If you have an upcoming Singapore Airlines flight, you may have received a mySQupgrade email, inviting you to purchase an upgrade to a higher cabin. This can be the difference between squeezing into a middle seat, or stretching out on a full-flat bed with all the champagne you want!
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| mySQupgrade |
mySQupgrade used to be a black box, where you’d place a bid and cross your fingers it’d be accepted. But ever since 2022, Singapore Airlines has switched to a simpler system offering fixed price upgrades on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’re agreeable to the price, act quickly and that seat is yours.
Here’s a full guide to everything you need to know about mySQupgrade.
A brief history of mySQupgrade
Singapore Airlines launched mySQupgrade in July 2016. This was a surprising move for an airline that had historically been tightfisted with upgrades, and perhaps explained the extremely conservative implementation. Selected customers could submit cash bids for upgrades from Economy to Premium Economy. That was it; Business Class remained firmly off-limits, let alone First.
In 2017, however, the programme was expanded to cover upgrades to Business Class, and allow KrisFlyer members to bid with miles, albeit at a poor value (paying for an upgrade with miles is not the same as upgrading with miles).
Further enhancements came in 2022, when the bidding system was replaced with fixed cost upgrades, redemption tickets became eligible to participate, and upgrades to Suites and First Class were offered!
Unfortunately, 2023 brought some reversals. Suites and First Class upgrades were removed, and redemption tickets and cheaper Economy Class fares were barred from participating.
Which tickets are eligible for mySQupgrade?
Singapore Airlines says that mySQupgrade invitations are made at the airline’s sole discretion, based on “certain criteria and a combination of factors, which are dynamic”.
In reality though, you should be receiving an invitation provided seats in a higher cabin are available, unless your booking falls into one of the following categories:
- Flights are not ticketed by Singapore Airlines
- Flights are not operated by Singapore Airlines
- More than nine passengers in booking
- Infant(s) in booking
- Redemption award tickets
- Flight Pass bookings (a product that SIA offered in 2021, since discontinued)
- Bookings with Economy Lite or Economy Value fare types and Premium Economy Lite fare types
For the avoidance of doubt, you can still purchase an upgrade if there is a child in your booking (aged ≥2, occupy a seat), but not if there’s an infant (aged <2 years, do not occupy a seat).
It’s worth noting that redemption tickets, Economy Lite/Value and Premium Economy Lite fares are not eligible for upgrades. This means that only the more expensive Economy Standard/Flexi and Premium Economy Standard/Flexi can be upgraded, which puts mySQupgrade in line with SIA’s policy on upgrading with KrisFlyer miles.
When do mySQupgrade invitations go out?
mySQupgrade invitations generally go out 72 hours before the scheduled departure time. The email is sent from singaporeair@email.singaporeair.com (be sure to whitelist this), with the subject header “Get upgraded on your Singapore Airlines flight”.
If you have not received an email, visit this page and enter your booking reference number and last name to check if you’re eligible.
How are mySQupgrade invitations presented?
mySQupgrade presents you with a simple question: Upgrade to Premium Economy/Business Class for S$X. Yes or no?
The price quoted is always one-way, per passenger. If you are on a flight with multiple legs (e.g. SQ26 from SIN-FRA-JFK), read the offer carefully to see which leg(s) you’re being offered an upgrade for. The upgrade may not be for the entire journey!
How many cabins can I upgrade?
Depending on your route and seat availability, you may be able to upgrade either one or two cabins.
- Economy Class to Premium Economy
- Economy Class to Business Class
- Premium Economy Class to Business Class
Upgrades to Suites and First Class are no longer possible through mySQupgrade.
Remember that not every aircraft will have a Premium Economy cabin, or it may not be sold on your particular flight. For example, the long-haul A350-900 aircraft sometimes fly regional routes like Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, but the Premium Economy cabin is not sold on these routes. Therefore, any mySQupgrade offers on these flights will be directly from Economy to Business Class.
What should I do when I get an invitation?
Think fast!
mySQupgrade is fastest fingers first. It’s possible that you receive an invitation to upgrade, but get an error message when attempting to do so, because someone else beat you to the punch.
Either way, you must make a decision at least nine hours before departure.
What if I have multiple passengers in my booking?
The mySQupgrade invitation will be sent to the main email address within the booking. The person who received the invitation will be purchasing on behalf of everyone in that booking.
It is possible to purchase an upgrade for some of the members in the booking but not others, though it’s a bit more complicated. You’ll need to contact your local SIA reservations office and request for the booking to be split so those passengers who want to upgrade are in one booking, and the rest in another.
Mind you, by the time you’ve done this, it’s possible that all the seats available for upgrades get snapped up.
How do I pay for my upgrade?
Upgrades can be paid for with credit cards, debit cards or KrisFlyer miles.
Paying with KrisFlyer miles used to be a poor deal, as each mile was valued at just 0.95 cents. However, the value does not appear to be pegged anymore. Based on recent data points I found on FlyerTalk, the value can even be as high as 4.5 SG cents per mile, a rate I’d happily take.
| Route | Cash | Miles | Value Per Mile (in SGD) |
| MNL-SIN | A$495 | 34,000 | 1.2¢ |
| SIN-MEL | A$440 | 24,000 | 1.6¢ |
| SIN-LHR | S$3,600 | 117,500 | 3.1¢ |
| MEL-SIN | A$2,400 | 80,500 | 2.6¢ |
| SEA-SIN | US$3,000 | 86,500 | 4.5¢ |
| ICN-SIN | KRW 820,000 | 64,995 | 1.1¢ |
Long story short, do the math. If the value per mile is above your valuation, go with the miles. If it’s lower, pay cash.
