Pelago offering 30% off bookings for all SIA customers

Singapore Airlines has been throwing its financial muscle behind activities booking platform Pelago of late, and following the tripling of the evergreen earn rate to 3 KrisFlyer miles per S$1, Pelago has now launched a 30% discount for Singapore Airlines customers, valid till the end of 2023. 

Save 30% off Pelago with any SIA booking 

Details

From 14 August to 31 December 2023, Pelago customers can enjoy a 30% discount on all bookings with a Singapore Airlines Booking Reference Code (a 15% discount will apply from 1 January 2024).

While the booking must be made by 31 December 2023, the activity date can be any time in the future. The maximum discount is capped at S$35, which means you’ll max it out with a booking of S$116.67.

To take advantage of this offer, simply enter your 6-character PNR and last name under the “Singapore Airlines Promo” field during checkout. 

Do note the following:

• The discount is valid for both award bookings and cash bookings
• Each PNR can only be used once, regardless of the number of passengers within the booking
• PNRs can only be used from the date of their issuance up till the date of the last segment of the booking. For example, if the last flight in your PNR is 20 November, you must use the discount by 20 November
• PNRs must be for confirmed flights; waitlisted bookings will not trigger the discount
• Pure Scoot bookings are not eligible; however a mixed itinerary involving Singapore Airlines and Scoot flights is eligible provided the ticket is issued by Singapore Airlines 

One interesting thing I noticed is that there’s no need for the name on the booking details to match the name on the PNR. For example, I tried using the PNR from one of my redemption nominees (last name: Lim) to book an activity for myself (last name: Wong), and the system didn’t complain.

Which activities are eligible?

All Pelago activities, tickets and tours are eligible for this discount, except the following:

• Universal Studios Japan SUPER NINTENDO WORLD
• Universal Studios Japan Tickets (Direct Entry) l Studio Pass l Super Nintendo World
• Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2023

Terms & Conditions

The T&Cs for the Pelago discount for SIA customers can be found below.

Redeeming KrisFlyer miles on Pelago

KrisFlyer members can normally redeem miles on Pelago at a rate of 150 miles= S$1, but from now till 31 August 2023, the rate has been upsized to 105 miles= S$1. 

This values 1 mile at 0.95 cents — certainly better than the usual 0.67 cents rate — though still suboptimal compared to a flight redemption. That said, it’s one of the highest-value options for using your miles on the ground. 

Unfortunately, unlike other options such as KrisShop and KrisFlyer vRooms which allow you to mix miles and cash, Pelago takes an all or nothing approach to redemption. You must pay the entire amount with KrisFlyer miles; there’s no option to mix cash and miles!

For example, suppose I want to buy an attraction ticket that costs S$30.18. At check-out, I can select KrisFlyer miles as my payment method, but the system forces me to pay the entire S$30.18 with 3,169 miles (i.e. 105 miles = S$1).

This means that you can’t use Pelago to selectively burn a small number of miles that are due to expire.

A few other things to note:

• Pelago bookings redeemed with KrisFlyer miles must be made under your name, or the name of one of your redemption nominees
• Pelago bookings redeemed with KrisFlyer miles can be cancelled, subject to the activity’s T&Cs. If so, miles will be refunded within two weeks. They’ll still have their original expiry date tagged to them, so you won’t be able to use this as a roundabout way of extending miles.

What card to use with Pelago?

Pelago transactions code as MCC 4722: Travel Agencies and Tour Operators, which means you can pay with the following cards to earn an additional 4-6 mpd. 

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	6 mpd	S$3K per calendar month. Must choose travel as 10X category Review
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	6 mpd	S$1K per calendar month. Must choose travel as 10X category Review
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	S$2K per calendar month Review
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	S$1K per calendar month Review

Avoid using the Citi Rewards Card, as MCC 4722 is classified as a travel transaction and explicitly excluded from earning the bonus 4 mpd rate for online transactions.

Conclusion

Pelago has launched a new promotion that offers Singapore Airlines customers 30% off all bookings made by 31 December 2023, capped at S$35. 

This has the potential to be a good deal, given the ability to stack it with up to 9 mpd by using the right credit cards. Pelago’s selection is still nowhere as good as Klook or KKday’s, but it continues to grow each month (and the latter two no longer partner with Singapore Airlines).