Last week I was busy planning an early December trip to Bangkok, and I decided a short flight like this – where Economy Class is usually sufficient – would be a good chance to test whether redeeming KrisFlyer miles on Scoot offers decent value, either on the outbound or return sector.

Why redeem KrisFlyer miles on Scoot? Well in case you missed the news, the budget carrier has recently introduced a new fixed-price KrisFlyer award chart, sitting alongside its longstanding (and rather poor) dynamic redemption option, which simply offsets the cash fare at 1 cent per mile redeemed.

Now, provided there are award seats available, you can redeem an Economy Class seat on Scoot for a fixed miles rate regardless of the cash fare for the flight, at either Saver or Advantage levels, but a key point to remember is that Scoot awards are non-refundable.

If Scoot award chart redemptions are new to you, or you need a recap, here’s a summary of the main features and differences compared to a Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer award (click to expand).

A good option?

For my return flight on Saturday 6th December I was looking for a late departure from Bangkok back to Singapore, and Scoot had what looked to be just the right option available for redemption.

The only thing to check is how much cash this is saving me, and I was surprised to see it was a relatively steep fare.

With a THB 4,680 Basic Economy fare, I was saving THB 3,900 (S$156) for a 2,500 miles outlay – a healthy 6.2 Singapore cents per mile. That’s like striking gold for an Economy Class redemption, but it turns out the calculation wasn’t quite so simple.

The initial (flawed) calculation

For my 6th December Bangkok to Singapore flight, the numbers looked compelling at first glance:

Value calculation
Scoot award cost	2,500 KrisFlyer miles + THB 780
Cash equivalent	THB 4,680
Apparent saving	THB 3,900
Value per mile	THB 1.56 (SGD 6.2¢)

That’s an excellent redemption value by any standard, but as I dug deeper, several issues emerged that completely changed this calculation.

Issue 1: Don’t forget the add-ons

I needed to add a 20kg checked bag, which added costs to both options (award redemption and cash booking):

• Award ticket total: THB 1,725.25 (taxes + bag)
• Cash ticket total: THB 5,625.25 (base fare + bag)

As a KrisFlyer Elite Gold member, this gave me a total of 25kg baggage allowance, whether I booked a cash ticket or an award redemption.

The good news? The value per mile remained the same at 6.2 cents because add-ons are paid in cash regardless of whether you’re booking an award or cash ticket. The miles only save you the base fare component.

Value calculation
Scoot award cost	2,500 KrisFlyer miles + THB 1,725.25
Cash equivalent	THB 5,625.25
Apparent saving	THB 3,900
Value per mile	THB 1.56 (SGD 6.2¢)

This principle applies to all Scoot redemptions – no matter how many add-ons you purchase, the cents-per-mile value stays constant since you’re paying cash for extras either way – cash booking or redemption.

Issue 2: Is Scoot actually the best cash option?

Before celebrating my apparent award bargain, I needed to check if Scoot was really the cheapest cash alternative for my evening departure preference from Bangkok that night.

Other low-cost options on the route from the city’s Don Mueang Airport (DMK) include AirAsia and Thai Lion Air, which would be fine for me except that I wanted to leave the city after an early dinner with friends, and the last departures to Singapore on these carriers go wheels-up at 5pm!

Now that Jetstar Asia is no more, that made the only reasonable comparison with two full-service alternatives from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK):

• Thai Airways at 7pm: Nearly double Scoot’s price (still a bit too early anyway)
• Singapore Airlines at 8pm: THB 3,615 Economy Lite with 25kg bag included

Wait – Singapore Airlines was actually cheaper than Scoot, even if I hadn’t needed a checked bag? This completely changed my baseline for comparison.

The real calculation

There was no doubt that if I were paying cash, I’d choose SIA departing around the same time at THB 3,615, not Scoot at THB 5,625.25!

So, the real comparison becomes:

Value calculation
Scoot award cost	2,500 KrisFlyer miles + THB 1,725.25
Cash equivalent	THB 3,615 (SIA)
Real saving	THB 1,889.75
Value per mile	THB 0.76 (SGD 3.0¢)

Suddenly we’re at less than half the original value calculation, so as you can see it’s very important on routes like this to compare the cash saving with your actual alternative cash ticket – don’t just assume Scoot’s fare is the cheapest!

Issue 3: Opportunity cost of miles earned

Achieving 3 cents per mile is still very good, but it gets worse.

That THB 3,615 Singapore Airlines ticket would earn me 440 KrisFlyer miles, even booking the Economy Lite fare. This is often overlooked – but especially on short routes, forgone miles can easily knock 10-15% off your true redemption valuation.

