Fast-track: How to bypass the regular KrisFlyer Elite Gold or Silver qualification requirements

Qualifying for Singapore Airlines elite status normally requires accumulating up to 50,000 PPS Value or 50,000 Elite miles, which is no easy task. 

While it’s possible to earn some status credits from non-flying activity, this is capped at just a small fraction of the overall qualifying requirement. The majority has to be earned the old-fashioned way: through butt-in-seat miles. 

✈️ Singapore Airlines Elite Tiers
Tier	Qualification Requirement (in 12-month period)
Solitaire PPS Club	50,000 PPS Value
PPS Club	25,000 PPS Value
KrisFlyer Elite Gold	50,000 Elite miles
KrisFlyer Elite Silver	25,000 Elite miles

But if you have the right credit card or hotel status, there are ways to short-circuit the qualification process— some of which don’t even require you to fly at all!

I’m not going to waste your time by talking about fast tracks to PPS Club status, because there aren’t any. Singapore Airlines carefully guards the pearly gates to this programme, and the only instances I’ve heard of complimentary PPS status are for the C-suite of MNCs who commit to major spending with SIA.

There are, however, fast tracks to KrisFlyer Elite Gold and KrisFlyer Elite Silver, which we’ll discuss in this post. 

General rules for fast tracks

Before we talk about specific fast-track opportunities, here are three important points to note.

Qualification, not requalification

Fast-tracks are for qualification, not requalification.

In other words, if you’re an existing KrisFlyer Elite Gold/Silver, you cannot use these fast-tracks to requalify for KrisFlyer Elite Gold/Silver.

To put it another way: an existing KrisFlyer Elite Gold cannot attempt a fast-track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold. He would need to wait until his status gets downgraded to KrisFlyer Elite Silver or lower before applying. 

One-year membership only

Status earned via fast-track offers is only valid for 12 months. If you want to extend your status beyond that period, you’ll need to meet the regular requalification threshold.

For example, if I complete a fast-track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold and my account is upgraded on 15 April 2024, I will enjoy this status till 30 April 2025. If I want to retain KrisFlyer Elite Gold beyond this date, I will need to accumulate 50,000 Elite miles between 15 April 2024 and 30 April 2025.

Single use only

Each fast-track opportunity can only be utilised once, so you’ll want to time it carefully to coincide with a period where you know you’ll be travelling enough to make the benefits worthwhile.

However, I’ve clarified with Singapore Airlines that there is no restriction on using multiple fast-tracks from different programmes, so long as each is only used once. For example, you can only use the KrisFlyer Elite Gold fast-track from the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend once, but after you lose your KrisFlyer Elite Gold status, you can then make use of the fast-track from the AMEX HighFlyer Card.

AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend: KrisFlyer Elite Gold

AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend Cardholders can enjoy a fast-track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold when they spend at least S$15,000 on Singapore Airlines or Scoot ticket purchases within the first 12 months of card approval. If you miss that window, you won’t get another chance to try in the following membership year, barring a promotion. 

Singapore Airlines or Scoot tickets must be:

• Purchased on Singapore Airlines or Scoot website or mobile app
• Originating from Singapore
• Charged in Singapore Dollars

However, there are reports that the “originating from Singapore” requirement is not strictly enforced. If you’re booking a ticket to Singapore and the SIA website lets you pay in SGD (there’s usually a dropdown box appearing on the final screen, though not always), then such transactions would count. Keep in mind that this is an unofficial loophole that could be patched at any time, so do it at your own risk. 

Eligible spending includes paying for taxes and surcharges on a KrisFlyer award ticket with your card (whether the award flight is on Singapore Airlines or one of its partners).

There is no requirement that the purchased tickets need to be flown by the cardholder. Think about the scenario of someone who often buys air tickets for his entire family. He can’t accrue the Elite miles on their tickets (only the person whose name is on the ticket can), but can nonetheless achieve KrisFlyer Elite Gold through his total card spending. 

American Express runs occasional promotions that allow cardholders to meet the minimum spend through transactions other than Singapore Airlines flight bookings:

• 2019 offer: Spend S$12,000, of which S$3,000 must be on SIA tickets
• 2021 offer: Spend S$5,000, of which S$300 must be on SIA/Scoot tickets or KrisShop
• 2024 offer: Spend S$12,500, of which S$2,500 must be on SIA tickets 
• 2025 offer: Spend S$16,000, of which S$6,000 must be on SIA/Scoot tickets

AMEX HighFlyer Card: KrisFlyer Elite Gold

AMEX HighFlyer Cardholders can enjoy a fast-track to KrisFlyer Elite Gold when they spend at least S$15,000 on the Singapore Airlines Group within the first 12 months of card approval. If you miss that opportunity, you won’t get another chance to try in the following membership year, barring a promotion.

