What’s the best Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer redemption per minute?

Back in early 2018 we analysed how many KrisFlyer miles per minute you were spending on Singapore Airlines routes to and from Singapore by cabin class. While the analysis was really a bit of fun (‘value’ is based more closely on money saved rather than than time spent), the article turned out to be a lot more popular than we expected.

We’ve therefore kept the analysis up to date following KrisFlyer miles devaluations over the last five years.

With some routes discontinued and others recently added to the network, plus some flight timing and aircraft type changes, here’s the updated version for 2023.

The analysis

It’s pretty simple – how many KrisFlyer miles does it take to redeem a round-trip Saver award flight from Singapore per minute of scheduled flight time, by cabin class?

Head for Points in the UK ran a very similar article in February 2017 relating to the British Airways Avios frequent flyer scheme (since updated to a value per miles flown analysis), and we effectively replicated the miles per minute version for the KrisFlyer programme instead.

Methodology

We used round-trip timings on each route for this analysis. That’s more important on long-haul east-west routes where flight times can differ significantly, such as Singapore to Los Angeles which is 15:55, while Los Angeles to Singapore is 17:10, so using a total of 33:05 takes account of the difference on a round-trip redemption.

• Where flight times differ slightly between Singapore Airlines services on the same route, we’ve assumed the shortest flight time is chosen in both directions, based on flight schedules for the northern summer schedule, where necessary.
• For example on Bali the shortest flight is scheduled at 02:35 on the SIN-DPS sector (even though most are 02:40 and one is 03:00). 02:35 is the shortest scheduled time on DPS-SIN (even though most are 02:40 or 02:45). We’ve therefore used 05:10 (02:35 + 02:35) as the shortest round-trip timings you can get on that route.
• For routes with a stopover, such as Singapore to Cape Town where the aircraft stops in Johannesburg for an hour, the time spent on the ground in both directions has been deducted from the total – since you usually have to get off the plane anyway during these stops, and even if you can (or must) stay on board, there is little or no service offered.
• Flight schedules were sourced from the GDS timetables, but can also be found on the Singapore Airlines website. KrisFlyer saver award miles requirements were sourced from the latest 2023 redemption chart at the Singapore Airlines website.

Of course average or cheapest fare is the true determining factor of the ‘value’ you are getting from your miles – this article does not attempt to do this and simply analyses time-based redemption costs.

Economy Class

Here’s how the miles per minute calculation works out for Economy Class Saver round-trip redemptions from Singapore, the average across all routes working out at 67 miles per minute.

Economy Class
Route	Total Duration	Miles	Miles per Minute
Houston	45:55	88,000	32
New York	41:30	88,000	35
Cape Town	25:20	58,000	38
Los Angeles (SQ12)	36:00	84,000	39
Los Angeles (SQ36/38)	33:05	84,000	42
San Francisco	32:05	84,000	44
Istanbul	21:30	58,000	45
Seattle	30:55	84,000	45
Johannesburg	21:05	58,000	46
Auckland	20:25	61,000	50
Barcelona (SQ378)	28:10	84,000	50
Christchurch	20:30	61,000	50
London	26:45	84,000	52
Manchester	27:10	84,000	52
Barcelona (SQ388)	26:15	84,000	53
Amsterdam	26:00	84,000	54
Brussels	26:10	84,000	54
Paris	26:10	84,000	54
Bali	05:10	17,000	55
Copenhagen	25:35	84,000	55
Frankfurt	25:10	84,000	56
Zurich	25:00	84,000	56
Milan	24:40	84,000	57
Munich	24:35	84,000	57
Rome	24:35	84,000	57
Beijing	12:25	43,000	58
Cebu	07:45	27,000	58
Ahmedabad	11:20	40,000	59
Delhi	11:20	40,000	59
Taipei	09:20	33,000	59
Kathmandu	10:35	40,000	63
Manila	07:10	27,000	63
Mumbai	10:50	40,000	63
Surabaya	04:30	17,000	63
Tokyo (NRT)	14:15	54,000	63
Sydney	15:50	61,000	64
Dubai	14:55	58,000	65
Tokyo (HND)	13:55	54,000	65
Brisbane	15:20	61,000	66
Hanoi	06:50	27,000	66
Brunei	04:15	17,000	67
Melbourne	15:15	61,000	67
Shanghai	10:40	43,000	67
Guangzhou	08:05	33,000	68
Nagoya	13:20	54,000	68
Perth	10:25	43,000	69
Adelaide	14:15	61,000	71
Hong Kong	07:45	33,000	71
Osaka	12:40	54,000	71
Seoul	12:40	54,000	71
Busan	12:30	54,000	72
Cochin	09:05	40,000	73
Hyderabad	09:05	40,000	73
Male	09:10	40,000	73
Bengaluru	08:50	40,000	75
Darwin	09:30	43,000	75
Fukuoka	12:00	54,000	75
Yangon	06:00	27,000	75
Cairns	13:25	61,000	76
Kolkata	08:25	40,000	79
Chennai	08:20	40,000	80
Dhaka	08:15	40,000	81
Jakarta	03:30	17,000	81
Da Nang	05:25	27,000	83
Colombo	07:45	40,000	86
Bangkok	04:45	27,000	95
Penang	02:45	17,000	103
Siem Reap	04:20	27,000	104
Medan	02:40	17,000	106
Ho Chi Minh	04:10	27,000	108
Phnom Penh	04:00	27,000	113
Phuket	03:40	27,000	123
Kuala Lumpur	02:00	17,000	142

