KrisFlyer UOB Credit Cardholders currently enjoy certain privileges when flying on Scoot, such as priority check-in, additional baggage allowance, free seat selection and a one-time booking flexibility waiver (sadly, there’s no such benefits for travel on Singapore Airlines!).
While they wouldn’t make me choose Scoot if it were the higher-cost option, to the extent that you’re flying Scoot anyway, they’re nice to have.
Unfortunately, there’s going to be some changes to these privileges soon, and on the whole they’re more negative than positive. These changes were supposed to come into effect on 19 March 2024, but they’ve now been pushed back to 23 April 2024.
The Scoot x KrisFlyer UOB portal has been updated with a notification apologising for the delay, to which I say: take your time!
Changes to Scoot privileges for KrisFlyer UOB Credit & Debit Cardholders
As a reminder, here’s the Scoot privileges that KrisFlyer UOB Credit and Debit Cardholders currently enjoy on Scoot flights, valid for bookings made till 22 April 2024.
โ๏ธ Scoot Privileges for KrisFlyer UOB Cards (till 22 April 2024) |
||
For Principal Cardholder | For Companions (on same booking) |
|
Complimentary Priority Check-in and Boarding | โ | โ |
Extra 5kg Luggage Allowance (with purchase of min. 20kg allowance) |
โ | โ |
Complimentary Standard Seat Selection | โ | โ |
One-time Booking Flexibility Waiver | โ | โ |
Here’s what’s changing from 23 April 2024.
โ๏ธ Scoot Privileges for KrisFlyer UOB Cards (from 23 April 2024) |
||
For Principal Cardholder | For Companions (on same booking) |
|
Complimentary Priority Check-in and Boarding | โ | โ |
Extra 5kg Luggage Allowance (with purchase of min. 20 kg allowance) |
โ | โ |
Complimentary Standard Seat Selection | โ | โ |
One-time Booking Flexibility Waiver | โ | โ |
Let’s start with the good news.
The complimentary standard seat selection perk, currently valid for the principal cardholder only, will be extended to all members of the travelling party on the same booking.
That’s a positive development, because the current perk feels like a bit of a gotcha. Most people want to sit together when they fly, so if one traveller has complimentary standard seat, the other will need to purchase the seat next to him/her. If neither had the perk, they could wait for seats to be automatically assigned at check-in, where they would be seated together on a best-effort basis (so at least there’s a chance they don’t need to pay to be seated together).
Unfortunately, that’s all the good news there is. The complimentary 5kg upsize upon purchasing at least a 20kg baggage allowance will now be restricted to the principal cardholder only.
Perhaps more importantly, the one-time booking flexibility waiver will no longer be available. That’s probably the biggest loss here, since budget carrier tickets are notoriously inflexible. If you want flexibility, you’ll need to pony up some extra money by purchasing Scoot’s MultiFlex product, ranging from S$20 to S$40.
๐ฌ MultiFlex |
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Book via the Scoot x KrisFlyer UOB portal
Scoot x KrisFlyer UOB |
As always, you’ll need to book your Scoot tickets via the dedicated Scoot x KrisFlyer UOB portal to enjoy these perks. This involves registering an account and linking your KrisFlyer UOB Credit or Debit Card.
I’ve not done an exhaustive comparison, but from what I’ve seen the prices are the same whether you book via this portal or the public website, so at least you don’t need to worry about shenanigans.
Perks for KrisFlyer and PPS Club members
If you’re a KrisFlyer Elite Gold or Silver, or Solitaire PPS Club or PPS Club member, you’ll still enjoy additional perks when travelling on Scoot regardless of how you book your tickets.
โ๏ธ Scoot Privileges for SQ Elites |
||
KrisFlyer Elite Gold/Silver | Solitaire PPS/PPS Club | |
Complimentary Priority Check-in and Boarding | โ | โ |
Extra 5kg Luggage Allowance (with purchase of min. 20 kg allowance) |
โ | โ |
Automatic Assignment of Best Available Standard Seat | โ | โ |
One-time Booking Flexibility Waiver | โ | โ |
SilverKris Lounge Access | โ | โ
Solitaire PPS Club only |
Going forward, the Scoot perks enjoyed by KrisFlyer Elite Gold/Silver and KrisFlyer UOB Credit Cardholders will effectively be harmonised, and only PPS Club members will enjoy incremental benefits such as a booking flexibility waiver and lounge access (for Solitaire PPS Club only).
For further details on these benefits, refer to the dedicated guides below.
KrisFlyer UOB 25,000 miles welcome offer
If you don’t have a KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card yet, here’s a reminder that UOB is running an uncapped welcome offer of 25,000 miles for applications submitted by 31 March 2024.
Applicants must be new-to-bank, and spend at least S$2,000 in the first 60 days of approval. Since the first year’s annual fee of S$196.20 is automatically waived, the bonus miles are essentially free, to the extent you’re able to meet the minimum spend.
For the full details of this offer, refer to the article below.
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card extends uncapped 25,000 miles sign-up offer
Conclusion
KrisFlyer UOB Credit and Debit Cardholders have received a temporary reprieve, with the revision to their Scoot perks postponed from 19 March 2024 to 23 April 2024. This gives you extra time to enjoy the extra baggage allowance for travel companions, and booking flexibility waiver.
If you have upcoming travel on Scoot, consider making your booking before the changes to lock in the current set of privileges.
Hi Aaron, I booked and paid 3 days ago Scoot flights for my family using the UOB KF portal. The Perth flight is departing in June 2024. Any idea if my family members travelling with me will still be eligible for the additional 5 kg luggage allowance given that the ticket is bought before the announcement of changes?
while i can’t find this stated explicitly, my assumption is that all it depends on is the booking date, not travel date.
so basically, there’s no difference in future if you are booking either as a Krisflyer UOB card holder or as KFEG/KFES?
yeah looks like it.
It seems like the Scoot has pushed back the changes to 23 Apr 2024.
https://www.uob.com.sg/assets/web-resources/personal/pdf/cards/travel/revisions-to-krisflyer-uob-credit-and-debit-card-privileges-for-scoot.pdf
“Revisions to KrisFlyer UOB Credit and Debit Card privileges for Scoot The following table below summarises the revisions made to privileges on Scoot for KrisFlyer UOB Credit and/or Debit Cardmembers with effect from 23 April 2024.”
thanks for the heads up!
Hello Aaron! By any chance, do you know when the additional 5kg baggage will be shown in our itinerary? I can see the complimentary board me first but couldn’t see the additional 5kg baggage yet. Will I only be able to see when I check in on departure date? We have 3 people in the same itinerary. I purchased the flight through the UOB/Scoot website and I purchased 35kg under my name (Principal Cardholder) + 20 kg under another person at the point of initial booking.
Thanks a lot!
Found the answer! The additional baggage will be shown in your itinerary within 24 hours after your booking~ thank you!