KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes December 2018 offers

EXPIRED This article relates to an offer or promotion which has now expired.

Announced a little later than usual this month – here’s our regular roundup of the monthly Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes deals, this time for bookings made by 30th November 2018. Travel is for December 2018, with an additional offer for non-stop USA flights in January 2019, once the Christmas / New Year rush on those routes is over.

There are also 15 SilkAir routes on offer in Economy Class for December.

Spontaneous Escapes

Think of this monthly offer as a ‘litmus test’ of Singapore Airlines and SilkAir seat availability for the month (or sometimes two months) ahead. Seats are offered to KrisFlyer members for a saver award discount for two reasons:

1. They haven’t sold them already (obviously).
2. They think they now probably won’t sell them.

With those two things in mind, don’t be too surprised as we enter peak holiday season that the selection for December 2018 is becoming rather thin.

There are still some good deals to be had however, assuming you still have travel plans to make in December / January.

Booking tip

Just a reminder here, it’s not made obvious on the Singapore Airlines website that the discounted miles rate is being applied – have faith! Click the ‘Saver’ rate and then check the drop-down box, where the discounted rate is then shown, if your flight is applicable for discount:

The same principle applies if you use the KrisFlyer app to search for award tickets. Make the selection, and the discounted rate should appear.

December offers – SIA Business products

The most common thing we get asked when Spontaneous Escapes is approaching or has just been announced is “Which Singapore Airlines long-haul Business Class or new regional Business Class seats are included?”

We’re not going to argue with the question – this is what most people want to know. A Business Class redemption on SIA is about the best true ‘value’ you’ll get from your miles. Slash nearly a third off the asking price and it’s becoming a very cushy deal indeed, assuming you have the flexibility to make short-term travel plans.

Here’s the breakdown this time around for those premium travel classes:

Spontaneous Escapes – December 2018 SIA New Business Class products on offer
	2017 J (full seat details)
58,000 40,600 Miles: Singapore – Sydney (SQ221) 35,000 24,500 Miles: Singapore – Shanghai (SQ830) Shanghai – Singapore (SQ833)
	2013 J (full seat details)
58,000 40,600 Miles: Singapore – Melbourne (SQ207) Singapore – Melbourne (SQ227) Singapore – Melbourne (SQ237) Singapore – Sydney (SQ211) Singapore – Sydney (SQ241) 35,000 24,500 Miles: Singapore – Beijing (SQ806) Beijing – Singapore (SQ801) Beijing – Singapore (SQ807) Singapore – Shanghai (SQ828) Shanghai – Singapore (SQ831) 17,500 12,250 Miles: Singapore – Jakarta (SQ962) Jakarta – Singapore (SQ963) Singapore – Kuala Lumpur (SQ118) Kuala Lumpur – Singapore (SQ119)
	2018 RJ (full seat details)
17,500 12,250 Miles: Singapore – Denpasar (SQ942) Denpasar – Singapore (SQ943)

For those wanting to try the new 2018 Regional Business Class, now featuring on over a dozen SIA routes, Bali is your only option in December with 30% off meaning 12,250 miles each way in this cabin.

That’s actually a good deal for Business on a 2.5 hour flight in our book, and the new cabin is a great experience.

Non-stop USA discounts: January 2019

Prepare for this to start becoming a regular section. Since Singapore Airlines reinstated non-stop services to the USA using the A350ULR aircraft they have (broadly speaking) seen good take-up in Business Class, with high fares and therefore presumably good yields in this cabin.

The opposite has applied for Premium Economy. Despite enhancing the seat in the A350ULR aircraft and introducing some ‘solo’ options, Saver awards in this cabin have become a regular feature of the Spontaneous Escapes deals. It has also been on fire sale in both directions nearly all the time for cash fares.

Some recent media coverage has even confirmed in an interview with the airline’s Executive Vice President Commercial that the airline is finding the Premium Economy cabin a tough sell on these routes.

This month the offer is for January 2019, excluding the entire busy December, Christmas and New Year periods, but must still be booked by 30th November 2018 to be eligible.

A350ULR – Premium Economy Class

Not as good as the recent offers we’ve seen for these routes, where the Economy Class redemption rate (38,000 miles) applied instead of the Premium Economy amount. That was a 41% discount on these routes.

This time around it’s the 30% discount more typically applied in the regular Spontaneous Escapes offer, meaning the cost is 45,500 miles one-way.

