For many people, KrisFlyer Elite Gold is the highest status they can reasonably aspire to. That’s because the pearly gates of the PPS Club are only open to those who fly in First or Business Class, on cash tickets. You could fly a million miles in Economy Class and never get close!
That’s unfortunate, but if it’s any consolation, KrisFlyer Elite Gold has its uses too. And thanks to Singapore Airlines’ recent “Unlock Status Credits Without Flying” campaign, there’s probably a lot of newly-minted KrisFlyer Elite Golds out there.
If you’re one of them, congratulations (all the more so if you’ve secured status till February 2025)! Here’s what you have to look forward to.
Qualification & benefits overview
KrisFlyer Elite Gold requires accumulating 50,000 Elite miles within a 12 month period. Elite miles can be earned when flying on Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Star Alliance partners and other airline partners like Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Australia.
| ✈️ KrisFlyer Elite Qualification & Perks | ||
 KrisFlyer Elite Silver |  KrisFlyer Elite Gold | |
| Elite Miles Req. (in 12-mth period) | 25,000 | 50,000 |
| Mileage Bonus | 25% | 25% |
| Priority Waitlist | ✅ | ✅ |
| Advance Seat Selection | ✅ (Standard) | ✅ (Forward and Standard) |
| 20kg Extra Baggage | ✅ | |
| Priority Check-in | ✅ | |
| Priority Baggage | ✅ | |
| Priority Boarding | ✅ | |
| Lounge Access | ✅ | |
25% mileage accrual bonus
Every time KrisFlyer Elite Golds fly with Singapore Airlines or Scoot, they’ll earn a 25% mileage bonus on all fare classes except Q, N, V, K and G (i.e. Economy Lite and Value).
For Singapore Airlines, this applies on top of the booking class bonus, as illustrated below:
| Cabin | Fare Class | Normal Accrual | KrisFlyer Elite Gold |
| Suites/ First | A,F | 200% | 225% |
| Business | Z, C, J | 150% | 175% |
| D, U | 125% | 150% | |
| Premium Economy | S, T | 125% | 150% |
| R, L, P | 100% | 125% | |
| Economy | B, E, Y | 100% | 125% |
| M, H, W | 75% | 100% | |
| Q, N, V, K, G | 50% | 50% |
The 25% bonus applies to KrisFlyer miles only, not elite miles. For example, if a KrisFlyer Elite Gold were to buy a return Economy Class ticket in fare class H from Singapore to San Francisco (8,440 miles distance each way), he would earn:
- 12,660 base miles (8,440 miles x 2 x 75%)
- 4,220 bonus miles (8,440 miles x 2 x 25%)
- 12,660 Elite miles (8,440 miles x 2 x 75%)
For Scoot flights, KrisFlyer members earn 1 KrisFlyer mile and 2.5 Elite miles for every Singapore dollar spent on base fare and add-ons.
If you’re flying on a mixed itinerary that combines Scoot and Singapore Airlines, the bonus will be 25% of the actual mileage flown on the Scoot sector.
Priority check-in
KrisFlyer Elite Gold members can check-in at Business Class or specially-designated Star Alliance Gold counters whenever they fly on Singapore Airlines, Star Alliance, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia or Vistara.
This benefit applies to your travelling companions on the same itinerary (although the “same itinerary” requirement isn’t always strictly enforced).
With all the document verification required for VTL flights, this perk can be a lifesaver. When I flew back from Seoul, the Economy Class queue was spilling out of the check-in area, but there was hardly any wait in the Business Class line!
Additional baggage & priority handling
KrisFlyer Elite Gold members enjoy an additional 20kg of baggage allowance on top of their usual cabin/fare entitlement, whenever they fly on Singapore Airlines or Star Alliance carriers. For Vistara, an additional 10kg is permitted.