The longest routes – Houston and New York – come out best for Economy Saver redemptions at around 32 to 35 KrisFlyer miles per minute, while the shortest flight to Kuala Lumpur is by far the worst at 142 miles per minute. That’s basically to the average Business Class miles per minute rate!

Close-by destinations like Penang, Phuket, Medan and Ho Chi Minh also come out particularly poorly at around 100 – 125 miles per minute, owing to their proximity to Singapore and high redemption rate.

It’s not all bad news for closer destinations though, Bali is a very respectable 55 miles per minute, nearly 20% below the network-wide average by this metric.

Premium Economy Class

The average Singapore Airlines Premium Economy redemption cost comes out at 87 miles per minute.

Premium Economy Class
Route	Total Duration	Miles	Miles per Minute
Cape Town	25:20	86,000	57
Houston	45:55	161,000	58
New York (SQ26)	41:30	161,000	65
Istanbul	21:30	86,000	67
Johannesburg	21:05	86,000	68
Los Angeles (SQ12)	36:00	150,000	69
Newark	37:35	161,000	71
New York (SQ24)	37:30	161,000	72
Los Angeles (SQ36/38)	33:05	150,000	76
San Francisco	32:05	150,000	78
Seattle	30:55	150,000	81
Auckland	20:25	102,000	83
Christchurch	20:30	102,000	83
Barcelona (SQ378)	28:10	142,000	84
Manchester	27:10	142,000	87
London	26:45	142,000	88
Tokyo (NRT)	14:15	75,000	88
Barcelona (SQ388)	26:15	142,000	90
Brussels	26:10	142,000	90
Paris	26:10	142,000	90
Tokyo (HND)	13:55	75,000	90
Amsterdam	26:00	142,000	91
Beijing	12:25	69,000	93
Copenhagen	25:35	142,000	93
Frankfurt	25:10	142,000	94
Zurich	25:00	142,000	95
Milan	24:40	142,000	96
Munich	24:35	142,000	96
Rome	24:35	142,000	96
Delhi	11:20	69,000	101
Mumbai	10:50	69,000	106
Sydney	15:50	102,000	107
Shanghai	10:40	69,000	108
Melbourne	15:15	102,000	111
Hong Kong	07:45	53,000	114

Cape Town is the obvious standout in value terms once you move into the premium cabins – 57 miles per minute in Premium Economy on that route is less Economy Class rates on over a third of the airline’s routes!

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Melbourne come out worst in this cabin, at around 110 miles per minute – that’s not far off the rate payable for a First Class redemption to New York.

Mumbai, Delhi and Sydney also fare poorly in this cabin.

It’s not all bad news in the Australia and New Zealand zone for Premium Economy though, as you’d expect for the same miles rate Auckland and Christchurch come in at a much more reasonable 83 miles per minute.

Business Class

KrisFlyer miles rates for saver Business Class redemptions will set you back on average 143 miles per minute, though the range varies wildly from just 74 miles per minute to 350 miles per minute.

For the Business Class table we’ve also added colour coding to represent the seat types you can book on each route, based on operation from November 2023 onwards. It’s designed to help you easily see where you can get the best value redemptions on the latest products, like the MAX RJ, 2017 J and 2018 RJ seats.

It also exposes the routes on which you’re paying through the nose for an older seat, like those bog-standard 738 RJ recliners.

Key to Business Class Seat Types
▮	738 RJ
▮	MAX RJ
▮	2018 RJ
▮	2013 J
▮	2017 J

For a more specific guide to which Singapore Airline Business Class seats are flying by route and individual flight number, see our regularly updated list here.

