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.
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 strives to maintain a young fleet of aircrafts, and an average Singapore Airlines aircraft should be no more than around six and a half years old.
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. 1:1 transfer ratio from American Express Membership Rewards Ascent points to KrisFlyer miles, minimum transfer amount of 5,000 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.
Citi. Get 1 KrisFlyer mile for every 1.5 Citi Reward points. You can transfer points in multiples of 15,000 rewards points.
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 2 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.
Westpac. Transfer 2 Altitude reward points for 1 KrisFlyer point with a minimum of 3,000 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 also have the option to convert your KrisFlyer miles to TapForMore Points, which you can use to get non-flight rewards.
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 a class bonus when flying Singapore Airlines or SilkAir. 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
Business Class: 125% in C, D, J, U, and Z
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
Changes to KrisFlyer flight rewards
In March 2017, KrisFlyer announced it would be updating its flight redemption details. As of 23 March 2017, the following changes will be rolled out for reward flights and upgrades:
No online booking discount. Previously, redeeming KrisFlyer Miles for reward flights and upgrades online attracted a booking discount of 15%. But this discount will not apply for redemptions made on or after 23 March 2017.
Reduced charges for Singapore Airlines and Silk Air reward flights. If you use your miles to redeem a flight operated by Singapore Air or Silk Air, you won't have to pay any additional fuel charges or insurance charges. For a one-way economy flight from Sydney to Singapore, this change could save you around $148 in additional charges. Note you may still have to pay airport taxes and fees.
Saver Award rate changes. KrisFlyer has revised mileage levels for economy, business and first class Saver Awards flights that cover Zone 7, 9, 11, 12 and 13. This increases the amount of miles needed for most reward flights to and from Australia. However, the change in fuel and insurance charges does help balance out the overall cost of redemptions.
KrisFlyer’s partners
Below are some lists of KrisFlyer partners that give KrisFlyer members the ability to earn additional KrisFlyer miles:
Partner hotels
Accor
Anantara
Carlson Rezidor
Hilton
Hyatt
InterContinental
Kempinski
Kerzner
Marriott
Okura
Park Regis
Shangri-La
Starwood
Taj
Credit card partners
Westpac (Australia)
American Express (Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan)
BOC (China)
JCB (Japan)
Mitsui Sumitomo (Japan)
BCA (Indonesia)
Other partners
AVIS
Europcar
Hertz
Rentalcars.com
Sixt
M1
Travelling Connect
Club 21
The Economist
Shell
TIME and FORTUNE magazines
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 under the age of 12 will need parental consent to join the program.
Pros and cons of the KrisFlyer membership
Pros
Earn miles. This, without doubt, is the biggest benefit of the KrisFlyer frequent flyer program, and you get to earn more points if you spend at partner merchants.
Multiple partner airlines. The long list of partner airlines not only helps you earn miles easily, but this network is useful when it comes to redeeming your points as well. Some of the popular names on this list include Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, South African Airways, Thai Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, and Vistara.
Added travel benefits. As you move up membership tiers, you can look forward to additional benefits like priority check-in, priority boarding, priority baggage handling, excess baggage allowance, priority reservation waitlist, and priority airport standby.
Cons
Limited Australian credit card partners. As of now, Westpac is the only Australian credit card provider who offers Singapore Airlines co-branded credit cards that come linked to the KrisFlyer program.
Expiry of miles. Your KrisFlyer miles expire in three years, so you have to make sure you keep using your points or they could end up going waste.
Frequently asked questions
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.
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.
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.
Amy Bradney-George was the senior writer for credit cards at Finder, and editorial lead for Finder Green. She has over 16 years of editorial experience and has been featured in publications including ABC News, Money Magazine and The Sydney Morning Herald. See full bio
Amy's expertise
Amy has written 565 Finder guides across topics including:
The Air New Zealand Airpoints Frequent Flyer Program lets you earn Airpoints Dollars which you can redeem for flights, hotels, car rentals, store purchases and more.
How many points would I need to fly to Singapore return & what airline. Cheers.
RichardAugust 23, 2015
How many points are required per person for a return economy flight from Melbourne to London
Finder
JonathanAugust 24, 2015Finder
Hi Richard,
Thanks for your inquiry.
The amount of points needed will depend on the preferred travel class, destination and time of booking.
However, a one way flight from Melbourne to London will cost a total of 47,500 points for an Economy Saver Award ticket.
For future reference, you can use the Singapore Airline-KrisFlyer mileage calculator to determine the number of points required for your desired flight. Please refer to the link I have sent to your email.
I hope this has helped.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Finder
JacobNovember 5, 2013Finder
Hi Robert.
Thanks for your question.
It costs approx. 110,000 Krisflyer miles for a standard Sydney to Singapore return flight. You can get an economy flight for approx. half the number of points needed for a standard Sydney to Singapore return flight.
I hope this helps.
DavidSeptember 10, 2013
I have approx 55,0000 Citigold/signature points, which airline would be the best to transfer points to? I want to redeem with business class tickets yours.
David.
Finder
JacobSeptember 10, 2013Finder
Hi David,
Thanks for your question.
Citi offers points transfer to the following Frequent Flyer programs: Emirates Skywards, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and Eithad Guest (Citi Prestige only). Citi also says it reserves the right to change these terms and conditions at any time without notice. For the most up-to-date details, you may log in to your Citi Rewards account and check your options there.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jacob
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.
Finder is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stand by our editorial principles
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
How many points would I need to fly to Singapore return & what airline. Cheers.
How many points are required per person for a return economy flight from Melbourne to London
Hi Richard,
Thanks for your inquiry.
The amount of points needed will depend on the preferred travel class, destination and time of booking.
However, a one way flight from Melbourne to London will cost a total of 47,500 points for an Economy Saver Award ticket.
For future reference, you can use the Singapore Airline-KrisFlyer mileage calculator to determine the number of points required for your desired flight. Please refer to the link I have sent to your email.
I hope this has helped.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Hi Robert.
Thanks for your question.
It costs approx. 110,000 Krisflyer miles for a standard Sydney to Singapore return flight. You can get an economy flight for approx. half the number of points needed for a standard Sydney to Singapore return flight.
I hope this helps.
I have approx 55,0000 Citigold/signature points, which airline would be the best to transfer points to? I want to redeem with business class tickets yours.
David.
Hi David,
Thanks for your question.
Citi offers points transfer to the following Frequent Flyer programs: Emirates Skywards, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and Eithad Guest (Citi Prestige only). Citi also says it reserves the right to change these terms and conditions at any time without notice. For the most up-to-date details, you may log in to your Citi Rewards account and check your options there.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jacob