Guide: KrisFlyer x Shangri-La Infinite Journeys status match and points conversions

Back in 2016, Singapore Airlines launched a partnership with Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts called Infinite Journeys, which provides two-way points conversions and status matching, including a fast track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold or Shangri-La Circle Jade.

Infinite Journeys

The conversion rates are abysmal, so you’re better off ignoring the points conversions altogether. But what could potentially be useful is the status matching, as it offers KrisFlyer Elite Gold with just 1-3 flights, or Shangri-La Circle Jade with just one stay- a big reduction of the usual requirements.

In fact, the threshold for KrisFlyer Elite Gold is even lower than what’s required of Marriott Bonvoy elites (four flights), though it’s much harder to earn Shangri-La Circle elite status given the chain’s limited footprint and the fact that the AMEX Platinum Charge no longer offers Jade status as a complimentary benefit. 

In this article, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about the partnership.

From Shangri-La Circle to KrisFlyer: Status matching

Shangri-La Circle Tier	Instant Match	Accelerated Status
Jade	KrisFlyer Elite Silver	KrisFlyer Elite Gold (3x flights within 4 months)
Diamond		KrisFlyer Elite Gold (1x flight within 4 months)

Shangri-La Circle Jade or Diamond members receive instant KrisFlyer Elite Silver membership upon registration, and will be upgraded to KrisFlyer Elite Gold if they complete:

• Jade: Three qualifying flights within four months of registration
• Diamond: One qualifying flight within four months of registration

Qualifying flights include any commercial booking on Singapore Airlines in any booking class, excluding the following: 

• Award tickets
• Codeshare flights
• Group fares in the ‘G’ booking class

For avoidance of doubt: 

• There is no need to book your tickets directly with Singapore Airlines; tickets booked through OTAs and travel agents will qualify provided they’re not codeshares or ‘G’ booking class
• Commercial tickets which are paid for with a mix of miles and cash will qualify
• Scoot flights do not count as qualifying flights
• Only flights booked in your name will count as qualifying flights

Here’s a table that illustrates how qualifying flights are counted.

You can broadly think of it as “one flight number = one flight”, though as stated in the footnote, if you travel on one flight number over two separate days, then it counts as two flights.

How long will status upgrades take?

For KrisFlyer Elite Silver:

• Upgrade will take place within 6-8 weeks of registration

For KrisFlyer Elite Gold:

• Upgrade will take place within 6-8 weeks of completing the last qualifying flight

However, there are real-world data points which suggest that the upgrade is much, much faster in practice- as little as one day!

How long is status valid for?

KrisFlyer Elite Silver or Gold status granted under this programme will expire at the end of the 12th month from the date of upgrade.

For example, if I’m a Shangri-La Circle Jade member who registers on 15 April 2024:

• I will receive KrisFlyer Elite Silver until 30 April 2025
• If I subsequently complete four qualifying flights and my account is upgraded to KrisFlyer Elite Gold on 12 June 2024, I will hold KrisFlyer Elite Gold until 30 June 2025.

What if I’m already a KrisFlyer Elite Silver or Gold?

If you’re already a KrisFlyer Elite Silver, registration for Infinite Journeys will extend your existing membership’s expiry date by a further 12 months.

If you’re already a KrisFlyer Elite Gold, registration for Infinite Journeys will not grant any further extension of your membership. In other words, this is not a way of reducing your requalification requirement. You will need to accrue 50,000 Elite miles, just like usual.

Therefore, if you’re a KrisFlyer Elite Gold who is unable to requalify, you’ll need to let your status drop to KrisFlyer/KrisFlyer Elite Silver first, then register for Infinite Journeys so you can do the status accelerator and get back to Elite Gold. 

One-time use only!

You can only take advantage of the upgrade and status accelerator a maximum of once per account lifetime.

In other words, you can’t take the fast track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold in Year 1, fail to requalify in Year 2, then attempt to register again for Infinite Journeys to qualify for KrisFlyer Elite Gold again.

This means it’s important to time your registration- only link your accounts when you’re certain you’ll have a period of travel that will allow you to fully enjoy the benefits and/or clock sufficient Elite miles for requalification.

From Shangri-La Circle to KrisFlyer: Points transfers

Shangri-La Circle members can transfer points to KrisFlyer miles at a rate of 1 point= 1.25 miles, with a minimum conversion of 1,000 points. 

Shangri-La Circle	KrisFlyer
1 point	1.25 miles

There is no cap on the maximum number of points that can be transferred. 

However, transfers are very poor value, because 15 Shangri-La points = US$1, and I value a KrisFlyer mile at 1.5 cents.

Therefore, this conversion effectively gives up 9 cents to get 1.88 cents! There is absolutely no reason why you should consider doing this.

