KrisFlyer devaluation: How the Saver vs Advantage gap will widen

KrisFlyer currently offers three types of Singapore Airlines awards — Promo, Saver, Advantage — and will soon add a fourth called Access from 1 November 2025.

However, Promo awards aren’t available outside of Spontaneous Escapes, and Access awards will almost certainly be out of reach for the average member. Therefore, for most people, the real decision is usually between Saver and Advantage. 

As you probably already know, Saver awards are cheaper than Advantage, but Advantage has better availability and more favourable fare conditions. No one likes paying more, but sometimes Advantage is the only option, especially on popular routes or certain cabins like Suites between Singapore and London, where the Saver price is largely theoretical.

But the upcoming devaluation is going to have a huge impact on how you view the trade-off between the two, because it affects the Advantage premium: the price difference between Saver and Advantage awards.

How has the Advantage premium changed?

One of the lesser-discussed effects of the 2022 KrisFlyer devaluation was the narrowing of the gap between Saver and Advantage awards.

This happened because all Saver awards increased in price, but Advantage awards between Singapore and Zones 1-9 were unaffected. Moreover, while Saver awards to Zones 10-13 increased by an average of 13%, the increase for Advantage was only 5%.

The upshot is that psychologically speaking, it became less painful to pay for Advantage over Saver.

Consider flights between Singapore and Zone 12 (Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle).

Prior to the 2022 devaluation, Business Advantage awards cost 32% more than Saver. Following the adjustments, the difference was reduced to 20%.

To put it another way, suppose I was looking at flight options to San Francisco. Business Saver awards are 107,000 miles, but require waitlisting. Business Advantage awards are 128,500 miles, but are available for immediate confirmation.

What goes through my mind? Well, obviously I’d rather pay 107,000 than 128,500 miles, but maybe I don’t want to deal with the uncertainty of the waitlist. If I confirm my flight now, I can start planning the rest of my trip, whether it’s connecting flights, car rental, hotels, or activities. I can block my leave. I can tell my companions to block their leave.

So if an extra 21,500 miles removes the bottleneck, I could see some people willing to fork it over.

But the November 2025 devaluation will almost completely reverse the trend, because this time round, Saver awards are increasing by 5% at most, but Advantage awards are increasing by 10-15% (ignoring the infamous Zone 10, which is another discussion for another day).

With this in mind, can the Advantage premium still be stomached? 

Economy Class

For Economy Class, the average Advantage premium will increase from 80% to ~100%.

Paying twice the miles is a steep premium, but in reality, it’s mostly an academic point. If Economy Saver awards aren’t available, very few travellers would choose to splurge on Economy Advantage, rather than book a cheaper option with another airline.

The only situation where Economy Advantage could make sense is when Singapore Airlines is the only carrier on the route, or the only one with available seats (and the cost of cash tickets has gone crazy).

Mind you, Economy Advantage, on average, is almost 90% the cost of Business Saver! I’d sooner check for Business Saver space before Economy Advantage.

Business Class

In Business Class, the average Advantage premium is basically reverting to pre-July 2022 conditions, where Advantage awards cost ~60% more than Saver. In fact, the January 2019 and November 2025 premiums are remarkably similar. 

In particular, Europe and the USA West Coast, which previously had a relatively small premium of 20%, are now in less palatable 30% territory. There will probably still be those who are willing to pay the difference if instant confirmation is available, but far fewer than before.

I can’t say the same for destinations within Zones 2, 3 and 10 however, where the premium is around 80%.

First Class

Just like Business Class, the average Advantage premium in First Class is back to where it was pre-July 2022, with Advantage costing ~80% more than Saver.

First Class awards are already expensive to begin with, which limits the number of members who can afford the splurge for Advantage.

And yet, it may be the only option on certain routes, especially if you don’t have PPS Club status. For instance, I have yet to see Suite Savers on the London, Sydney or Frankfurt routes (not to say they don’t exist, but if they do they’re rarer than neon unicorns).

If you really want to experience Suites on a long-haul route — and don’t have any meaningful status — then the Saver price is largely theoretical. And given that the Advantage premium on the Australia and Europe routes is set to increase from 60-66% to 75-82%, I hope you have a solid miles card strategy!

Conclusion

With the upcoming KrisFlyer devaluation, the gap between Advantage and Saver awards will widen once again, reversing the July 2022 narrowing. If nothing else, this will provide a greater incentive to be flexible with travel dates, or to seek alternatives through different programmes when Saver space is not available. 

I went to take a look at my past redemptions, and since the July 2022 devaluation, all the Business Advantage awards I’ve redeemed have been to Europe and the USA. So in my case, a 20% premium is about the most I’m willing to pay.

Anything higher is hard to justify, especially since I’m usually redeeming for two people. If Business Saver awards aren’t available, I’m more inclined to explore other programmes —like Asia Miles, EVA Infinity MileageLands, or Qatar Privilege Club—before settling for Business Advantage.

Under what circumstances would you pay Advantage pricing?