Singapore KrisFlyer: Ultimate guide to earning, redeeming and elite status

As a partner of many transferable points programs — and one of the best ways to book Singapore Airlines’ coveted first-class suites product — there’s much to love about Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program.

Even if Singapore isn’t in your travel plans, KrisFlyer’s Star Alliance and nonalliance award charts have some hidden gems you should know about. From booking one-way award seats to Hawaii for less than 15,000 miles to earning valuable miles with credit cards, keep reading to learn the ins and outs of Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer so you can decide if KrisFlyer miles are of value to you.

Related: Is Singapore Airlines’ premium economy worth it on the Airbus A350?

Singapore KrisFlyer elite status

Singapore Airlines offers two tiers of elite status: KrisFlyer Elite Silver and KrisFlyer Elite Gold. These elite status tiers require 25,000 and 50,000 elite miles in 12 consecutive months, respectively. You’ll earn elite miles when you fly with Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Juneyao Air, Star Alliance carriers and other select airline partners.

Both elite status tiers earn 25% bonus miles on flights operated by Singapore Airlines in eligible fare classes, but here’s a look at the top perks of KrisFlyer Elite Silver:

• Select standard seats in economy when flying Singapore Airlines
• Automatically assigned seat at booking when flying Scoot
• Priority reservation waitlist, airport standby and boarding
• Star Alliance Silver status

And here are the top perks of KrisFlyer Elite Gold:

• Select forward zone or standard seats in economy when flying Singapore Airlines
• Automatically assigned seat at booking when flying Scoot
• Extra baggage allowance
• Priority check-in, boarding, security and luggage delivery
• Priority reservation waitlist and airport standby
• Star Alliance Gold status
• Lounge access when flying Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia, Star Alliance carriers and Star Alliance connecting partner airlines

For Singapore Airlines elite members based in the U.S., one of the best features of KrisFlyer Elite Gold is that you can access United Club lounges when traveling on domestic United Airlines flights.

KrisFlyer Milestone Rewards

KrisFlyer members earn Milestone Rewards after earning a certain number of elite miles in one calendar year. However, only elite miles earned while flying Singapore Airlines or Scoot count toward Milestone Rewards.

• 1,000 elite miles: 1,000 bonus KrisFlyer miles on your next flight with Scoot
• 2,500 elite miles: 20% discount voucher on Scoot
• 5,000 elite miles: KrisPay miles (equivalent to 10 Singapore dollars, about $7.50)
• 10,000 elite miles: SG$20 (about $15) off KrisShop promo code valid on a minimum purchase of SG$150 (about $115)
• 20,000 elite miles: 25% bonus KrisFlyer miles for a single flight segment
• 30,000 elite miles: 50% bonus KrisFlyer miles for a single flight segment
• 40,000 elite miles: 5,000 KrisFlyer miles redemption discount (award flight or upgrade)
• 60,000 elite miles: Double KrisFlyer miles (for a single flight segment)
• 75,000 elite miles: A confirmed cabin class upgrade on an eligible Singapore Airlines short-haul flight segment
• 100,000 elite miles: A confirmed upgrade from economy to premium economy for one Singapore Airlines segment (subject to availability)

It’s important to read the terms and conditions of these perks, as only select fare classes are eligible for some benefits.

PPS Club

Singapore Airlines’ special elite status program, dubbed PPS Club, can only be earned by travelers who earn at least 25,000 PPS value per membership year. PPS value is earned based on your spending on Singapore Airlines, with SG$1 (about 75 cents) equaling 1 PPS value.

But there’s a catch: You can only earn PPS value when you fly Singapore Airlines premium cabins, so economy and premium economy flights don’t count. Additionally, airport taxes do not count toward PPS Club status — per the Singapore Airlines website, only the actual airfare and “applicable surcharges” count.

There’s also a tier higher than PPS Club, Solitaire PPS Club, that you can obtain after earning 50,000 PPS value in a membership year.

PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members receive extra perks, including complimentary Wi-Fi and guaranteed economy class reservations. You can learn more about PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club benefits here.

Earning Singapore KrisFlyer miles

There are several ways to earn KrisFlyer miles. You can earn by flying on Singapore Airlines and its Star Alliance partners, like United Airlines and Air Canada. You can also transfer miles from different credit card programs, stay with hotel partners and make purchases through the KrisFlyer shopping portal.

Earn by flying with Singapore Airlines

When you fly with Singapore Airlines, you’ll earn miles based on the distance flown and the fare class booked. Here’s what you’ll earn on tickets issued and operated by Singapore Airlines:

To calculate how many miles you’ll earn on a flight, find your ticket’s fare class in the email confirmation you received after booking your flight. Then, head to the Singapore Airlines miles calculator.

Earn with partner flights

Singapore Airlines is a member of Star Alliance, so you can earn KrisFlyer miles when you fly with other Star Alliance members. Additionally, you can earn miles with nonalliance partners like Alaska Airlines, JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic.

Each of these airlines has its own Singapore Airlines earning chart. You can view the full Singapore Airlines earnings chart for partners on the airline’s website. To calculate your earnings, find your fare class underneath your airline partner’s name and multiply your flight’s distance by the percentage listed.

Earn KrisFlyer miles with credit cards

While Singapore Airlines doesn’t offer a cobranded credit card in the U.S., the airline partners with several major transferable rewards programs, including:

• American Express Membership Rewards: 1:1 transfer ratio; transfers are usually instant
• Capital One miles: 1:1 transfer ratio; transfers usually occur instantly
• Citi ThankYou Rewards: 1:1 transfer ratio; transfers usually take less than 24 hours
• Chase Ultimate Rewards: 1:1 transfer ratio; transfers usually occur within 48 hours
• Marriott Bonvoy: 3:1 transfer ratio, plus a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred; transfers usually take less than 48 hours

One of the easiest ways to accrue KrisFlyer miles is to earn transferable rewards with one or more of these programs and transfer them to Singapore Airlines. However, we only recommend transferring credit card points and miles to KrisFlyer if you have a specific redemption in mind.