From KrisFlyer to Shangri-La Circle: Status matching

KrisFlyer Tier	Instant Match	Accelerated Status
Solitaire PPS & PPS Club	N/A	Shangri-La Circle Jade (1x stay)
KrisFlyer Elite Gold

Solitaire PPS Club, PPS Club or KrisFlyer Elite Gold members do not receive any instant Shangri-La Circle status upon registration. 

However, they will be upgraded to Shangri-La Circle Jade after completing at least one qualifying stay (of any duration) at any Shangri-La Hotel and Resort, Kerry Hotel, JEN Hotel and Traders Hotel worldwide. The T&Cs do not mention a specific period in which you need to complete this stay, but a spokesperson confirmed there was no time limit.

Qualifying stays are defined as those booked through Shangri-La’s official hotel room reservation channels, and exclude third-party bookings such as Booking.com or Hotels.com. Also excluded are stays booked through official room channels where you use Shangri-La Circle points to pay for your room in part or full. 

How long will status upgrades take?

Shangri-La Circle does not provide an official timeline for how long it will take for your account to be upgraded to Jade, but a spokesperson confirmed that accounts will usually be upgraded within seven days.

How long is status valid for?

According to the T&Cs, Shangri-La Circle Jade status granted under this granted under this programme will be valid for one year. 

However, in practice Shangri-La Jade status is valid from the date of the membership upgrade until the end of the next calendar year. Therefore, it would be more accurate to say that your status is valid for “at least a year”.

For example, if you complete your qualifying stay and your account is upgraded to Shangri-La Circle Jade on 12 June 2024, you will hold that status till 31 December 2025. Therefore, you can enjoy a longer status validity by registering and completing your qualifying stay as early in the year as possible. 

What if I’m already a Shangri-La Circle Jade?

If you’re already a Shangri-La Circle Jade, registration for Infinite Journeys will not grant any further extension of your membership. In other words, this is not a way of reducing your requalification requirement. You will need to accrue 20 nights or 6,000 tier points to requalify, just like usual.

Therefore, if you’re a Shangri-La Circle Jade who is unable to requalify, you’ll need to let your status drop to Shangri-La Circle Gold first, then register for Infinite Journeys so you can do the status accelerator and get back to Jade (albeit with the 6-8 weeks time lag).

One-time use only!

You can only take advantage of the upgrade and status accelerator a maximum of once per account lifetime.

In other words, you can’t take the fast track to Shangri-La Circle Jade in Year 1, fail to requalify in Year 2, then attempt to register again for Infinite Journeys to qualify for Shangri-La Circle Jade again.

This means it’s important to time your registration- only link your accounts when you’re certain you’ll have a period of travel that will allow you to fully enjoy the benefits and/or clock sufficient nights or tier points for requalification.

From KrisFlyer to Shangri-La Circle: Points transfers

KrisFlyer members can transfer miles to Shangri-La Circle Points at a rate of 8 miles =1 point, with a minimum conversion of 20,000 miles. 

KrisFlyer	Shangri-La Circle
12 miles	1 points

A maximum of 180,000 KrisFlyer miles can be converted to Shangri-La Circle Points per calendar year. 

Just like transfers from Shangri-La to KrisFlyer, transfers from KrisFlyer to Shangri-La are terrible value too. I value 12 KrisFlyer miles at 18 cents, while 1 Shangri-La Circle point is worth 9 cents. 

You’re better off ignoring this option altogether.

How to link accounts

To register for a status match or transfer points between programmes, you’ll need to link your KrisFlyer account to your Shangri-La Circle account. 

• Log in to your KrisFlyer account, click on ‘Profile’, then ‘Partner Programmes’
• Under ‘Add partner’, select ‘Non-airline partner’ for the category and ‘Shangri-La Circle’ for the partner from the drop-down list
• Key in your Shangri-La Circle membership number and click ‘Add’
• To link your accounts together, select ‘Link’

Once done, you can visit this page to do conversions (but seriously, don’t). Select Non-air partner > Shangri-La Circle, and watch your hard-earned points disappear into dust.

To transfer points in the opposite direction, visit this page and login to your Shangri-La Circle account. Select Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and kiss your points goodbye.

Conclusion

Thanks to the Infinite Journeys partnership, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Shangri-La Circle members can enjoy reciprocal points transfers and status matching. The points transfers are close to useless, since the loss in value is significant, but the status matching could be useful for a quick bump to KrisFlyer Elite Gold or Shangri-La Circle Jade.

Matching to Shangri-La Circle Jade shouldn’t be that hard, given how many PPS and KrisFlyer Elite Golds there are out there, but matches in the other direction would be more tricky since the Shangri-La footprint is much smaller. You really have to go out of your way to qualify and retain status (especially since so many properties are concentrated within China), and ever since AMEX Platinum Charge cardholders lost Jade, I haven’t bothered to keep my status. 

Did you get your status matched via Infinite Journeys?