Complete guide to the PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club

The PPS Club is the highest echelon in the KrisFlyer frequent flyer programme, comprised of two tiers – PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club, and it’s exclusive to those making significant cash spend in Singapore Airlines’ First and Business Class cabins each year.

It’s a pair of very sought-after status levels, including First Class check-in and lounge access on top of enhanced award space on SIA flights, but the qualification requirements do make it difficult to achieve.

As with KrisFlyer Elite Gold – PPS Club is also equivalent to the Star Alliance Gold tier, which provides perks like lounge access and priority check-in when flying with a host of other airlines, not just SIA.

Here’s our summary of how it works, and what the principal benefits are.

Where PPS Club tiers sit

First of all it’s important to note that Singapore Airlines effectively has two status programmes for its frequent flyers – KrisFlyer and PPS Club.

Solitaire PPS Club and PPS Club are the top two tiers respectively. Here’s where they sit in the rankings.

Solitaire PPS Club To achieve / maintain: 50,000 PPS Value in 12 months
PPS Club To achieve / maintain: 25,000 PPS Value in 12 months
KrisFlyer Elite Gold To achieve / maintain: 50,000 Elite miles in 12 months
KrisFlyer Elite Silver To achieve / maintain: 25,000 Elite miles in 12 months
KrisFlyer Member To achieve / maintain: Free to join

We have separately comprehensively covered KrisFlyer Elite Silver and KrisFlyer Elite Gold earning and benefits, in the articles linked below.

What is PPS Value and how do you earn it?

To attain and rise through the PPS Club status tiers you’ll need sufficient PPS Value, which are effectively the programme’s status credits and are earned alongside KrisFlyer miles and Elite miles if you’re still holding a KrisFlyer tier, but cannot be converted into KrisFlyer miles nor redeemed for anything else.

PPS Value only exists to determine your eligibility and / or status tier in the PPS programme.

PPS Value is awarded at a rate of 1 PPS Value per S$1 of fare paid (excluding taxes). Only the person named on the ticket can accrue PPS Value – you won’t earn extra by paying for others.

Most importantly of all:

• You don’t earn PPS Value when flying in Premium Economy or Economy Class
• You only earn PPS Value when flying on Singapore Airlines operated flights (SQ flight number, SQ metal)
• Redemption flights using KrisFlyer miles are not eligible for PPS Value accrual, and if you use the ‘part-pay with miles’ option, you’ll only earn PPS Value on the amount you pay with your credit/debit card.

When you fly in Singapore Airlines Suites, First Class or Business Class, you earn PPS Value, which all goes towards your PPS Club status.

PPS Value is based on your total airfare and applicable surcharge, but not airport taxes. It’s calculated in Singapore dollars, so if you’ve bought your ticket in another currency, the airfare and surcharge portions are converted to Singapore dollars to determine your PPS Value.

Singapore Airlines

Qualification requirements

The big difference with PPS status tiers is that because of the nature of PPS Value it’s no longer just miles flown which are required to qualify into these two status categories, but money spent.

• To qualify (and re-qualify) for PPS Club status you’ll have to earn at least 25,000 PPS Value in a 12-month period
• To qualify (and re-qualify) for Solitaire PPS Club status you’ll have to earn at least 50,000 PPS Value in a 12-month period

Grandfather rights:

• To re-qualify for Solitaire PPS Club status you’ll only need 25,000 PPS Value in a 12-month period, provided you originally earned that status on or before 1st June 2018, and have maintained it since then.

Earn PPS Value on the ground

Singapore Airlines is currently running an ‘Earn Status Credits Beyond the Skies’ promotion from 5th March 2024 to 4th June 2024, to celebrate the KrisFlyer programme’s 25th anniversary.

During the promotion, KrisFlyer and PPS Club members can earn status credits (Elite miles and PPS Value respectively) for on-ground spend at the following SIA Group merchants:

• Kris+
• KrisShop
• Pelago

The deal allows you to earn only 10% of the status credits required for upgrade or retention from this on-ground spend.

That’s not going to open the floodgates for a raft of new elite memberships – but think of it more as a ‘leg up’ if you’re going to end your membership year slightly short of the status retention or upgrade threshold.

The earn rates and status credits cap for KrisFlyer and PPS Club members under this offer are outlined in the following table.

Earn Status Credits Beyond the Skies

Current Membership	Earn Rate	Cap
KrisFlyer	1 Elite mile per S$1 spent*	5,000 Elite miles
PPS Club	1 PPS Value per S$3 spent**	2,500 PPS Value

* Or 1 Elite mile per AU$1 spent via Kris+ in Australia
** Or 1 PPS Value per AU$3 spent via Kris+ in Australia

Elite Miles can only be earned by KrisFlyer members under this promotion, while PPS Value can only be earned by PPS Club members.

