Milelion Rewind 2021: The year in miles and points

Today’s the last day of 2021, which makes it as good a time as any to look back at the past year for miles and points chasers. 

🎄 Final Day: Christmas fundraiser

Christmas Fundraiser

A massive shout out to everyone who’s chipped in to the The Milelion’s Christmas Fundraiser, which this year supports the work of Care Corner Singapore. We’ve just exceeded our S$20,000 target, but there’s still one day left to give. If this is a cause that resonates with you, do consider contributing in any big or small way you can!

I’m still working on some annual reflections which I hope to share in the next few days, but until then, here’s 2021 in the world of miles and points!

January

In a sign that travel probably wouldn’t return to normal anytime soon, Singapore Airlines kicked off 2021 by automatically extending PPS Club and KrisFlyer Elite status for a second year running. Status would now expire no earlier than March 2022, with some members getting a boost all the way till February 2023. 

SIA also decided to add KrisFlyer Milestone Rewards for Elite Gold members (although they were somewhat underwhelming), and extend Elite mile accrual and PPS Club benefits to Scoot tickets. 

Long thought dead (well, unless you stayed for the post credits scene), the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite made an unexpected comeback. It was a strange reincarnation to say the least, given how the X Card was supposed to become the bank’s new flagship. 

It wouldn’t be January without a Grab surprise (remember January 2020’s GrabRewards massacre?), but fortunately this year’s was relatively mild. Grab wallet users saw a 50% boost in points earn rates, while credit or debit card users got their earnings cut by 50%. 

On a personal note, I set out with Royal Caribbean on my first-ever cruise, learning that life at sea was so much better than any staycation. 

February

February started with a bang when Grab announced that GrabPay wallet balances could now be transferred to bank accounts, opening up a whole lot of interesting new cases for debit card users (hint: Singlife).

Cathay Pacific made the boneheaded decision to bring back fuel surcharges on award tickets, reversing its May 2020 decision and confirming that nothing is truly permanent in the world of airlines. Coming so soon after their 15% transfer bonus, it certainly felt like a nasty bait and switch. 

Oh, and AirAsia decided to enter the food delivery market in Singapore, as one does. No, it’s not an opportunity to eat AirAsia meals on the ground.

March

Miles and points junkies got a huge shock in March, as Singapore Airlines decided to pull all First Class and Suites availability till February 2022. Fortunately, this didn’t end up lasting long (after all, I flew First Class from Germany a couple months back), although it was a reminder of the dire straits travel was in. 

In a classic example of hope springs eternal, news broke that Singapore and Australia were in discussions to open an all-purpose travel bubble…by July. That timeline turned out to be four months too early, but at least it wasn’t as outrageous as the proposed Batam/Bintan travel bubble, supposed to launch…in April!

Who knows how many poor uncles had their dreams dashed. 

April

Campaign Landing Page

While Singapore Airlines decided to extend elite status for a second year running, they made it clear there were no more freebies forthcoming. In the paraphrased words of one Britney Jean Spears, if you wanted to requalify after that, well, you’d better labour, harlot. 

So in April they launched the still-ongoing “unlock status credits without flying” campaign, which allows KrisFlyer and PPS Club members to earn Elite miles and PPS Value on the ground. Elite status from transferring credit card points? Why not. 

A bombshell was dropped when Plaza Premium announced its intention to withdraw from the Priority Pass and LoungeKey networks, leaving major gaps in the coverage of two of the largest lounge membership programmes. Plaza Premium later tied the knot with DragonPass, which means more power to ICBC cardholders. 

The KrisFlyer UOB card set a new standard for ridiculousness with its new miles extension “perk”, which was so convoluted it took a separate 1,300+ word article just to explain. To put it simply, KrisFlyer UOB cardholders could extend their miles by 12 months…if they divided by zero, built a perpetual motion machine, and applied on a day that doesn’t end with a “y”.

