Which airlines include carrier-imposed surcharges on award flights to Singapore?

ANA will pass fuel surcharges on round-trip business class flights of $314 on Air China, $290 on Asiana, and $1,500 on Lufthansa and SWISS Air. Air Canada Aeroplan will not pass fuel surcharges on at all. American Airlines will pass fuel surcharges on round-trip business/first class flights of $1,091 on British Airways and Iberia. Cathay Pacific will not pass fuel surcharges on flights to Asia for the most part. It will pass huge fuel surcharges on flights through Europe. Japan Airlines will pass fuel surcharges on round-trip business/first class flights of $290 on China Eastern, $86 on Japan Airlines, $1,096 on British Airways/Iberia, and $421 on Air France.

What is the fewest number of miles you can use to book an economy class award flight to Singapore?

You can book ANA during low season for 55,000 miles. You can also use 60,000 Alaska miles for round-trip Cathay Pacific flights. Lastly, you can use 75,000 AA miles for round-trip Oneworld flights.

What is the fewest number of miles required to fly business class to Singapore?

You can fly on ANA during low season for 100,000 ANA miles or during regular season for 110,000 ANA miles. You can also use 100,000 Alaska miles for round-trip Cathay Pacific flights. Lastly, you can use 140,000 AA miles for round-trip Oneworld flights.

What is the fewest number of miles required to fly first class to Singapore?

You can fly on ANA during low or regular season for 195,000 ANA miles. You can also use 140,000 Alaska miles for round-trip Cathay Pacific flights or 150,000 Alaska miles for round-trip Japan Airlines flights. Another option is flying Star Alliance first class flights for 198,000 Avianca LifeMiles.

The Best Ways To Fly to Singapore With Points & Miles [Step-by-Step]

Singapore is one of Southeast Asia’s major tourist destinations and economic hubs. A port city by history, Singapore now has one of the most advanced market economies in the world.

Today, Singapore is a foreign investment haven, foodie nirvana, and sightseeing wonder. Measuring only 276 square miles, Singapore is an awe-inspiring city-state.

Whether you want to experience Michelin-starred street food stalls that are cleaner than most American restaurants, see the futuristic Gardens by the Bay, or enjoy riverside life at Clarke Quay, we have the best ways to fly to Singapore with points and miles.

In this post, we’ll describe the best programs to book all 3 cabin classes: economy, business, and first.

We’ll also share a few stopover and open-jaw ideas, particularly for programs such as Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Asiana Airlines Asiana Club, and Air Canada Aeroplan.

While there are hundreds (if not thousands!) of ways to fly to Singapore on points and miles, there are only a few nonstop routes from all of North America, including flights from Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA), and Vancouver (YVR).

Unless you fly out of these major airports, you will have at least 1 connection. Not to fret, however — there’s unlimited creativity in routes and airlines you can fly!

Without further ado, let’s begin walking you through the best ways to fly to Singapore with points and miles!

Table of contents

Nonstop Flights Between North America and Singapore
Best Programs To Use To Book Flights
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

Nonstop Flights Between North America and Singapore
Best Programs To Use To Book Flights
Final Thoughts

Nonstop Flights Between North America and Singapore

In the past, nonstop flights between North America and Singapore were difficult to find, simply because of the sheer distance between the 2 regions.

Today, with the advent of fuel-efficient aircraft, there are a handful of nonstop flights!

Specifically, there are 6 nonstop routes to Singapore aboard 2 airlines:

Singapore Airlines

Los Angeles (LAX) – Singapore (SIN)
New York (JFK) – Singapore (SIN)
Newark (EWR) – Singapore (SIN)
San Francisco (SFO) – Singapore (SIN)
Seattle (SEA) – Singapore (SIN)
Vancouver (YVR) – Singapore (SIN)

United Airlines

San Francisco (SFO) – Singapore (SIN)

Best Programs To Use To Book Flights

Singapore is, to put it simply, very far away from North America.

If you wanted to fly nonstop to Singapore in Singapore Airlines business class, redeeming Singapore Airlines miles is your only option.

To fly in economy aboard Singapore Airlines, though, you can shift your focus to other Star Alliance frequent flyer programs.

To try other quality airlines such as Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines, you’ll have to stop in one of their hubs.

Even so, it might be worthwhile to look into 1-stop flights simply because some of these redemptions are too good to pass up.

We’ll be doing a deep dive on this topic, and we’ll point out some seriously valuable redemptions that at times may feel like a steal!

Rest assured, however, that the options we’re describing are tried and true methods for flying to Singapore.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Singapore Airlines Business Class 777 - Pre Flight — Relax in luxury aboard Singapore Airlines business class! Image Credit: Alex Miller

Generally speaking, we would be remiss in creating a destination guide for Singapore without including one of the best airlines in the world: Singapore Airlines.

