Redeeming Singapore Airlines flights and upgrades is a great way of using KrisFlyer miles, but if that’s all you ever do, you’re missing out on some of the best value in the program.
That’s because your KrisFlyer miles can also be redeemed for flights on more than 30 different partner airlines, which increases your travel possibilities enormously. In this guide, we’ll look at your options for redeeming partner awards.
Two types of partner awards
KrisFlyer offers two types of partner awards: Star Alliance and non-Star Alliance.
It’s important to draw a distinction between the two because of the award charts involved.
All Star Alliance awards use the same award chart. Whether I’m redeeming my KrisFlyer miles for a flight on ANA, on United, on Air China or any of the other 24 Star Alliance airlines, I’ll always refer to the same award chart.
On the other hand, KrisFlyer has individual award charts for each of its five non-Star Alliance partners
Here are the other main differences between Singapore Airlines and Partner awards
| Singapore Airlines Awards | Partner Awards (Star Alliance and Non-Star Alliance) | |
| Fuel Surcharges | None | Applicable where charged by partner |
| Changes | Free (Advantage)/ US$25 (Saver) | US$50 |
| Refunds | US$50 (Advantage)/ US$75 (Saver) | US$75 |
Fuel Surcharges
Singapore Airlines no longer imposes fuel surcharges on its flights. For example, a passenger redeeming KrisFlyer miles for a SIN-SYD round trip Economy ticket on Singapore Airlines would only be on the hook for $169 of taxes.
However, partner carriers may still impose fuel surcharges, and KrisFlyer will pass them on where applicable. For example, a passenger redeeming KrisFlyer miles for a SIN-IST-LHR round trip economy ticket on Turkish Airlines would need to pay $284 of taxes and $483 of fuel surcharges (the YQ/YR in yellow below).
Changes and cancellations
Partner awards are slightly more expensive to change and cancel ($50-75) compared to Singapore Airlines awards ($0-75).
It’s also important to note that KrisFlyer does not allow changes to partially-used partner tickets.
Let’s say I redeem my miles for a Sydney to Auckland ticket on Air New Zealand, with the outbound leg on 14 January and the return on 28 January. Then suppose that after I’ve flown to Auckland, I decide to move my return date earlier.
The problem is: since I’ve already partially consumed my round-trip itinerary (by flying the first leg from SYD-AKL), I cannot make any changes to the rest of my ticket!
The solution is to always book partner awards as two one-way tickets instead of a single round trip. Had I booked separate SYD-AKL and AKL-SYD tickets in the example above, I’d still be able to change AKL-SYD after SYD-AKL had been flown. One-way tickets in any case require 50% of the miles of round trips, so you’re not losing out by doing this.
The only thing to note is that cancellation fees are charged per ticket, so if you book two one-ways and need to cancel your trip, you’ll end up paying 2 x US$75. Even so, one could argue that the additional flexibility is worth the (potential) double penalty.
Star Alliance partner awards
To search for a Star Alliance partner award, simply run a search the same way you would for Singapore Airlines award space. When you get to the results screen, click on the “Star Alliance flights” option.
For example, in the illustration below we can see Lufthansa award space between Frankfurt and London.
Star Alliance partner awards can be incredibly useful when you want to use your miles on route not operated by Singapore Airlines. Star Alliance offers more than 18,800 daily departures, so whether you’re flying from Perth to Auckland, London to Rome, or Boston to Los Angeles, you’re sure to find options.
In the map below, I’ve colored each country by the zone it corresponds to on the Star Alliance chart to help visualize sweet spots.
I’ve also suggested some ideas for sweet spots, but the general rule is that you should always be looking to fly from one edge of a zone to the other. This nets you maximum distance for the same price as a shorter award. For example, I could fly from London to New York (7h 40 mins) for the same price as a Moscow to Los Angeles flight (12h 15 mins) – the latter obviously represents better value.
However, Star Alliance partner awards can be useful even on routes that Singapore Airlines operates.
Suppose you want to fly from SIN to JFK. You run a search for Singapore Airlines award space and see that Business Advantage awards are available, but Business Saver is waitlisted. You don’t want to pay the additional miles for an Advantage award, but at the same time you want to lock in your vacation plans ASAP and not take chances with the waitlist.
In this case, you can check out Star Alliance options, which show that it’s possible to fly from SIN-JFK with ANA in Business Class for 105.5K miles and S$410 in taxes and surcharges (remember, partner awards are subject to fuel surcharges).
That’s slightly more expensive than a Singapore Airlines Saver award, but it does offer the certainty of immediate confirmation. You’ll also notice that the number of miles required for a Star Alliance award is less than that required for an Advantage award. Even though the taxes and surcharges are higher, the miles saved generally more than offset the difference.
| Business Saver | Star Alliance Award | Business Advantage | |
| Singapore to New York JFK | 99,000 miles + S$105.30 | 105,500 miles + S$410.10 | 140,000 miles + S$105.30 |
This isn’t unique to the Singapore to New York route; in fact, whenever a SQ Saver award is not available, it is always cheaper to look at Star Alliance options than to pay SQ Advantage prices.