And, what’s this? The Hong Kong ATB is set to resume on 26 May? What a delightful turn of events, for which absolutely nothing can go wrong!

May

No sooner was the Hong Kong ATB announced that Singapore returned to Phase 2 conditions, which saw Changi Airport and Jewel closed to the public for the first time ever. These conditions were eventually extended till mid June, and I don’t think anyone was surprised when news broke that the ATB would be delayed yet again. 

We also learned that the UOB Preferred Platinum AMEX was not long for this world, with UOB finally calling time on this awesome dining card. To add insult to injury, they replaced existing cards with the UOB Absolute Cashback Card- cue Asian father montage of “you’ll never be as good as your (dead) brother!”

In happier matters, Singapore Airlines doubled the value of HighFlyer points, which made the AMEX SIA Business Card the best general spending option on the market. 

With little happening on the travel front, I hit the NLB microfilm and started writing the Nostalgia series, a seven-part look at interesting aspects of SIA’s history. I’m going to shamelessly paste links to it here. 

✈️ The Nostalgia Series
This post forms part of The Milelion’s Nostalgia Series, where I look back at a different aspect of Singapore Airlines’ history. If you like this post, do check out the rest!
SIA’s Boeing 747 Slumberettes: So good that other airlines complained	Orchard Rows: The story of SIA’s ill-fated jackpot machines
Read It!	Read It!
Cigarettes, jackpots and live bands: SIA’s IFE through the years	The Young Explorer Club: SIA’s FFP for kids
Read It!	Read It!
Hugo’s in the Sky: SIA’s gastronomic partnership with Hyatt	MSA: Mercury Singapore Airlines, or Malaysia Says Alamak
Read It!	Read It!
Before KrisFlyer: Singapore Airlines’ other frequent flyer programs
Read It!

I also wrote a piece about a McDonald’s staycation, because it was that kind of year.

June

June brought good news as Singapore cut the maximum SHN duration from 21 days to 14 days, a relief to those returning from overseas, and also for staycation hunters (insofar as it opened up more hotel capacity). 

Speaking of staycations, this was also the month I investigated the VIP Pass, a company which had been advertising 6 luxury hotel nights for just S$399. Too good to be true? I think the evidence speaks for itself.

In an umbrageous move, the Straits Times hopped on the sponsored content bandwagon and did a VIP Pass advertorial, which mysteriously disappeared once it was suggested the claims warranted further investigation. VIP Pass eventually vanished from Singapore completely. 

July

By July, COVID-19 vaccinations had been made available to the general public in Singapore, and I completed my second dose early in the month. It was indeed a moment for thanksgiving and reflection, all the more so now when we’re getting boosters while many people around the world are still waiting for their first shot. 

With the vaccination drive came exciting news that Singapore would open up SHN-free travel from early September. I figured that Germany, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia would be likely candidates, although we had to wait a little longer for an official announcement.

Travel hadn’t opened just yet, but Instarem was making a major play for your wallet once it did. The Amaze Card was launched, a truly revolutionary product that lets you enjoy zero FCY fees, 1% cashback, and up to 4 mpd. It’s the best of all worlds, and surprisingly hasn’t been nerfed yet. Long may that continue. 

Oh, and the Standard Chartered X Card waived its 3rd year annual fee. Never in doubt. 

August

In August, Singapore Airlines added a much-requested feature: KrisFlyer family pooling. It didn’t quite work the way many were hoping for though, with parents able to transfer up 50,000 miles a year from their child’s account to their own, for a nominal fee. 

Other than that, the month was fairly quiet, so quiet that I started questioning whether the plan for SHN-free travel from September had been abandoned (I blame Gan Kim Yong). 

Naturally the inaugural Vaccinated Travel Lane arrangements were announced shortly afterwards, with Brunei and Germany the first on the list. Make no mistake, this was a seismic development, the first opportunity for two-way quarantine-free travel since March 2020. 

So exciting was the news, the official demise of the Hong Kong ATB barely registered. 

