Singapore Airlines has announced today that it will be withdrawing the option for KrisFlyer members to use their miles to redeem Star Alliance Round-the-World (RTW) award tickets, effective for new itineraries from 1st May 2024.

While these “unicorn” awards are difficult to plan and book, they are popular with many readers due to the significant savings they offer.

With an RTW award, you have the ability to circumnavigate the globe on up to 16 flights visiting up to seven cities as part of a trip of up to 35,000 miles, for only 280,000 KrisFlyer miles in Business Class and 405,000 KrisFlyer miles in First Class, almost too good to be true.

As far as we know, Star Alliance RTW awards will remain an option using the following Star Alliance programmes:

• ANA Mileage Club
• Lufthansa Miles&More

Unfortunately these FFPs are difficult to accrue miles in for most of our Singapore-based readers, so this news effectively kills off the Star Alliance Round-the-World award option for most, from next month.

The changes

Singapore Airlines revealed the change this morning with an update to the Award Tickets on Star Alliance Airlines page on its website.

Until 8th April 2024

From 9th April 2024

Note how the airline also removed the links that help you to actually make a Star Alliance RTW booking between now and 30th April 2024! (Edit: They have now re-added these details!)

SIA has also updated its KrisFlyer Terms and Conditions to reflect this change.

Star Alliance RTW award rates

For bookings made from 5th July 2022 onwards, Star Alliance RTW award tickets booked using KrisFlyer miles suffered a price hike as part of a KrisFlyer award chart devaluation.

KrisFlyer Star Alliance Round-the-World
Award Rates

Travel Class			Change
	Old Rate	New Rate
Economy	180,000	200,000	+ 11.1%
Business	240,000	280,000	+ 16.7%
First	360,000	405,000	+ 12.5%

This represented an 11-17% increase in 2022 compared to pre-devaluation levels, though in fairness Singapore Airlines had not touched these particular rates since 2012, so the increase was probably overdue and relatively “fair”.

Taxes and fees are charged in addition to the miles required, and these can be significant when including carriers with high fuel surcharges in your itinerary, like Lufthansa.

Booking is complex

Be warned, as attractive as the rates look for a trip including up to seven cities, booking a Star Alliance RTW award is not a simple process, and there are many rules and restrictions to be aware of.

With only three weeks left to do so if you wish, you’ll have your work cut out with the planning aspect alone, let alone locking in the booking at the end of all your efforts!

We outlined the details in our full guide a few years ago, which you can check out below.

Complications include:

• Must start and end in the same country (but not necessarily the same city)
• No backtracking
• Limit of 16 flight sectors
• Limit of 7 stopovers
• Limit of 2 stopovers per country
• Maximum distance of 35,000 miles
• Restricted to Star Alliance and SIA Saver award space (i.e. not SIA Advantage space)
• Once the trip has started, you can no longer make any changes

Star Alliance Round-the-World booking fee

Back in March 2023, Singapore Airlines also introduced a new US$250 service fee for new Star Alliance Round-the-World (RTW) redemption bookings, without any prior notice.

This per-person fee, equivalent to S$337 at current exchange rates, applies when booking over the phone, via the reservation request form by email, or at the Singapore Airlines ION Orchard service centre.

PPS Club members and their supplementary cardholders get a reprieve from the fee, but KrisFlyer Elite members unfortunately do not, even at the Gold status level.

That already dented the allure of the Star Alliance RTW award, adding quite a strong disincentive to even bother trying to make one of these complex awards work, which we couldn’t help thinking was perhaps KrisFlyer’s intention at the time!

This wasn’t the first time SIA has hiked its fees without notice either. Back in November 2021, the airline quietly increased its seat selection fees, by up to 88% in some cases!

A Star Alliance RTW award using KrisFlyer miles is something of a ‘unicorn’ redemption, being difficult to achieve for most of our readers given the various restrictions, extensive planning required, and inevitable availability problems.

However, if you can achieve one it does usually represent good value, even at the hiked rate of 280,000 miles per person in Business Class, applicable since mid-2022.

Unfortunately it will no longer be an option, for tickets issued from 1st May 2024 onwards.

Despite the complications, this was still a nice option to have, even if a redemption was difficult to achieve, inflexible once you’d started your trip, and more costly with the introduction of a hefty booking fee since March 2023.

If you already have a Star Alliance Round-the-World Award booked for travel up to a year from now, don’t worry. That ticket continues to be valid, however new bookings will not be accepted from 1st May 2024 onwards.

That gives you about three weeks remaining to lock in one of these awards, if you’re interested in doing so.

(Cover Photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media / Malcolm Lu)