Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Loyalty Program Review

The KrisFlyer program is one of the best programs out there since it partners with all the flexible point programs.

Singapore Airlines Credit Cards

Singapore Airlines does not currently offer a co-branded product for U.S. residents, so we’ll focus on other credit card partners that earn you can transfer to Singapore Airlines.

American Express Credit Cards

American Express is a great way to earn points that can be transferred to Singapore Airlines miles.

With its impressive selection of personal and business credit cards, you’ll have more than enough ways to earn miles for your next redemption.

Amex also has regular bonuses with some of its airline partners when you transfer your points into airline miles, making this a valuable program to earn points in.

Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)

AMEX CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
The Platinum Card® from American Express How We Get $1,500+ In Value From This Card (Per Year) >	Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. Access 1,200+ airport lounges including the amazing Centurion® lounges. Up to $200 Uber Savings Annually. $200 Airline Fee Credit. Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-850) Annual Fee: $550 For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
American Express® Gold Card	Earn 35,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $2,000 on eligible purchases with your new card within the first 3 months. Earn 4x points at US restaurants; Earn 4x points at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X). Annual Fee: $250 Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-850) For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please click here.

Recommended Amex Cards (Business)

AMEX CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express	Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 0.0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months, then a variable rate, currently 15.49%, 18.49% or 21.49%. Annual Fee: $0 For rates and fees of The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express, please click here.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express See How To Also Get $1,250+ in Value Per Year >>	Welcome Offer: Earn up to 75,000 Membership Rewards® Points. Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 & an extra 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 all on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com. Access 1,200+ airport lounges, including the amazing Centurion® lounges. $200 Airline Fee Credit. Annual Fee: $595 For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
American Express® Business Gold Card	Earn 35,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $5,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.* More Rewards: Get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 select categories where your business spent the most each month 4X points apply to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year. Pay Over Time Option: A flexible payment option to help manage cash flow on purchases of $100 or more. Annual Fee: $295 For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, please click here.
Are you a business owner? For more details, see our American Express business credit cards article or in-depth 2019 business credit cards guide to find the perfect card for your company.

Chase Credit Cards

Chase is another flexible point program that partners with Singapore Airlines, giving you an excellent way to earn miles.

Chase stacks up with Amex in terms of the number of personal and business credit cards it has that earn Ultimate Rewards points, which can be transferred to Singapore Airlines.

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

CHASE CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card How We Get $1k+ Value From Just 60k Pts >	Biggest Bonus Ever! Earn 60,000 bonus points 2X points on travel and dining. Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-850) Annual Fee: $95
Chase Freedom Unlimited®	Earn 3% cash back on all purchases in your first year up to $20,000 spent. After that, unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 17.24-25.99%. Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-850) Annual Fee: $0
Chase Sapphire Reserve®	50,000 bonus points. $300 Annual Travel Credit 3X points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit. 3X points on travel and dining. Access to 1,000+ airport lounges worldwide. Excellent Credit Recommended (740-850) Annual Fee: $450

Recommended Chase Cards (Business)

CHASE CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card We Get $1,600+ of Value Using This Card >>	Earn 80,000 bonus points Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year Get up to $600 per claim in Cell Phone Protection against covered theft or damage. Excellent Credit Recommended (740-850) Annual Fee: $95
Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card	Earn $500 bonus cash back Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 15.49% - 21.49% Excellent Credit Recommended (740-850) $0 Annual Fee
Are you a business owner? For more detail, see our Chase business credit cards article, or in-depth business credit card guide to make an ideal choice for your situation.

Citi Credit Cards

Citi falls short of Amex and Chase with the number of credit cards it has that earn transferable ThankYou points. But that doesn’t mean the program should be ignored!

Citi, like Amex, has regular bonuses when transferring points to some of its airline partners, which can provide significant value.

The only credit card available to new applicants that earns ThankYou points is the Citi ThankYou Premier. You can find more about it here:

Marriott Credit Cards

Marriott is unique in that it’s a hotel rewards program that earns valuable flexible points.