The chart below illustrates the relative cost of a one-way Business Class Saver, Star Alliance and Advantage award out of Singapore. Note that the blue bar (Star Alliance) is always between the green (Saver) and purple (Advantage) bars.
Non-Star Alliance Partners
To search for a non-Star Alliance partner award, run a search the same way you would for Singapore Airlines award space and this time click on the “Other Partner Airlines” option.
There is an important limitation to note: with the exception of Virgin Australia, non-Star Alliance partner space cannot be found using the Singapore Airlines website.
You could call up KrisFlyer membership services and ask them to search for you, but this is generally very slow and inefficient. It’s much faster if you use one of the websites below to search for award space before calling up KrisFlyer to make your booking. Simply create a frequent flyer account, and you’ll be able to search even with a 0 miles balance.
- Vistara (Vistara website)
- Alaska Airlines (American Airlines website)
- Virgin Atlantic (Delta Airlines website)
- Juneyao (Air Canada Aeroplan website)
Virgin Australia
| One-way Economy Prices | Star Alliance Award | Virgin Australia |
| Domestic Australia | 12.5K | 11-20K |
Star Alliance has not had an Australian partner since the collapse of Ansett in 2001, and the only option for domestic Australia redemptions is to take a very convoluted routing through New Zealand via Air NZ.
Therefore, even though Star Alliance awards can be cheaper on paper (12.5K), it’s a much better idea to look for Virgin Australia awards instead (11-20K) when flying domestically.
Searching for Virgin Australia awards
You can use the Singapore Airlines website to find Virgin Australia award space. Run a search the same way you would for Singapore Airlines award space and click on the “Other Partner Airlines” option at the top.
Vistara
| One-way Economy Prices | Star Alliance Award | Vistara |
| Domestic India | 12.5K | 7.5-11K |
If you’re looking to fly within India, do yourself a favor and book Vistara. The airline is a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons, featuring new planes, well-trained cabin crew and modern cabin products. It’s a night and day difference from flying on Air India, something I’ve done before and would not recommend to anyone. Plus, domestic India awards are cheaper on Vistara too.
Searching for Vistara awards
Vistara awards cannot be found on the Singapore Airlines website. To search for these, create a Club Vistara account and click on the “Redeem Flights” tab on the flight booking page.
You’ll then be able to see award space. Call KrisFlyer membership services and provide them with the flight numbers, timing and date to complete your booking.
Alaska Airlines
| One-way Economy Prices | Star Alliance Award | Alaska Airlines |
| Domestic USA | 12.5K | 7.5-12K |
| USA to Hawaii/Mexico | 17.5K | 7.5-12.5K |
Alaska Airlines awards are a cheaper way of travelling across North America compared to Star Alliance awards on United Airlines. Do remember, however, that Alaska Airlines is not part of Star Alliance, so KrisFlyer Elite Golds/PPS Club members will not enjoy any privileges like lounge access, complimentary baggage and priority boarding when flying.
Searching for Alaska Airline awards
| Note: From 1 March 2020, it will no longer be possible to redeem AAdvantage miles for Alaska Airlines awards. I will update this article with an alternative method of searching when the time comes |
Alaska Airlines awards cannot be found on the Singapore Airlines website. To search for these, create an AAdvantage account and click on the “Redeem miles” box on the flight booking page.
On the next screen, ensure that Economy MileSAAver is selected
Then on the next screen, make sure only the Alaska Airlines box is checked to see award space. Call KrisFlyer membership services and provide them with the flight numbers, timing and date to complete your booking.
Juneyao Airlines
| One-way Economy Prices | Star Alliance Award | Juneyao |
| Domestic China | 12.5K | 12.5K |
| Singapore to China | 20K- Singapore Airlines award 25K- Star Alliance award |
25K |
Although the Juneyao Airlines award chart maintains price parity with the Star Alliance chart, it’s a useful additional option to have for domestic China flights should Air China be unavailable.
Searching for Juneyao awards
Juneyao awards cannot be found on the Singapore Airlines website. To search for these, create an Aeroplan account and navigate to the “Book Travel” page.
You’ll then see award options for Juneyao, if available.
Call KrisFlyer membership services and provide them with the flight numbers, timing and date to complete your booking.
Virgin Atlantic
KrisFlyer miles can technically be redeemed for Virgin Atlantic flights, but in my personal experience the airline blocks award space to KrisFlyer members, making it virtually impossible to book. Moreover, the airline does not serve Australia or Singapore, which further reduces the use cases for awards.
Conclusion
By knowing how to use your KrisFlyer miles for partner award redemptions, you dramatically enhance the value of your mileage stash. These awards can be redeemed for yourself or your redemption nominees (see this guide for information on the redemption nominee system), so get started expanding your horizons!