The relevant allowances for Singapore Airlines are shown below:
| 🧳 Weight Concept | ||
| Allowance | KrisFlyer Elite Gold | |
| Suites & First Class | 50kg | 70kg |
| Business Class | 40kg | 60kg |
| Premium Economy Class | 35kg | 55kg |
| Economy Class | ||
| Flexi | 30kg | 50kg |
| Standard | 30kg | 50kg |
| Lite | 25kg | 45kg |
Where the piece concept is applied (i.e. on flights to and from Canada/USA), KrisFlyer Elite Gold members enjoy one additional piece on top of the existing allowance.
| 🧳 Piece Concept (Flights to/from Canada/USA) | ||
| Allowance | KrisFlyer Elite Gold | |
| Suites & First Class | 2x 32kg | 3x 32kg |
| Business Class | 2x 32kg | 3x 32kg |
| Premium Economy Class | 2x 23kg | 3x 23kg |
| Economy Class (all fare types) | 2x 23kg | 3x 23kg |
While this benefit generally applies across all Star Alliance partners, it does not apply to:
- “Light” fares offered by Austrian, Lufthansa and SWISS
- “Check&Go” fares offered by Brussels Airlines
- “Go light” fares offered by SAS
- “Seat” fares offered by Air New Zealand
KrisFlyer Elite Gold members also receive priority baggage handling tags, which means your bags should be among the first to come out on the belt. In my experience this happens most of the time, but there could be that rare instance (especially with connecting flights) where priority isn’t observed.
Lounge access
KrisFlyer Elite Golds enjoy lounge access every time they fly on Singapore Airlines, Star Alliance, Virgin Australia, Virgin Atlantic and Vistara, together with a guest (except on Virgin Atlantic).
| Flying On | Access | Guest? |
| Singapore Airlines |
| +1 guest1 |
| Star Alliance | Star Alliance Gold lounge | +1 guest2 |
| Virgin Australia | Virgin Australia lounge | +1 guest3 |
| Virgin Atlantic | Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse | No guest |
| Vistara | Vistara lounge | +1 guest4 |
| 1. Must be departing on same-day Singapore Airlines flight 2. Must be departing on the same flight 3. Must be departing on same-day Virgin Australia flight 4. Must be departing on same-day Vistara flight | ||
While KrisFlyer Elite Golds can access SilverKris lounges outside of Singapore, when flying from Changi they will be directed to the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge instead.
Prior to COVID, this lounge was awful. It was frequently overcrowded, the catering was limited, and it didn’t have its own showers or toilet. Thankfully, the new facility (opened in May 2022) is significantly improved (though you still won’t enjoy frills like live cooking stations or champagne)
While there’s generally no discrimination in terms of overseas lounge access between KrisFlyer Elite Golds and PPS Club/First/Business Class passengers, exceptions apply.
For example, PPS Club, First and Business Class passengers flying out of Mumbai Airport enjoy access to the Adani First & Business Class lounge, which features table service and complimentary spa treatments. KrisFlyer Elite Golds get the much worse Loyalty Lounge.
However, there are some airports where KrisFlyer Elite Golds get a better lounge than Business Class passengers. That’s the case for Lufthansa Group, where Star Golds get access to the same lounge that non-Lufthansa Group First Class passengers use, while Business Class passengers have a dedicated Business Class lounge. For example, when travelling out of Frankfurt, Star Gold passengers use the Senator Lounge, while Business Class passengers use the Business Lounge. The difference may be marginal in some cases, but YMMV.
As far as I know, there are five Singapore Airlines destinations where Business Class and KrisFlyer Elite Golds have different lounge entitlements:
| Airport | Business Class | KrisFlyer Elite Gold (in Economy) |
| Frankfurt | Business Lounge | Senator Lounge |
| Houston | Polaris Lounge | United Club |
| Mumbai | Adani Lounge | Loyalty Lounge |
| Munich | Business Lounge | Senator Lounge |
| San Francisco | Polaris Lounge | United Club |
Priority security and boarding
Star Alliance Gold members can enjoy fast-track security clearance at selected airports worldwide, every time they fly on a Star Alliance member airline (regardless of cabin).
Gold Track lanes are available at 138 airports at the time of writing, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brisbane, New York JFK, Osaka, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo Narita and Haneda, and Zurich.
While the benefit is, strictly speaking, for the Gold member only, in practice I’ve received fast track vouchers for my non-Gold companion as well.
When the time comes to board, KrisFlyer Elite Golds can get a jump on overhead storage space by boarding before the rest of Economy Class.
The boarding order for Singapore Airlines is:
- Passengers who require special assistance, as well as those with infants and toddlers
- Suites and First Class passengers
- Business Class passengers and PPS Club members
- Premium Economy Class passengers, KrisFlyer Elite Gold and Star Alliance Gold members
- Economy Class passengers
Other Star Alliance carriers may have a different order of priority.
Just like fast-track security, priority boarding is meant to be for the Gold member only but in practice companions are accepted too.