Singapore Airlines is an object of yearning — we all want it, but can’t always have it!

That’s because Singapore Airlines releases plenty of award availability to its partners… for economy flights. This is great news for economy travelers, but somewhat discouraging for those who want to try its famous business or first class.

So if you want to fly nonstop from Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, Seattle, or Vancouver to Singapore in Singapore Airlines’ premium cabins, you’ll almost always have to use KrisFlyer miles.

There is a silver lining, however: Singapore Airlines will not levy fuel surcharges at all.

The bad news? Your awards are going to cost a pretty penny.

Since Singapore Airlines releases a lot of economy awards to partners on a regular basis and its economy rates aren’t terribly good, we wouldn’t suggest using them for economy awards.

Here’s the table for Singapore Airlines and Star Alliance redemptions using KrisFlyer miles (round-trip costs):

Cabin Class	KrisFlyer Miles Cost (West Coast)	KrisFlyer Miles Cost (East Coast)	KrisFlyer Miles Cost (Star Alliance partners)	Taxes and Fees
Economy	84,000	88,000	121,000	$57
Business	214,000	223,000	238,000	$57
First	293,000	297,000	335,000	$57

Here are some example route options you can book:

Houston (IAH) – Manchester (MAN) – Singapore (SIN) round-trip for 223,000 miles and $57 in business class
Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO) – Singapore (SIN) round-trip for 214,000 miles and $57 in business class
New York (JFK) – Frankfurt (FRA) – Singapore (SIN) round-trip for 297,000 miles and $106 in Singapore Suites
Newark (EWR) – Singapore (SIN) round-trip for 223,000 miles and $57 in business class
Seattle (SEA) – Singapore (SIN) round-trip for 214,000 miles and $57 in business class

For additional U.S.-based routes, check out our definitive guide to Singapore Airlines’ routes from the U.S., including plane types and seat options.

If you’ve decided you want to take one of the only straight-shot routes to Singapore, look no further than Singapore Airlines. The booking process is straightforward:

Go to the Singapore Airlines website and log into your KrisFlyer account.
Click Redeem Flights.
Choose your travel dates and destination/origin airports.
Select Business or First/Suites as your cabin of choice.
Hit Search.
Choose your flight and pay for any miscellaneous fees.

Need help booking? See our step-by-step guide for booking Singapore Airlines business class or first class.

Earning Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles

You can earn Singapore KrisFlyer miles very easily.

Singapore KrisFlyer is transfer partners with American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

This means your options to earn KrisFlyer miles are basically limitless!

American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One miles, and Citi ThankYou Points all transfer at a 1:1 ratio, while Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio. All programs may take up to 2 business days to process transfers to Singapore KrisFlyer.

For every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer, you will receive 20,000 KrisFlyer miles plus a 5,000-mile bonus!

Singapore Airlines is almost like a rite of passage for travel enthusiasts; you haven’t really tried luxury travel until you’ve tried Singapore Airlines.

Recommended Chase Cards

Bottom Line: If your goal is to try Singapore Airlines or fly nonstop to Singapore and you have lots of transferable points, you should definitely book through KrisFlyer. You won’t pay any fuel surcharges, and you won’t be disappointed by the stellar premium cabins. It will cost you more miles than a few of our other options, but it might be worth it for you!

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Cathay Pacific 777 first class seat 2 — Cathay Pacific’s masterfully designed first class seat will make you wish your flights never ended! Image Credit: Stephen Au

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan presents a huge sweet spot for Cathay Pacific.

In addition to fantastic redemption prices, you’re allotted a free stopover on one-way tickets.

This means you can fly from the U.S. to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, spend a few days enjoying the Hong Kong hustle and bustle — and then fly to Singapore!

This stopover could net you an additional value of $2,000 if flying in business class. Best of all, you will not pay fuel surcharges!

Cathay Pacific’s footprint in the U.S. is generally much larger than Singapore Airlines’, so your departure airport choices are much more flexible.

In fact, Cathay Pacific operates flights from these airports in North America:

Boston (BOS)
Chicago (ORD)
Los Angeles (LAX)
New York (JFK)
San Francisco (SFO)
Toronto (YYZ)
Vancouver (YVR)

Hot Tip:Alaska Airlines only allows 1 partner on award tickets. This means you must take Cathay Pacific throughout your journey to Singapore; you can’t switch to another airline.

