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

It’s been a year since KrisFlyer’s November 2025 award chart changes kicked in, and while Saver redemption rates haven’t moved since, the Singapore Airlines network certainly has, with new routes like Madrid, Hangzhou and Riyadh joining the mix, plus plenty of schedule and aircraft shuffles elsewhere.

We’ve therefore paid another visit to our popular analysis of how many KrisFlyer miles per minute you’ll spend on SIA routes to and from Singapore, by cabin class, something we first examined (as a bit of fun) way back in 2018!

Here’s how it looks for the 2026/27 northern winter season – and with no award chart changes this time, any movement is all down to the schedules.

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 for the last eight years we have effectively replicated the miles per minute version for the KrisFlyer programme instead.

Methodology

We used round-trip timings on each route for this analysis, based on the northern winter 2026/27 scheduling season, which runs from 25th October 2026 to 27th March 2027.

That’s more important on long-haul east-west routes where flight times can differ significantly, such as Singapore to Los Angeles which is 15:10, while Los Angeles to Singapore is 17:40, so using a total of 32:50 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.
• For example, on Bali the shortest flight is scheduled at 02:45 on the SIN-DPS sector (even though most are 02:55 and some go up to 03:00). In the return direction, 02:40 is the shortest scheduled time on DPS-SIN (even though most are 02:50). We’ve therefore used 05:25 (02:45 + 02:40) as the shortest round-trip timing you can get on that route.
• Timings are now specific to each cabin. Where only some flights on a route offer Premium Economy or First Class, or Economy in the case of the A350 ULR, we’ve used the shortest timing among the flights actually carrying that cabin.
• Where a city is served by more than one airport, we’ve combined them and used the shortest flight in each direction. That applies to London (Heathrow and Gatwick), Tokyo (Haneda and Narita), Beijing (Capital and Daxing) and Sydney (Kingsford Smith and Western Sydney).
• 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. The same applies to the new Madrid service, which stops in Barcelona for just over an hour each way. Even if you can (or must) stay on board, there is little or no service offered, so it’s hardly the best use of your hard-earned miles!
• Riyadh won’t be operating during the winter season, but is bookable for travel from late March 2027, so for this route only we’ve used the northern summer 2027 timings instead.
• 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 redemption chart, unchanged since 1st November 2025, and you can look up the rates for any individual route using our newly jazzed-up award prices tool.

Of course average / cheapest fare – or the fare you’d realistically be willing to pay – is the true determining factor of the ‘value’ you are getting from your miles. This article does not attempt such a calculation, and simply analyses time-based redemption costs.

At a glance

Here’s a quick summary of how each cabin shapes up this year.

Miles per Minute at a glance
Cabin	Average	Best	Worst
Economy	64	New York via FRA 37	Kuala Lumpur 114
Premium Economy	93	Cape Town 67	Melbourne 119
Business	147	Cape Town 89	Kuala Lumpur 314
First / Suites	189	New York via FRA 124	Jakarta 312

Economy Class

Here’s how the miles per minute calculation works out for Economy Class Saver round-trip redemptions from Singapore, with the latest average across all routes working out at 64 miles per minute.