Complimentary seat selection
While seat selection is complimentary for all Singapore Airlines First/Suites, Business and Premium Economy Class passengers, Economy Class passengers flying on certain fare types are required to pay.
| Fare Type | Fare Code | Seat Selection |
| Economy Lite | V, K | Chargeable |
| Economy Value | Q, N | Chargeable |
| Economy Standard | M, H, W | Complimentary (Standard) |
| Economy Flexi | Y, B, E | Complimentary (Forward Zone & Standard) |
| 💺 Seat Selection Fees | |||
 | |||
| Standard | Forward Zone | Extra Legroom | |
| Band 1 | US$8 | US$15 | US$25 |
| Band 2 | US$10 | US$20 | US$60 |
| Band 3 | US$15 | US$25 | US$80 |
| Band 4 | US$20 | US$40 | US$100 |
| Band 5 | US$25 | US$50 | US$120 |
| Band 1: Between Singapore and Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam; between Denmark and Italy, between Spain and Italy. Band 2: Between Singapore, Bangladesh, Hong Kong SAR – China, China, India. Japan, Korea, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan – China and U.A.E. Band 3: Between Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Band 4: Between Singapore and Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom; between United States and Germany, Hong Kong SAR – China, Japan, Korea, United Kingdom and Taiwan – China. Band 5: Between Singapore and United States | |||
If you’re a KrisFlyer Elite Gold member, you can choose any Forward Zone or Standard seat in Economy Class for free, regardless of fare type. This saves you between US$8 to US$50, depending on route.
KrisFlyer Elite Golds are still required to pay for:
- Extra Legroom seats (US$25-120)
- Solo seats (US$140; only available on the A350-900 ULR flights to the USA)
However, they will receive a 15% discount off the cost. Travelling companions booked on the same itinerary will receive a 10% discount off advance seat selection.
For example, if a KrisFlyer Elite Gold makes a booking for himself and his wife in Economy Lite and selects Extra Legroom seats, he will save 15% off his seat selection fee, and 10% off her seat selection fee.
Don’t forget that all Singapore Airlines seats can be selected for free by any passenger at the T-48 hours mark, i.e. when online check-in opens.
Complimentary seat selection does not apply when flying on other Star Alliance carriers.
Waived or discounted service fees
KrisFlyer Elite Gold members enjoy waived or discounted service fees when performing certain KrisFlyer transactions, namely extending miles and changing redemption nominees.
| KrisFlyer | Elite Silver | Elite Gold | |
| Fee (per 10,000 miles or part thereof) | 1,200 miles or US$12 | 1,200 miles or US$12 | |
| Extension Period | 6 months | 12 months | |
| Change of Redemption Nominees | 3,000 miles or US$30 | 1,500 miles or US$15 | Waived |
Singapore Airlines has been periodically extending the validity of KrisFlyer miles during the COVID period, and the latest extension means no miles will expire until at least 31 January 2023.
There’s no knowing if another extension will be offered, but if not, KrisFlyer Elite Gold members can pay 1,200 miles/US$12 to extend each block of 10,000 miles by 12 months.
However, all KrisFlyer and PPS Club members pay the same service fees for making changes to award tickets.
| Award Change Fees | ||
| Saver | Advantage | |
| Change of date/time on Singapore Airlines | US$25 (temp. waived until 31 Mar 2022) | Free |
| Change of route, cabin class, award type or add a stopover on Singapore Airlines | US$25 | US$25 |
| Change of date, route, flight or carrier on partner airlines | US$50 | N/A |
| Redeposit of miles for award / upgrade | US$75 | US$50 |
| No Show Fees | ||
| Economy | US$100 | |
| Premium Economy | US$200 | |
| Business | US$300 | |
| First/Suites | US$300 | |
Higher waitlist priority
In theory, KrisFlyer Elite Golds should have higher priority when it comes to clearing waitlists, be it revenue or award tickets.
In reality, it’s hard to quantify just how big of a benefit this is. It may be a useful tiebreaker, but if you’re hoping to score 2x Suite savers on the JFK or LHR route by virtue of your Elite Gold status, you’re likely to be disappointed.
My unscientific opinion is that there isn’t much of a difference.
Scoot perks
KrisFlyer Elite Gold (and Silver) members now enjoy the following benefits on Scoot:
- Priority check-in and boarding
- Additional 5kg baggage allowance with any baggage purchase
- Complimentary standard seat selection
Unfortunately, there’s no lounge access or free checked bag. And beware- the complimentary standard seat selection is a perk you might be better off not having!