September

In September I set out for Munich to be among the first to experience the VTL. It was surreal to fly out of a post-COVID Changi Airport, to experience COVID-era service on Singapore Airlines, then land in Germany only to discover that life had pretty much returned to normal. It gave me plenty to think about, that’s for sure.

Seeing normal life firsthand made it all the more frustrating when Singapore decided to tighten COVID measures at the end of September, in the “stabilisation phase of transition to COVID-19 resilience”, or “phase whatever-this-is” as I preferred to call it. 

There was thankfully no impact to the VTLs, although staycation guests mourned the fact that room capacity and dining parties were cut to two people.

October

October saw a major expansion to the VTL scheme, as the pilot gave the authorities enough confidence to launch lanes with Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the USA (South Korea was announced shortly after, to the delight of Korea-philes). The VTL scheme now stands at to 24 countries, with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE yet to come.

Day 3 and 7 PCR tests were removed, and the list of recognised vaccination certificates was expanded. Unvaccinated children were allowed to join their parents on VTL trips, and Singapore further eased border measures by reducing the maximum SHN duration from 14 days to 10 days.

Sensing the zeitgeist (I hope I’m using that word correctly), Singapore Airlines adopted an expansionary tone, announcing plans to return to Canada after a 12-year absence. It also brought back the A380s for the first time since the pandemic started and gave its Business Class champagne a major upgrade (while nerfing it from Premium Economy). 

We didn’t see a whole lot of new credit card launches in 2021, but the OCBC 90N Visa (4 mpd on overseas spend, groceries and online shopping) and Standard Chartered Smart Card (7.7 mpd on fast food, streaming and public transport) were reason for cheer.

November

The big travel news in November was that Singapore started accepting ART results for pre-departure testing, saving VTL travellers some time and money. The pre-departure testing window was also expanded to two days (from 48 hours- there is a difference!), and VTL travel history could now include Category I countries. 

At long last, a travel bubble with Australia finally materialised, though it’s still only available to Singapore citizens at this point (plus Australian citizens, PRs and their families). The much-anticipated Malaysia VTL also came to fruition, and who’d have thought we’d ever get so excited about a flight to KL?

Singapore Airlines finally took the wraps off its new B737-8 MAX cabin products, with very spiffy-looking Business Class seats (Economy Class is still Economy Class, but way better than before). This aircraft has since been deployed on flights to Phuket, with additional services to Brunei, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap.

SIA also opened its spanking new SilverKris Lounge at Changi Terminal 3, although we’ll have to wait till Q1 2022 to see the new First Class Lounge and Private Room. 

December

Omicron was the buzzword for the month, as the new COVID-19 variant caused countries to rapidly change their border measures and testing requirements. Singapore implemented daily COVID-19 ART swabs for all VTL travellers, which meant that travellers on the Malaysia VTL would have to do up to 15 tests!

While VTLs remained open, authorities moved to suspend the sale of new VTL tickets for entry into Singapore till 20 January 2022. At least they also did away with sending Omicron cases to NCID, so travellers no longer need to worry about this fate befalling them.

Singapore vaccination certificates were finally granted equivalency with the EUDCC system, which meant that those vaccinated in Singapore could enjoy all the benefits that vaccinated EU citizens did (at least in theory- there’s still scattered reports that EUDCC readers may have issues recognising Singapore QR codes). 

After months of foreplay, GHA announced a major shake up to the DISCOVERY Loyalty programme, and let’s just say that not everyone will be happy. I had the chance to interview the GHA CEO about the changes, and I’ll let you be the judge of whether it’s good or bad news. 

But the true highlight of December? Lobster thermidor is back.

Conclusion

While it’s always going to be hard to top 2020 for craziness, 2021 wasn’t exactly routine either. Here’s wishing everyone a happy new year in advance, and many more adventures (of the good sort) in 2022! 

What was the standout event in 2021 for you?