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Don’t panic! They’re still some of the best out there.
Changes within Krisflyer started earlier this year when they devalued their own award chart. Next came partner awards ( which was a great loophole, but alas, it’s closed). The last hang on was their incredible change fees – from nothing to just $20/$30. I’ve utilized this sweet spot many times, and while it’s they’re going to be more expensive, they could have been MUCH worse. Starting March 1, 2018 Singapore will implement new ticket fees.
Here’s a look at their current fee structure.
I received this email and immediately panicked
Devaluations are never pretty, and while Singapore’s haven’t been egregious, they have happened. The line item that stuck out the most was the redemption fees.
Here’s the damage – it’s not that bad really.
If you’re flying on Singapore Air
- Change of Date, cabin class, or award type will be $25 if you’re on a Saver ticket
- Changes of date alone on the new “advantage” ticket ( the old standard) will cost you nothing.
If you’re flying a partner
- Any change will cost you $50.
- Not a terrible change from $25
Redeposit of your miles
- $75 for Saver awards
- $50 for Standard
*$75 will apply to any partner flight as they can only be booked at the Saver level.
The main thing I don’t see is what happens to Elite members of Singapore Airlines. I’d expect some sort of reduced fee structure to be introduced for them, as they currently have set up on the existing fee chart.
Overall:
The fee structure that they maintained prior to their award devaluations wasn’t going to last. If you compare these to American, United, Delta who can levy $200 to change/redeposit tickets, these rates are still a comparative steal. Singapore’s award chart is still very competitive.
For instance, you can fly business from the States to Europe for just 65k miles. While that’s 10k more than you’d spend on Aeroplan, it’s 5k less than you would spend using United for a partner. I’d rather spend 65k Singapore than 55k Aeroplan, as Singapore’s currency is far easier to accumulate. ( SPG, Chase, Amex, Citi).
For most of the bookings I make on Singapore, I’ll incur the $50 partner fee most frequently. I often make placeholder reservations with Singapore. For instance, I’ll book a business class seat as a backup to a Lufthansa First class seat that I’d prefer. When/If the Lufthansa space opens I’ll change the ticket and confirm the more desired routing and cabin. This used to cost me $20. I’ll still pay the extra $50.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.