Other perks
Shangri-La Circle Jade fast track
Thanks to the Infinite Journeys partnership between Singapore Airlines and Shangri-La, KrisFlyer Elite Gold members can register and earn Jade status with one single night at any Shangri-La Hotel and Resort, Kerry Hotel, Traders Hotel or Hotel Jen worldwide. The tier upgrade will take place within 6-8 weeks after meeting the upgrade criteria.
Shangri-La Jade members enjoy perks including free breakfast, room upgrades, and priority for early check-in and late check-out.
As a heads up, Shangri-La will be doing a massive devaluation of its rewards programme from 28 April 2022, so I’d advise you to burn any points you have before that.
Heathrow Express upgrade
Star Alliance has a partnership with Heathrow Express that provides a free upgrade to Business First Class.
According to the T&Cs, members must purchase a full fare standard class ticket and show their Star Gold frequent flyer card to the conductor. In practice, however, there’s many data points of people purchasing the discounted tickets (as little as £5.50 one way, if purchased 90 days ahead) and still being permitted to upgrade.
Conclusion
KrisFlyer Elite Golds will forever be second class citizens to the PPS Club, but perks like lounge access and additional baggage can help ease the pain of travelling, especially when in Economy.
You’ll also enjoy priority baggage handling and boarding, plus a (theoretically) better shot at award seats!
Any other KrisFlyer Elite Gold perks worth highlighting?
Shame about the discontinuation of the welcome kits with luggage tags and physical cards, I’ve always been looking forward to them!
Hi Aaron, Happy New Year! Great summary article as always!
A question on additional baggage, do you know if it applies to redemption nominees if the KFEG holder isn’t part of the travel party?
Happy New Year! No, redemption nominees don’t enjoy any kfeg perks
So it sounds like the distinction between KF Gold and PPS/Solitaire applies only within the SQ ecosystem (apart from the three lounges you’ve mentioned). Outside that, everybody is Star Gold. Hopefully my understanding is correct
Thats a fair statement to make for the most part. Thai airways for example couldn’t care less if you’re kfeg or solitaire pps
RE: lounge differences
When flying out of many CH/DE/AT airports, KrisFlyer Gold passengers get a better lounge than SQ business class (only) passengers, given *G grants access to the more upscale Senator/Alpine lounges of the Lufthansa Group.
Can sit together with the SQ F/Suites passengers there!
Always found this policy slightly amusing where J pax are relegated to the Business lounges which kinda meh, while *G folk in Y gets the slightly better Senator lounges.
Good point but I’ve always found the differences to be marginal, at least in Frankfurt and Munich. I believe the main advantage of senator lounge over business is the presence of a manned bar?
LOT Lounge at Warsaw a few years ago, morning flight (breakfast) – business lounge had a cold breakfast, the Star Gold room inside had the hot breakfast food
That “LOT Elite” room for gold and LO long-haul business class only is great indeed! Last time I was there they had also real champagne for self service (Nicholas feuillatte). LH had also real champagne in the Senator lounge (at least the FRA B one), while business didn’t, but they seem to have switched that to prosecco now. Not that much difference with business, but the few additional SEN drinks, food and seasonal options can be nice. SK is another airline with better lounges for gold than business. Their OSL gold lounge has beer on tap and spirits, which is… Read more »
real champagne! that’s a nice touch, haven’t seen it in an LH lounge yet (well, FCT aside)
Also in FCL. And tbh, contrary to FT, I wouldn’t bother using FCT unless departing from FRA, and I have no VAT refunds. Not much difference now. There is a fee for customs to come out to FCT to validate.
Yes, FCL has duckies too – though not some are shower only rooms, while others are actual bath rooms.
SQ needs to up their ground services in FRA – LH has a big advantage over SQ in the lounge department. Even for transit.
Yep agree that the SAS Gold Lounge in CPH is better than the normal SAS Lounge. Interestingly enough when i flew with SAS in 2019, I was able to enter the SAS Gold on a J ticket with no status heh.
Senator lounge has showers, business lounge doesn’t. IIRC
I’m currently already on KFEG (membership year ending Nov 2022). If I manage to attain 50,000 Elite miles say by Jul 2022, would my KFEG membership be extended for another year (to Nov 2023) automatically upon this trigger, and thereby making me lose out on SQ’s concessionary extension of elite status for memberships expiring in Mar 2022 to Feb 2023?
Should my game plan be just to attain below 50,000 Elite miles by Nov 2022 in order to qualify for the concessionary extension? Thanks!