Here’s the chart for Alaska Airlines redemptions on Cathay Pacific Flights:

Round-trip Redemption Costs on Cathay Pacific Flights to Singapore via Hong Kong
Cabin Class	Alaska Airlines Miles Cost	Taxes and Fees
Economy	60,000	~$19
Business	100,000	~$19
First	140,000	~$19

And here are some great example routes:

Chicago (ORD) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Singapore (SIN) round-trip for 140,000 miles and $19 in taxes and fees in Cathay Pacific first class
Los Angeles (LAX) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Singapore (SIN) round-trip for 100,000 miles and $19 in taxes and fees in Cathay Pacific business class
New York (JFK) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Singapore (SIN) round-trip for 140,000 miles and $19 in taxes and fees in Cathay Pacific first class

Alaska Airlines does not show Cathay Pacific award availability online.

In order to book Cathay Pacific flights with Alaska miles, you’ll want to search availability on British Airways before booking.

Here’s how:

Visit British Airways’ website and login.
Select your route, travel dates, and class of service.
Note the flight number, date, and time.
Call Alaska Airlines at 800-252-7522.
Ask the agent to search for first class award space on Cathay Pacific for the appropriate date (you might have to provide the flight number).
Provide all necessary info to complete the booking.

Need help booking? See our step-by-step guide for booking Cathay Pacific first class. If you want to fly business, check out our guide for booking Cathay Pacific business class.

Earning Alaska Mileage Plan Miles

Sadly, Alaska Airlines only partners with Marriott Bonvoy, so you’ll either have to earn miles through its co-branded credit card or by transferring from Marriott Bonvoy credit cards.

You can earn Alaska miles in 3 main ways:

Transferring from Marriott Bonvoy
Earning directly with Bank of America co-branded credit cards
Purchasing them

Marriott transfers at a 3:1 ratio with a bonus of 5,000 miles when you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to Alaska Airlines in a single transaction. Transfers take around 4 business days to process.

Sometimes, there are sales of up to 60% on buying miles. You’re limited to 60,000 miles per transaction, but you can buy an unlimited number of miles in separate transactions.

Recommended Marriott Bonvoy Cards

Bottom Line: Alaska Airlines provides an amazing deal to fly to Singapore on Cathay Pacific. Although Alaska miles aren’t the easiest to earn, if you find yourself with a bunch of Alaska miles, you can plan a trip to Hong Kong followed by Singapore for 60,000 miles in round-trip economy, 100,000 miles in business, and 140,000 miles in first. To make things better, you’ll be paying around $20 total for the flight! Keep in mind that Cathay Pacific does not operate a first-class cabin from Hong Kong to Singapore.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club

ANA New 777 The Room Business Class — ANA New 777 The Room business class. Image Credit: All Nippon Airways

We’ve always been big fans of ANA. This airline has an amazing inflight product and its Mileage Club frequent flyer program is second-to-none.

Flights on its own metal often cost half of what other partners charge. The value of business class redemptions, in particular, is what makes this program one of the best in the world.

Keep in mind that on flights operated by ANA, seasonality rules will apply. What does that mean? The price you pay for awards will vary depending on your dates of travel.

Another thing to note is that round-trip itineraries are mandatory; you can’t book one-way award flights.

ANA does offer 1 free stopover and 1 open-jaw or 2 open-jaws on round-trip award bookings. You’ll most likely be flying to Singapore through Tokyo, which is what our stopover will be used for.

Here’s a summary chart of the season-based award prices for each class:

ANA Award Redemption Costs
Carrier (Season)	Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First
ANA (Low)	55,000	84,000	100,000	195,000
ANA (Regular)	65,000	94,000	110,000	195,000
ANA (High)	70,000	99,000	115,000	210,000
Star Alliance	80,000	N/A	136,000	240,000

Hot Tip: As you can see, ANA business class awards are spectacular, while Star Alliance awards are significantly more expensive. As a result, you’ll gain the best value when flying on ANA metal and booking through ANA Mileage Club.

Here are some great example routes:

Houston (IAH) – Tokyo (NRT) – Singapore (SIN) for 115,000 miles round-trip and $100 in taxes and fees for business class during high season
Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo (HND) – Singapore (SIN) for 195,000 miles round-trip and $100 in taxes and fees for first class during low/regular season
Newark (EWR)/New York (JFK) – Tokyo (HND) – Singapore (SIN) for 110,000 miles round-trip and $100 in taxes and fees for business class during regular season
San Jose (SJC) – Tokyo (NRT) – Singapore (SIN) for 100,000 miles round-trip and $100 in taxes and fees for business class during low season

Taxes and fees on ANA flights will generally run about $50 to $100.

You can use United’s website to search for award space. Searching through ANA is also an option, but it has pros and cons.