That means if you are a KrisFlyer member trying to achieve PPS Club status through accrual of PPS Value, this on-ground earning promotion will not be able to assist you with that, since you’ll only be able to earn Elite miles under this offer.

You can view the full terms and conditions, including a range of frequently asked questions regarding the “Earn Status Credits Beyond the Skies” campaign at this dedicated page on the Singapore Airlines website.

Reserve Value

Any PPS Value you earn in excess of the requalification requirement is stored in your account as Reserve Value, which can count towards your renewal of PPS Club membership in subsequent years.

Reserve Value is valid for three years from being credited to your account (i.e. until the end of the 36th month following accrual), or six years if you first attained status before 1st June 2018.

To maximise the validity of your Reserve Value, your membership will always be renewed using your Reserve Value (from oldest to newest) before adding the PPS Value you’ve earned in your current membership year.

Reserve Value example

Here’s an example of how Reserve Value works to ensure you remain a PPS Club member for as long as possible, and that higher than necessary First and Business Class spend on SIA in some years is not ‘wasted’, because it can then cover subsequent years of lower spend.

In your 2023 PPS Club membership year you:

• Accrue 25,000 PPS Value, sufficient to renew your membership tier for another year
• Have 30,000 Reserve Value in your account, accrued in 2022 over and above the PPS Value you needed to renew that year, which expires in 2025
• The 25,000 PPS Value need for renewal at the end of your 2023 membership year will be taken from your 30,000 Reserve Value

For your 2024 PPS Club membership year:

• The 25,000 PPS Value you accrued in 2023, which wasn’t touched for renewal purposes, will become Reserve Value, expiring in 2026
• The remaining 5,000 Reserve Value that also wasn’t touched for renewal purposes will expire in 2025
• You then accrue 5,000 PPS Value in your 2024 PPS Club membership year
• The 25,000 PPS Value need for renewal at the end of your 2024 membership year will be taken from your 30,000 Reserve Value (5,000 expiring in 2025 and 15,000 expiring in 2026)

For your 2025 PPS Club membership year:

• The 5,000 PPS Value you accrued in 2024, which wasn’t touched for renewal purposes, will become Reserve Value, expiring in 2027
• The remaining 5,000 Reserve Value that also wasn’t touched for renewal purposes will expire in 2026
• You must now accrue at least 15,000 PPS Value in your 2025 membership year to retain PPS Club tier in 2026

Singapore Airlines also provides the following example of how Reserve Value works with PPS Value to assist with annual tier renewal.

Physical membership kits

Singapore Airlines has done away with physical membership kits for KrisFlyer Elite members, but if you reach the lofty heights of PPS Club or Solitaire PPS Club status you will still receive a membership card and leather luggage tags.

Solitaire members even get a leather travel pouch, as an added extra.

Physical membership cards and luggage tags are a somewhat outdated concept in 2023, but many still value the tactile satisfaction they provide, recognising your priority relationship with the airline.

According to Singapore Airlines the latest PPS membership kits are designed to “convey the prestige and exclusivity of our loyalty programme”.

Sadly many members pop these items in the bin on receipt, and SIA does not provide a voluntary ‘opt-out’ – leading to a lot of wasted packaging and material.

‘Soft landing’

PPS Club members who have held that status for more than a year but do not subsequently requalify will ‘soft land’ to KrisFlyer Elite Gold status for one year, regardless of activity (or lack thereof).

They will then be subject to standard requalification requirements in subsequent years.

PPS Club members who have held their status for only one year will soft land to KrisFlyer Elite Silver, unless they would have accrued enough Elite miles to achieve Gold (this is still tracked ‘in the background’, so don’t worry – SIA knows if you’re Gold-worthy).

Star Alliance Gold status

PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club status are both equivalent to Star Alliance Gold, and therefore give you this coveted top-tier recognition across all alliance partners when you fly.

In this article you’ll therefore see us refer to PPS Club benefits and Star Alliance Gold benefits, but don’t worry – as a PPS Club member you’re holding both, which means you get both.

25% KrisFlyer miles bonus on paid flights

Whenever you take a paid flight on Singapore Airlines or Scoot as a PPS Club member, you’ll earn 25% bonus KrisFlyer miles, except when travelling in Economy Lite (code V, K) or Economy Value (code Q, N) fares on Singapore Airlines.

This is in addition to any booking class bonus (or penalty) you may receive on a Singapore Airlines flight, as shown in the following table.

