KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes for September 2023 announced

Spontaneous Escapes have been announced for September 2023, with 30% off redemptions for selected Singapore Airlines routes in Business Class, Premium Economy Class and Economy Class.

Spontaneous Escapes

All Spontaneous Escape awards must be booked and ticketed by 31 August 2023 and are for travel between 1-30 September 2023 (blackout dates may apply).

As teased earlier this month, there’s also a special offer for KrisFlyer UOB Credit and Debit Cardholders, who will enjoy 5% miles-back on Spontaneous Escapes awards- though like all good UOB promos, it’s subject to a cap of 158 participants!

5% miles-back for KrisFlyer UOB Credit & Debit Cards

Unique to this month’s Spontaneous Escapes is a special offer for KrisFlyer UOB Credit & Debit Cardholders, who will receive 5% miles-back on their booking.

To participate, they must make a booking for a Spontaneous Escapes award between 8-31 August 2023 (with travel from 1-30 September 2023), and send the following SMS to 77862:

The first 158 eligible participants will receive 5% miles-back on one booking, capped at a maximum of two segment redemptions in the same booking. This is applicable to one-way (one segment) and round-trip (two segment) travel, and all taxes and fees must be charged to your KrisFlyer UOB Credit or Debit Card.

The miles-back will be automatically credited to your KrisFlyer membership account by 31 December 2023. Each participant may only receive the miles-back on one booking reference number.

The T&Cs of this offer can be found here. 

My picks for this month

To mark National Day, not only is Spontaneous Escapes out a full week earlier than usual, it’s also packing a longer destinations list than usual. 

My picks this month would be: 

• Singapore to/from Bali for 5,950 miles in Economy Class
• Singapore to/from Hong Kong for 23,800 miles in Business Class
• Singapore to/from Seoul for 18,900 miles in Economy Class
• Los Angeles to Singapore for 29,400 miles in Economy Class (provided you have a high pain tolerance!)

While I don’t normally recommend redeeming miles for Premium Economy, I suppose 52,500 miles for the non-stop Singapore to San Francisco flight isn’t the worst idea ever either. 

Otherwise, it’s more of the usual, with Spontaneous Escapes available to a wide range of cities in India like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, and Mumbai, all in Business Class.

Full list of Spontaneous Escapes

South East Asia

North Asia

West Asia & Africa

USA

North Asia

West Asia & Africa

Southwest Pacific

Europe

USA

Spontaneous Escapes: Ground Rules

❓  Spontaneous Escapes

Tickets must be booked online at singaporeair.com or the SingaporeAir mobile app; no bookings via phone are permitted Tickets cannot be changed or cancelled. Be sure about your travel plans, or buy a travel insurance policy that covers miles bookings Refunds will only be granted if the flight is cancelled by SIA, or if a change in entry regulations makes travel impossible Travel must be completed within the Spontaneous Escapes promotion period to qualify. For example, if you fly on the last day of the month but land on the first day of the following month, no discount applies Awards must be ticketed within the Spontaneous Escapes promotion period Waitlisting is not permitted for Spontaneous Escapes awards Blackout dates apply. If you’re not seeing discounts, this may be why Discounts may apply in one direction only e.g. SIN-BKK may be on discount but BKK-SIN may not. Be sure to read the offers carefully You cannot combine Spontaneous Escapes awards and Saver/Advantage awards in the same booking. You will need to book separate one-way legs if the Spontaneous Escapes discounts do not apply to one or more of the flights in your itinerary

Singapore Airlines shows Spontaneous Escapes awards under a special Promo category. This is the one you should select when making your booking (and if it doesn’t appear, that means there’s no availability remaining- though that doesn’t preclude it from reappearing later, so check back often). 

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 (thereby enjoying additional flexibility).

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).

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?

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:

1. Book the Spontaneous Escapes rate
2. 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

Singapore Airlines Spontaneous Escapes for September 2023 are out, and if you manage to find something amidst the shortlist, be sure to ticket your awards by 31 August 2023 to enjoy the discounts.

Don’t forget the 5% miles-back for KrisFlyer UOB Credit and Debit Cardholders too, though you’ll have to act quickly to get this as it’s only for the first 158 respondents!

What will you be booking for Spontaneous Escapes?