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Singapore Airlines has quietly added a new restriction for those looking to search for an award redemption: You now need to have KrisFlyer miles in your account before you can search for award flights. This can make it a challenge to strategize future trips, especially if you're looking to transfer credit card points to your KrisFlyer account.
Let's go over what this means.
A New Requirement to Search for a KrisFlyer Award Ticket
Previously, KrisFlyer members could search for award tickets regardless of account activity. This included brand-new accounts with no mileage balance and those who would only transfer a specific number of credit card points to their account when making an award redemption to avoid leftover miles.
Accounts that have no miles now see the following when searching for an award:
The Singapore Airlines website itself doesn't specify a minimum amount of miles needed to view available awards, but several reports suggest 1,000 miles as a minimum requirement. The carrier also hasn't made any formal announcement of the change, and it is unclear yet if this is temporary or permanent.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is a popular program to transfer credit card points to. The airline partners with most major transferable currencies, including American Express, Capital One, Chase, and Citi. It is often recommended to hold off on points transfers until you confirm open award space with the airline program you wish to book. Since award availability is fluid and competitive, you don't want to prematurely transfer credit card points only to find out that your preferred award redemption is no longer available.
However, this latest change by Singapore Airlines challenges that. You now have to transfer at least some miles before you can view available awards in the first place. This can particularly be difficult for those with brand-new accounts or a limited account history with the airline.
Fortunately, while this change can be an inconvenience, the new threshold to search for award flights is not high. Adding to your Singapore KrisFlyer balance is not a big challenge with a wide range of transfer partners and credit card bonuses.
$95
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
$95Rates & Fees
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
$95Rates & Fees
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on gas and EV charging
- 3X points on vacation homes at top brands like Airbnb, Vrbo and more
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
Related: How to Maximize Singapore KrisFlyer Miles
Bottom Line
Singapore Airlines is now restricting KrisFlyer members with a zero-mile balance from viewing available awards. While the minimum balance required to search is relatively small at 1,000 miles, this can still be an inconvenience for members with newer accounts, especially for those looking to transfer credit card points.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees), and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees)