Marriott partners with the most airlines of the flexible point programs, giving you access to many airlines that only partner with Marriott.

What’s great about the Marriott program is that with every 60,000 points you transfer to an airline partner, they give you a 5,000-point airline bonus.

When you transfer Marriott points to one of its airline partners, the 60,000 points transfer at a 3:1 ratio and become 20,000 airline miles. Add the 5,000-point bonus, and you’ve got 25,000 airline miles!

With the recommended credit cards below, you’ll be well on your way to having enough miles for your next award flight.

MARRIOTT CARDS	CARD BENEFITS & INFO
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Card	Earn 75,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. An additional Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary. Automatic Silver Elite Status each account anniversary year. Path to Gold Status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each account year. Annual Fee: $95
Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card	Earn 75,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Free Night Award Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite Status $125 Annual Fee For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card, click here.

Other Hotel Partner Credit Cards

Transferring other hotel points to airlines will likely result in a terrible transfer ratio, so we recommend avoiding this if at all possible.

If you are topping off an airline account or are in a bind, this option can be used as a last-ditch effort.

Singapore Airlines’ frequent flyer program is called KrisFlyer, and it’s one of the most utilized programs for premium travel.

The airline continually receives accolades for not only its ultra-premium products like Singapore Suites, but also its business class.

Singapore miles can be earned in many ways — here are the 4 most common:

• Flying Singapore Airlines or its partner airlines flights
• Spending on flexible points program credit cards
• Spending at car rental, hotel, or retail partners
• Using the airline’s shopping portal

Joining KrisFlyer

The KrisFlyer program is free to join by simply completing this application.

When your application is approved, you’ll have the ability to earn miles by flying Singapore Airlines or its partner airlines flights, earn elite status, and redeem miles for award flights.

How to Sign in to Your KrisFlyer Account

Head to the KrisFlyer login page and enter your membership number and password.

Hot Tip: The KrisFlyer program requires you to log in to search for an award flight. This is important, as you can only book Singapore Suites using KrisFlyer miles. 

Viewing Your Account Activity

The easiest way to check your mileage balance is to follow these steps:

1. Log in to your account
2. Click the profile icon in the top right corner
3. Click account summary

Singapore Airlines recommends the following timelines for miles to appear in your KrisFlyer account:

• 2 weeks for miles earned on Singapore Airlines or SilkAir flights
• 4 weeks for miles earned on KrisFlyer partner airline flights
• 6-8 weeks for miles earned with KrisFlyer non-air partners

Points Expiration

Mileage expiration will depend on your KrisFlyer elite status.

KrisFlyer miles will expire after 3 years (or 1 year for miles received from contests) on the last day of the equivalent month in which they were earned for Basic, Silver, and Gold elites.

For example, miles credited to a KrisFlyer member account in September 2018 will expire September 30, 2021.

KrisFlyer miles will not expire for PPS Club members as long as the membership is current.

The mileage expiration rule applies to all miles regardless of how they were earned, except for certain promotional miles.

KrisFlyer Elite Status

KrisFlyer has 3 levels of membership, 2 of which are elite tiers. Singapore Airlines has a separate elite club to award its most loyal flyers.

The program uses 2 currencies: KrisFlyer miles and Elite Miles.

KrisFlyer miles are the airline miles that you earn when you fly, and they’re used to redeem for award flights.

Elite miles are also earned when flying, but these miles are used for elite status qualification.

KrisFlyer: This is the level a member receives by signing up for a free account. There are no benefits other than the ability to earn and redeem miles.

KrisFlyer Silver: Silver is the first elite level where a member realizes benefits, which are shown below:

• Awarded after earning 25,000 Elite miles — valid for 12 months upon earning status
• 25% mileage bonus on Singapore Airlines and SilkAir flights
• Star Alliance Silver status
• Priority waitlist for Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, or Star Alliance flights
• Waived or discounted service fees

KrisFlyer Gold: Gold is the highest elite tier that is based on the number of miles that you fly without a spending requirement:

• Silver benefits listed above plus:
• Access to various lounges when flying Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Star Alliance, Virgin Australia, Virgin Atlantic, and Vistara
• Star Alliance Gold status
• Extra baggage allowance
• Priority check-in, boarding, and baggage handling

PPS Club: In addition to Silver and Gold elite tiers, KrisFlyer has a program called the Priority Passenger Service Club (PPS Club) that focuses on rewarding high spenders.