Business Class
Route	Total Duration	Seats					Miles	Miles per Minute
Cape Town	25:20				▮		113,000	74
Houston	45:55				▮		223,000	81
Istanbul	21:30				▮		113,000	88
Johannesburg	21:05				▮		113,000	89
New York (SQ26)	41:30				▮		223,000	90
Los Angeles (SQ12)	36:00				▮		214,000	99
Newark	37:35				▮		223,000	99
New York (SQ24)					▮		223,000	102
Cebu	07:45		▮				48,000	103
Los Angeles (SQ36/38)	33:05				▮		214,000	108
Christchurch	20:30				▮		137,000	111
San Francisco	32:05				▮		214,000	111
Auckland	20:25				▮		137,000	112
Manila	07:10			▮			48,000	112
Beijing	12:25			▮	▮		86,000	115
Seattle	30:55				▮		214,000	115
Hanoi	06:50		▮	▮			48,000	117
Taipei	09:20			▮			68,000	121
Barcelona (SQ378)	28:10				▮		207,000	122
Tokyo (NRT)	14:15			▮	▮	▮	104,000	122
Tokyo (HND)	13:55			▮	▮		104,000	125
Ahmedabad	11:20			▮			86,000	126
Delhi	11:20			▮	▮	▮	86,000	126
Dubai	14:55			▮			113,000	126
Manchester	27:10				▮		207,000	127
London	26:45				▮	▮	207,000	129
Nagoya	13:20			▮			104,000	130
Perth	10:25			▮			81,000	130
Barcelona (SQ388)	26:15				▮		207,000	131
Brussels	26:10				▮		207,000	132
Mumbai	10:50			▮	▮	▮	86,000	132
Paris	26:10				▮		207,000	132
Amsterdam	26:00				▮		207,000	133
Yangon	06:00		▮				48,000	133
Shanghai	10:40			▮	▮	▮	86,000	134
Copenhagen	25:35				▮		207,000	135
Kathmandu	10:35	▮		▮			86,000	135
Frankfurt	25:10				▮		207,000	137
Osaka	12:40			▮			104,000	137
Seoul	12:40			▮			104,000	137
Zurich	25:00				▮		207,000	138
Busan	12:30		▮				104,000	139
Guangzhou	08:05			▮			68,000	140
Milan	24:40				▮		207,000	140
Munich	24:35				▮		207,000	140
Rome	24:35				▮		207,000	140
Darwin	09:30		▮				81,000	142
Fukuoka	12:00			▮			104,000	144
Sydney	15:50				▮	▮	137,000	144
Bali	05:10		▮	▮			42,000	145
Hong Kong	07:45			▮	▮	▮	68,000	146
Da Nang	05:25		▮				48,000	148
Brisbane	15:20			▮			137,000	149
Melbourne	15:15				▮	▮	137,000	150
Male	09:10		▮	▮			86,000	156
Surabaya	04:30		▮	▮			42,000	156
Cochin	09:05		▮				86,000	158
Hyderabad	09:05		▮	▮			86,000	158
Adelaide	14:15			▮			137,000	160
Bengaluru	08:50		▮	▮			86,000	162
Brunei	04:15		▮				42,000	165
Bangkok	04:45			▮			48,000	168
Cairns	13:25		▮				137,000	170
Kolkata	08:25		▮	▮			86,000	170
Chennai	08:20		▮	▮			86,000	172
Dhaka	08:15			▮			86,000	174
Colombo	07:45			▮			86,000	185
Siem Reap	04:20		▮				48,000	185
Ho Chi Minh	04:10		▮	▮			48,000	192
Jakarta	03:30				▮		42,000	200
Phnom Penh	04:00		▮				48,000	200
Phuket	03:40	▮	▮				48,000	218
Penang	02:45	▮					42,000	255
Medan	02:40		▮				42,000	263
Kuala Lumpur	02:00	▮	▮		▮		42,000	350

Cape Town rules the roost again in Business Class – an excellent value redemption at 74 miles per minute of flight time – just 10% more than the average Economy Class redemption rate.

Houston is second followed by Istanbul, Johannesburg and New York (via Frankfurt).

Istanbul benefits from being a relatively long flight which avoids the expensive Europe award zone, instead falling into the ‘Africa / Middle East’ award pricing region.

At the bottom of the table – no prizes for guessing that a Business Class redemption to Kuala Lumpur is a complete waste of your miles – coming in at an eye-watering 350 miles per minute which is more expensive than any redemption on the network by this metric, including for First Class and Suites!