KrisFlyer Miles earning on Singapore Airlines flights (PPS Club Members)
Cabin	Booking Class / Fare Code	KF Miles Earning (distance flown x)
Suites / First	F, A	200% 225%
Business	Flexi: Z, C, J	150% 175%
	Standard: U	125% 150%
	Lite: D
Premium Economy	Flexi: S, T	125% 150%
	Standard: L, P	100% 125%
	Lite: R
Economy	Flexi: Y, B, E	100% 125%
	Standard: M, H, W	75% 100%
	Value: Q, N	50%
	Lite: V, K

With Scoot, the 25% bonus is applied to the usual 1 mile per Singapore Dollar of the base fare charged (i.e. you’ll get 1.25 miles per SGD spent as a PPS Club member).

If you are travelling on a mixed itinerary containing both Scoot and Singapore Airlines sector(s), you earn KrisFlyer miles for the Singapore Airlines sectors based on the table above, and on the Scoot sectors based on a percentage of the actual miles flown on Scoot, and your Scoot booking class, with a 25% bonus.

For example, as a PPS Club member you’ll net the following total KrisFlyer miles accrual on a return trip from Singapore to Melbourne with one of these two carriers.

	Singapore Airlines	Scoot
Route	Singapore – Melbourne – Singapore
Fare Type	Economy Standard	Economy
Base Fare	S$1,690.00	S$605.00
Taxes & Fees	S$164.60	S$164.23
Regular KrisFlyer Miles	5,628	605
Bonus KrisFlyer Miles	1,407	151
Total KrisFlyer Miles	7,035	756

In this example you’re netting over 1,400 bonus KrisFlyer miles in addition to regular earning for basic members when flying with SIA, or (a slightly more paltry) 151 bonus miles when flying with Scoot.

Note that this 25% bonus applies only to KrisFlyer miles accrual. PPS Value accrual does not get a boost when flying on SIA in Suites Class, First Class or Business Class, and continues to be based solely on the cash component paid (less taxes and fees).

Lounge access

One of the major benefits of PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club status is access to the SilverKris Lounges in Singapore and (where available) overseas, prior to departure on a Singapore Airlines flight.

PPS Club members can access the Business Class section of the SKL, while Solitaire PPS Club members are entitled to access the First Class section (but not The Private Room at Changi).

Lounge Access departing in Y/PY
Departing on	From Singapore	Outside Singapore
Singapore Airlines	SilverKris Lounge (J)	SilverKris Lounge (J) or Third-party Lounge
Star Alliance	Star Alliance Gold Lounge	Star Alliance Gold Lounge
Virgin Australia	n/a	Virgin Australia Lounge
Departing on	From London Heathrow	From other airports
Virgin Atlantic	Club Aspire Lounge T3	Virgin Clubhouse

Note that lounge access for PPS Club members when departing on SIA-owned Vistara was removed in July 2022.

Lounge Access departing in Y/PY
Departing on	From Singapore	Outside Singapore
Singapore Airlines	SilverKris Lounge (F)	SilverKris Lounge (F) or Third-party Lounge
Star Alliance	Star Alliance Gold Lounge	Star Alliance Gold Lounge
Scoot	SilverKris Lounge (F)	SilverKris Lounge (F)
Virgin Australia	n/a	Virgin Australia Lounge
Departing on	From London Heathrow	From other airports
Virgin Atlantic	Club Aspire Lounge T3	Virgin Clubhouse

Note that lounge access for PPS Club members when departing on SIA-owned Vistara was removed in July 2022.

At airports where Singapore Airlines only offers a third-party lounge to travellers, the lounge you are entitled to use as a PPS member is usually the same as the one Business Class passengers can use, but this is not the case at some airports.

Here are the current locations where a different lounge is offered to PPS members flying Economy and Premium Economy, compared to Business Class passengers.

Differentiated Lounge Access (SIA passengers)
Airport	Business Class	PPS Members
Amsterdam	Cafe Frames	Privium Lounge
Colombo	Araliya Lounge	AASL Lotus Lounge
Frankfurt	LH Business Lounge or AC Maple Leaf Lounge	LH Senator Lounge or AC Maple Leaf Lounge
Houston	UA Polaris Lounge	United Club
Istanbul	TK Business Lounge	TK M&S Lounge
Munich	LH Business Lounge	LH Senator Lounge
New York JFK	Air India Lounge	Virgin Clubhouse*
San Francisco	UA Polaris Lounge	United Club
Tokyo HND	ANA Lounge	ANA Suite Lounge*
Tokyo NRT	ANA Lounge	ANA Suite Lounge*
Zurich	LX Business Lounge	LX Senator Lounge

* Solitaire PPS Club members only

At some airports, like Manchester, PPS Club members can use the same lounge as Business Class passengers (1903 Lounge in this case), while KrisFlyer Elite Gold and other Star Alliance Gold members are directed to a poorer lounge (Escape Lounge in this case).

