There’s now a new redemption option for your Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, with the programme’s longstanding link to Marriott Bonvoy points now enhanced for members as a two-way transfer partnership.
That means you can now transfer your KrisFlyer miles into Bonvoy points, as well as converting from Bonvoy to KrisFlyer, the latter option having been possible for some time.
The transfer ratio
You’ll receive 1 Marriott Bonvoy point for every 2 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles you convert.
| Transfer Ratio
KrisFlyer miles Bonvoy points 2 : 1 |
You’ll need to convert a minimum of 3,000 KrisFlyer miles to Marriott Bonvoy points per transfer, thereafter transfers can be made in single-mile increments.
An upper cap of 180,000 KrisFlyer miles transferred per calendar year (1 Jan – 31 Dec) applies.
It also remains possible to transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points to KrisFlyer miles at a 3:1 ratio.
Previously, American Express cardholders in Singapore could transfer Membership Rewards points directly to Bonvoy points at a 1:1 ratio, but this option was removed last week and has not reappeared since (though that does sometimes happen with the Amex site, so it could come back).
How to transfer
To transfer your KrisFlyer miles to Marriott Bonvoy points, log on via the desktop site, then go to Profile > Partner Programmes.
Unlike with some other partners, there is no need to link your Marriott Bonvoy account and KrisFlyer account prior to making a transfer.
Simply click ‘Convert your miles’ then scroll down to ‘Other redemption options’ and click the Marriott Bonvoy link.
Then simply complete the conversion form, including your Marriott Bonvoy account number.
You’ll need to ensure that the name on your KrisFlyer and Marriott Bonvoy membership accounts match, in order for the transfer to be successful.
According to the terms and conditions, transfers take up to eight weeks to reach your Marriott Bonvoy account, which is insanely long. In reality, we imagine it should be much quicker.
Is it worth it?
Not really. General consensus is that Marriott Bonvoy points are worth around 0.7 to 0.8 US cents each, or around 0.9 to 1.2 Singapore cents.
The programme moved to a dynamic pricing model for award nights in March 2022, increasing the number of points required for a hotel stay in most cases.
Indeed you can typically buy Bonvoy points for 0.8 to 1 US cent in one of the programme’s regular purchase bonus sales.
That means you would be cashing out your KrisFlyer miles at 0.45 to 0.6 cents each with a transfer at this 2:1 ratio, which is pretty much the worst value you can get from them.
Here’s how it looks against the other options.
Cash alternatives for KrisFlyer miles
| Method | Min. miles | Value per mile |
| Credit towards an SIA or Scoot cash ticket | 1,050 | 0.95¢ |
| Redeem a KrisShop purchase | 1,000 | 0.80¢ |
| Redeem a vRooms hotel stay |
1,500 | ~0.80¢ |
| Transfer to Shangri-La points for hotel stays | 20,000 | 0.75¢ |
| Transer to Kris+ | 15 | 0.67¢ |
| Transfer to LinkPoints | 3,000 | 0.65¢ |
| Transfer to Esso Smiles points |
3,000 | 0.33¢ to 0.67¢ |
| Transfer to Marriott Bonvoy points | 3,000 | ~0.50¢ |
Even a transfer to KrisPay miles in the Kris+ app will get you 0.67 cents per mile valuation against future purchases at a wide range of stores across Singapore, while on the hotel side a KrisFlyer vRooms hotel redemption stay will net around 0.8 cents of value per mile.
That said, it is possible to get better value than this from Bonvoy points in some circumstances, so a conversion may still make sense for you if the return you can achieve is say double the basic valuation.
You can now transfer KrisFlyer miles to 37 other FFPs (but don’t!)
The ability to transfer KrisFlyer miles into Marriott Bonvoy points opens up an interesting opportunity to effectively transfer from KrisFlyer into 37 other frequent flyer programmes (FFPs).
That’s because Marriott Bonvoy points can be transferred into other FFPs as well as KrisFlyer, like ANA Mileage Club, Alaska Mileage Plan and Avianca LifeMiles.
For example, if you transfer 3,000 KrisFlyer miles into Marriott Bonvoy, you’ll have 1,500 points in the programme. These can then be transferred into 500 ANA Mileage Club miles.
That’s an awful 6:1 ratio, so of course it’s of absolutely no value, but it’s interesting that this wide range of transfers from KrisFlyer (via Bonvoy) is possible for the first time.
Summary
You can now transfer your KrisFlyer miles to Marriott Bonvoy points, but unfortunately the 2:1 transfer ratio is not attractive, and potentially makes this one of the worst ways you can cash out your miles if you place a typical valuation on these points against future hotel stays.
Converting your KrisFlyer miles to be used as a cash equivalent is never good value, with options like offsetting the cost of a Singapore Airlines cash ticket at 1 cent per mile and purchases from the KrisShop at 0.8 cents per mile.
The valuation reached a new low with the launch of KrisPay in July 2018, at a paltry 0.67 cents per mile, but the value for Bonvoy transfers is even worse than this at 0.45 – 0.55 cents per mile.
Perhaps a double miles transfer promotion, where a 1:1 ratio was offered, might make the deal of interest to some people, but otherwise this isn’t an option to get excited about.
(Cover Photo: Marriott International)