If you’re looking at that route to try out the new Boeing 737-8 MAX regional Business Class seat, we’d strongly recommend flying to Cebu or Hanoi instead (around 103 to 117 miles per minute), rather than some of the shorter routes like KL and Phuket.

Some of our readers often mention how redeeming to or from Bali in Business Class isn’t good value, but in pure miles per minute terms (145) it is close to the average Business Class redemption on the network (143), and comes in at a lower rate than awards to destinations like Melbourne and Brisbane.

First Class / Suites

The average KrisFlyer rate in Singapore Airlines’ most exclusive cabins – First Class and Suites, is 181 miles per minute.

Since the two ‘hard’ products are quite different, as with the Business Class analysis we’ve included the seat types you can book on these routes in this top cabin during the November 2023 to March 2024 period, to help you see where the best value for each one lies on a per-minute basis.

For a continually updated list of First Class and Suites seat types by route and individual flight number on the SIA network, be sure to bookmark our dedicated page here.

Key to First Class Seat Types
▮	2013 F
▮	2017 R

Do note, however, that scoring a Saver award in either of these cabins, especially Suites, is a challenge on many routes.

First Class / Suites
Route	Total Duration	Seats		Miles	Miles per Minute
New York	41:30	▮		297,000	119
Los Angeles	36:00	▮		293,000	136
Auckland	20:25		▮	187,000	153
Beijing	12:25	▮		117,000	157
Delhi	11:20	▮	▮	117,000	172
London	26:45	▮	▮	282,000	176
Mumbai	10:50		▮	117,000	180
Paris	26:10	▮		282,000	180
Tokyo (NRT)	14:15	▮	▮	154,000	180
Shanghai	10:50	▮	▮	117,000	183
Tokyo (HND)	13:55	▮		154,000	184
Frankfurt	25:10	▮		282,000	187
Zurich	25:00	▮		282,000	188
Hong Kong	07:45		▮	90,000	194
Sydney	15:50	▮	▮	187,000	197
Melbourne	15:15	▮	▮	187,000	204
Jakarta	03:30	▮		61,000	290

Fewer surprises here – New York, the longest route with a First Class cabin, is the best value at 119 miles per minute. Los Angeles also comes out strongly, as does Auckland, the latter boasting the 2017 Suites this upcoming season from November 2023 to March 2024.

Jakarta is the worst value – it’ll set you back 290 KrisFlyer miles per minute of flight time for a Saver First Class redemption. You’ll literally have to gulp the Champagne back to do justice to that!

Sydney and Melbourne also come out quite poorly – around 200 miles per minute is on the steep side.

Another factor to consider is the value of time in the lounge as well as on board the flight, and that’s especially true for those redeeming First Class and Suites awards, since Singapore Airlines holds back its exclusive ‘The Private Room’ only for these passengers.

You may therefore find a Singapore – Jakarta First Class Saver award booking worth the steep price for such a short route, since it’s your cheapest redemption in miles terms for access to this lounge for several hours before your departure, or even after you arrive back in Singapore.

Yes, it’s simplistic

Remember this is a relatively simple analysis based on flying to and from Singapore. We know it’s possible to beat these miles-per-minute rates on more complex routings, and when stopovers are added.

For First Class Saver redemptions the best we could think of was from Auckland to Singapore to Frankfurt to New York, which comes in at just 96 KrisFlyer miles per minute (188,000 miles for nearly 33 hours in First Class).

For Business Class – Los Angeles to Tokyo to Singapore to Delhi will cost you just 81 KrisFlyer miles per minute (123,000 miles for about 25 hours in Business Class).

Neither of those routings are likely to be much use to many people though! If you can come up with any better value routings, please do mention them in the comments section.

Remember there are a few routing anomalies too, for example New York with a transit stop in Frankfurt comes in at a better miles per minute rate than the non-stop flight to New York – even with the time on the ground excluded – but you would probably prefer the non-stop if it’s available.

Tokyo (Narita) comes out at a better rate than Tokyo (Haneda), purely because the flight is a bit longer, but if you’re heading downtown you probably won’t be choosing a flight to Narita for that reason alone!

Don’t take it too seriously, the tables are supposed to be a bit of fun and aren’t intended to help you choose your next redemption destination.

If you want to go to Rome in Business Class, telling you that it’s half the number of KrisFlyer miles per minute to go to Cape Town instead is very interesting, but isn’t likely to make you want switch continents for your next vacation. Or is it?

(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)