The following cards all currently offer strong welcome bonuses that you could easily convert to KrisFlyer miles:

Highest-ever offer: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees): Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

• American Express® Gold Card
• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Earn with the KrisShop

The KrisShop portal lets you buy products directly from Singapore Airlines. When you shop through the portal, you can earn up to 4 miles per Singapore dollar spent (roughly 5 miles per U.S. dollar).

Earn with hotel partners

Singapore Airlines has partnerships with many major hotel companies, including Marriott, IHG, Hilton and Hyatt. The airline also partners with several smaller hotel groups, such as Shangri-La, Melia Hotels International and Pan Pacific. You can view a full list of partners on the Singapore Airlines website.

The partner determines how you earn miles on stays. Some hotel companies allow you to earn miles instead of hotel points, while others allow you to convert your hotel points to KrisFlyer miles.

Earning KrisFlyer miles with hotels can sometimes make sense, but not in all cases. In many scenarios, you may get more value by earning hotel points.

The program also has a range of other “on the ground” earning partners, including car rental companies and retail partners.

Redeeming Singapore KrisFlyer miles

Redeeming your miles for flights on Singapore Airlines and its airline partners will give you the most value.

Redeem miles for Singapore Airlines flights

Historically, Singapore Airlines has only released its long-haul business- and first-class awards to KrisFlyer members; however, you can now book long-haul Singapore Airlines business-class flights with programs like Air Canada Aeroplan.

Singapore Airlines has two redemption tiers: Saver and Advantage. Saver award space is generally harder to come by but costs fewer miles to redeem and allows one stopover on round-trip bookings. Advantage award space is more expensive but easier to come by and includes up to two free stopovers on a round-trip ticket.

You can view the Singapore Airlines award chart on the airline’s website. All Singapore Airlines award space can be found and booked online, so there’s usually no need to call. However, if you want to hold an award seat while you transfer miles, Singapore Airlines generally charges SG$25 (around $19) or 2,500 miles.

Spontaneous Escapes

Singapore Airlines publishes monthly Spontaneous Escapes that offer discounted redemption prices (generally between 20% and 30% off) on select routes. While not all routes are included, some long-haul routes are, so it is worth checking if your preferred route is part of this month’s discounts.

Best Singapore Airlines redemptions from the US

Unfortunately, the airline’s fabulous Airbus A380 Suites product does not currently operate to the United States.

Singapore Airlines operates ultra-long-haul, nonstop Airbus A350 flights (without a first-class cabin) from various U.S. airports to Singapore. Here are the Saver business-class award rates from each of the carrier’s North American gateways:

• San Francisco International Airport (SFO): 107,000 miles
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX): 107,000 miles
• Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA): 107,000 miles
• Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR): 111,500 miles
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City: 111,500 miles

Another great way to redeem Singapore Airlines miles is on the carrier’s fifth-freedom flight from JFK to Frankfurt Airport (FRA). If you find Saver award space, this option can be booked for 81,000 miles each way in business class or 97,000 miles each way in first class.

Additionally, the airline operates flights from LAX to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT). Saver rates on these flights are 103,500 miles each way in business class or 120,500 miles each way in first class.

Stopovers on Singapore Airlines award tickets

Singapore Airlines allows stopovers on its award tickets. Saver award tickets include one stopover on a round-trip ticket, while Advantage award tickets include one stopover on a one-way ticket and two on a round-trip ticket. To use the KrisFlyer stopover, Singapore Airlines must operate all flights.

You can add stopovers to an open-jaw ticket by booking two one-way Advantage awards. If your city pair is eligible for a stopover, you can add a stopover online.

Redeem on partner flights

You can redeem KrisFlyer miles for flights with partner airlines, including some outside of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance award chart is posted on the KrisFlyer website. If you look at the chart, know that the rates shown are for round-trip tickets, but one-way bookings cost half the miles shown.

You can book Star Alliance awards on the KrisFlyer website. To do so, input your search on the homepage, check the “Redeem flights” box and search. On the next page, toggle the “Show flights for” selection from “Singapore Airlines” to “Star Alliance.”

Best KrisFlyer bookings in the US

KrisFlyer miles offer a great way to book premium domestic tickets with United Airlines. For example, you can book premium transcontinental business-class flights for just 26,000 miles one-way, making it the best way to fly United Polaris seats from Newark to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

You can use KrisFlyer miles to fly to Hawaii, too. In many cases, the 19,500 miles KrisFlyer charges for a one-way economy ticket is far less than what United MileagePlus requires for the same seat. Meanwhile, business class costs 39,000 miles one-way. This can be a good way to book long-haul Hawaii flights from cities in the Northeast.

You can also redeem KrisFlyer miles for Alaska Airlines flights. The airline offers great redemption rates on Alaska Airlines flights, but you can’t book these flights with stops. Instead, you can only book nonstop Alaska Airlines flights with KrisFlyer miles.

There are still some great deals on the Singapore Airlines’ Alaska Airlines award chart. You can book a one-way economy-class flight from the West Coast to Hawaii for just 13,500 KrisFlyer miles. This is one of the cheapest ways to use miles to fly to Hawaii and is an option to consider if you live near an airport that has Alaska nonstop service to Hawaii.

Bottom line

KrisFlyer is the only way to redeem miles for Singapore Suites and is a great option for redeeming miles for transcontinental flights and flights to Hawaii on United Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

If you’re interested in these redemptions, you can transfer rewards from multiple programs with transferable currencies to Singapore KrisFlyer.