Lounge guests

PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members departing on a Star Alliance or eligible partner airline can generally invite one guest to join them in the departure lounge they are eligible to visit, but the following restrictions apply:

• When departing on Singapore Airlines or a Star Alliance carrier, your guest must be travelling on the same flight as you.
• When departing on Virgin Australia, your guest must be departing on a Virgin Australia flight the same day.
• When departing on Virgin Atlantic, you are not permitted to bring any guests into the Virgin Clubhouse.

The guesting policy at Singapore Airlines lounges in Changi was officially tightened last year to align with new Star Alliance norms, a topic we covered in detail at the time.

Solitaire PPS enhanced lounge access

Solitaire PPS Club members arriving at Changi Airport, with Singapore as their final destination, are eligible to use the SilverKris First Class Lounge in T2 or T3, along with one guest arriving on the same flight.

You will be required to present your inbound boarding pass to verify access eligibility in this case.

Note that the former benefit for Plaza Premium Arrivals Lounge access at London Heathrow Terminal 2 for Solitaire PPS Club members arriving on either SQ306 or SQ322 has now been withdrawn, following the permanent closure of that facility.

Solitaire PPS Club members are eligible to use the ANA Suite lounges at Tokyo Haneda and Tokyo Narita prior to departure, a rare recognition of PPS status by a non-SIA Group airline.

PPS rewards

PPS members earn PPS Rewards as they pass through specific PPS Value thresholds during their membership year.

PPS Rewards
PPS Value earned*	Reward
30,000	2 x Double KrisFlyer Miles
	Full details (click) Receive two vouchers, each of which allows the principal member to earn twice the usual KrisFlyer miles for a single flight segment. This can be applied before your flight departure, or on a past booking up to seven days ago. If you used KrisFlyer miles to offset any cash element of your booking then you'll only receive double KrisFlyer miles in relation to the amount you paid in cash.
40,000	50,000 KrisFlyer Miles Redemption Discount
	Full details (click) Receive a reward for a redemption discount of 50,000 KrisFlyer miles when you are redeeming your KrisFlyer miles for an award ticket or a redemption upgrade. Valid for 12 months from the date of issue for redemption bookings (excluding HighFlyer bookings) or for redemption upgrades on eligible flights operated by Singapore Airlines. The reward can be used by the principal member or for their redemption nominee, and applies to the first passenger only for redemptions with multiple travellers. If your booking is refunded, the discount will be credited back to your KrisFlyer account if it remains valid.
60,000	Advance Upgrade 1
	Full details (click) Receive one advance upgrade voucher, which allows you to apply for a one-cabin class upgrade on your eligible booking. Your upgrade will be confirmed at the point of booking, subject to availability. The single cabin class upgrade is valid: From Economy to Premium Economy (if fitted) From Economy to Business (if PY is not fitted) From Premium Economy to Business From Business to First (if fitted) The upgrade is valid for commercial tickets (not award flights) booked under anything except the 'Value' and 'Lite' fare buckets (i.e. excluding D in Business Class, R in Premium Economy and K, N, Q or V in Economy).
75,000	Advance Upgrade 2
	Full details (click) Receive one advance upgrade voucher, which allows you to apply for a one-cabin class upgrade on your eligible booking. Your upgrade will be confirmed at the point of booking, subject to availability. The single cabin class upgrade is valid: From Economy to Premium Economy (if fitted) From Economy to Business (if PY is not fitted) From Premium Economy to Business From Business to First (if fitted) The upgrade is valid for commercial tickets (not award flights) booked under anything except the 'Value' and 'Lite' fare buckets (i.e. excluding D in Business Class, R in Premium Economy and K, N, Q or V in Economy).
100,000	Advance Upgrade 3
	Full details (click) Receive one advance upgrade voucher, which allows you to apply for a one-cabin class upgrade on your eligible booking. Your upgrade will be confirmed at the point of booking, subject to availability. The single cabin class upgrade is valid: From Economy to Premium Economy (if fitted) From Economy to Business (if PY is not fitted) From Premium Economy to Business From Business to First (if fitted) The upgrade is valid for commercial tickets (not award flights) booked under anything except the 'Value' and 'Lite' fare buckets (i.e. excluding D in Business Class, R in Premium Economy and K, N, Q or V in Economy).

* Per membership year

As you can see, Advance Upgrade rewards are only applicable to Solitaire PPS Club members, since they kick in at 60,000 PPS Value accrued in your membership year (50,000 is enough to see you minted as Solitaire).

PPS Rewards are valid for 12 months from the date of issue, so you don’t have to use them within the membership year of accrual.