The base PPS Club level requires you to spend $25,000 annually on premium cabin travel (think Singapore Suites). If you find yourself in this camp, you can learn more here.

If you’re interested in learning more about the KrisFlyer elite tiers or the program’s terms and conditions, you can find out more about each here and here.

Value of KrisFlyer Elite Status

Elite status within the KrisFlyer program will depend on how frequently you can fly Singapore Airlines and its partner airline flights.

The benefits certainly won’t blow you away on paper, but having access to premium lounges around the world is nice.

Singapore Airlines partners with all of the flexible point programs, so earning miles in this program (plus credit card points), will ensure you always have enough KrisFlyer miles for your next redemption.

Earning KrisFlyer Elite Status

Singapore Airlines awards status based on the number of Elite Miles that you earn when flying Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Vistara, or any Star Alliance airline.

Elite Miles are calculated based on the number of miles that you fly plus the earnings rate of the fare class you booked.

These Elite Miles are only used for elite status qualification and can’t be used to book an award flight.

Singapore Airlines has a number of ways to earn Singapore Airlines miles.

The KrisFlyer program allows to you earn miles from flying, transfers from credit cards, spending with its travel partners, and shopping through its retail portal.

Earning Miles Through Flying

KrisFlyer mileage is based on the distance of the flight and the earn rate percentage of the airline you fly.

Singapore Airlines lists all of mileage accrual rates and has a miles calculator to help determine the mileage you will earn.

KrisFlyer Silver, Gold, and PPS Club members also earn a 25% bonus on actual miles flown, except for economy tickets in G, K, N, Q, V, or L booking classes.

Earn Miles With Credit Cards

Singapore Airlines doesn’t offer a credit card for the U.S. market, but the program does partner with multiple flexible point programs like American Express and Chase.

We recommend applying for American Express, Chase, Citi, and Marriott personal and business credit cards that earn points you can transfer directly to Singapore Airlines.

Earning Bonus Miles in Other Ways

Singapore Airlines has a list of travel partners that range from hotels to car rental companies that allow you to earn airline miles when you spend money with that partner.

This can be a great way to earn additional miles with spending you’re already incurring. For example, you can earn miles with a hotel stay.

Singapore Airlines offers 2 types of award flights:

• Saver – These are the lowest priced award tickets on Singapore Airlines/SilkAir flights, which you’ll want to use your miles on
• Advantage – These are the most expensive award tickets, which require more miles

To see the award rates for Singapore/SilkAir flights, you can access the award chart here.

It’s important to note that Suites/first is not offered on all flights between these regions. You will want to confirm on the Singapore Airlines website that this cabin class is available for your route before transferring any points.

If you’re interested in seeing all of the ways to redeem Singapore Airlines miles, we have a post on the best ways to redeem Singapore Airlines miles.

Star Alliance and Partner Awards

The KrisFlyer program uses different award charts depending on the partner you are flying.

Below are the relevant award charts:

• Star Alliance award chart
• Alaska Airlines award chart
• Virgin Atlantic award chart
• Remaining partner award charts

Partner award pricing doesn’t have Saver and Advantage. Mileage requirements shown in the charts are the lowest rate you will see when flying that partner.

Booking Online

Singapore Airlines doesn’t have access to all Star Alliance partner award space that you’ll find when using the United, Aeroplan, and ANA search engines, and the website only allows you to search 1 day at a time.

The Singapore Airlines search engine should only be used to search for and book Suite/first class award space, as Singapore Airlines doesn’t release this inventory to its partners.

If you find yourself wanting to fly Singapore Suites or first, check out the best ways to book Singapore Airlines first class.