How does KrisFlyer’s redemption nominee system work?

The general rule of credit card points is that they can only be transferred to your own frequent flyer account.

For example, if Jack has 100,000 Citi Miles on his Citi PremierMiles Card, he can’t transfer those points to Jill’s frequent flyer account (even if Jill is his supplementary cardholder). Jack’s credit card points are for Jack’s frequent flyer account only, and banks and airlines conduct regular audits to ensure this rule is adhered to. Transfer points to an account that’s not in your name, and at best it’ll bounce; at worst you’ll be subject to an audit that could lead to the miles being confiscated and the account shut down.

But even if you’re the one who’s doing all the flying and spending, it’s still possible to share your miles with family and friends. For Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, that comes in the form of the redemption nominee system.

How does KrisFlyer’s redemption nominee system work?

Unlike other frequent flyer programmes like Avianca LifeMiles or Alaska Mileage Plan where you can redeem a ticket for anyone you like, KrisFlyer uses a more specific redemption nominee system.

KrisFlyer allows members to nominate a maximum of five redemption nominees at any time.

• Adult and child (aged 2 and older) nominees are treated the same, i.e. they each take up one of your five available slots
• Infants (aged below 2) need not be named as one of your redemption nominees, because they do not occupy a seat. Instead, you’ll pay 10% of the best available fare for their ticket, which I’ve outlined in the post below.

Guide: Booking infant tickets with Singapore Airlines

There is no fee to add new redemption nominees, but there is a fee to replace or delete existing nominees. This may be waived depending on your status with Singapore Airlines. 

Tier	Change of Redemption Nominee
	Online	Offline
KrisFlyer	US$30 or 3,000 miles	US$50 or 5,000 miles
KrisFlyer Elite Silver	US$15 or 1,500 miles	US$25 or 2,500 miles
KrisFlyer Elite Gold	Waived	Waived
PPS Club & Solitaire PPS Club	Waived	Waived
Can only be done six months after a nominee is added

Once a nominee is added, he/she can only be replaced or deleted after six months. This rule exists because Singapore Airlines’ biggest concern is creating a resale market for award tickets. What they don’t want is people adding and deleting award nominees at will, then going on Carousell and offering discounted tickets for sale (though it still happens!).

How do I add a redemption nominee?

Adding a redemption nominee is a fairly straightforward process.

Login to your KrisFlyer account. Click on the circle with your initials at the top right > Profile

You’ll be prompted for an OTP, since this constitutes a high-risk transaction. On the next screen click on Redemption nominees.

Click Add nominee

Enter the details of the person you’d like to nominate.

There’s a field at the bottom labelled “Authorised nominee” that prompts you to select yes or no. This is how the KrisFlyer T&Cs describes an authorised nominee:

To protect membership privileges, the nominees you have authorised will be able to make and change bookings for themselves and on your behalf after necessary verification. If they have been so verified, Singapore Airlines will not inform the principal member nor be held liable for issuing redemption tickets to the authorised nominees.

This needs some explaining. It doesn’t mean that your nominee gets a login of their own that allows them to access your KrisFlyer account. What it does mean is that if you book a ticket on behalf of someone else, that person can make changes at will on their own.

I must admit I’m slightly confused about the ability of nominees to “make bookings” – in my experience, being added as a redemption nominee to someone else’s account doesn’t in any way let me access their miles through my own KrisFlyer account. The only way would be for that person to give their login details to me.

There’s another field at the bottom which asks what your relationship to this nominee is. There’s no reason to be concerned; KrisFlyer clearly states you can redeem miles for friends and family, so you can nominate pretty much anyone. This field is probably as much for demographic information as anything else.

What can I redeem for redemption nominees?

KrisFlyer members can redeem the following award tickets and upgrades for their redemption nominees:

• Singapore Airlines awards
• Singapore Airlines upgrades
• Star Alliance awards
• Star Alliance upgrades
• Non-alliance awards (Alaska, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Vistara, Juneyao Airlines, Malaysia Airlines)

Krisflyer members can also use their miles to pay for the following bookings, where the redemption nominee is the named traveller or participant

• Singapore Airlines tickets
• Scoot tickets
• Pelago bookings

Keep in mind, this is usually very poor value compared to an outright award redemption, so you should avoid this unless you have expiring miles and are really desperate.

How do I redeem a ticket for a redemption nominee?

Once a redemption nominee has been added, you will see the option to add his or her details when redeeming any sort of award ticket, be it with Singapore Airlines, Star Alliance, or any other KrisFlyer partner.

If you’re making a booking over the phone, simply inform the CSO which nominee you wish to redeem it for. The CSO will be able to view your full list of nominees and select one accordingly.

Redemption nominee FAQs

What if I subsequently remove a redemption nominee from my list?

Removing a redemption nominee from your list has no impact whatsoever on already issued tickets.

That’s to say, when the six-month timeout period has ended, you can remove nominee A and replace him/her with nominee B, notwithstanding the fact that nominee A has an outstanding unflown ticket issued in their name. 

What if my redemption nominee is <12 years old?

You can redeem KrisFlyer miles online for a redemption nominee <12 years old so long as he or she is accompanied.

If the nominee is unaccompanied, you’ll need to contact KrisFlyer Membership Services for assistance.

What if the KrisFlyer member is <12 years old?

It may surprise you to know that the minimum age to open a KrisFlyer account is 2 years.

However, a KrisFlyer member aged <12 cannot redeem KrisFlyer miles for award tickets online, unless a redemption nominee 18 years old or above is travelling with him/her on the same flight.

A KrisFlyer member aged 12-17 can redeem their KrisFlyer miles for award tickets online for themselves or redemption nominees 18 years old or above. However, they cannot do so for redemption nominees below 18 years of age.

You might also be interested in the KrisFlyer for Families feature, which allows you to transfer your child’s miles to you (but not the other way round) for a nominal fee.

KrisFlyer for Families: Transfer your child’s KrisFlyer miles to a parent’s account

Conclusion

KrisFlyer’s redemption nominee system is fairly straightforward, and while it limits you to five nominees, it’s unlikely you’ll bust the limit unless you travel with a large entourage. 

Since there is a six-month window before you can remove or change a nominee, don’t add them willy-nilly. Make sure it’s someone you could see yourself redeeming miles for (is this the new “let’s get BTO” question?).