The main benefit of looking for availability on ANA is that in rare instances, ANA shows exclusive award availability not seen on other partners.

The main drawback of looking for availability on ANA is that the website is clunky and difficult to navigate. Generally, United Airlines’ website is the easiest to use. Follow these instructions to book your flight:

Perform your award search on United’s website.
Visit ANA’s website and replicate the search.
Redeem your ANA miles for the award flight and use a credit card to pay for taxes and fees.

Earning ANA Miles

ANA partners with Amex Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, and Membership Rewards points transfer to ANA at a 1:1 ratio.

For every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer, you will receive 20,000 ANA miles and a 5,000-mile bonus.

Amex transfers take 2 to 3 days, while Marriott Bonvoy transfers take up to 7 business days.

Recommended American Express Cards

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 150,000 points with the Amex Platinum card! (The current public offer is 80,000 points.)

Bottom Line: If you don’t mind connecting through Tokyo (or possibly spending a short vacation there), definitely give ANA some thought. It’s difficult to extract better value when flying to Singapore. You can visit Japan and Singapore on the same trip, save money on fuel surcharges, and maximize your points through ANA (particularly with business class awards). We would not advise booking Star Alliance partners, but even those can present very strong value.

American Airlines AAdvantage Program

Cathay Pacific Airbus A330 Business Class Bed — Cathay Pacific Airbus A330 business class bed. Image Credit: Greg Stone

We included American Airlines AAdvantage here because it is a super-easy program to follow. The region definitions are simple, awards are priced reasonably to Singapore, and AAdvantage miles are easy to earn.

Here’s the award chart for using AA miles:

Award Costs for Redemptions to Singapore With AA Miles
Cabin Class	AA Miles Cost	Taxes and Fees
Economy	75,000	~$54 to $66
Business	140,000	~$54 to $66
First	220,000	~$54 to $66

In this case, the most likely itineraries will be to Singapore via Hong Kong or London on Cathay Pacific or British Airways, respectively.

We do not suggest flying on British Airways due to $1,000+ in fuel surcharges that get passed onto you.

Hot Tip: AA will not pass on fuel surcharges on Cathay Pacific flights, which is a super-easy way to save hundreds of dollars!

AA is a very simple program to use, though it doesn’t allow stopovers and is a far cry from Alaska’s costs of 60,000 miles in economy, 100,000 miles in business, and 140,000 miles in first.

It’s still worth doing, especially if you’re an AA loyalist looking for opportunities in the Oneworld alliance. Here are some great example redemptions to make:

Boston (BOS) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in Cathay Pacific business class for 70,000 American Airlines miles + ~$54 in taxes and fees
Chicago (ORD) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in Cathay Pacific business class for 70,000 American Airlines miles + ~$54 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in Cathay Pacific first class and business class for 110,000 American Airlines miles + ~$66 in taxes and fees

Here’s how you can book on American Airlines:

Visit the American Airlines website.
On the homepage, enter your departure city, destination city, travel dates, and the number of passengers.
Check off the box that says Redeem miles.
Click Search.
Note the flight numbers, airlines, and times.
Complete the reservation online by redeeming your AA miles and paying for taxes and fees using a credit card.

Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

You can earn lots of AA miles quickly and easily with a suite of co-branded credit cards by Citi and Barclays.

If you’re still short a few miles, you can top off your AA balance by transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to AAdvantage at a 3:1 ratio. It can take up to 2 business days to transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to American Airlines.

Bottom Line: If you don’t have enough Alaska miles to book Cathay Pacific, American Airlines AAdvantage is a worthwhile program to explore: it’s easy to understand and you can book awards easily. Your out-of-pocket costs will be minimized when flying Cathay Pacific as no fuel surcharges are passed on. Lastly, AA miles are directly earned through co-branded credit cards, which makes having enough miles relatively easy.

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Cathay Pacific First Class Seat — Cathay Pacific has a spacious, ultra-luxurious first class product, complete with gourmet fine dining, huge massage seats, and great amenities! Image Credit: Alex Miller

Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles employs a distance-based award chart and complicated routing rules.

If you’re able to decipher this crazily confusing program, you can get some great value — especially on one-way flights with its generous award routing rules.

Cathay Pacific has 3 award charts:

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (flying only on Cathay Pacific)
Airline partners (flying 1 partner)
Oneworld multi-carrier award chart (flying multiple partners)

There are different routing rules associated with every award chart (and it can even vary by airline!), so we’ll summarize some key rules below:

For Cathay Pacific-operated flights and partner flights (only 1 partner!), you are allowed 1 stopover on one-ways and 2 stopovers on round-trips.
For Oneworld multi-carrier award flights, you can fly a maximum of 2 partners when Cathay Pacific is not included. If you include Cathay Pacific in your itinerary, you can fly any number of partners.
The maximum distance for Oneworld multi-carrier awards is 50,000 miles.
You can make a maximum of 5 stopovers, 2 open-jaws, and 2 transfers (layovers).

