Yesterday, Singapore Airlines announced a series of award redemption changes for Singapore Airlines and SilkAir operated flights, effective March 23, 2017:
- There will be a new award chart (link).
- The 15% award mileage discount is being eliminated.
- Fuel surcharges will no longer be assessed.
Note that no changes are being made to partner (i.e. Star Alliance) awards.
Quick Summary
Awards on Singapore Airlines and/or SilkAir will now cost more in miles, but less in cash due to the removal of fuel surcharges. For most cases in Business, First, or Suites Classes, the cash savings does not make up for the extra cost in miles, and this is a devaluation. On the other hand, in Economy or Premium Economy Classes, the new changes might work in your favor.
Some routes will cost fewer miles as a partner award rather than a Singapore Airlines / SilkAir award, so if you’ve found availability on Singapore Airlines / SilkAir, you may be able to save miles by adding a flight from a partner that does not assess fuel surcharges (e.g. a domestic positioning flight with United Airlines).
More Miles vs. Less Cash
With the increase in the number of miles to book an award and the removal of fuel surcharges, you may or may not come out ahead depending on your booking class, destination, and how you value the miles. The tables below show the old and new mileage costs and well as current fuel surcharges for one-way flights from the USA to Singapore.
People flying to Singapore in Economy or Premium Economy Classes will save $220 at the cost of between 8,125 and 10,500 miles (depending on whether you fly from the East or West coast as well as class of service). I think most people would happily make this trade. On the other hand, those flying in Business, First, or Suites Classes would probably rather pay the $230 or $240 fuel surcharge to save between 19,750 and 26,625 miles.
Los Angeles / San Francisco to Singapore
| Class | Current Mileage | New Mileage | Mileage Increase | Fuel Surcharge |
| Economy | 29,750 | 38,000 | 8,250 | $220 |
| Premium Economy | 55,250 | 65,000 | 9,750 | $220 |
| Business | 68,000 | 88,000 | 20,000 | $230 |
| First / Suites | 91,375 | 118,000 | 26,625 | $240 |
Houston / New York to Singapore
| Class | Current Mileage | New Mileage | Mileage Increase | Fuel Surcharge |
| Economy | 31,875 | 40,000 | 8,125 | $220 |
| Premium Economy | 59,500 | 70,000 | 10,500 | $220 |
| Business | 72,250 | 92,000 | 19,750 | $230 |
| First / Suites | 93,500 | 120,000 | 26,500 | $240 |
There are some destinations such as Hong Kong and Tokyo that currently have very low fuel surcharges and are basically seeing a mileage increase with little to no cash savings.
Partner Awards Might Be Cheaper
One quirk of the new award chart is that select routes will now cost fewer miles when booked as a partner award rather than an award exclusively on Singapore Airlines / SilkAir. So if you are planning to book a Singapore Airlines / SilkAir flight to one of the destinations below, you could check to see if you can convert this to a partner award by tacking on a partner flight that does not incur any fuel surcharges, such as a domestic positioning flight on United Airlines.
Below I’ve listed all routes that originate from the USA that cost fewer miles when booked as a partner award, in round-trip pricing. Some of these differences are extreme. If you’re flying from the USA West Coast to the Middle East in Singapore Airlines First Class, you can save 136,000 miles (!) by adding a short partner flight. Of course, a long itinerary like this would really only make sense if you were planning to visit Singapore in addition to the Middle East; otherwise, it would make more sense to fly another airline (i.e. a route that doesn’t connect in Singapore).
| Destination | Class | Singapore / SilkAir Cost (E): USA East Coast & Houston (W): USA West Coast |
Partner Cost |
| Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, & Laos | First / Suites | 240,000 (E) / 236,000 (W) | 225,000 |
| South China, Hong Kong, & Taiwan | Economy | 96,000 (E) | 90,000 |
| Business | 200,000 (E) | 175,000 | |
| First / Suites | 270,000 (E) | 200,000 | |
| North China | Economy | 110,000 (E) | 90,000 |
| Business | 220,000 (E) | 175,000 | |
| First / Suites | 290,000 (E) | 200,000 | |
| India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, & Bangladesh | Economy | 110,000 (E) | 105,000 |
| Business | 220,000 (E) / 196,000 (W) | 195,000 | |
| First / Suites | 290,000 (E) / 276,000 (W) | 265,000 | |
| Japan & South Korea | Economy | 116,000 (E) | 90,000 |
| Business | 230,000 (E) | 175,000 | |
| First / Suites | 300,000 (E) | 200,000 | |
| Australia (Perth & Darwin) | Business | 220,000 (E) / 204,000 (W) | 195,000 |
| First / Suites | 290,000 (E) / 296,000 (W) | 255,000 | |
| Australia (excl. Perth & Darwin) & New Zealand | Economy | 120,000 (E) | 110,000 |
| Business | 236,000 (E) / 220,000 (W) | 195,000 | |
| First / Suites | 304,000 (E) / 308,000 (W) | 255,000 | |
| North Africa, Middle East, & Turkey | Economy | 104,000 (W) | 75,000 |
| Business | 204,000 (W) | 115,000 | |
| First / Suites | 286,000 (W) | 150,000 | |
| Central & South Africa | Economy | 104,000 (W) | 90,000 |
| Business | 204,000 (W) | 145,000 | |
| First / Suites | 286,000 (W) | 220,000 |