The main headline today has been Singapore Airlines’ latest devaluation for the majority of its KrisFlyer award rates, both for travel on SIA itself and when flying on Star Alliance and partner carriers, effective from 1st November 2025, as we covered in detail here.

However, the airline has also announced a significant evolution to its KrisFlyer programme that could reshape how members redeem their miles.

Starting from 1st November 2025, the same day the new award charts go into force, Singapore Airlines will introduce “Access” redemptions – a new award category featuring dynamic pricing that varies based on seat demand and seasonality.

While Singapore Airlines maintains that Access seats will be offered “in addition to” existing Saver and Advantage inventory, this move represents the airline’s first major foray into variable award pricing, and to us that raises questions about whether we’re witnessing the beginning of a broader shift toward dynamic redemption models longer-term.

What are Access redemptions?

Access redemptions will offer KrisFlyer members immediate seat confirmation on Singapore Airlines flights, provided seats are available. Unlike traditional Saver and Advantage awards, with fixed mileage requirements that thankfully aren’t going away anytime soon, Access pricing fluctuates based on:

• Seat availability at the time of booking
• Seasonal demand patterns
• Route popularity and capacity

The key selling point? KrisFlyer members will be able to secure seats on their preferred flights even when traditional award space unavailable, essentially offering revenue seat availability through the miles programme.

Access redemption is only for Singapore Airlines-operated flights, not Scoot or codeshare flights.

Access tickets also earn zero KrisFlyer miles – and in addition no Elite miles or PPS Value accrual. This could significantly impact the value proposition, compared to cash tickets.

How Access compares to existing awards

Singapore Airlines positions Access as a middle ground between traditional awards and cash fares, with terms mirroring Advantage awards:

KrisFlyer Award Type Comparison
Feature	Saver Award	Advantage Award	Access Redemption
Pricing	Fixed miles (award chart)		Dynamic (availability-based)
Availability	Limited inventory		Additional space
Waitlist	Yes		No
Date changes	US$25	Free	Free
Cancellation	US$75	US$50	US$50
Stopovers	Round-trip: 1 One-way: 0	Round-trip: 2 One-way: 1	Round-trip: 2 One-way: 1

Notably, Access redemptions cannot be upgraded using miles or cash, and Advance Upgrade Vouchers are also not applicable. As with other award types, taxes and fees must be paid separately in cash.

Singapore Airlines has provided a list of FAQs for Access redemptions ahead of their launch, which you can find here.

The big questions

Will this really increase overall availability?

Singapore Airlines promises that Access seats are “over and above” existing award inventory. However, airlines have historically been cautious about truly additive inventory. The critical test will be whether we see:

• Consistent Saver and Advantage availability at current levels (hard to judge, unless it changes substantially)
• Meaningful Access inventory during peak travel periods
• Reasonable Access pricing that provides genuine value over cash fares

What will Access Awards actually cost?

Access redemption pricing remains the programme’s biggest mystery. Historical precedents offer some clues:

• “Full” awards (discontinued in 2016): Offered additional availability but at astronomical rates – up to 300,000 miles one-way for Business Class to Europe
• Current cash offset: KrisFlyer miles can offset cash fares at 1 cent per mile – poor value but universally available, and flexible
• SIA’s possible target ‘sweet spot’: Access awards probably need to price somewhere between these extremes and Advantage rates, to provide any meaningful value

The proof will be in the pudding, as they say, but we expect Access awards to cost significantly more than traditional awards, while remaining more attractive in pure cents per dollar value than the current cash offset option.

How will Access redemptions be displayed?

Singapore Airlines says that Access redemptions will be “displayed within the booking flow” on both its website and mobile app, but our experience of other programmes suggests this could mean some ridiculous KrisFlyer award pricing being shown on certain flights and dates, which can be confusing for customers.

It will be interesting to see exactly how clear it is in the search results that this isn’t a true “award” ticket you’re securing, but effectively a kind of cash offset instead.

We certainly hope that there is still ease of searching for the usual Saver and Advantage award space, without members needing to filter through extremely high-priced options along the way, potentially being distracted by technically available but overpriced award seats.

Is this a slippery slope to full dynamic pricing?

The introduction of Access awards will raise different opinions about KrisFlyer’s long-term direction, and some of those are uncomfortable:

• The optimistic view: Access awards represent a genuine enhancement, offering more redemption opportunities without cannibalising existing award space. It could become the “reasonably priced Full award” that no doubt many members would happily redeem.

• The pessimistic view: Access is a testing ground for dynamic pricing acceptance among members. If successful, Singapore Airlines might gradually shift more inventory from fixed-rate awards to dynamic pricing models, eventually making traditional awards increasingly scarce – or do away with them completely.

• The realistic view? Access is hopefully just a measured response to industry trends. As airlines face pressure to maximise revenue, offering dynamic awards allows the airline to capture higher redemption rates, especially last minute when SIA does not typically offer unsold seats as award space by default (unlike some other airlines), while also improving member satisfaction thanks to increased “award” availability.

What it means for KrisFlyer members

In the short-term, Access awards will likely provide a useful backup for those needing to travel when traditional Saver and Advantage awards are unavailable, or for a last-minute booking.

They are likely to be expensive, but surely will offer better value than the carrier’s existing dynamic award option – offsetting your miles against any cash fare on a sliding scale at a fixed 1 cent each.

In the longer-term, it will be very interesting to try and detect whether Access awards are having an impact on traditional award availability – in other words will Saver and Advantage seats become scarcer?

Other dynamic pricing models

Singapore Airlines isn’t pioneering dynamic award pricing – several airlines have already made this transition:

• Air France / KLM: Flying Blue has a semi-dynamic award chart for redemptions on its own flights, with starting rates for redemption seats depending on your city pair and cabin class, that can rise to eye-watering levels on selected flights
• Delta Air Lines: Fully dynamic SkyMiles pricing since 2015
• United Airlines: Mixed model with both fixed and dynamic options
• American Airlines: Recently introduced web special awards, with variable pricing

Asian carriers, on the other hand, have generally maintained more traditional award structures, which would making Singapore Airlines’ move particularly significant for the region if indeed a bigger dynamic pricing model was eventually the norm for KrisFlyer.

Access awards will no doubt represent an evolution in KrisFlyer’s redemption landscape, but what we don’t know yet is “how much of one?”.

While Singapore Airlines frames this as an additive benefit, the introduction of more dynamic pricing – even in a limited form – marks a philosophical shift toward revenue optimisation – which in the worst-case scenario means eventual dynamic pricing becomes the norm in the years ahead.

The success of Access will of course depend on its execution: reasonable pricing (subjective), genuine additional availability, and the airline’s retention of existing award space levels (potentially difficult to judge).

However, if Singapore Airlines delivers, Access could enhance member value while preserving the programme’s traditional strengths.

Doomsday scenario? Access becomes a trojan horse for broader dynamic pricing adoption, or leads to significantly reduced traditional award availability. If this plays out – we’re potentially looking at the beginning of the end for KrisFlyer’s current award structure.

We’ll no doubt be joining the KrisFlyer community in watching closely as Access launches in November, ready to vote with our collective minds (and collective miles) on whether this evolution enhances or undermines the KrisFlyer programme.

What are your thoughts on Singapore Airlines’ Access awards? Let us know in the comments section below.

(Cover Photo: The Points Guy)