Singapore-From July 5th, travelers will need to spend more air miles to fly under the Singapore Airlines (SIA) frequent flyer program.
The airline announced on Tuesday (June 7th) that it will increase the number of air miles required to redeem the award, after considering higher costs. This move is the result of an ongoing review of the KrisFlyer program by SIA.
“Understand that these changes were made after very careful consideration, given the higher costs, and are necessary for the KrisFlyer program to remain sustainable.” Said SIA.
Emails to customers state that flight redemption costs will increase by an average of 10%. This applies to award and upgrade levels on flights operated by SIA, Star Alliance member airlines, and SIA partner airlines.
The SIA also said that stopovers for eligible redemption reservations issued after August 1st are limited to a maximum of 30 days.
Free stopovers for more than 30 days and paid stopover options will no longer be available for tickets issued after August 1. The existing policy allowed travelers to effectively redeem flights with fewer miles.
Under SIA’s frequent flyer programs, air miles called KrisFlyer Miles can be earned through options such as ticket and credit card purchases.
These miles can be used to purchase items at SIA’s KrisShop and redeem points in the Partner Benefits Program. However, these are primarily used by travelers to redeem free tickets and secure upgraded seats on flights.
News agency Bloomberg reported in May last year that debt associated with the five most valuable airline loyalty programs in the United States increased by almost 12% in 2020 to US $ 27.5 billion (S $ 37.8 billion). did. Through financial issues, you may consider depreciating miles as a way to supplement your financial basis.
Aaron Wong, founder of Singapore-based travel website Mile Lion, told The Straits Times Wednesday that SIA’s KrisFlyer miles will be devalued given that air traffic is recovering faster than expected. He said he wasn’t outside.
“If the load factor is low, the cost for an airline to offer a mileage seat is negligible,” he said.
“But if the load factor is high, all passengers who spend miles may be seated by passengers who are willing to pay cash.”
He said hiking wasn’t as dramatic as it used to be, as SIA’s most popular saver awards have increased between 8% and 16%.