The best value in using Singapore Airlines miles from the Krisflyer program is sticking to premium cabin redemptions, particularly on its A380 aircraft.

Updated September 2, 2025. Singapore Airlines announced a devaluation that impacts rates starting November 1, 2025. Booking made prior to this date will get the old mileage rates. Thankfully, the devaluation is fairly modest compared to what other loyalty programs experience.

What is the Krisflyer program?

Krisflyer is the mileage program for Singapore Airlines. It has seen a number of devaluations over the years, particularly as Singapore participates in all major credit card transfer programs and it’s simple to combine points across programs to build up the total points you need for an award.

For this post, I’m not going to get into the details of the elite status aspect of the program and instead focus on the redemption side of the program.

Plenty of programs transfer to Singapore Airlines miles

First and foremost, you shouldn’t speculatively transfer points to the program given the hard expiration policy it has with no opportunity to indefinitely extend your Singapore Airlines miles. You don’t want to end up committing more points than you have a use for only to lose them after expiration. It doesn’t matter how good the transfer bonus is; if you don’t use it, you lose it.

That said, if you have plans to use the miles during the validity period and there is a (rare) transfer bonus, go for it. Transfer bonuses don’t appear often for Singapore Airlines (less often than once per year), so don’t hold your breath for the next one.

Most of the time, you’ll be transferring in points as you need them. Transfer times vary by program, but generally I find it’s immediate… for the first transfer. If you transfer from the same program multiple times because you calculated incorrectly, that second transfer could get stuck in the internet for a while. If you transfer the wrong amount, you’re better off transferring in from a different program rather than topping off from the same one you already did.

Singapore Airlines Award Chart

An award chart is maintained and can be viewed here. I find the better value awards are to use Singapore Airlines miles to connect you to the rest of Southeast Asia than to fly directly to Singapore. That then also allows you to potentially stopover in Singapore for free (more on that later), leading to an award price that doesn’t feel too unreasonable on an airline that I love to fly.

While Singapore offers partner awards as well as awards for other Star Alliance carriers, I don’t consider it an effective use of miles to use them on anything but Singapore Airlines.

Suites Class Awards – Only with Singapore Airlines miles

Let’s be honest up front about the most aspirational product Singapore offers. Yes, it’s an incredible product. Yes, it costs a lot of points to fly in that cabin. Yes, you’re going to face a lot of competition from everyone else vying for the limited spots.

As of January 2025, I believe the following routes are the ones where Singapore flies its A380 aircraft, along with associated mileage prices to sit up in the front of the cabin:

Starting November 1, 2025, the following award rates apply. Saver rates are going up around 5% each, while Advantage rates are up around 15%.

Note that not all frequencies between these routes are flown with A380 aircraft. Some frequencies are operated by their 777 product, which has their standard first class product. There isn’t any upcharge for suites class over first class, but competition is more fierce for sitting in suites.

It’s also going to be incredibly tough finding first/suites award space at the Saver level. More likely, you’ll need to plan to pay Advantage pricing. At that price, I wouldn’t recommend spending for their first class product; you’d want to be in their suites class to make it worth it. If you’re looking for the cheapest flight just to experience it, try flying to India (or Hong Kong if the A380 returns to service there).

We haven’t yet flown in Singapore’s new A380 first class product, but we have been in the old cabin a few times. We found the experience to be absolutely perfect. Surprisingly, they even gave us an escort in Frankfurt to help us connect to a Lufthansa economy flight booked on a separate ticket after getting off the A380 first class flight from New York. I’m guessing it’s because we were flying with a one-year-old Alex at the time, but it was definitely a welcome surprise (particularly at a complicated airport to transit).

Singapore’s A380 Business Class Awards

My personal sweet spot for luxury at a decent cost isn’t the cabin up front, but the business class cabin on that same plane. Sure, you sacrifice some luxury elements, but you still get that legendary double bed in business class on this plane when flying in the middle seats.