Economy Class
Route	Total Duration (r/t)	Miles	Miles per Minute
New York (via FRA)	41:50	92,000	37
Los Angeles (via NRT)	35:35	88,000	41
Cape Town (via JNB)	25:35	64,000	42
Los Angeles (non-stop)	32:50	88,000	45
San Francisco	32:10	88,000	46
Seattle	31:15	88,000	47
Istanbul	22:25	64,000	48
Auckland	20:05	58,000	48
Christchurch	20:00	58,000	48
Hangzhou	10:35	31,000	49
Bali	05:25	16,000	49
Johannesburg	21:20	64,000	50
Madrid (via BCN)	29:15	88,000	50
Chengdu	09:55	31,000	52
Chongqing	09:50	31,000	53
Sapporo	16:00	51,000	53
Manchester	27:35	88,000	53
Barcelona	27:00	88,000	54
Paris	26:35	88,000	55
Brussels	26:30	88,000	55
Taipei	09:20	31,000	55
Beijing	12:20	41,000	55
Delhi	11:25	38,000	55
London	26:20	88,000	56
Xiamen	09:15	31,000	56
Ahmedabad	11:20	38,000	56
Copenhagen	26:10	88,000	56
Zurich	26:05	88,000	56
Amsterdam	25:50	88,000	57
Milan	25:50	88,000	57
Brunei	04:40	16,000	57
Cebu	07:35	26,000	57
Frankfurt	25:30	88,000	58
Surabaya	04:35	16,000	58
Rome	25:05	88,000	58
Munich	25:00	88,000	59
Manila	07:20	26,000	59
Mumbai	10:40	38,000	59
Shenzhen	08:30	31,000	61
Sydney	15:45	58,000	61
Guangzhou	08:25	31,000	61
Hanoi	07:00	26,000	62
Kathmandu	10:05	38,000	63
Brisbane	15:20	58,000	63
Tokyo	13:20	51,000	64
Riyadh	16:40	64,000	64
Shanghai	10:35	41,000	65
Nagoya	13:05	51,000	65
Melbourne	14:40	58,000	66
Busan	12:50	51,000	66
Osaka	12:40	51,000	67
Seoul	12:40	51,000	67
Hong Kong	07:40	31,000	67
Perth	10:05	41,000	68
Cochin	09:20	38,000	68
Male	09:20	38,000	68
Fukuoka	12:20	51,000	69
Hyderabad	09:00	38,000	70
Bengaluru	08:55	38,000	71
Darwin	09:35	41,000	71
Dubai	14:55	64,000	72
Adelaide	13:30	58,000	72
Yangon	06:00	26,000	72
Cairns	13:05	58,000	74
Da Nang	05:45	26,000	75
Kolkata	08:20	38,000	76
Jakarta	03:25	16,000	78
Chennai	08:05	38,000	78
Dhaka	08:05	38,000	78
Colombo	07:50	38,000	81
Medan	03:05	16,000	86
Siem Reap	04:45	26,000	91
Bangkok	04:40	26,000	93
Penang	02:45	16,000	97
Ho Chi Minh	04:10	26,000	104
Phnom Penh	04:05	26,000	106
Phuket	03:55	26,000	111
Kuala Lumpur	02:20	16,000	114

The longest routes – New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, whether non-stop or with an intermediate stop in the case of New York and Los Angeles – again come out best for Economy Saver redemptions at 37 to 47 KrisFlyer miles per minute.

Cape Town via Johannesburg also deserves a mention here, at a competitive 42 miles per minute, while Istanbul, Auckland and Christchurch are close behind at 48.

The standout newcomer is Hangzhou, at just 49 miles per minute, thanks to its allocation in Zone 4 of SIA’s award chart. That’s 23% below the network average, and the best value of any route in Asia by this metric, tied with Bali. Madrid (via Barcelona), meanwhile, slots in at a respectable 50 miles per minute, while the upcoming Riyadh will sit right on the network average at 64.

The airline’s shortest flight to Kuala Lumpur is still by far the worst at 114 miles per minute.

Close-by destinations like Penang, Phuket, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok also come out rather poorly at around 93 – 111 miles per minute, owing to their proximity to Singapore and relatively high redemption rate. Penang (97) and Bangkok (93) are actually a little worse than last year, thanks to shorter scheduled flight times.

It’s not all bad news for closer destinations though, Bali is a very respectable 49 miles per minute, over 20% below the Economy network-wide average by this metric.

Premium Economy Class

The average Singapore Airlines Premium Economy redemption cost comes out at 93 miles per minute.

Premium Economy Class
Route	Total Duration (r/t)	Miles	Miles per Minute
Cape Town (via JNB)	25:35	103,000	67
New York (via FRA)	41:50	169,000	67
Los Angeles (via NRT)	35:35	158,000	74
New York (non-stop)	37:10	169,000	76
Newark	37:00	169,000	76
Istanbul	22:25	103,000	77
Los Angeles (non-stop)	32:50	158,000	80
Johannesburg	21:20	103,000	80
San Francisco	32:05	158,000	82
Seattle	31:15	158,000	84
Madrid (via BCN)	29:15	149,000	85
Auckland	20:05	107,000	89
Christchurch	20:00	107,000	89
Manchester	27:35	149,000	90
Barcelona	27:00	149,000	92
Paris	26:35	149,000	93
Brussels	26:30	149,000	94
London	26:20	149,000	94
Copenhagen	26:10	149,000	95
Zurich	26:05	149,000	95
Amsterdam	25:50	149,000	96
Milan	25:50	149,000	96
Beijing	12:20	72,000	97
Frankfurt	25:30	149,000	97
Tokyo	13:20	79,000	99
Rome	25:05	149,000	99
Munich	25:00	149,000	99
Delhi	11:30	72,000	104
Shanghai	11:05	72,000	108
Mumbai	10:55	72,000	110
Sydney	15:45	107,000	113
Dubai	14:55	103,000	115
Hong Kong	07:55	56,000	118
Melbourne	15:00	107,000	119

Cape Town and New York (via Frankfurt) share top spot in this cabin at 67 miles per minute, with Cape Town ahead by a fraction, once you go to the decimals.

