Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Singapore Airlines, the flagship carrier of Singapore, is one of the world’s most lauded airlines with nods in 2009 including: Guardian/Observer Travel Awards Best Long Haul Airline and the Best Business Class award from Condé Nast Traveller. They also offer one of the best frequent flyer programs, the Singapore Airlines Krisflyer program, allowing you to earn points towards free flights or flight upgrades.

Profile

Singapore Airlines is known for its high levels of customer service, but also for being ahead of the curve when it comes to adapting to new technology. They were the first carrier to launch the Airbus A380, the new ‘superjumbo’ plane. Theirs is also one of the youngest fleets flying the skies with the average age of a plane under seven years. Currently they operate 108 planes, with 59 new ones to be added to the fleet in the near future.

Singapore Airlines is a member of the largest airline alliance, Star Alliance, meaning the award miles you accrue with Singapore Airlines may be used with other member airlines including: Spanair, Swiss, Turkish Airlines and many others.

Destinations

Singapore Airline’s hub is at Singapore Changi Airport and has a solid network of flight paths around South-East Asia, East Asia, South Asia and Australasia. In addition they fly the two longest non-stop routes (with the Airbus 340-500) which are Singapore to Newark and Singapore to Los Angeles.

About the KrisFlyer Frequent Flyer Program

The Singapore Krisflyer program offers a wealth of member benefits across all three of its membership classes, Krisflyer, Krisflyer Elite Silver and Krisflyer Elite Gold.

Points are generously earned as follows: 100% of actual flown miles on Economy flights are earned in airmile points. It increases to 125% of flown miles on Business class flights, 150% on First class flights and 300% with Singapore Airlines Suites. Airmiles are also earned through partnership arrangements which include the Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Taj and Rendezvous hotels. Car rental partners include Avis and Hertz.

There are a number of agreements with credit card companies which earn Krisflyer points when you spend on the credit card. Issuers of Singapore Airlines credit cards include Westpac, American Express and Standard Chartered. M1, Traveling Connect and 3 telecommunications providers also offer points, as do Club 21, Ctrip, Shell, Tradewinds and Hong Leong Finance. With a little bit of planning, you can accrue points quite quickly with your day-to-day travelling expenses.

Krisflyer is the basic form of membership where members earn points towards moving up to the next tier of membership. Krisflyer Elite Silver membership offers members priority airport standby and priority reservation waiting list, which helps to reduce waiting time and improve chances of getting a last-minute flight. Krisflyer Elite Gold offers the same benefits but adds increased check-in baggage allowance, priority airport check-in, priority boarding, priority baggage handling, Star Alliance lounge access and Silk Air lounge access.

Once members have spent the equivalent of $25,000 (Singapore) within 12 months on Singapore Airlines, they may be eligible to join the PPS Club, an exclusive membership program which offers perks like guaranteed reservations, priority baggage handling and access to Star Alliance Gold lounges.

The Singapore Airlines Krisflyer programs are easy to join and open to anyone over the age of two.