On “all Singapore Airlines seats can be selected for free by any passenger at the T-48 hours mark”, does that include bulkhead seats in business class too? Thanks in advance
Yes, if they’re still untaken
Any practical experiences on how long Shangri-La Jade upgrade takes after checkout?
Sure, it says many weeks, but like Aaron points out, it also says full fare for Heathrow Express BizFirst…
My experience from last year:
1) In confirmation email, they estimated 1-2 weeks after checkout
2) More than two weeks passed; nothing happened.
3) Sent chaser email
4) Upgraded the next day
Total: less than 3 weeks, but had to send additional email. Could be an anomaly!
Thanks for the tip. 🙂
The reverse however is quite instant. ie from Shangri-La Jade to KF Elite Silver was approved instantly upon the click of the registration button. Now I wonder how long KFEG will click in after 3 SQ flights.
Stay tuned. 😉
I tried this last weekend and booked one night at Hotel Jen. I got immediately upgraded to Jade a day after my check out.
> While the benefit is, strictly speaking, for the Gold member only, in practice I’ve received fast track vouchers for my non-Gold companion as well. I need some information about this statement. Let’s say that I am a KF Gold member and eligible for Priority Check-in/boarding, while my family members don’t have this status. Is it possible for me to check-in/board together with my family members in the priority lane while flying Economy? Should the tickets be booked in 1 single booking or can be in separate bookings? I understand that this is not guaranteed and any perks should be… Read more »
With regards to priority boarding, The gate agents are usually obliging enough to let your partner or small family in together, as long as you’re not taking a big group with you. for priority check-in, there are instances where they will pick up that you’re not on the same booking or not immediate family members, and they have the right (of course they do, it’s stated anyway) to not serve those not included in the rules, but generally if you are polite and nice about it, showing that you also appreciate that they are showing goodwill too, things go through.… Read more »
Thank you for your information, Non ^^
I understand about the goodwill and entitlement part… there are lots of adult travelers nowadays that throw a tantrum in the airport / on the plane, just because they didn’t get what they want.
Cheers!
So I just booked a flight on Scoot to CNX and was pleasantly surprised when they included complimentary standard seats for KF Elite Gold members. The booking website says not to select your seats until you receive an email in 24 hours. The email came, with a button that says “Select my seats now”. I tried to do that and to my horror realised that in a 100% empty plane, they had assigned me to Seat 31F both ways. That is right in the corner at the end of the last row, and non-reclining–the worst seat in the plane. I… Read more »
Man, that’s really lame. I didn’t need to change my seat but realised they were still charging a fee to do so on my way back from bkk
Yup, I am currently in a similarly bad seat for my Scoot flight and experienced exactly the same problem. On my outward flight I was given the second last row, and now I am in the last, in a non-reclinable seat. I do not understand how “complimentary standard seat selection” means you are pre-assigned a really bad seat and when given the chance to select your seat, choosing any other seat incurs a fee. It seems you are better off not having this “benefit”! A passenger with no frequent flyer status who just chooses not to pay for seat selection… Read more »
I noticed that KFEG priority check-in in some overseas stations have been aligned more with Premium Economy rather than Business class, even in stations which do not offer Premium Economy class, eg. in Jakarta CGK where SQ does not sell Premium Economy class out of CGK, there is now a dedicated Premium Economy cum KFEG/StarGold queue. I have been too used to using Business Class check-in queue as KFEG pre-COVID at CGK. During my first trip from CGK after Indonesia opens up recently, I naturally pushed my trolley to join the Business Class queue. I was already halfway in the… Read more »
In Adelaide I was directed to the extremely long economy check-in line after asking about KFEG check-in. To the chagrin of the lady who said this I simply ignored her and went to the business class check-in which had no queue. No problem and I was flying on a spontaneous escapes discounted economy reward. Agent even blocked the seat next to me.
Quick question: – My Krisgold membership is from Jun 2022 to Jun 2023. – Earned 5k miles through flights in Jul 2022 – Earned 15k miles through flights in Oct 2022 – Earned 15k miles through flights in Dec 2022 – Will earn 5k miles through flights in Mar 2023 Will only hit 40k miles come Jun 2023 and fail to quality for membership come Jun 2023. Does that mean my counter will reset to zero? – Cause I will earn 15k miles through flights in Jul 2023 If SQ looks from Aug 2022 to Jul 2023, I would have… Read more »