Do note that paying for an upgrade with KrisFlyer miles is not the same as upgrading with KrisFlyer miles. When you redeem an upgrade with KrisFlyer miles, the number of miles required follows this award chart. The number of seats available is dictated by award inventory (which will be a subset of how many seats are actually available).
Can I cancel an upgrade?
No. Once you’ve paid for an upgrade via mySQupgrade, any amount paid is strictly non-refundable.
Keep in mind, you can still change or cancel your flight depending on the fare conditions of the original booking, but the upgrade will be forfeited. You cannot transfer your upgrade from Flight A to Flight B.
Consider the example of John, who buys an Economy Flexi round-trip ticket from Singapore to Bangkok for S$607, plus a S$200 mySQupgrade to Business Class from Singapore to Bangkok.
If John decides to change his flight date, he will pay a S$30 fee (plus any fare differences), and his revised flight will be back in Economy; the S$200 mySQupgrade to Business Class is forfeited.
If John decides to cancel his flight, he will pay a S$130 booking cancellation fee and receive a refund of S$477. The S$200 mySQupgrade to Business Class is forfeited.
tl;dr: if you’re buying an upgrade, be sure you’re going to travel!
What if I’ve purchased paid services?
If you’re a Premium Economy or Economy Class passenger, you may have purchased certain add-ons such as advanced seat selection.
Should you upgrade to a higher cabin, you’re eligible for a refund of such fees. Contact Singapore Airlines to have the refund processed.
What benefits are upgraded tickets eligible for?
Tickets upgraded through mySQupgrade are eligible for all the standard benefits that come with that cabin class.
For example, if you upgrade to Business Class, you will be entitled to visit the lounge, as well as order Book the Cook (BTC) items where available (BTC requires a minimum notice of 24 hours, so if you buy your upgrade late you might not make the cut-off). Your luggage allowance will also be upsized.
| Economy | Premium Economy | Business | |
| Luggage | 25-30kg | 35kg | 40kg |
| Adv. Seat Selection | May be chargeable | Free* | Free |
| Baggage Priority | Standard | Priority | Priority |
| Lounge Access | No | No | Yes |
| Book The Cook | No | Yes | Yes |
| Priority Boarding | No | Yes | Yes |
| *Fees apply for extra legroom seats | |||
However, the fare conditions of your booking will not change, and any accrual of KrisFlyer miles, Elite miles, PPS Value will be based on your original booking
For example, if you upgrade from Premium Economy to Business, you will not earn any PPS Value.
Can I further upgrade my ticket?
No. Upgraded tickets cannot be upgraded any further, whether with miles or cash.
Any gotchas I should look out for?
While all Premium Economy seats are pretty much the same, the Business Class seat which appears in the invitation email is for illustration only.
All images used in the upgrade invitation email and offer pages are for illustration purposes only. Actual product depends on aircraft type and the aircraft for any flight may be changed last-minute due to operational requirements.
-Singapore Airlines
This means you need to be aware of the different Business Class seats you could potentially get. Singapore Airlines currently has four different types, summarised in the table below.
| Seat | Aircraft |
Review |
 2013 Business Class |
A350-900LH |
Review |
 2017 Business Class |
A380-800 | Review |
 2018 Regional Business Class |
A350-900MH B787-10 |
Review |
 2021 Regional Business Class |
B737-8 MAX | Review |
To know which seat you’ll be getting, you need to know what aircraft you’re on. This can be found under Manage Booking, just below the fare class.
What’s a good price to pay for an upgrade?
This is a much harder question to answer, because it really depends. Only you can decide for yourself how much you value the extra comfort and amenities.
That said, my general principles would be:
- I’m more inclined to upgrade a red-eye or long/ultra-long haul flight, or if it were a special occasion
- I’m more inclined to upgrade a flight departing from Singapore, since that lets me enjoy the SilverKris Lounge on departure from Changi (overseas lounge quality can be hit or miss)
- I would check what the current cash price is for a seat in the upgraded cabin, then deduct the fare I’ve already paid to see what the upgrade “should” cost
- Look for data points shared on FlyerTalk to get a sense of how much people normally pay
Conclusion
mySQupgrade allows Singapore Airlines passengers to purchase an instant upgrade to Premium Economy or Business Class. Depending on the offer price and your comfort threshold, this could either be a good deal or a waste of money– you have to decide!
For what it’s worth, I have purchased some rather excellent upgrades before, like a S$168 upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy from Tokyo to Singapore. It’s all about the luck of the draw sometimes, so monitor your email and see what offer comes your way.
What offers have you received for mySQupgrade?
Its interesting how they leave out certain categories of Economy fares . Oh well…
In Nov 2022, splurged 1.6k euro for an upgrade from business to first on Paris to Singapore route. lol. Well those days are gone.
$440 for upgrade from PE (paid by company) to J PVG-SIN. Well worth it in my opinion!
SQ wanted $800 for an upgrade to business class on a KUL-SIN flight on their 737-800 aircraft. The email enticed with lavish meals and lie-flat seats, which of course, was a flat-out lie.
I deleted the email.
My redemption tickets for HND-SIN in July on economy saver was offered an one way upgrade of 400SGD to PE and 900SGD to Business (which I thought was an amazing good deal).