Back in October last year, Singapore Airlines launched a new online venture called Pelago. Marketed as a “destination discovery platform”, Pelago currently offers a range of activities, experiences and attraction tickets in Singapore, with plans to branch out internationally once borders reopen.
If you’re familiar with online travel and experiences site Klook, it’s a very similar concept, though the big draw for our readers with Pelago is KrisFlyer miles earning when you spend.
Activities and experiences available include include theme park admission, food and drink tours, wellness treatments and staycations, with over 210 packages currently available ranging from as little as S$4 to S$1,400 at the time of writing.
In return, you’ll earn 1 KrisFlyer mile for every S$1 spent on the site, in addition to up to 4 mpd using the right credit card for the purchase.
You can now redeem KrisFlyer miles on Pelago
Given that Pelago is a Singapore Airlines venture, it probably wasn’t going to be too long before the portal started accepting KrisFlyer miles as a payment method too, rather than just awarding them for purchases made.
Until very recently, there weren’t very many things you could pay with miles. Flight upgrades, hotel bookings, and that was pretty much it. The result? A huge stockpile of miles sitting idly in your account waiting to be spent. Thankfully, you can now put those miles to good use by redeeming miles for activities and experiences on Pelago.
Pelago
Miles redemption is now possible, with the following conversion ratio applied.
| Redemption Ratio
KrisFlyer miles Pelago purchases 150 S$1 |
Before you whip out your calculator to check whether this can work out as a good deal – it really can’t. Pelago is offering the new ‘default low’ when converting your KrisFlyer miles into cash at 0.67 cents per mile, the same rate you’ll get using Kris+ and (at best) when converting to Esso Smiles points.
Other points to note:
- KrisFlyer redemption on Pelago is subject to a minimum spend of 1,050 miles (which would offset a S$7 transaction).
- Part miles / part cash redemptions are not supported – it’s all or nothing.
- Pelago bookings must be made under your name, or the name of one of your redemption nominees, to redeem miles.
- If you cancel your unused Pelago experience booking made by redeeming from KrisFlyer, your miles will be refunded back into your account within two weeks, but there is no cash refund alternative.
Here’s how this new way of spending stacks up against the other ‘cash’ options for your miles.