This might seem really confusing, but you could squeeze some AMAZING value from these rules. Here’s an example of an itinerary that’ll let you try many great business class products:

Los Angeles – Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific)
Hong Kong – Singapore (Cathay Pacific)
Kuala Lumpur – Osaka (Malaysia Airlines)
Tokyo – Sydney (Japan Airlines)
Sydney – Los Angeles (Qantas)

This entire itinerary includes 5 segments, 2 open-jaws, and 2 stopovers.

For a total flight distance of 24,248 miles, you would be in Award Zone 11 in the Oneworld multi-carrier award chart. Flying this itinerary would only cost 185,000 Asia Miles! This is an absolutely killer deal!

However, we understand that some readers are only interested in a simple itinerary — the simplest it gets is Singapore via Hong Kong.

Depending on which airport you depart from, round-trip flights to Singapore via Hong Kong can cost around 84,000 miles in economy, 120,000 miles in premium economy, 170,000 miles in business, and 250,000 miles in first.

As you can see, the difference between the complex itinerary above and the simple itinerary is only 15,000 miles in business class! To us, that’s a no-brainer.

We feel that Cathay Pacific Asia Miles presents the best value when flying at least once with Cathay Pacific and building a complex itinerary involving a lot of segments!

Hot Tip: You can play around with many various itineraries, but we would suggest using Great Circle Mapper to figure out the flight distances between cities.

Here’s what you need to know to book itineraries using Asia Miles:

Use the British Airways website to find award availability for each segment you’re interested in.
Write down all the flight details of each segment.
Call Asia Miles at 866-892-2598 to book your multi-carrier award.
Feed the agents all of your flight details and confirm your award ticket using Asia Miles and a credit card for taxes and fees.

Earning Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Earning Asia Miles is pretty straightforward.

Cathay Pacific partners with American Express Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Citi, Brex, and Capital One all transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Amex, Brex, and Citi take around 1 business day, while Capital One takes around 5 business days.

Marriott transfers in 5 business days at a 3:1 ratio. You’ll also get an extra 5,000 Asia Miles when you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points in a single transaction.

Synchrony Bank also offers a co-branded credit card that can earn Asia Miles. The historical best sign-up bonus was 75,000 miles, so it might be worth holding out for an offer close to that.

Recommended Citi Cards

Bottom Line: There’s a lot of value to be had when utilizing Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, particularly with the Oneworld multi-carrier award chart. There’s an infinite number of possibilities, amazing award prices, and plentiful ways to earn Asia Miles. Keep in mind that you’ll have to spend time familiarizing yourself with the award charts and routing rules, and you’ll also need to make phone calls when you are ready to book. For simpler itineraries, the prices aren’t as great, but it’s still a redemption worth considering.

United Airlines MileagePlus

United Polaris Dining — With a revamped menu, you can enjoy a great meal when flying Polaris. Image Credit: United Airlines

Similar to AA, United MileagePlus is excellent for those who are looking for a no-headaches process for flying to Singapore.

You’re going to have to pay a bit more miles, but it might be worth it to reduce your stress levels. Generally speaking, United Airlines has a very user-friendly website and award search engine, complete with a monthly calendar search.

You would do best with flying on United Airlines, as the cost of partner awards is higher. The route that makes the most sense would be the San Francisco nonstop flight to Singapore.

To be honest, the best Chase Ultimate Rewards redemption to Singapore is actually on this flight as well.

Cabin Class	United Cost	Star Alliance Partners Cost	Taxes and Fees
Economy	80,000	88,000	~$6
Business	180,000	198,000	~$6

Note that round-trip awards with Star Alliance partners will run you around 10% more miles than United-operated flights. For this steep a price, you’d do better booking through Singapore Airlines to fly on the superior Singapore Airlines business class.

This United option is great if you have lots of United miles or Chase Ultimate Rewards points, don’t care too much about flying Singapore Airlines, or don’t have enough American Express Membership Rewards points to book through ANA.

Here are some great example routes to book:

San Francisco (SFO) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in United Polaris class for 90,000 United miles + ~$5.60 in taxes and fees
Seattle (SEA) – Seoul (ICN) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in Asiana Airlines business class for 99,000 United miles + ~$5.60 in taxes and fees
Miami (MIA) – Zurich (ZRH) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in SWISS Air business class for 99,000 United miles + ~$5.60 in taxes and fees

To book a flight using MileagePlus, follow these steps:

Visit United’s website.
On the homepage, you will see a search box. In the search box, check off the box that says Book with miles.
Enter your search details and click Find flights.
Find a suitable flight option, redeem your United miles, and use a credit card to pay for taxes and fees.

