Spontaneous Escapes have been announced for October 2022, with 30% off redemptions for selected Singapore Airlines routes in Business Class, Premium Economy Class and Economy Class.
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| Spontaneous Escapes |
Spontaneous Escapes aren’t as cheap as they were at the start of 2022, thanks to the KrisFlyer devaluation in July this year, but obviously a 30% discount is better than none at all.
Do note that Spontaneous Escapes awards sometimes do not appear on the Singapore Airlines mobile app. If you’re encountering this issue, try using the desktop website instead.
Spontaneous Escapes: Ground Rules
| ❓ Spontaneous Escapes: The Basics |
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All Spontaneous Escape awards must be booked and ticketed by 30 September 2022 and are for travel between 1-31 October 2022 (blackout dates may apply).
Singapore Airlines has rejigged its booking interface to show Spontaneous Escapes awards under a special Promo category. This is the one you should select when making your booking.
You might recall that prior to COVID, Spontaneous Escapes were a subset of Saver awards. This created a problem, namely that if you wanted to book a regular Saver award (because it comes with a cancellation option, unlike Spontaneous Escapes awards), you couldn’t actually do it!
Now that Spontaneous Escapes are a separate category unto themselves, you have the freedom to choose to pay regular Saver prices if you so wish.
Spontaneous Escapes awards are strictly non-cancellable and non-changeable (SIA’s free rebooking policy doesn’t apply here, and in any case ended on 31 July 2022). Singapore Airlines has made the following concession:
For (i) any flights cancelled by SIA, or (ii) if a SQ-operated flight was removed from a Participant’s booking due to Covid-19 and governmental regulatory changes, the miles redeemed in the unused portion of the ticket will be refunded into the relevant Participant’s KrisFlyer account with no additional fees charged.
However, requests to change any booking details, or to retain the ticket for future use will not be granted. Participants may submit their request via the Assistance Request form.
-Spontaneous Escapes T&Cs
The above applies to regulatory changes, not conditions as they exist at the time of booking. If you make a speculative booking to a country that hasn’t reopened, and it still hasn’t reopened by the time of travel, you won’t be entitled to a refund. In contrast, if you make a booking to a country that is currently open and it subsequently closes its borders, then you will be able to seek assistance.
Since no concession is made for travellers who cannot fly due to COVID-19, the onus is on you to purchase travel insurance that covers miles & points bookings.
Which travel insurance policies covers miles and points bookings?
My picks for this month
Recent months have been sparse for Spontaneous Escapes, and October isn’t exactly abundant either.
One notable addition is Christchurch in Business Class for 47,950 miles, a great deal assuming you’re actually able to find award space and deal with the lengthy blackout periods. There’s nothing much else of interest in Business Class, unless perhaps you’re planning a trip to South Asia.
Closer to home, Hanoi and Manila make the cut at 16,800 miles each way, though Business Class is arguably unnecessary for such a short flight (though who am I to argue?).
Full list of Spontaneous Escapes
Business & Economy Class
South East Asia
West Asia & Africa
North Asia
Southwest Pacific
Europe
USA & Canada
Premium Economy Class
Premium Economy awards are also available, but honestly, I think you’re better off avoiding these. The comfort gap between Premium Economy and Business Class is wide (a recliner seat, no matter how good it is, will never beat a full flat bed), whereas the comfort gap between Economy and Premium Economy is marginal.
Therefore, I’d prefer to look for a destination offering 30% off Business Class awards.
North Asia
South West Pacific
Europe
USA & Canada
What if you have an existing award?
If you’ve already holding on to a confirmed award on a flight that is now under Spontaneous Escapes, you will need to:
- Book the Spontaneous Escapes rate
- Cancel the existing booking and pay the redeposit fee (US$75 for Saver, US$50 for Advantage)
I strongly recommend doing it in this order, in case the Spontaneous Escapes award space disappears in the meantime. It does mean you’ll need sufficient miles on hand, of course.
Depending on your luck, miles may be recredited immediately to your account, but can take up to 4-6 weeks. If you need them urgently, the CSO can put in a request to expedite the process, but YMMV.
Conclusion
Spontaneous Escapes have been announced for October 2022, and it continues to be a thin selection. In a way it’s somewhat unsurprising, given how reluctant SIA is to even release regular Saver space on most of its long-haul routes.
If you are planning to travel in October nonetheless and don’t mind flying in Economy or Premium Economy Class, then there’s some deals to Frankfurt, New York and Los Angeles.
Do remember to ticket your awards by 30 September 2022, and purchase travel insurance with coverage for miles and points should the worst happen.
What will you be booking for Spontaneous Escapes?
Is redeeming a flight with Miles for Spontaneous Escapes confirmed immediately?
Yes
Thank you. I badly want to use my miles in October, i’ve been on waitlist forever with no seat confirmation. If Spontaneous Escape actually confirm and redeem miles immediately i would go for it.
Unfortunately by the time you pay USD$75 to re-deposit miles the savings on miles verse the cost in money is pretty much 50-50, else we would stay in NZ a couple of extra days and fly CHC-SIN on Oct 4. But as I say the re-deposit cost makes it not worthwhile. There were some advantages while Covid was around !
few more days in NZ is always more worth it
are Marriott transfer kf immediate?