That makes them less expensive per minute than over a third of the airline’s Economy Class routes!

New to this table is Madrid, at a reasonable 85 miles per minute, while Dubai also joins at 115 miles per minute, with Premium Economy returning to the route when the Boeing 777-300ER takes over from late March 2027.

Melbourne (119) has edged out Hong Kong (118) as the worst Premium Economy redemption by this metric, with Dubai, Sydney, Mumbai, Shanghai and Delhi also coming out at over 100 miles per minute.

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 as Sydney and Melbourne, Auckland and Christchurch come in at a much more reasonable 89 miles per minute.

Business Class

KrisFlyer miles rates for Saver Business Class redemptions will set you back on average 147 miles per minute, though the range varies significantly from just 89 miles per minute to 314 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 late October 2026 to March 2027, plus aircraft swaps already confirmed for Christchurch, London Gatwick, Frankfurt and Dubai from late March 2027.

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.

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

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

Business Class
Route	Total Duration (r/t)	Seats				Miles	Miles per Minute
Cape Town (via JNB)	25:35			▮		136,000	89
New York (via FRA)	41:50			▮		234,000	93
Istanbul	22:25			▮		136,000	101
New York (non-stop)	37:10			▮		234,000	105
Los Angeles (via NRT)	35:35			▮		225,000	105
Newark	37:00			▮		234,000	105
Johannesburg	21:20			▮		136,000	106
Cebu	07:35	▮				50,000	110
Hangzhou	10:35		▮			71,000	112
Sapporo	16:00		▮			109,000	114
Manila	07:20	▮	▮	▮		50,000	114
Los Angeles (non-stop)	32:50			▮		225,000	114
San Francisco	32:05			▮		225,000	117
Hanoi	07:00	▮	▮			50,000	119
Chengdu	09:55		▮			71,000	119
Auckland	20:05			▮	▮	144,000	120
Christchurch	20:00			▮		144,000	120
Seattle	31:15			▮		225,000	120
Chongqing	09:50	▮				71,000	120
Beijing	12:20		▮	▮		90,000	122
Madrid (via BCN)	29:15			▮		217,000	124
Taipei	09:20		▮			71,000	127
Xiamen	09:15	▮				71,000	128
Manchester	27:35			▮		217,000	131
Delhi	11:25		▮		▮	90,000	131
Ahmedabad	11:20		▮			90,000	132
Barcelona	27:00			▮		217,000	134
Bali	05:25	▮	▮			44,000	135
Riyadh	16:40		▮			136,000	136
Paris	26:35			▮		217,000	136
Tokyo	13:20		▮	▮		109,000	136
Brussels	26:30			▮		217,000	136
London	26:20			▮	▮	217,000	137
Copenhagen	26:10			▮		217,000	138
Zurich	26:05			▮		217,000	139
Nagoya	13:05		▮			109,000	139
Yangon	06:00	▮				50,000	139
Shenzhen	08:30	▮				71,000	139
Amsterdam	25:50			▮		217,000	140
Milan	25:50			▮		217,000	140
Perth	10:05		▮			85,000	140
Guangzhou	08:25	▮	▮			71,000	141
Mumbai	10:40		▮		▮	90,000	141
Busan	12:50	▮				109,000	142
Shanghai	10:35		▮	▮	▮	90,000	142
Frankfurt	25:30			▮	▮	217,000	142
Osaka	12:40		▮			109,000	143
Seoul	12:40		▮			109,000	143
Rome	25:05			▮		217,000	144
Munich	25:00			▮		217,000	145
Da Nang	05:45	▮				50,000	145
Fukuoka	12:20		▮			109,000	147
Darwin	09:35	▮				85,000	148
Kathmandu	10:05	▮	▮			90,000	149
Dubai	14:55		▮	▮		136,000	152
Sydney	15:45		▮	▮	▮	144,000	152
Hong Kong	07:40		▮	▮		71,000	154
Brisbane	15:20		▮	▮		144,000	157
Brunei	04:40	▮				44,000	157
Surabaya	04:35	▮	▮			44,000	160
Cochin	09:20	▮				90,000	161
Male	09:20		▮	▮		90,000	161
Melbourne	14:40		▮	▮	▮	144,000	164
Hyderabad	09:00	▮	▮			90,000	167
Bengaluru	08:55	▮	▮			90,000	168
Siem Reap	04:45	▮				50,000	175
Adelaide	13:30		▮			144,000	178
Bangkok	04:40		▮	▮		50,000	179
Kolkata	08:20	▮	▮			90,000	180
Cairns	13:05	▮	▮			144,000	183
Chennai	08:05	▮	▮			90,000	186
Dhaka	08:05		▮			90,000	186
Colombo	07:50		▮			90,000	191
Ho Chi Minh	04:10	▮	▮	▮		50,000	200
Phnom Penh	04:05	▮	▮			50,000	204
Phuket	03:55	▮				50,000	213
Jakarta	03:25		▮	▮		44,000	215
Medan	03:05	▮				44,000	238
Penang	02:45	▮				44,000	267
Kuala Lumpur	02:20	▮	▮	▮		44,000	314