Hot Tip: Even if you don’t use United to book your awards, search for Star Alliance awards using the award calendar. If you use United to book your awards, you won’t be paying fuel surcharges and you can complete your flight reservation 100% online! How easy is that?

Earning United MileagePlus Miles

There are several United co-branded credit cards offered by Chase available to earn United miles.

Also, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy are transfer partners with United.

Chase transfers at a 1:1 ratio almost instantly, and Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1.1 ratio in approximately 3 business days. Lastly, you’ll get a bonus of 5,500 United miles when you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points in a single transaction.

Recommended United Cards

BOTTOM LINE: Using United miles is more convenient than almost any other frequent flyer program. The best value you can extract from Chase Ultimate Rewards to get to Singapore is with United. At 180,000 miles for round-trip business class on one of the world’s longest flights, United MileagePlus is definitely a program to consider.

Avianca LifeMiles

United Polaris Lie-Flat Seat — Besides Singapore Airlines, the only other way to fly nonstop to Singapore with Avianca LifeMiles is on United Airlines. Enjoy a lie-flat seat with direct aisle access when flying Polaris. Image Credit: United Airlines

Avianca LifeMiles is useful in this case for economy or first class on non-Singapore Airlines Star Alliance flights.

Additionally, there are a few cases in which transferring to Avianca instead of Cathay Pacific would make sense for travelers with lots of Citi ThankYou Rewards Points.

For example, if you were departing from an airport that doesn’t offer nonstop Star Alliance flights to Singapore on economy, you would have to transfer 110,000 points to Singapore KrisFlyer. However, Avianca only charges 78,000 miles for the same route.

This information is useful if you want to use as few points as possible. Keep in mind, however, that Singapore only charges 76,000 on West Coast flights with Singapore Airlines and 80,000 on East Coast flights, but you’d have to fly from one of the 4 airports that Singapore Airlines operates nonstops from.

If you don’t want to deal with the inconvenience of positioning flights, consider using Avianca LifeMiles to fly on Star Alliance economy for 78,000 miles roundtrip!

Another good redemption for LifeMiles would be to use 198,000 miles for round-trip first class on partner airlines! That’s 7,000 miles cheaper than Asia Miles.

Hot Tip: Don’t have enough Citi ThankYou Points or Avianca LifeMiles? Consider purchasing miles when there are 125% to 200% bonus sales! You might still have to spend a bit of money (~$1,000), but you’ll come out way further ahead than if you paid cash!

Here are some great example routes you can book:

Chicago (ORD) – Frankfurt (FRA) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in Lufthansa first class for 99,000 Avianca LifeMiles + ~$51 in taxes and fees
Houston (IAH) – Tokyo (NRT) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in ANA business class for 78,000 Avianca LifeMiles + ~$51 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Frankfurt (FRA) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in Lufthansa first class for 99,000 Avianca LifeMiles + ~$51 in taxes and fees

To book, follow these steps:

Go to LifeMiles’ website.
Click Travel and log into your LifeMiles account.
Enter your desired destination, origin, cabin class, and number of passengers.
The next screen will ask you to select travel dates.
Select your flight, redeem your LifeMiles, and use a credit card for taxes and fees.

Earning Avianca LifeMiles

You can earn LifeMiles by transferring points from Amex, Citi, Brex, Capital One, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Citi, Brex, and Capital One transfer at a 1:1 ratio almost instantly, while Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio in approximately 1 business day.

Banco Popular is the exclusive issuer of LifeMiles credit cards in the U.S.

You can also buy LifeMiles at a bonus of up to 200%, which could basically mean buying points for around 1 cent each!

Recommended Capital One Cards

Bottom Line: Avianca LifeMiles can prove to be a lifesaver, especially if you’re short on points, thanks to fantastic mileage sales. The program doesn’t pass any fuel surcharges on, the economy and first class award redemption costs are very competitive, and you can fly all Star Alliance partners with this method!

