You’ll need more KrisFlyer miles to book a Singapore Airlines flight

• KrisFlyer awards increase by ~10%
• Upgrades will need 10% more miles
• New restrictions on stopovers

Yes, it’s become increasingly challenging to book an ‘award’ seat with frequent flyer points – but if you’re sitting on a stash of Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, now is the time to take the plunge, even if you have to book almost a year down the track.

As of July 5, Singapore Airlines will increase the number of KrisFlyer miles needed to book its Saver award seats as well as to lock in an upgrade to premium economy, business class or even first class.

Also on the rise: the number of KrisFlyer miles for booking an award ticket on its Star Alliance partners.

In addition, Singapore Airlines is closing an ‘extended stopover’ loophole with tighter restrictions on how long and how often you can break your journey.

KrisFlyer awards up by ~10%

From July 5 you’ll need an average of 10% more KrisFlyer miles to snare a Singapore Airlines ‘Saver’ award seat.

Here’s a breakdown for one-way flights from Australia – which Singapore Airlines divides into distance based zones of ‘Perth and Darwin’ and effectively ‘the rest of Australia’. 

Australia (except Perth & Darwin) to Singapore and south-east Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam)

• economy: now 28,000 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 30,500 KrisFlyer miles
• premium economy: now 47,000 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 51,500 KrisFlyer miles
• business: now 62,000 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 68,500 KrisFlyer miles
• first: now 85,000 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 93,500 KrisFlyer miles

Australia (except Perth & Darwin) to India and the Maldives

• economy: now 40,000 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 43,000 KrisFlyer miles
• premium economy: now 67,500 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 73,000 KrisFlyer miles
• business: now 84,000 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 92,500 KrisFlyer miles
• first: now 116,000 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 128,000 KrisFlyer miles

Australia (except Perth & Darwin) to the UK and Europe

• economy: now 53,000 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 58,500 KrisFlyer miles
• premium economy: now 91,500 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 101,000 KrisFlyer miles
• business: now 116,000 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 130,500 KrisFlyer miles
• first: now 163,000 KrisFlyer miles, from July 5 increasing to 183,500 KrisFlyer miles

Travellers from Perth and Darwin will also see an average 10% uplift in number of KrisFlyer miles needed for award seats – click here to view and download Singapore Airlines’ new KrisFlyer award chart, valid from July 5, 2022.

You’ll also need more KrisFlyer miles for upgrades on Singapore Airlines and its Star Alliance partners (those rates have increased by around 10%), as well as to book an equivalent award with Star Alliance and other partner airlines. Here are links to view and download the relevant award tables:

• Singapore Airlines upgrades from July 5
• Singapore Airlines Star Alliance upgrades from July 5
• Singapore Airlines Star Alliance awards from July 5

Singapore Airlines’ new stopover restrictions

Building a stopover into your KrisFlyer award booking will also see some caveats kick in for bookings made from August 1, 2022.

• Complimentary stopovers on KrisFlyer award trips will be limited to a maximum of 30 days
• You’ll no longer be able to pay US$100 to make additional stopovers on your itinerary

As a refresher, KrisFlyer Saver award return bookings include only one complimentary stopover (there’s no stopover permitted under a one-way booking).

The more expensive KrisFlyer Advantage awards bookings include a single complimentary stopover on one-way trips and two stopovers on a return booking.

What if I already have a Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer award booking?

Obviously, all current Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer award bookings and new bookings made until July 4, 2022 will escape this increase.

But if you change that award booking ay time after 4 July, the new rates will take effect.

Singapore Airlines confirms “The revised award levels will apply for any changes to your redemption bookings made on or after 5 July 2022. Members with existing redemption bookings who wish to change travel plans are advised to make the changes before 5 July 2022, for the current award levels to apply.”

Will I need more Velocity Points to book on Singapore Airlines? 

So what does this mean for the popular partnership between Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia?

Singapore Airlines has not yet revealed the changes to awards for non-Star Alliance partner airlines, which includes Virgin Australia, saying only that these will be “implemented progressively”.

As for the number of Velocity Points needed to book a Singapore Airlines flights: those rates are set by Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer arm, and are not changing at this point in time, but that doesn’t mean an adjustment isn’t on the way.