To use a PPS Reward, log in to your account and click on Account Summary > PPS Rewards, and you’ll see a list of those those you’re eligible to apply, alongside any you have used already.

Priority award space

PPS Club members get priority access to Saver award availability on Singapore Airlines flights over regular KrisFlyer members, while Solitaire PPS Club members then get the highest priority, over and above PPS Club members.

For example, here’s how Business Class award space looks on a Singapore – Taipei flight later this year for a regular KrisFlyer member:

Here’s how it looks for a PPS Club member:

Finally here’s how it looks for a Solitaire PPS Club member:

This is a major benefit of the PPS programme for many of our readers, and while it can’t be relied upon on all routes all year round, there should be some better Saver award space to take advantage of throughout the year.

PPS Connect

The PPS Connect service allows PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members to SMS the airline on 9184 8888, then receive a call back from an agent to assist with their query.

The SMS format is:

PPS [space] 10-digit PPS Club number Example: If your PPS Club number is 1234567890, you will need to send “PPS 1234567890” to 9184 8888

Wait times during the COVID-19 pandemic were long, but recent reader reports suggest the callback can currently be expected anywhere from around 15 minutes to 2 hours after the SMS is sent.

Priority check-in (Singapore)

In Singapore, Solitaire PPS Club members can check in at the First Class Check-in Reception at Changi Airport Terminal 3 prior to their departure on a Singapore Airlines flight – even if their flight departs from Terminal 2.

This benefit extends to your husband / wife and children if they are flying with you.

Alternatively, Solitaires can use the First Class check-in desks in T2 or T3.

PPS Club members can check in at the Business Class desks at Changi Airport Terminal 2 or Terminal 3 prior to their departure on a Singapore Airlines flight – regardless of their actual departure terminal.

Priority check-in (overseas)

At overseas airports, Solitaire PPS Club members can use the First Class check-in counters (where available) when departing on Singapore Airlines flights. If there are no First Class counters, use the Business Class check-in counters.

When departing with a Star Alliance carrier, you can check-in wherever you see the Star Alliance Gold logo.

When flying with Lufthansa, this includes the airline’s First Class check-in counters, but alas not the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt.

With non-Star partner airlines you can use the following check-in desks:

• Virgin Atlantic: Upper Class counter
• Virgin Australia: Priority Check-in counter
• Vistara: Business Class counter (including in Singapore itself)

For PPS Club members, check-in overseas for Singapore Airlines flights is at the Business Class counters, or when departing with a Star Alliance carrier, wherever you see the Star Alliance Gold logo.

Priority departure immigration in Singapore

Solitaire PPS Club members can take advantage of the dedicated departure immigration lane for First Class passengers at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

This is located directly after the First Class Check-in Reception mentioned above, but can also be used after checking in at the regular desks in T3, if preferred.

Priority security and immigration clearance

Star Alliance offers priority security clearance lanes at selected airports under its Gold Track system.

This benefit is available at 126 airports at the time of writing, including several SIA airports like:

• Amsterdam
• Barcelona
• Brussels
• Fukuoka
• Houston
• Istanbul
• London Heathrow
• Los Angeles
• New York JFK
• Zurich

Additional baggage allowance

PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members receive double the regular checked baggage allowance when flying with Singapore Airlines, good for up to 50kg of additional baggage in the highest cabin class.

They also get additional checked baggage allowance when flying with Virgin Atlantic, Star Alliance carriers or a Star Alliance Connecting Partner, as follows:

• An extra 20kg of checked baggage, where the weight concept applies.
• An extra piece of checked baggage, where the piece concept applies (USA / Canada flights).

Different additional baggage allowances apply when flying with the following partners:

• Virgin Australia: An extra bag of up to 32kg for Business passengers, and up to 23kg for Economy Class passengers, on domestic and short-haul international flights.
• Vistara: An extra 10kg of checked baggage.

Here’s how this looks on a practical basis when flying with Singapore Airlines to and from most destinations, which use the weight concept.

Singapore Airlines Baggage Allowance (weight-based)
Travel Class	Regular Allowance	PPS Club & Solitaire Allowance
First / Suites	50kg	100kg
Business	40kg	80kg
Premium Economy	35kg	70kg
Economy Flexi Economy Standard	30kg	60kg
Economy Value Economy Lite	25kg	50kg

These allowances also apply to award tickets, with Economy Saver and Economy Advantage redemptions both entitled to the Economy Flexi baggage allowance of 30kg, which is therefore hiked to 60kg for PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members.

Here’s how it looks for flights to and from the USA and Canada, where the piece concept applies.

