Should Singapore Airlines make no-fly status credits a permanent feature?

During the pandemic, Singapore Airlines launched a number of unprecedented initiatives for its KrisFlyer and PPS Club members, such as extending elite status, the validity of KrisFlyer miles, and KrisFlyer Milestone Rewards & PPS Rewards.

But there was one more initiative that was truly unexpected: allowing frequent flyers to earn Elite miles and PPS Value on the ground. For a 10-month period, KrisFlyer and PPS Club members could earn status credits to renew or extend their status, without ever setting foot on a plane.

In fact, thanks to this campaign I’m a fully paid-up KrisFlyer Elite Gold all the way till October 2024, and some people who timed their transfers just right will have status all the way till February 2025.

However, with COVID now in the rear-view mirror, SIA has discontinued its no-fly status credit initiatives. The only way to earn Elite miles or PPS Value now is through butt-in-seat flying, just like the good old days.

And yet, we’re seeing other airlines switch up their frequent flyer programmes to allow members to earn status credits on the ground, in some cases all the way to the top of the elite pyramid.

So could no-fly status credits become a permanent feature of the KrisFlyer and PPS Club programmes? And what might that look like in practice?

Why let passengers earn status credits without flying?

It’s no secret that airlines want customers to be interacting with their frequent flyer programmes well beyond the pressurised confines of a cabin. Why should the only touchpoints come during a holiday or business trip, when there’s a million and one ways to slide into a customer’s daily life?

That’s why we’ve seen a rapid expansion of ways to earn miles on the ground. KrisFlyer members can earn miles when they use Kris+ for shopping or dining, when they stay at hotels, buy the latest iPhone on KrisShop, pump petrol, book activities, shop for groceries, spend on their credit cards…the list goes on.

But, with the exception of that brief period during the pandemic, the line has been drawn at status credits. You can earn a million KrisFlyer miles from renting cars, and you won’t be one step closer to elite status.

Is it time that changed? Some airlines certainly think so. On the one extreme, you have airlines like American and Delta which allow you to earn top-tier status through spending on cobrand cards alone. Then you have Cathay, which takes a more moderate approach by only allowing a certain number of status points to be earned from card spend, and Qantas Frequent Flyer, which offers status credits as incentives for participating in certain campaigns. 

For what it’s worth, I think it certainly makes sense for SIA to consider no-fly status credits. These can be dangled to encourage members to perform certain high-margin transactions, or as a means of securing some incremental business. 

Here’s what I think a permanent scheme might look like.

KrisFlyer Elite track only

If SIA really introduces no-fly status credits, I strongly suspect it’ll be limited to the KrisFlyer Elite track only. In other words, members will only be able to earn Elite miles from on-ground activities, and not PPS Value.

After all, the doors to the PPS Club are guarded zealously, and the last thing SIA wants to do is swell the ranks further- just witness the great PPS purge of 2007 (if anything, I’m surprised that the minimum spend qualification has remained at S$25,000 for 16 years, when you consider how much premium cabin airfares have increased).

On the other hand, the airline takes a relatively more lax attitude towards the KrisFlyer Elite ladder. Case in point: during the pandemic-era status credits campaign, plain vanilla KrisFlyer members could earn up to KrisFlyer Elite Gold, but not PPS Club. 

I suppose that makes sense from a commercial point of view, since it costs relatively more to support one PPS Club member than a KrisFlyer Elite Gold (better lounge in Singapore, qualification gifts, dedicated service desks etc).

A cap on no-fly status credit earning

You might be familiar with that old chestnut about how “when everyone is special, no one is”. We saw the effects first-hand in early 2022, when overcrowding at the SilverKris Lounge reached critical levels- a situation not helped by the influx of newly-minted KrisFlyer Elite Golds, who temporarily had access while the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge underwent renovations. 

To prevent that from happening, it’d be necessary to cap the number of status credits that can be earned on the ground, as highlighted by Cathay executive Paul Smitton in an interview with Executive Traveller:

But Smitton is eager to quell the concern of high-flying Cathay Gold and Diamond members that their ranks will swell – and lounges will become more crowded – by status being earned paying business expenses rather than flying in business class.

“We’re very cognisant of flying as being the most important thing from a status perspective“ he tells Executive Traveller, “so the number of Status Points you can get for non-flying activity is more of a booster as opposed to something that’ll get you status in and of itself.“

-Executive Traveller

How much should that cap be? I’m of the opinion that Cathay is being a little too miserly in this respect, only allowing a maximum of 100 Status Points to be earned through credit card spending, well short of its various elite thresholds:

• Silver: 300 points
• Gold: 600 points
• Diamond: 1,200 points

I would hope that SIA takes a more relaxed approach (especially since, in our hypothetical scenario, they’re only offering this for the KrisFlyer Elite track), allowing maybe 15,000-20,000 Elite miles to be earned via on-ground means.

That sounds about right in my mind, because the occasional flyer would, at best, be achieving KrisFlyer Elite Silver. This has close to no benefits at all, so it really doesn’t matter how much those ranks swell. 

Someone who travels a bit more regularly — but not enough to earn 50,000 Elite miles from flying alone — now has an added incentive to make those one or two extra trips to put them over the finish line and enjoy the more substantial KrisFlyer Elite Gold benefits. 

The general idea is that the no-fly component should be small enough that the elite ranks don’t get clogged with members who hardly did any flying, but large enough that it incentivises members at the margins to make that incremental effort.

Not all activities will be equally rewarding

During COVID, SIA was fairly egalitarian with awarding on-ground status credits. There was a preferential rate of 3 Elite miles per S$1 for KrisShop or Kris+, but all other activities were awarded the same rate of 1 Elite mile per 5 KrisFlyer miles.

	KrisFlyer	PPS Club
Convert KrisFlyer miles (min. 10,000 miles)	1 Elite mile per 5 KrisFlyer miles	1 PPS Value per 10 KrisFlyer miles
Convert KrisPay miles (min. depends on bank)	1 Elite mile per 5 KrisPay miles	1 PPS Value per 10 KrisPay miles
Spend on co-brand cards (min. 100 miles earned)	1 Elite mile per 5 KrisFlyer miles	1 PPS Value per 10 KrisFlyer miles
Spend on KrisShop or Kris+	3 Elite miles per S$1	1 PPS Value per S$1
Earn with non-air partners (min. 500 miles)	1 Elite mile per 5 KrisFlyer miles earned	1 PPS Value per 10 KrisFlyer miles earned

That said, I would be willing to bet that a permanent system would be structured in a way that nudges you towards higher-margin activities. After all, it’s relatively easy to earn a good-sized stack of credit card points, because you’re probably swiping your cards on a daily basis. On the other hand, it takes a lot more effort to divert your shopping to KrisShop. 

So if you ask me, I expect status credits to be awarded in the following order of generosity (from most to least generous):

• Shopping on KrisShop
• Booking activities on Pelago
• Paying with Kris+
• Booking hotels or rental cars via KrisFlyer vRooms
• Converting points from partner programmes
• Spending on cobrand cards
• Spending on non-cobrand cards

From what I know, this order would be roughly in line with SIA’s priorities, as well as the commissions/revenue earned from each source. 

Conclusion

With COVID now a distant memory, those who want to earn or renew KrisFlyer Elite and PPS Club status have to do so through 100% butt-in-seat flying.

You could argue that this is necessary to preserve the elite ranks for deserving road warriors, but with so many ways of earning KrisFlyer miles on the ground, it seems amiss not to allow at least a certain percentage of status credits to be accrued in a similar manner.

Should no-fly status credits be a permanent feature of KrisFlyer? If so, how much should you be able to earn without flying?