| Update: KrisFlyer miles have been further extended. |
At the start of April, Singapore Airlines announced that it would extend all KrisFlyer Elite and PPS Club status for 12 months, in recognition of the difficulties in requalifying due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
However, there was no word about extending the validity of KrisFlyer miles.ย This isn’t an issue for PPS Club/Solitaire PPS Club members (whose miles don’t expire), but is a very real concern for everyone else.
Singapore Airlines is extending the validity of KrisFlyer miles
Singapore Airlines has announced that it will be extending the validity of KrisFlyer miles expiring between April and August 2020.
Miles will be extended for a period of 6 months, as per the table below.
| Original Expiry | Miles Valid Until |
| 30 April 2020 | 31 October 2020 |
| 31 May 2020ย | 30 November 2020 |
| 30 June 2020 | 31 December 2020 |
| 31 July 2020 | 31 January 2020 |
| 30 August 2020 | 28 February 2021 |
This also covers miles which members have previously paid to extend (normally, miles which have been previously extended cannot be extended again).
You won’t see the extension reflected straight away, so sit tight. The extended validity of expiring KrisFlyer miles will be reflected in your account progressively, at the end of each month, before the miles expire. For example, if your miles are due to expire on 30 April 2020, you will see them extended and valid till 31 October 2020 once May arrives.
Singapore Airlines has said they will continue to monitor the situation, and have not ruled out extending miles that expire in September 2020 and beyond.
What if I’ve already redeemed them for tickets?
It’s a little bit different if you’ve already redeemed your expiring miles for tickets.
Singapore Airlines has sent out a separate email informing members of how it’s dealing with expiring KrisFlyer miles that have been used for award tickets.
If you’re holding on to a ticket that was redeemed with miles, or paid for with a mix of cash & miles, you can submit a cancellation request to get a full refund, with the waiver of any associated fees. This applies to tickets that were issued on or before 15 March 2020, with travel up to 30 June 2020.ย
Upon approval, miles will be redeposited to your KrisFlyer account, and any cash paid will be refunded to your original mode of payment. If the booking contains miles that have expired or are due to expire, said miles will be extended as follows:
| Miles Expiry Month | Miles Extended Till |
| On/before March 2020 | 30 June 2021^ |
| April 2020 to May 2021 | 30 June 2021 |
| June 2021 and after | Original miles expiry date |
| ^Miles cannot be further extended |
|
If your miles expired on/before March 2020, you’ll get them back in your account with a new expiry date of 30 June 2021. However, these miles cannot be further extended, i.e. you can’t pay the usual 1,200 miles/US$12 fee for a 6-12 months extension.
If your miles expire from April 2020 to May 2021, you’ll get them back in your account with a new expiry date of 30 June 2021. This can be further extended for 6-12 months, subject to the usual extension fee.
If your miles expire from June 2021 and after, they’ll be refunded with the original expiry date unchanged.
This policy only applies if you cancel your redemption ticket from 9 April 2020 onwards.ย If you happened to cancel your redemption ticket before that, your refunded miles will not enjoy this enhancement (but may be extended as per the 6-month policy mentioned above)
It’s unclear to me whether this new policy applies to passengers who open dated their redemption ticket prior to 9 April 2020, but stopped short of cancelling it. I happen to fall into that boat, so I’ll give it a try and update this post when I hear back.
How do you submit a refund request?
The page to submit a refund request for a redemption ticket is exactly the same as that for cash tickets, but has been updated with new options.
Simply enter your booking details and select “I would like a refund”. Provide your contact details and submit the form. Don’t expect a fast response though- Singapore Airlines notes that there’s a significant backlog, so it may take a while for your request to be processed.
Conclusion
Singapore Airlines is extending the validity of KrisFlyer miles, and you’ll enjoy a longer extension period if you redeemed an award ticket with them.
I’m not entirely clear why they’re distinguishing between miles that are in your account versus miles that are tied up in tickets, but I’m pleased nonetheless with the decision.
The logic is simple. Person A had no plans to travel and is unaffected so his miles will expire. Person B on the other wants to travel but is affected but travel advisories thus his miles are extended.
But person A may have well intended to travel, just that he decided to stay home given the current climate. You can make that argument during other times, but this is a bit different.
Well, person A could be like me – was due to go for summer school but that’s obviously out the window now.
Not like the overseas university will be letting me attend next year, right?
well i guess SQ is expecting a V – shaped recovery. Of course if it become a U – shape then rest assured SQ will do the right thing as well
Anyway- they’ve just announced the extension for miles in your account as well. Post updated!
Wow I just changed my May 2020 trip (with expired miles) to Nov 2020 last week. I wonder if I can cancel and get full miles refund now?
Hi Aaron, may I reconfirm does the full refund (including associated taxes paid with cash) applies as well for tickets booked using miles that are not expiring anytime soon i.e. June 2021 and after? (PS: I did not get the email from SIA!)
I had a biz class ticket booked using 100% miles for travel period between 21-24 May 2020 and was wondering if I could get back the full refund of the miles including cash paid for the associated taxes if I were to apply for the refund tomorrow.
Thanks!
This depends on when you booked. If you booked during the period specified (i.e on/before 15 Mar), there should be no refund fee.
I booked before 15 Mar, so i should be entitled to a refund fee according to your article above, no?
Hello Aaron
Any idea what the position would be for a ticket that has been partially flown? (MUC-SIN-MEL with the first leg flown.)
Many thanks
You’ll need to call and ask, or fill out the form and try your luck. By right no refunds, by left I know some people got refunds.
I just got off the phone with SQ and inquired about this situation. I have both partially used award & cash paid tickets. I was told that I’m able to get a refund for both of them. Value of the cash ticket to be decided in a few days. As for the one way award ticket with stopover, a refund can be given for the 2nd leg, after deducting the cost of the first leg from the total redemption based on the award chart. Seems fair enough.
I called. The extension is not applicable for those who have extended before ๐
That’s in contrast to what the website says…
Could you please help us to confirm? Thanks.
I’d sooner trust the website over a cso. Put it that way