Singapore A330 Business Class Review – Ho Chi Minh to Singapore

Basic Overview

Airline: Singapore Airlines
Aircraft: A330
Flight #: SQ177
Route: SGN>SIN (>MEL*)
Date: October 14, 2017
Duration: 2 hr
Cabin & Layout: Business Class, 30 seats, 2-2-2, angled
Seats: 12H, 12K
Miles Used: 46,750 Singapore KrisFlyer Miles per person (including >MEL* portion since this was 1 booking)
Taxes & Fees Paid: $212 USD per person
Typical Retail Cost: $1,425 USD per person (SGN>SIN>MEL)
Typical Economy Cost: ~$580 USD per person

*Our trek from Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne included 1 flight on Singapore Airlines’ A330 business class from SGN>SIN, then the second flight on Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777 business class from SIN>MEL. This review is strictly concerning the A330 product, but you can head on over and check out our review of the Boeing 777 product too.

Booking This Ticket

This was an easy reservation to make, and the ticket covered the entire route from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore and then to Melbourne, our final destination (SGN>SIN>MEL).

To book business class tickets for both of us, Alex transferred 93,500 points from his Chase Ultimate Rewards account directly into his Singapore KrisFlyer account. The main card that Alex used to earn these points was the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card.

BEST FIRST TRAVEL CARD

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Apply Now(at Chase's secure site)

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Welcome Offer

Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

75,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,500

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.49 - 27.74% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), gas, EV charging, vacation home rentals with top brands, and streaming services.

It offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and strong travel insurance coverage, including primary car rental insurance. If you travel a few times a year and spend on dining, the card is likely to be a good choice, but it’s hard to justify if you don’t dine out or travel often.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x points on all travel booked via Chase Travel
• 3x points on dining purchases, online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), gas, EV charging, vacation home rentals with top brands (such as Airbnb and Vrbo), and select streaming services
• 2x points on all other travel worldwide

Cons

• $95 annual fee
• Subject to Chase’s 5/24 application restrictions

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, 3x on vacation homes at top brands, 3x on gas & EV charging, 3x on top streaming services and online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.
• Earn up to $100 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel.
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Emergency Evacuation and Transportation, and more.
• Get a year of complimentary Apple TV when activated by December 31, 2026 - a value of $180.
• Complimentary DashPass membership, a $120 value for 12 months. Enjoy $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees on eligible DoorDash orders, plus exclusive Chase savings on grocery, everyday essentials, and more. Activate by 12/31/29.
• Receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card for a Global Entry, TSA Precheck^® or NEXUS application.
• Transfer points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.49 - 27.74% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Of course, he didn’t transfer the points until he had first found award space on Singaporeair.com about 6 months in advance. However, because this was a business class flight (and not first class), it’s definitely a lot easier to find space — that means you could still have a good chance of finding award space closer to your departure date.

Just as with our flight from JFK>FRA>SIN in Singapore Suites, you don’t need to call anyone to make this booking as it can all be done on Singapore Airline’s website.

On top of the 93,500 KrisFlyer miles to cover us both, we paid the obligatory $212 USD per person in taxes. Though it wasn’t the cheapest, if we had paid for this in cash it would have been ~$2,850 USD for both of us to fly business on this route.

Remember, Singapore Airlines is a Chase transfer partner, Amex transfer partner, Marriott transfer partner, and Citi transfer partner, so is easy to rack up points.

At the Airport

Getting to experience Singapore Airlines’ business product about a week after Singapore Suites was very exciting for us!

Check-in at Tân Sơn Nhất was very smooth. We were served at the Singapore Airlines counter with extremely friendly attendants and smiles all around.

Flying out of Ho Chi Minh airport as business class passengers, we were given a choice between a couple of amenities. It doesn’t take a genius to guess we chose the complimentary lounge ticket! (To be honest, we can’t even remember what the other options were.)

We were a little nervous when we realized the SASCO Rose Business Lounge was open to passengers on 22 different airlines. As it turns out, though, we had nothing to worry about! The lounge was spacious, not too crowded, and had a nice selection of breakfast-type food and beverages.

It was a great place to relax and get some work done pre-flight!

The Flight

The Singapore Airlines cabin crew turned on their ridiculously warm welcome yet again. They were sure to greet each of us by name and show us to our seats. Even though the cabin was busy, they took the time to deliver our menus and a welcome drink. We opted for the bubbly — they were serving a delightful Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve.

As we mentioned previously, this first leg from SGN was on Singapore’s A330 product. While this product is their “old business” class, it was impressive nonetheless!

The cabin was clean and tidy and the seats were well kept and roomy, coming in at a 24.5″ width and a 60″ pitch. Singapore states these seats were “designed like a shell” for comfort and privacy, with a partition that can be deployed for even more privacy.

It is important to note that with this particular cabin arrangement, not every seat has direct aisle access. Additionally, these seats almost lie completely flat, achieving a 172-degree recline. For a (comparatively) short flight, this was perfectly comfortable.

We were also pleasantly surprised that the TVs were a decent size (for an “older” product especially)!

In terms of dining, Singapore Airlines was currently celebrating 70 years of business class with a special menu.

We enjoyed another glass of bubbly with a salad appetizer, then got into our main dishes.

While this service doesn’t utilize the trendiest flatware or china, the food was flavorful and not at all mushy or soggy like airplane food sometimes can be. That’s really all that matters!

Gate-to-gate entertainment always makes a flight more exciting since you don’t have to wait until you’re up in the air to start your movie, show, or game. We were excited to see Singapore Airlines offering an array of seasonal movies — since we flew in October (and near Halloween), there were a number of scary selections to choose from in addition to new titles and old favorites.

Again, the service on this Singapore Airlines A330 flight did not disappoint. The cabin crew were quick to attend to us without being intrusive and were quite friendly, making us feel very welcome. We chatted about why we had visited Vietnam, where we were headed, and of course confirmed we’d be back to fly Singapore Airlines again as soon as we had the chance!

Final Thoughts

While this certainly isn’t the newest business class product Singapore Airlines offers, we were still completely happy with the experience and would certainly fly this product again!

Our business class flights on Singapore Airlines were taken right in the middle of a massive trip around the world!

Using some hard work and determination with our points redemptions, we were able to fly some of the best products in the sky for over 52 hours total. If you’re interested in reviews on those other flights, you can find them here:

• Singapore Suites First Class, A380
• Singapore Airlines Business Class, 777
• Etihad First Class Apartment, A380
• Emirates First Class, A380

If you want to know how Alex planned this huge trip (with a million moving parts), don’t worry — he’s written a whole post on it!

• How I Planned Our Around the World Trip [Using Points & Miles]

If you want to know which credit cards he used to book all those award flights above, rest easy — he’s got a post on that too.

• The 6 Cards I Used to Book Our Around The World Award Flights [Business & First Class]

Finally, if you want to learn more about additional award flight options for getting to Singapore, there’s an article for that as well.

• The Best Ways to Fly to Singapore With Points and Miles [Step-by-Step]