SINGAPORE — Singapore Airlines (SIA) will increase the number of KrisFlyer miles required to redeem award flights starting from Nov 1, as part of the latest revision to its frequent flier program.

Despite the changes leading to higher costs on several popular routes, travel experts suggest that there are still valuable redemption options available. This includes economy flights to destinations in China, Japan, and Australia.

The miles redemption rates have gone up by between five and 20 percent for many of SIA’s routes.

The airline offers two categories of award flights: Saver and Advantage. Saver redemptions generally cost around 50 percent of Advantage ones. Both categories include flights in four cabin classes — Economy, Business, First, and Suites. Premium Economy class is available only in the Saver category.

The most significant increases, ranging from 10 to 20 percent, apply to flights to Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey. For instance, a round-trip Business Saver ticket to these regions will rise from 113,000 to 136,000 miles.

The majority of redemptions in the Advantage category have increased by at least 10 percent.

Flights to Europe on Advantage premium classes will also be more expensive, with an increase of around 15 percent. For example, a round-trip Business Advantage ticket to London, currently priced at 246,000 miles, will soon require 283,000 miles.

Despite the adjustments, industry observers point out that the devaluation is relatively modest compared to previous rounds.

Some, like Fairuz Sallim, founder of the travel hacks website Suitesmile, view the announcement as inevitable. He mentioned, “It’s been three years since the last round of devaluation, and historically, devaluations occur in two- to five-year cycles.”

Valuable Redemptions

According to Fairuz, Premium Economy and Business class award tickets still provide good value, especially for destinations in North China, South Asia, Australia, and the United States.

Additionally, on Asia and Australia routes under Economy Saver, redemptions will be more affordable than before, with a five percent decrease. For example, a round-trip flight to destinations like Osaka, Sydney, and Christchurch will cost 3,000 miles less from Nov 1.

Lawyer Daniel Lim, 33, who takes around 100 flights annually for leisure and is an avid miles strategist, mentions that while he usually uses his miles for premium class redemptions, there are situations where redemptions in lower travel classes can be worthwhile.

“Redemptions in Economy and Premium Economy can be sensible if the cash fares are very high, such as for last-minute bookings on popular routes or during peak seasons,” he explains.

“I aim for the flights I redeem to provide at least four to eight cents per mile in value. That’s when I feel like I’m getting good value for my miles,” Lim added.

The value of a mile can be calculated by dividing the cash fare of a flight by the number of miles required for redemption.

For brand strategy director Edmund Tan, 37, his focus remains on aspirational travel — redeeming miles for premium classes.

“Basic airfares can generally be afforded in cash by the average traveler, while premium classes come at a higher cost and may be out of reach if not for miles to offset the high price point,” Tan comments.

Tan, who accumulates most of his miles through credit card spending, describes the devaluation as a “double-whammy” as banks have also reduced monthly caps on bonus miles accrual.

For instance, effective Aug 1, the DBS Woman’s World Card lowered its online spending cap for earning four miles per dollar from $1,500 to $1,000, while the UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card reduced its cap from $2,000 to $1,500.

“It now costs more and takes longer to accumulate miles for travel,” Tan remarks.

Nevertheless, he still finds Business Saver redemptions on longer routes — like to Australia or Europe — worthwhile. Before the announcement, he and his wife booked round-trip Business Saver seats for Aug 2026 to Melbourne at 137,000 miles each.

Skepticism Surrounding Dynamic Pricing

One of the significant changes is the introduction of a new Access category, which is described in SIA’s online FAQ as an additional option to redeem miles for any available seat on a flight. Access awards will utilize dynamic pricing, where the required miles will fluctuate based on demand.

Fairuz describes it as “every frequent flier program member’s biggest fear” and speculates that Access rates could surge up to 300 percent more than Advantage rates.

He also mentions that with other frequent flier programs using dynamic pricing models, it’s common to see the last Business class seat requiring over a million miles.

When asked if the Access category could bring genuine value to members, Fairuz responds, “Definitely not. Unless one is earning air miles easily through consistent large spending such as under one’s company’s expenditure, redeeming over 200,000 to 500,000 miles for a Business class seat simply doesn’t offer good value.”

Lim shares similar concerns, calling the introduction of Access a “slippery slope”.

“With airlines like Air France, for example, using dynamic pricing, I’ve seen a Business class flight from Singapore to Paris cost around 600,000 to 700,000 miles, which is exorbitant,” Lim expresses.

“We can only hope that Singapore Airlines doesn’t adopt the same approach, but there’s always a possibility as more airlines nowadays are moving away from fixed charts and turning to dynamic pricing to enhance profitability,” he concludes.