Cape Town is still the best value redemption on the network by time spent in the seat, at 89 miles per minute in Business Class.

New York (via Frankfurt) comes next at 93 miles per minute, followed by Istanbul at 101 miles per minute.

The newcomers fare well too. Hangzhou comes in at 112 miles per minute, 24% below the network average and the best value route on the network for the 2018 Regional Business Class seat, while Madrid sits at 124 miles per minute, cheaper by this metric than any other European city, except Istanbul.

Riyadh will come in at 136 miles per minute in the 2018 Regional Business Class seat, a little below average.

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 314 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 Boeing 737-8 MAX regional Business Class seat, we’d strongly recommend flying to Cebu, Hanoi or Chongqing instead (around 110 to 120 miles per minute), rather than some of the shorter routes like Penang, KL and Phuket.

Some of our readers often mention how redeeming to or from Bali in Business Class “isn’t worth it”, but in pure miles per minute terms (135) it is a fair bit less than the average Business Class redemption on the network, and comes in at a lower rate per minute 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 189 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 from late October 2026 to March 2027, plus the confirmed swaps from late March 2027, 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 (r/t)	Seats		Miles	Miles per Minute
New York (via FRA)	41:50	▮		312,000	124
Los Angeles (via NRT)	35:35	▮		308,000	144
Auckland	20:05	▮	▮	196,000	163
Christchurch	20:00	▮		196,000	163
Beijing	12:20	▮		123,000	166
Delhi	11:30		▮	123,000	178
Paris	26:55	▮		296,000	183
Shanghai	11:05	▮	▮	123,000	185
London	26:40	▮	▮	296,000	185
Mumbai	10:55		▮	123,000	188
Zurich	26:05	▮		296,000	189
Amsterdam	25:50	▮		296,000	191
Frankfurt	25:30	▮	▮	296,000	193
Hong Kong	08:05	▮		95,000	196
Tokyo	13:20	▮		162,000	202
Sydney	15:45	▮	▮	196,000	207
Dubai	14:55	▮		190,000	212
Melbourne	15:00	▮	▮	196,000	218
Jakarta	03:25	▮		64,000	312

There are a few new entries here. Amsterdam joins the table with the Boeing 777-300ER now on the route all winter, while Christchurch and Dubai gain First Class from late March 2027 when the 777-300ER takes over. Frankfurt is 777-300ER only this winter, but Suites return when the A380 comes back from late March 2027.

Otherwise there are few surprises – New York, the longest route with a First Class cabin, is the best value at 124 miles per minute. Los Angeles also comes out strongly, as do Auckland and Christchurch at 163 miles per minute, 14% cheaper than the network average by this metric.

Jakarta is the worst value – it’ll set you back 312 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!

Tokyo, Sydney, Dubai and Melbourne also come out quite poorly – 202 to 218 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 that allows 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. It’s certainly 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 105 KrisFlyer miles per minute (203,000 miles for over 32 hours in First Class).

For Business Class – Los Angeles to Tokyo to Singapore to Delhi will cost you just 90 KrisFlyer miles per minute (133,000 miles for around 24.5 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.

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 Adelaide 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 it’s hardly likely to make you want to switch continents for your next vacation.

Or is it?

(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)