Singapore Airlines Baggage Allowance (piece-based)
Travel Class	Regular Allowance	PPS Club & Solitaire Allowance
First / Suites	2 x 32kg	4 x 32kg
Business	2 x 32kg	4 x 32kg
Premium Economy	2 x 23kg	4 x 23kg
Economy	2 x 23kg	4 x 23kg

Again, award bookings also benefit from the same increased allowances for PPS members.

Note that the increased baggage allowance benefit does not apply on:

• “Light” fares on Austrian, Lufthansa and Swiss
• “Check&Go” fares on Brussels Airlines
• “Go light” fares on SAS
• “Seat” fares on Air New Zealand

Priority baggage handling

PPS Club members get priority baggage handling, even when flying in Premium Economy Class or Economy Class on Singapore Airlines or with other Star Alliance carriers.

In theory at least, this directs your bag for loading into a ULD container with other priority bags inside, which is then supposed to be loaded closest to the aircraft’s cargo door (the load last / unload first concept).

That should make your bag one of the first to reach the belt on arrival, though success with this does vary from airline to airline and airport to airport.

It can go awry, for example, when last minute no-shows cause baggage from containers loaded further into the cargo hold to be removed just before departure, which can sometimes result in the ULDs being re-loaded out of sequence, to minimise delays.

Therefore while this is a nice benefit that should see you on your way out of the destination airport sooner than most passengers, it’s far from guaranteed.

Solitaire PPS welcome gift

When you are upgraded to the Solitaire PPS Club membership tier, you will receive PPS Club gift vouchers to the email address registered in your profile.

This gift was also offered to those successfully renewing their Solitaire membership between March 2022 and February 2023, but we assume this perk has since ceased since the SIA website has not been updated to reflect any extension of the renewal gift.

APEC Business Travel card

Singapore Airlines offers Solitaire PPS Club members with passports issued in participating countries a reimbursement for the cost of an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC). This perk does not extend to supplementary Solitaire PPS Club members, or PPS Club members.

The ABTC gives you the following benefits:

• Fast-track entry and exit through special APEC lanes at participating airports.
• Multiple, short-term entries to pre-cleared APEC economies without having to make a separate visa application to fully participating members.

This can save you significant time at airports with dedicated ABTC immigration lines, especially where priority immigration for premium passengers is non-existent.

The following countries accept the ABTC:

• Australia
• Brunei
• Canada
• Chile
• China
• Hong Kong
• Indonesia
• Japan
• South Korea
• Malaysia
• Mexico

• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Peru
• Philippines
• Russia
• Singapore
• Taipei
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• United States

You must apply for an ABTC directly from your relevant authority (e.g. ICA, for Singaporeans), then claim the cost back from SIA by completing the relevant reimbursement form, depending on whether you wish to receive the amount back by cheque or local bank transfer.

You will need to have a copy of the official application acknowledgement and a receipt for application fee. All supporting documents must contain the name of the principal Solitaire PPS Club member, for verification purposes.

Reimbursement is within six to eight weeks from the point of submission.

Complimentary and discounted seat selection on SIA

Singapore Airlines passengers in First Class, Suites and Business Class get complimentary seat selection, whether flying on a revenue fare or award ticket.

However, seat selection fees do apply in Premium Economy and Economy Class, as follows:

• Premium Economy: Extra Legroom, PY Upgrade*, Solo Seats
• Economy: Standard, Forward Zone, Extra Legroom

* Advance selection of a PY seat on a flight with no service differentiation from Economy Class (e.g. SIN-CGK)

Singapore Airlines quietly hiked these fees, by up to 88% in some cases, during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the good news is that PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members get a full waiver on all these seat selection fees.

Here’s how the discount structure looks, compared to other membership tiers.

Seat Selection Fees KrisFlyer Discounts
	Standard	Forward Zone	Extra Legroom PY “Upgrade” PY Solo Seats
Non-KF	No discount	No discount	No discount
KF Member	5% discount	5% discount	5% discount
KF Elite Silver	Free	10% discount	10% discount
KF Elite Gold	Free	Free	15% discount
PPS Club	Free	Free	Free

As you can see, PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members pay no seat selection fees whatsoever when travelling with Singapore Airlines.

Travel companions on the same booking as a PPS Club / Solitaire PPS Club member will get a 15% discount on Extra Legroom, PY “Upgrade” and PY Solo Seats, but will be able to choose a Standard or Forward Zone seat for free.

No complimentary seat selection on other airlines

One big gripe many travellers have about Star Alliance Gold status (and in turn, that includes all PPS Club members) is that there is no complimentary seat selection benefit when flying with other alliance carriers.

That’s quite unlike Oneworld and SkyTeam elites, who get discounted or complimentary seat selection on almost all partners within their respective alliance.

