Singapore Airlines has been progressively extending the validity of KrisFlyer miles due to expire since April 2020, in view of the ongoing difficulty making travel plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic and changing border measures across the world.
The airline has now confirmed its latest batch of miles validity extensions, with those whose miles were expiring between January 2022 and December 2022, either for the first time or on the basis of a previous extension, now given a fresh 6 or 12-month lease of life.
That means some miles have been extended for a total of five times thanks to these continued membership support measures.
Bottom line: This latest extension means your miles will now be valid until at least 31st January 2023, and until 30th June 2023 in some cases, depending on when they were originally expiring.Why is it necessary?
As most of our readers know, KrisFlyer miles don’t remain valid in your account forever, even if you interact with the programme by earning or redeeming on a regular basis.
That’s unlike some other frequent flyer programmes, like Qantas Frequent Flyer where points never expire provided you earn or redeem at least one point every 18 months.
In late 2019 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles announced a similar policy. For miles earned from 1st January 2020 the former 3-year validity window was replaced by a better rule that all of your miles would remain intact provided you earn or redeem at least one mile every 18 months.
Unfortunately over the years Singapore Airlines has retained its fixed validity period for KrisFlyer miles.
KrisFlyer Miles Expiry A member’s KrisFlyer miles will expire after three years at the end of the equivalent month in which they were earned. For example, miles credited to a member’s KrisFlyer account in July 2021 will expire on 31st July 2024.Note that PPS Club members don’t need to worry about KrisFlyer miles expiry, since their miles never expire as long as they retain PPS Club status.
Miles expiring up to December 2022 have been extended
In light of the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore Airlines is now extending any KrisFlyer miles in your account due to expire between January 2022 and December 2022 by at least six months.
If you have KrisFlyer miles expiring between January 2022 to December 2022, they are eligible for a 6-month extension. This extension will be processed automatically, and no action is required on your part. This means that no miles will expire in 2022, and extended miles will only begin expiring from January 2023.
This also applies to miles that have been previously extended. For example, miles that originally expire in January 2022 will be extended by 6 months to July 2022. In July 2022, these same miles will then be extended by another 6 months to January 2023.
Singapore Airlines
Do note that while some miles (like those expiring in June 2022) have picked up a 12-month extension today, this will still happen in 6-month blocks (i.e. two separate extensions).
Here’s when any expiring KrisFlyer miles during the January 2022 to December 2022 period will now expire, under the latest extension to the policy, even if they have been extended before.
Latest miles expiry table
If you had any miles that expired in March 2020 or earlier, those cannot be re-credited retroactively nor will they be extended.
Do note that any extension to your miles validity will only reflect in your KrisFlyer account at the end of their original (or previously extended) expiry month. For example, if you have miles expiring on 30th April 2022, you will be able to see that the miles have been extended and are valid until 30th April 2023 in May 2022.
Presumably due to some systems limitations, the miles extension will reflect as a debit of the originally expiring miles, plus a subsequent credit of the same number of miles.
The new expiry date will be reflected in your account statement in the month following when your miles are scheduled to expire. For example, if you had miles expiring in January 2022, they will be extended at the end of January 2022, and the new extended expiry date which is July 2022 will be reflected in your account statement in February 2022.
Singapore Airlines
You can see your expiring miles via the Singapore Airlines website when logged on to your account, or via the mobile app, by clicking Miles > Miles Validity.
Your monthly email statement should also show you how many of your miles are expiring in the next six months.
For more information about KrisFlyer miles validity extension, including a list of FAQs, see the Singapore Airlines website here.
KrisFlyer Elite & PPS Club status extension
Singapore Airlines has also announced a third extension for KrisFlyer Elite and PPS Club status levels.
Full details are available in our dedicated article.
Earn status without flying
Aside from miles and status extension, Singapore Airlines continues to run its offer allowing you to renew or upgrade your next membership year without flying, through on-ground earning by shopping or transferring credit card points into the KrisFlyer programme.
See our article below for full details.
Alongside these continual miles validity extensions, this scheme can also help you ensure you’ll retain your appropriate or desired status tier when you get back to travelling again.
Summary
Another somewhat inevitable extension to the validity of expiring KrisFlyer miles, given the continued difficulty to plan travel on the Singapore Airlines network given changing border constraints, especially with the recent Omicron COVID-19 variant spreading the globe.
This latest measure means that no miles will expire in 2022, with extended miles only expiring from 31st January 2023 at the earliest.
This latest extension may not be the last we see from the airline, with the timeline for any significant removal of travel restrictions still far from clear amid COVID-19 uncertainty.
Singapore Airlines has stated that further miles extensions “will be reviewed closer to date”, but don’t be too surprised to see reprieves for miles expiring from January 2023 onwards if most COVID-19 travel restrictions remain in force for the bulk of this year.
(Cover Photo: MainlyMiles)
I personally feel It’s better to keep in Krisflyer vs transferring it to Kris+ which has a very short expiry of just 6 months.
I lost 23k miles as didn’t realise credit expires in 6 months ( & no extension for COVID!) Repeated request to reinstate the miles with Kris+ customer service ended up in vain.
Customer service team of Kris+ is very strict with rules. My credit expired on Feb’22 & I requested them to reinstate end Mar, but after multiple reminders to get their feedback, finally got turned down on in May’22. So only transfer if you are going to use it immediately, or you will end up losing it like me.