Air Canada Aeroplan

Lufthansa B747-8 First Class Seat 1A - Cherag Dubash — Lufthansa B747-8 first class. Image Credit: Cherag Dubash

The very last frequent flyer program we’re going to be talking about is only good if you meet the following criteria:

You wish to fly first class on Star Alliance, but not ANA
You mostly have American Express Membership Rewards points, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, or Capital One miles
You want to add a stopover on Star Alliance flights, even on a one-way flight (5,000 points extra)

This is a very intriguing sweet spot. Aeroplan uses a distance-based award chart for flights between the U.S. and Singapore:

Distance (Miles)	Operated By	Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First
0-5,000	Air Canada	35,000-65,000	45,000-120,000	55,000-150,000	90,000-200,000
0-5,000	Partner airlines	35,000		55,000	90,000
5,001-7,500	Air Canada	45,000-80,000	60,000-140,000	75,000-175,000	110,000-250,000
5,001-7,500	Partner airlines	50,000		75,000	110,000
7,501-11,000	Air Canada	50,000-90,000	70,000-160,000	85,000-200,000	130,000-300,000
7,501-11,000	Partner airlines	60,000		85,000	130,000
11,000+	Air Canada	65,000-110,000	80,000-180,000	105,000-250,000	140,000-350,000
11,000+	Partner airlines	75,000		105,000	140,000

For the most part, we’ll be focusing on the distance band from 7,501-11,000 miles.

For Star Alliance flights, you’ll pay 60,000 points in economy one-way, 85,000 points in business one-way, and 130,000 points in first class one-way.

For comparison, ANA charges 240,000 miles round-trip to fly first class on partners, Cathay Pacific charges approximately 205,000 miles round-trip for Oneworld partners, and Singapore KrisFlyer will charge 236,000 to 240,000 miles on its own flights and 270,000 miles on Star Alliance partners.

As you can see, Aeroplan isn’t the cheapest option, but it does not pass on fuel surcharges. Additionally, you can pay just 5,000 points to add a stopover for your trip, resulting in even more value!

Here are some example routes to try:

Chicago (ORD) – Frankfurt (FRA) – Singapore (SIN) one-way for 135,000 points + $40 in taxes and fees for Lufthansa first class with a stopover in Frankfurt
New York (JFK) – Beijing (PEK) – Singapore (SIN) one-way for 135,000 points and $40 in taxes and fees for Air China first class with a stopover in Beijing

Hot Tip: Air Canada has a generous routing policy: you can add a stopover to your itinerary for 5,000 extra points, even on one-way award tickets!

We recommend searching for award availability on Aeroplan, and you can book flights there directly using your points. Here’s how:

Visit Aeroplan’s website.
On the top right, click Sign in and enter your Aeroplan number and password.
On the resulting page, you’ll see a search box — fill in the desired trip type, destination and origination airports, travel dates, and number of passengers (be sure to toggle the button that says Points instead of US $).
Click Find.
Select your flight and pay for any taxes and fees.

Earning Air Canada Aeroplan Points

Aeroplan partners with American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Chase, and Capital One transfer to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio almost instantly, while Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio in 5 business days.

If you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points in a single transaction, you will receive 20,000 Aeroplan points plus 5,000 bonus points!

Bottom Line: If you want to fly on a Star Alliance first class flight that isn’t ANA and mostly have points with Amex, Chase, or Capital One, it’ll be hard to beat Aeroplan in this specific instance, especially with the generous stopover allowance for an additional 5,000 points.

Other Options To Fly to Singapore

There are a number of other ways to fly to Singapore, including with Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Malaysia Airlines Enrich, and Qantas Frequent Flyer, but we didn’t include those in our main analysis because the redemption rates aren’t very favorable.

For example, you can use Alaska Airlines miles at a better rate than Japan Airlines Mileage Bank.

Final Thoughts

There are countless ways to fly to Singapore on points and miles. In this guide, we examined 2 of the 3 major airline alliances: Star Alliance and Oneworld.

We did not include SkyTeam partners in this analysis because the award redemption rates for these carriers (with the exception of Korean Air) are sky-high. Plus, in most cases, you’ll have to pay huge surcharges.

Here are the key points to take away:

Because Singapore Airlines rarely releases award availability on business and first class to partners, your options to fly these classes on Singapore Airlines are basically limited to Singapore KrisFlyer itself.
Alaska Airlines is excellent for booking Cathay Pacific flights. You can fly business class round-trip for 100,000 miles, or first class for 140,000 miles.
ANA’s superstar redemption is on ANA-operated flights, particularly in business class for 100,000 miles during low-season, 110,000 miles during regular season, and 115,000 miles during high season
American Airlines AAdvantage is great because its program is super simple, and it has multiple co-branded credit cards you can earn points from.
Cathay Pacific is a diamond in the rough. While it may look like the award rates are expensive, the real shining star is its Oneworld multi-carrier awards, which allow you to fly to many different countries on various airlines for amazing prices.
Like AAdvantage, United MileagePlus is a straightforward way to book flights. It won’t cost you the least, but it’s an excellent option for those with Chase Ultimate Rewards points looking to fly on non-Singapore Airlines Star Alliance carriers.
Avianca LifeMiles is great if you have Amex, Brex, Capital One, or Citi points and want to fly economy or first class on Star Alliance partners.
Lastly, Air Canada Aeroplan is a reasonable redemption for those who want to add a stopover and want to book non-ANA Star Alliance first-class flights with lots of American Express Membership Rewards points and Capital One miles.