Guaranteed Economy Class seat

PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club status holders can guarantee a paid Economy Class seat on any Singapore Airlines flight, provided they request it at least 24 hours before departure.

This is a great perk for essential or emergency travel on flights that are already sold out, but the highest booking class is applicable, so the seat is not cheap.

While this perk was suspended during COVID-19, it is now back in effect on all routes at the time of writing.

Priority reservation waitlist

If you are waitlisted for a revenue ticket or an award ticket on Singapore Airlines or a Star Alliance carrier, you’ll receive priority as a PPS Club member member over and above those with Elite Gold and Elite Silver status, or with no status.

This may increase the likelihood of a waitlisted award redemption clearing for you from time to time, but it’s certainly no guarantee of anything.

Priority airport standby

Solitaire PPS Club and PPS Club members are given priority over KrisFlyer Elite Gold and Silver members, regular members and non-members on airport standby lists for Singapore Airlines and Star Alliance flights, where a confirmed reservation is not available.

This benefit does not apply to award tickets or flight upgrades.

Priority boarding

As a PPS Club member, you’ll be invited forward to board with Business Class passengers, before KrisFlyer Elite Gold and Star Alliance Gold passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight.

The boarding sequence depends on how many cabin classes are offered on your flight. Here’s how it looks for a two-class regional flight with only Business Class and Economy Class cabins.

As you can seePPS Club passengers board with Business Class passengers in this case.

Here’s how it works on a four-class aircraft, like the Airbus A380:

1. Passengers who require special assistance, or who are travelling with infants and toddlers
2. Suites and First Class passengers
3. Business Class passengers and PPS Club members
4. Premium Economy Class passengers, KrisFlyer Elite Gold and Star Alliance Gold members
5. Economy Class passengers (by sequential boarding group)

The major benefit here is therefore when travelling in Economy Class or Premium Economy Class, where you’ll get first dibs on overhead locker space, even ahead of KrisFlyer Elite Gold members.

You’ll also get priority boarding on other Star Alliance carriers as a Star Alliance Gold member, though they may adopt a slightly different boarding sequence.

For example, Lufthansa gives boarding priority to Star Alliance Gold passengers along with Business Class, ahead of general boarding for the Premium Economy cabin on long-haul flights, and even boards Golds ahead of the Business Class cabin on European flights, which SIA does not do in either case.

ANA is another Star Alliance carrier boarding Star Alliance Gold members alongside Business Class passengers on international flights – you have to reach the lofty heights of PPS Club to get the same treatment with Singapore Airlines!

Free Wi-Fi on Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines now offers free unlimited Wi-Fi to all PPS Club members on Wi-Fi-equipped aircraft in its fleet (i.e. except the Boeing 737-800).

That benefit has degraded slightly since mid-2023, since it is now available to all travellers with either a KrisFlyer or PPS Club membership in Economy Class and Premium Economy, so is not an exclusive PPS Club perk as such.

On board perks

While not an official benefit of the PPS Club or Solitaire PPS Club tiers, cabin crew on board Singapore Airlines flights are aware of your status level and this sometimes means better treatment on board.

Examples include having meal orders taken and delivered first when flying in Economy Class, or even a glass of Champagne from the Business Class cabin.

Solitaire PPS Club and PPS Club members should also be upgraded ahead of other passengers with lower status on flights which are overbooked in your travel class.

Solitaire PPS birthday upgrade

While this is an undocumented benefit, Solitaire PPS Club members still receive a complimentary one-class cabin upgrade when travelling with Singapore Airlines on their birthday, or +/- one day.

This is subject to availability at the point of check-in.

Birthday Bonus

KrisFlyer and PPS Club members receive a bonus KrisFlyer miles gift when they take a paid Singapore Airlines or Scoot flight during their birthday month, or up to two months afterwards.

The gift is credited as follows:

• 1,000 bonus miles for KrisFlyer members
• 1,500 bonus miles for KrisFlyer Elite Silver and KrisFlyer Elite Gold members
• 2,000 bonus miles for PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members

These miles are in addition to the regular KrisFlyer miles earning from a paid fare.

This benefit applies during all of 2024, as it did in 2023, but may be further extended in subsequent years. Full terms and conditions are available here.

Change Redemption Nominees for free

You’ll get a waiver on the regular service fee as a PPS Club member when changing your redemption nominees, as shown in the following table.

Change of Redemption Nominees
	Fee
KF Member	3,000 miles or US$30
KF Elite Silver	1,500 miles or US$15
KF Elite Gold	Free
PPS Club	Free

However, do note that unfortunately there are no discounts or waivers for KrisFlyer or PPS Club members regardless of status tier when it comes to paying change fees for award tickets, like date changes and miles redeposit charges.