By booking the Scoot redemption, I’m not just spending 2,500 miles – I’m also forgoing the 440 miles I would have earned for my alternative cash booking.

Total opportunity cost: 2,500 + 440 = 2,940 miles

So, now it looks like this:

Value calculation
Scoot award cost	2,940 KrisFlyer miles + THB 1,725.25
Cash equivalent	THB 3,615 (SIA)
Real saving	THB 1,889.75
Value per mile	THB 0.64 (SGD 2.6¢)

What looked like a fantastic 6.2 cents per mile redemption turned out to be worth just 2.6 cents per mile once I accounted for all factors.

That’s still reasonable value – many Business Class redemptions don’t even reach 2.6 cents per mile – but it’s nowhere near the headline figure my initial calculation suggested.

Additional considerations

There are a couple of other aspects to consider if your alternative to a Scoot award redemption is a cash fare with a full-service carrier, like Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways or Cathay Pacific for example.

Elite benefits: As a KrisFlyer Elite Gold member, I get SilverKris lounge access in Bangkok, even on an Economy SIA fare, plus free Forward Zone advance seat selection. No such perks when flying Scoot.

Service differences: SIA includes complimentary meals and drinks service in Economy Class. Though admittedly this is less important on a short evening flight after dinner (it barely swayed my decision in this case), everything on Scoot will be chargeable.

Final decision? Scoot was still a good value redemption, but I was far less excited about it than when I first looked. I booked the SIA Economy Lite fare on this occasion.

Still better than an SIA Economy Saver award

It probably goes without saying that the Singapore Airlines flight departing at 8pm was also available as a Saver Award via KrisFlyer, but using the SIA award chart at 13,500 miles + THB 780 the value is really poor, at about 0.8 Singapore cents per mile.

In fact the flight is so cheap, it’s better (but still absolutely awful value) to use SIA’s fixed cash offset of 1 cent per mile against any flight booking, than to lock in a Saver award!

Scoot redemptions can be good value, and terrible value

While this award ticket on Scoot didn’t quite hit the 6 cents per mile value it first appeared to, 2.6 cents per mile still isn’t bad, and there are other examples where flight prices are high but Scoot fixed-price awards are still available, where good value can also be achieved.

For example, this Economy Basic fare from Singapore to Okinawa in February 2026 costs S$424.20.

However, you can instead redeem 12,500 KrisFlyer miles (Saver rate) and then only have S$65.20 of taxes left to pay.

That’s a cash saving of S$359 for 12,500 miles – giving you a 2.9 cents per mile valuation – which is great for Economy Class travel.

On the flip side, some Scoot redemptions offer very poor value – sometimes even worse than using KrisFlyer’s dynamic pricing option, which guarantees at least 1 cent per mile regardless of the flight you choose.

For example this Basic Economy flight from Singapore to Chiang Rai in January costs S$156.17.

You can instead redeem KrisFlyer miles for the route, but at 10,500 miles with taxes and fees still to pay it’s an expensive option!

You’re only saving S$89 with this miles redemption (S$157.17 cash fare – S$67.17 taxes), which works out as 0.8 cents per mile redeemed.

As with the Singapore Airlines example above, it’s actually better to use Scoot’s fixed cash offset of 1 cent per mile against any flight booking in this case, than to lock in a Saver award!

Key factors to consider before booking

Before jumping on that seemingly great Scoot redemption, always check:

1. True cash alternative: Compare against the cheapest option you’d actually book, not just the Scoot cash fare.
2. Schedule preferences: Ensure the redemption flight actually suits your plans at least as well as cash alternatives.
3. Add-on costs: Factor in bags, seats and meals for both award and cash options.
4. Miles earned on other airlines: Be sure to account for the miles you’d earn if booking a cash fare with a full-service carrier.
5. Elite benefits: Consider lounge access, priority boarding, and other perks you might forfeit if your alternative flight would include them.
6. Service differences: Meals, drinks, and overall experience (if these matter to you).

At first glance, Scoot’s new fixed-price KrisFlyer awards can look like exceptional value, but the reality is often more nuanced. Once you factor in baggage, compare against the best real cash alternative, and account for the miles you’d earn on a paid ticket in some cases, eye-catching redemption value like 6.2 cents per mile can drop to just 2.6 cents – or maybe even less.

That’s still a respectable return for Economy Class, and on some routes Scoot awards can clearly deliver solid value – especially when cash fares are high and where there is little or no competition on the route.

The lesson? Always dig deeper than the surface calculation. Compare apples to apples, thoroughly check reasonable alternatives, account for opportunity costs and consider the entire experience before taking the plunge, because remember – Scoot awards are non-refundable!

(Cover Photo: Ultimus)