Another important thing to note for partner awards is always, always book them individually. Say you redeem 2 tickets for A and B on SQ in one PNR. For whatever reason A cannot travel and you need to cancel the ticket. You can call KF and split into separate PNRs then cancel A. B’s booking is untouched and continue to travel. If alternatively you redeem 2 tickets for A and B on a partner airline in one PNR and you need to cancel A, you must cancel the entire PNR. KF cannot just split A aside and cancel A only.… Read more »
This is good point, book them individually. however if you do that, the redemption slot might be filled when you try to do the 2nd booking. this sucks.
what you can do is you chop the seats and exit without making the complete redemption. and do the 2nd booking.
– this experience is based on KrisFlyer awards I’m not sure about partners awards.i guess the system works more or less the same.
what you can do is you chop the seats and exit without making the complete redemption. and do the 2nd booking.
^ how do u chop the seats without completing the redemption, while making sure that 1 seat is guaranteed while proceeding to chop the 2nd seat as a seperate booking?
Very good point
Hi. Is it possible to redeem a flight for a friend on a partner airline if I’m not flying on that flight? Can I add friends as my redemption nominee? And does redemption nominees work the same on partner airlines?
yes, yes and yes.
Thank you!
Hi Milelion, i am considering to redeem krisflyer miles from Singapore to Istanbul business class for a family of 4. Then purchase economy class ticket from Istanbul to Zurich. May I know when I reach Istanbul airport , do I need to collect my luggage and re-check in again for the next flight from Istanbul to Zurich? how many hours are needed in order not to miss the connecting flight? This is to assume the flight is on the same day. The reason for this, is to save on the miles required. Alternatively, book Asia miles which requires lesser miles… Read more »
Hi Aaron, I’m trying to book a RT CGK-ALA & TAS-CGK partner award using my KF but for some reason SQ website kept giving me all-TK flights. I read somewhere that it is possible to get the CGK-IST + IST-CGK leg on SQ and the IST-ALA + TAS-IST on TK, but I was still shown all-TK flights even after I tried searching next May, Aug, and Oct. The post I read showed that someone did managed to do it, albeit the post was from last year. When I searched, I just entered the required information like usual (from, to, dates,… Read more »
i’m not too clear on what you’re trying to do here, but i’m assuming you’ve already verified through a different *A search engine (e.g united, aeroplan) that award space for the particular date you’re looking at exists?
if it does, then by right the SQ call centre should be able to piece it together and book. it may take a few tries though, until you get an agent who is willing to search segment by segment and price it as one award.
Hi again Aaron, Thanks for replying. Basically I’m trying to add SQ flights to a partner (TK) award redemption using KF. Reason being: (1) I read that at the moment TK is cutting a lot of in-flight services, so I’m trying to see if I can fly the CGK-IST & IST-CGK part of the flight on SQ. (2) The tax should be cheaper than when flying TK all the way. I managed to find an SQ award for the CGK-IST flight, but when I tried searching for a partner award for CGK-ALA (same date), the SQ flight doesn’t show up… Read more »
“When I called the call center, the agent (rather heavy accent, so my comprehension was only 80-90% here) told me that there are 2 separate award buckets: one for SQ/MI redemption and one for partner redemption. I can’t just take an SQ flight from the SQ/MI bucket and add it to a flight from the partner bucket to make a custom route. There has to actually be SQ/MI seats that are -bookable- using partner (searchable using UA / Aeroplan), -then- I can have part SQ-part TK flight. Am I understanding this correctly? Is this true?” the agent is correct if… Read more »
Huh, neat. So the cheaper (saver) award has more benefit than the more expensive advantage award? Well, can’t complain about that. Alright, so let me see if I get this right. Right now I have found a saver CGK-IST SQ award on date X arriving the morning of date X+1 for 49k miles. There is also a saver TK IST-ALA award on the evening of date X+1 for 57k miles. Both are directly bookable from the web/app. When I call the agent, I can say “look, I’ve found an SQ saver (emphasis on “SAVER”) award for CGK-IST and a partner… Read more »
yes, and provided it doesn’t contravene rules about backtracking, it *should* be legal.
Wonderful. I’ll get right on it then.
Thanks much.
Hey Aaron, do you know why when I try to search for a Staralliance partner flight from Ethiopia/Cameroon to Bangkok, it always brings me back to the home page? I can’t even get to the results page to press on ‘star alliance’ or ‘other partner airlines’. I believe Ethiopia airlines is a Star Alliance member.
What other ways can I use my KF miles on Star Alliance flights?
I need some advice on a very silly question. How do I even get to that page where it shows star alliance or other partners airlines on Singapore Airlines? I went to their website to search for flights and it only show SQ flights. I searched around their website and found that to do any flights redemption on partner flights I now need to fill in a reservation form on my itinerary and send to their centre?
do a search for an award flight first. you’ll see the tabs on the results page.