Benefits when flying Scoot

When flying with SIA’s budget subsidiary Scoot, you’ll get the following perks as a PPS Club or Solitaire PPS Club member:

• Additional 5kg baggage allowance with purchase of a minimum of 20kg baggage
• Automatic assignment of the best available standard seat*
• SilverKris Lounge access (Solitaire PPS Club members only)
• Priority check-in and BoardMeFirst**
• 25% more KrisFlyer miles for every mile earned (1.25 miles per S$1 fare)

* SIA says that “standard seats are automatically assigned on a best available basis at time of booking. Additional charges may apply for any subsequent changes, where applicable.”
** BoardMeFirst is not available in Haikou, Ipoh, Langkawi or Macau

Your entire travelling party on the same booking reference will have these benefits, provided you add your KrisFlyer membership number at least 24 hours prior to departure.

These benefits are not applicable to group bookings with 10 or more passengers.

Heathrow Express upgrade

PPS Club and Soliatire PPS Club members are entitled to a complimentary upgrade to Business First Class on Heathrow Express trains (which link London Heathrow Airport with London Paddington Station in 15 minutes, every 15 minutes).

This requires the purchase of a standard class one-way or return ticket on the service. You can simply sit in Business Class on board, subject to seat availability, and present your ticket and PPS membership card (physical or digital) to the attendant.

Amenities in Business First include more leg room, wider seats, a personal table, a power socket at each seat and on-board TV.

This is a Star Alliance perk, available to those holding Star Alliance Gold status in any frequent flyer programme. Further details are available here.

Shangri-La Jade status

PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members get accelerated membership status with Shangri-La’s hotel loyalty programme, Shangri-La Circle.

After a one night stay, PPS members automatically pick up Jade status, which would normally require 20 stay nights in a year to qualify.

Benefits then include:

• Guaranteed Deluxe room availability for reservations made 72 hours prior to arrival at selected properties
• Priority check-in and check-out at an exclusive area at selected properties
• Upgrade to the next room type in the same category for standard and club rooms at selected properties
• Choice of welcome amenity, including US$10 dining voucher at selected properties
• Daily breakfast served at Café Restaurant or designated restaurant
• Companion staying in the same room also gets your applicable breakfast benefit
• Early check-in at 11am and late check-out -at 4pm, subject to availability at selected properties
• 25% bonus Circle points (1.25 points) for every USD spent
• Elite rollover nights to the next calendar year

Unfortunately club lounge access is not part of the Jade membership (only Diamond members get this benefit), but these are useful perks nonetheless if you frequent hotels in the Shangri-La chain.

KrisFlyer miles never expire

As you probably know, from July 2023 onwards the complimentary extension of KrisFlyer miles validity is ending, and all members regardless of status tier in the KrisFlyer programme once again have to contend with the three-year expiry policy.

No such concern for PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members, whose KrisFlyer miles never expire as long as they retain PPS membership.

If you fail to re-qualify for PPS Club in future, all the KrisFlyer miles in your account are reset with a full three-year validity period from the month you drop back into a KrisFlyer tier.

For example, if you drop from PPS Club to being a KrisFlyer Elite Gold member on 1st June 2023, all the KrisFlyer miles in your account at that time will now expire at 23:59 hours Singapore time on 30th June 2026.

Solitaire PPS Club supplementary card

Solitaire PPS Club members can nominate someone for a Solitaire PPS Club supplementary card, allowing them to enjoy many of the same privileges on their own SIA trips, even when you are not travelling together.

Benefits for your supplementary cardholder are identical to those you get yourself, except that:

• The APEC Business Travel Card application reimbursement does not apply to supplementary cardholders
• Non-expiry of KrisFlyer miles does not apply to supplementary cardholders, unless they already hold their own PPS Club status

To apply for a Solitaire PPS Club supplementary card, log in to your KrisFlyer account and retrieve a copy of the application form via Profile > Forms.

You can learn more about the Solitaire PPS Club Supplementary Cardholder Privileges here.

After KrisFlyer Elite Gold, Singapore Airlines’ loyalty programme extends to the PPS Club, with two tiers designed to provide additional benefits to those who part with significant sums of money each year to fly in the carrier’s Suites, First and Business Class cabins.

While these PPS status levels remain equivalent to the Star Alliance Gold tier, in common with KrisFlyer Elite Gold, they come with a host of other benefits including First Class check-in and First or Business Class lounge access when flying in Premium Economy or Economy Class with SIA.

There’s also the benefit of increased saver award space, which can be a godsend for PPS members on certain routes during peak periods, and a guaranteed Economy Class seat on SIA for those ‘need to travel’ moments.

(Cover Photo: Sorbis / Shutterstock)