Given the cash fares currently available on these routes during January, plus the fact you will actually earn miles booking these fares, this isn’t honestly a fantastic deal at all. Take a look at round-trip fares available in January and you’ll see why:

• SIN-LAX-SIN S$1,495
• LAX-SIN-LAX S$1,994
• SIN-SFO-SIN S$1,495
• SFO-SIN-SFO S$1,994

You’re getting 1.6 cents per mile to 2.2 cents per mile using KrisFlyer miles in this case (assuming such low fares are available for your dates, which they broadly are). That doesn’t account for the miles you would earn on a round-trip with a cash fare on these routings – at least 16,800 for a San Francisco return.

Bottom line? Don’t jump in with miles on these A350 ULR non-stop USA Premium Economy routes, even at 30% off. Check the fares for your desired dates and do the maths – you’ll probably find it’s a poor deal.

Singapore Airlines December Business Class discounts

Here is the full list of Singapore Airlines Business Class routes on offer for December 2018. Just 10 routes this time round, with 30% off if you can book by the end of this month and travel before the end of the year.

You can also see the all-important Business Class seat types as well as the aircraft types, helping you choose better on your preferred route.

Here are the details for each of the Business Class seat types:

2006 J – 2009 RJ – 2013 J – 2017 J – 2018 RJ

Business Class

South East Asia

North Asia

South Asia

South West Pacific

Singapore Airlines December Economy Class discounts

If an Economy Class redemption is your thing (and with 30% off that can even become an attractive deal for us Business and First Class addicts) here’s the full list of Singapore Airlines routes on offer for December 2018.

Just 9 routes offered this month. Required miles are shown for a one-way redemption, with aircraft types operating the flights also indicated.

Economy Class

South East Asia

North Asia

South Asia

SilkAir December Economy Class Discounts

There are no Business Class offers on SilkAir flights in December, but here are the Economy Class routes with 30% miles discounts. Required miles in the tables are shown for one-way redemptions.

Note that we don’t include aircraft type details for SilkAir flights, as these can vary day to day.

Economy Class

South East Asia

North Asia

South Asia

South West Pacific

Terms and conditions

This monthly offer carries the usual terms, and you can see the full list here. The key considerations for KrisFlyer members in our opinion are the following:

• Book by 30th November 2018.
• Valid for flights from 1st – 31st December 2018 (most SIA and all SilkAir routes)
• Valid for flights from 1st – 31st January 2019 (SIA A350ULR routes to/from USA)
• Valid for ‘Saver’ award tickets on selected routes.
• Blackout dates apply on certain routes (e.g. Singapore to Denpasar in Economy Class blocked 20th-30th December).
• Once booked, these promotional redemption rates are non-changeable and non-cancellable. Use it or lose it!
• All flights in the chosen itinerary must be included in the offer, otherwise the miles rate reverts to standard ‘Saver’ rates for the whole itinerary with no discount. We recommend booking one-way legs so you can still save, for example on one direction of a return trip.
• Stopovers are not allowed (again, think one-way redemptions with this offer).
• Waitlist Saver redemptions are included in the discount, however the waitlist must clear on or before 30th November otherwise the regular ‘Saver’ rate will apply.

Summary

Three months in a row, Premium Economy on Singapore Airlines’ A350 ultra long-haul flights to and from the USA is on offer. With cash fares on these flights at bargain basement rates, it’s no surprise. This time December and much of early January is excluded for obvious reasons, but by mid-January the deal is firmly back in place.

The airline has been struggling with sales in this cabin, slashing return fares close to ‘fuel only’ prices (the fuel bill alone is around S$1,200 per seat to fly an A350ULR to the USA and back).

With competitive discounts still offered for cash tickets on many of these flights, using miles often doesn’t make much sense even under this promotion, which itself is poorer than before with only a 30% discount applied.

For other routes it’s good to see some Australia options available in December – excluding the obvious Christmas dates Singapore to Sydney is available in Business for 40,600 miles, a 17,400 mile saving. This even includes the latest 2017 J seat on the A380, which we reviewed in January.

You can also pick up the 2017 Business Class seat on the Shanghai route again this month – available throughout December for 24,500 miles.

There is also a limited range of SilkAir routes on offer this month, though only in Economy Class. Again some blackout dates apply here and there. Check out Hiroshima to Singapore for 17,500 miles and Singapore to Darwin for 14,000 miles if you’re looking for the biggest savings.

Remember if you’re unable to secure a return flight at the discounted rates, book two one-way tickets instead. You’ll pay the usual ‘Saver’ rate for the non-discounted sector but at least the whole itinerary will not be at the standard rate.

Don’t forget – Spontaneous Escapes is a great discount but you must have pretty firm plans before taking advantage, because you can’t modify or cancel these bookings once made.

Happy Christmas and New Year travel planning from the Mainly Miles team!

(Cover Photo: Kentaro Iemoto)