Overall, there are plenty of ways to fly to Singapore on points and miles — ANA, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Alaska each have their own sweet spots, benefits, and drawbacks.

Just remember: there’s so much value to be had when flying to Singapore since it’s about as far from America as you can fly nonstop! Now you have the full picture of the best ways to fly to Singapore with points and miles.

The information about the Capital One Venture Rewards Card and Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.

4 comments

Verden Ng April 30, 2022

Hi. I am looking to ask for some assistance. I want to book a one-way flight (for 2 people) in business class or higher, LAX to SIN. Our itinerary for this one-way is the last week of September and the points I have are American Express at about 170k, Chase at around 70k, Capital One at 170k. I have read through your entire blog and really am struggling to find good rates. I would appreciate it immensely if you could recommend any good ideas or preferred strategies. Furthermore, I tried to look on the United website for ANA flights as suggested, but am not seeing it. Maybe I am not as experienced!

- Stephen Au May 19, 2022
  
  Hi Verden,
  
  Unfortunately, finding award availability can be challenging. It is best to plan much, much further in advance. Ideally, if you plan at least 9 months in advance, you should get some better deals.
  
Shaheed S Hasan July 4, 2022

To Mr. Verden, transfer 1:1 points/ miles to Singapore Airline’s KrisFlyer ( Pls make a free KrisFlyer account first) from two or more cards to buy two tickets. Log in to ur KrisFlyer account, select the buy with miles and then fill up all the necessary information and find out the numbers of miles needed. Do this a few times with different dates and get a good idea about the total points needed. Don’t transfer more points than needed, but also remember price could change in a second.
This is how the answer should be if you wants to maximize his points/ miles. You does not have to fly with Singapore Airlines, same way you can check other airlines, make an account, transfer points/ miles and buy tickets. Case closed. Thanks.

Abue Sayed November 29, 2022

SINGAPORE AIRLINES DHAKA OFFICE is in Gulshan-2. One of the largest airlines in the world is Singapore Airlines. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) gives airlines like SQ two-character codes.

Changi Airport in Singapore is the main place where things happen. The three-letter code for the airport is SIN. The business began on May 1, 1947. KrisFlyer is a program for people who go a lot.

The main hub of Singapore Airlines is in Singapore. From there, the airline flies to 64 destinations in 32 countries on six continents. Singapore Airlines ordered the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, first.

It’s one of the top 15 airlines by passenger-kilometer revenue. Tenth for total international passengers. If you have questions about Singapore Airlines, contact the departments and people below.

Earn Points

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Hotel Loyalty Program Reviews

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

Nonstop Flights Between North America and Singapore

Best Programs To Use To Book Flights

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Earning Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Earning Alaska Mileage Plan Miles

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club

Earning ANA Miles

American Airlines AAdvantage Program

Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Earning Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

United Airlines MileagePlus

Earning United MileagePlus Miles

Avianca LifeMiles

Earning Avianca LifeMiles

Air Canada Aeroplan

Earning Air Canada Aeroplan Points

Other Options To Fly to Singapore

Final Thoughts

Frequently asked questions

Which airlines include carrier-imposed surcharges on award flights to Singapore?

What is the fewest number of miles you can use to book an economy class award flight to Singapore?

What is the fewest number of miles required to fly business class to Singapore?

What is the fewest number of miles required to fly first class to Singapore?

About Stephen Au

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Nonstop Flights Between North America and Singapore

Best Programs To Use To Book Flights

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Earning Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Earning Alaska Mileage Plan Miles

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club

Earning ANA Miles

American Airlines AAdvantage Program

Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Earning Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

United Airlines MileagePlus

Earning United MileagePlus Miles

Avianca LifeMiles

Earning Avianca LifeMiles

Air Canada Aeroplan

Earning Air Canada Aeroplan Points

Other Options To Fly to Singapore

Final Thoughts

Frequently asked questions

Which airlines include carrier-imposed surcharges on award flights to Singapore?

What is the fewest number of miles you can use to book an economy class award flight to Singapore?

What is the fewest number of miles required to fly business class to Singapore?

What is the fewest number of miles required to fly first class to Singapore?

About Stephen Au

4 comments

Any thoughts or questions? Comment below! Cancel reply

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