Up to 20% hike in KrisFlyer redemption rates on SIA from Nov 1; move comes amid bid to boost Scoot redemptions

Singapore Airlines (SIA) on Monday (Aug 25) announced a hike in its KrisFlyer redemption and upgrade rates across most route and cabin classes – the first adjustment since 2022.

This follows an improved KrisFlyer redemption scheme for Scoot that was dubbed a “win-win” for SIA Group by analysts.

KrisFlyer members currently redeem or upgrade flights using a fixed number of miles according to cabin class – Economy, Premium Economy, Business, First/Suites – and redemption categories – Saver and Advantage. Redemptions under the Advantage category require more miles.

From Nov 1, Saver award rates will increase by 5 per cent across all cabin classes for flights to and from Europe and the US. Business, First and Suites class redemption rates for flights within Asia and South-west Pacific will also rise by 5 per cent, though Economy Saver rates will drop 5 per cent for these routes.

For flights to and from Zone 10 (Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey), Saver rates will rise by 10 to 20 per cent for all cabin classes.

Advantage award rates will also increase. Redemption across all travel zones and cabin classes, except for Zone 10, will be 10 to 15 per cent higher. For Zone 10, rates will rise by 5, 18 and 15 per cent for economy, business and first class, respectively.

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Redemption bookings confirmed and ticketed on or before Oct 31 are not affected.

The carrier also announced the introduction of “Access” from Nov 1. This is a new redemption type that allows members to secure seats even if all KrisFlyer-allocated redemption seats have been taken up, so long as there are still available seats on the flight. An airline spokesperson said that Access will require more miles than Saver and Advantage redemptions, and the number of miles required will change based on availability and demand for that specific flight.

SIA also said KrisFlyer members can earn status credits through non-flight spending with Kris+, KrisShop and Pelago from Sep 1. These credits will count towards Priority Passenger Service (PPS) Club or KrisFlyer Elite status qualification or renewal.

PPS Club members will earn one PPS Value for every S$3 spent, while KrisFlyer members will earn one Elite mile for every S$1 spent.

These earnings are capped depending on status; for example, a maximum of 2,500 PPS Value can be counted towards renewal of PPS status.

SIA reported a 58.8 per cent drop in net profit for Q1, though it posted a 6.2 per cent increase in passenger traffic for July.