And then starting November 1, 2025, the rates will end up 5% higher for Saver and 15% higher for Advantage:

Not only is the pricing more reasonable for Advantage, but you’re also much more likely to find seats available at the Saver level. The more reasonable pricing definitely helps if you’re looking for more than two seats.

The business class product offered on the A380 is significantly better than what they have on their 777. I’d avoid the 777 if you have the option and say your points are better spent on the A380 or A350.

We’ve flown the product in business class when it was offered on the New York JFK to Frankfurt route and found it one of the best ways to fly to Europe at the time.

Take Advantage of Stopovers with Singapore Airlines miles

Singapore Airlines allows for the possibility of a stopover (a stay longer than a day but shorter than 30 days) on award tickets, with certain rules based on whether it’s a one-way or roundtrip flight and whether it’s a Saver or Advantage award.

If you live in Singapore, you could potentially string together multiple trips by having a stopover in Singapore along the way (though there is a limit of 30 days allowed for the stopover, so your trips would need to be pretty close to each other to take advantage).

Your stopover isn’t required to be in Singapore (though it is a remarkable city) as the airline does offer a variety of fifth-freedom flights where you could take a stopover on the way. For example, you could consider Los Angeles – Tokyo (stopover) – Singapore or New York JFK – Frankfurt (stopover) – Singapore.

How to Best Search for Availability?

I always just play around on the Singapore Airlines website and find it fairly intuitive to use. It won’t show availability for an entire month at a time, but it will show results for a week. You should be able to immediately tell if a flight is available at the Saver or Advantage level and if there is a waitlist.

Additionally, it’s fairly simple to add in a stopover if you wanted to include it. If you have entered a set of destinations that includes a layover, you’ll find a pop-up at the top of the screen that asks if you would be interested in adding a stopover.

From there, click the “Add Stopover” button to make your selection of where you want to stopover (if there is more than one city along the way) and then choose the date to depart that city. I find it’s easier to first confirm that each desired segment has award space available before using this feature, just to make your life a little easier.

Additionally, you can use the free point.me tool to research award space if you have an eligible Amex card.

Do Singapore Airlines miles expire?

Yes, Singapore Airlines miles have a hard expiration policy of three years. The only option to extend them is if you pay $12US per 1,000 miles for an extra six months to use them (or 12 months if you are an elite member at the time you extend them). Thankfully, you can use them for a flight after the expiration date of the miles. If you do book past the expiration date, be sure you don’t cancel that flight or your miles will immediately expire.

And before you ask, no, you can’t book a flight with Singapore Airlines miles and cancel the flight hoping for a new miles expiration date. The system remembers the original expiration date.

Anything Else?

Don’t bother waitlisting for award flights. I’ve tried it many times and it never has cleared for me. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to clear but I feel it’s appropriate to say it’s not reliable. I’ve also heard reports that despite applying to join the waitlist, there might eventually be awards that do open up on the flight for anyone to book, not just the person who waitlisted. Just don’t do it.

The program has devalued to the point where not all awards make sense, so you’ll want to be a little picky in what to book. Stick with premium cabins on the A380 or A350 and you won’t go wrong. Some short-distance flights could also be offered at an attractive price and come with excellent service and a lovely business cabin, but I would still say to avoid the 777 for the time being until the cabins can be refreshed.

You should also check how much Singapore Airlines flights cost through partner programs, such as Alaska Mileage Plan and Air Canada Aeroplan. You might find a cheaper price for the same Singapore Airlines flight using Aeroplan miles, so it might take a little bit of research for you to find the best pricing. If you have an American Express credit card that earns Membership Rewards points, consider using the Amex-specific point.me tool for free help with identifying the best price for the flight.

Suggested reading:

• Review: Singapore Airlines 737-8 Business Class
• Review: Singapore Airlines A380 Business Class JFK-FRA
• Secret Trip Transit – Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, Maldives to Singapore, Singapore