 11, 2021
Hi Matthew,
Singapore discontinued those flights last year due to Covid-19, and there is no word yet on whether or not they’ll be reactivating them any time soon.
TDang
November 11, 2021
I have 75,000 Krisflyer miles that will expire end of April 2022. I fly out of PHL. Any recommendation for a destination from PHL? TIA
Stephen Au
November 11, 2021
Hi TDang,
With KrisFlyer miles, you can book any Star Alliance flight. Although Philadelphia isn’t an international hub for Star Alliance, you can book a flight from a city like Newark (EWR), Chicago (ORD), or Washington D.C. (IAD) anywhere a Star Alliance airline like United, Swiss, Lufthansa, or ANA fly.
Rachel
December 14, 2021
I’m seeing that the US to Japan 1 way first class is actually now 140k points (business is 115k). Is that worth the points, or could I get a better deal at a different airline?
Stephen Au
December 17, 2021
Hi Rachel,
The pricing you’re seeing is for Advantage-level pricing. To get a better price, book Saver awards, which are significantly cheaper.
Mackenzie
January 09, 2022
After calling today I was told Singapore no longer partners with Alaska airlines and any United flight from Maui I would have to layover in Singapore and then able to fly to Sacramento. Was my Singapore airlines rep just confused or am I? I already transferred points over to Krisflyer account to be able to book an Alaskan airlines flight after reading multiple posts on this being possible.
Jarrod West
January 11, 2022
Hi Mackenzie,
I think the rep was mistaken, as Alaska is even included on the Singapore website as an award ticket option.
Neil
February 13, 2022
If I have status on United Airlines (Premier Gold) and book a United flight by transferring Amex points to Singapore Airlines, will I be able to get the benefits of my United status?
Jarrod West
February 14, 2022
Hi Neil,
You’ll receive your Star Alliance benefits, but not the full benefits of your United status as you’ll be flying with another airline.
Marie Josee
March 29, 2022
I requested a transfer from my Chase Ultimate award account to my KrisFlyer account. It’s been nearly 96hrs and although I had immediate confirmation from Chase and miles were deducted immediately there is no sign of the miles in my KrisFlyer account yet. I was unable to hold the available seat after several attempts online, by phone and emails. Since my date (one way flight) is flexible and a lot of seats were available at the time, I took a leap of faith and initiated the transfer. In the meantime all the seats on my preferred routes and dates have all of a sudden been put on “waitlist”. Why is this transfer taking so long? Any tips on how to best handle this situation? I’m trying to go from BKK-SEA in business class on the first week of June. I know I could use the route BKK-SFO and get another ticket for SFO-SEA, but I hate to had time and hassle after 25hrs+ of traveling. So the BKK-SEA route would really be my preferred choice. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Mike
June 28, 2022
SQ does not fly from Kansas City (MCI), I can find availability from SEA/LAX to SIN on SQ and MCI-SEA on Alaska airline and united, anyway to book MCI-SEA-SIN on one ticket and one award?
Tanty
October 12, 2022
Hi there
Can I confirm if you mean you used 148000 miles for one way redemption? Can we do that? What does the mean for the return flight?
Thanks!
Jarrod West
November 09, 2022
Hi Tanty,
Yes, that is the one-way redemption price. To book it round-trip you would double that price which would be 297,000 miles.
Rus
November 04, 2022
My rep cannot find a single alaska airlines award ticket in their system regardless of destination (we were trying seattle to honolulu, seattle to san jose, seattle to new york. So I am not sure if she is searching incorrectly or something else is not operating here. It is frustrating.
Diana
July 19, 2023
I need advice, recently I have booked a flight from SG to New Chitose, stop over at Tokyo Haneda, for my family of 3. But we were hoping to use my krisflyer points for an upgrade but nobody seems to be able to understand or assist us. There is no ANA customer service center in Singapore, who can I turn to for help?
Jarrod West
July 19, 2023
Hi Diana,
If you are trying to upgrade using Krisflyer miles, have you contact Singapore customer service instead of ANA? Singapore has 5 different US-based teams that can be reached here.
Daniel Hart
July 30, 2023
From what I can see using KrisFlyer’s website and speaking with a representative, there are no Star Alliance Awards other than economy class tickets. So the above article is a moot point. Am I missing something?
Jarrod West
July 31, 2023
Hi Daniel,
That definitely seems incorrect. If the rep told you that it is not possible to book Star Alliance awards other than economy tickets I’d suggest calling and speaking to a different agent.
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