Singapore Airlines or Scoot tickets must be:

• Purchased on Singapore Airlines or Scoot website or mobile app
• Originating from Singapore
• Charged in Singapore Dollars

The AMEX HighFlyer Card used to have a more generous fast-track offer than the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend, because it included not just Singapore Airlines and Scoot, but KrisShop as well. There was also no requirement that the purchases be made in Singapore Dollars, or that the flights originate from Singapore.

However, this changed in April 2025 when the fast-track terms were harmonised with that of the Ascend. Basically, whatever applies to the Ascend also applies to the HighFlyer, so refer to the previous section.

Alternatively, AMEX HighFlyer Cardholders can redeem a 1-year KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership for 100,000 HighFlyer points (discounted from the usual 125,000 HighFlyer points).

Based on the current earn rate of 1.2 HighFlyer points per S$1, that’s roughly S$83,333 of spend.

Shangri-La Circle: KrisFlyer Elite Gold or Silver

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

As part of the Singapore Airlines x Shangri-La Infinite Journeys partnership, Shangri-La Circle Jade or Diamond members can register to get instant KrisFlyer Elite Silver status for 12 months.

A further upgrade to KrisFlyer Elite Gold is granted if they complete:

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

If a Shangri-La Circle Jade or Diamond is already a KrisFlyer Elite Silver, registration for Infinite Journeys will extend their existing membership’s expiry date by a further 12 months.

What counts as a qualifying flight?

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

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

For the 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

There’s some confusion as to how qualifying flights are counted, so let me put it this way: think of how many unique flight numbers are on your itinerary. 

Here’s a table to illustrate how it works (I’ve confirmed the below information with Singapore Airlines): 

Marriott Bonvoy: KrisFlyer Elite Gold or Silver

Marriott Bonvoy Tier	Instant Match To…	Status Accelerator Challenge
Ambassador	KrisFlyer Elite Silver	KrisFlyer Elite Gold (4 flights in 6 months)
Titanium
Platinum
Gold	N/A	KrisFlyer Elite Silver (2 flights in 6 months)

As part of the Singapore Airlines x Marriott Bonvoy partnership, Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador, Titanium or Platinum members can register to get instant KrisFlyer Elite Silver status for 12 months. 

A further upgrade to KrisFlyer Elite Gold is granted if they complete four qualifying flights within six months of registration.

Marriott Bonvoy Gold members can register and earn KrisFlyer Elite Silver for 12 months if they complete two qualifying flights within six months of registration.

If a Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador, Titanium or Platinum is already a KrisFlyer Elite Silver, registration will extend their existing membership’s expiry date by a further 12 months.

What counts as a qualifying flight?

The definition of a qualifying flight is the same as for the Shangri-La Circle status match; refer to the previous section.

KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card: KrisFlyer Elite Silver

Review

KrisFlyer UOB Credit Cardholders can enjoy a fast-track to KrisFlyer Elite Silver if they spend at least S$5,000 on Singapore Airlines Group transactions within the first 12 months of approval

The Singapore Airlines Group is defined as:

• Singapore Airlines
• Scoot
• KrisShop

For the avoidance of doubt, Kris+ and Pelago transactions do not count towards this threshold.

Keep in mind that the upgraded status will take a while to appear. Qualifying cardholders will receive their status upgrade within six weeks from the last month of the first membership year. So, hypothetically, you could hit the qualifying spend on your first day of approval, and still have to wait 13+ months to get your status!

What are the benefits of KrisFlyer Elite Gold and Silver?

As a recap, here’s the key benefits awarded to KrisFlyer Elite Gold and Silver members.

✈️ Overview: KrisFlyer Elite Silver & Gold
	KrisFlyer Elite Silver	KrisFlyer Elite Gold
Elite Miles Req. (in 12-mth period)	25,000	50,000
Mileage Bonus	25%	25%
Priority Waitlist	✅	✅
Free Seat Selection	✅ (Standard)	✅ (Forward and Standard)
Birthday Bonus	✅ (1,500 miles)	✅ (1,500 miles)
Discounted Service Fees	✅	✅
Extra Baggage	✅	✅
Priority Check-in	✅	✅
Priority Boarding	✅	✅
Priority Baggage		✅
Lounge Access		✅
Waived Service Fees		✅
Shangri-La Jade Fast Track		✅
Heathrow Express Upgrade		✅

For more details on each tier of membership, do refer to my detailed guides below.

Complete Guide: KrisFlyer Elite Silver benefits

Complete Guide: KrisFlyer Elite Gold benefits

Conclusion

While there aren’t any fast-track offers to the PPS Club, there are a number of ways to earn KrisFlyer Elite Silver or Elite Gold without actually having to chalk up 25,000 or 50,000 Elite miles. In the case of a Shangri-La Diamond member, a one-way ticket to Kuala Lumpur would be enough to trigger the upgrade!

Do keep in mind that these are “single use” opportunities, so be sure to utilise them when you know you’ll be travelling more.

Any other fast-tracks for KrisFlyer Elite status you’re aware of?