KrisFlyer devaluation: Should you book speculative awards now?

As you’re probably tired of hearing by now, KrisFlyer is set to revise its award charts from 1 November 2025, and increase the price of most awards and upgrades on Singapore Airlines and its partners.

Fortunately, there’s a two-month window before the changes come into effect, so for many people, the strategy now is “chiong ah” (or “carpe diem,” for you Singlish-challenged folks). Make your bookings and lock in the current prices; you can always change the dates later for free. And even if you haven’t firmed up your plans yet, just book something, because from 1 November every mile left in your account automatically shrinks in value!

While there’s nothing wrong with making speculative bookings (though it does create one of those tragedy of the commons situations when everyone does it), there are a few things worth considering before you pull the trigger.

How many miles are you really saving?

The first question you should ask yourself is: how many miles am I really saving by making a speculative booking ahead of the devaluation?

While it’s true that most awards are increasing in price, the magnitude isn’t the same. In fact, you might be surprised to know that some flights — namely Economy Saver from Zones 1-9 — will actually get cheaper from November onwards!

Let’s look at First and Business Saver awards in particular, because I suspect those will be the hottest bookings right now.

First Saver

Business Saver

With the exception of Zone 10, the vast majority of increases are small in absolute terms. Popular routes like Singapore to Perth or Japan in Business Class increase by just 2,000 and 2,500 miles respectively. 

The way I see it, this removes a lot of pressure to snap up awards before the devaluation kicks in. I mean, if you’re reasonably confident about your travel plans post 1 November 2025, go ahead and book something. But you shouldn’t feel FOMO, because the savings are marginal at best. 

But Saver is simply not a realistic option on some routes, like Suites to London and Sydney, or Tokyo in any premium cabin.

In that case, you may be forced to look at Advantage instead, and here’s how First and Business Advantage prices are changing.

First Advantage

Business Advantage

The picture changes significantly. First and Business Advantage prices are increasing by at least 15%, and given the larger base, that works out to a more significant number of miles. For example, First Class to Europe will cost 34,000 more miles, and Business Class to the USA will cost 19,500-21,500 more miles. These aren’t the kind of increases you can just wink at, especially if you’re trying to redeem for multiple travellers.

So in this scenario, I’d say there’s a stronger argument to lock in something now.

What about change and refund fees?

Another reason not to be trigger happy about redemptions is because the change and/or cancellation fees paid on speculative bookings could exceed any miles savings. We don’t want to be “miles wise, cash foolish”!

For example, Singapore to Bangkok on Business Saver is increasing from 24,000 miles to 25,000 miles. By booking ahead of the devaluation, you save 1,000 miles, but if you make even one date change, that US$25 (~S$32) will almost certainly outweigh the savings. And if you have to cancel it, that’s US$75 (~S$96) down the drain!

Advantage awards have lower refund fees, and allow for free date changes, so this is less of a concern. In fact, it’s probably one small consolation to having to bite the bullet and cough up the higher prices.

What if your miles expire?

If you plan to book a speculative award, you should be very careful about expiring miles, because once they’re attached to an award ticket, they can easily be forgotten.

It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where this gets you in trouble. Suppose I have 100,000 miles that expire on 31 December 2025, and to avoid the devaluation, I make a booking on 31 October 2025 for travel in June 2026.

Then suppose March 2026 comes round and I have a change of heart. I want to cancel my flight and get my miles back— only I can’t.

Each mile has a “memory”, and my miles remember that they were due to expire on 31 December 2025. Since that date has passed, I can no longer get them refunded. My only option in this case will be to move the travel date as far as 31 October 2026, the limit of the ticket’s validity period (one year from the date of issuance).

In other words, you need to be more certain about where you want to go when making a booking with expiring miles, because after the expiry date has passed, you can only change the dates, not the destination (that will require a ticket reissuance, and any expired miles will be forfeited).

Conclusion

With KrisFlyer set to hike the cost of most awards on 1 November 2025, I’m sure there are many members trying to lock in as many bookings as they can ahead of the deadline. 

I get it. No one wants to pay more if they don’t have to. But before you go on a redemption spree, ask yourself three things:

• How many miles am I really saving? (for most Saver awards, the increase is marginal)
• Will change or refund fees wipe out the savings? (a speculative booking can easily cost more in cash than it saves in miles)
• Am I using expiring miles? (once tied to a ticket, those miles lose flexibility)

If your plans are firmed up, go ahead and secure those awards. But if not, please don’t let the FOMO get to you. This isn’t a “redeem everything now!!!” kind of devaluation, and it’s not about booking all the awards you can; it’s about booking the awards you’re most likely to use.

What bookings are you looking to lock in now?

(Cover photo: The Points Guy)