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It's not every day that you can book a round-the-world trip using miles. These awards cost a lot, and they can be tough to book. But if you want to try your luck at booking a Star Alliance round-the-world trip using Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, you'll want to do so this month. On May 1, 2024, Singapore Airlines will no longer ticket these aspirational awards.
Singapore Airlines To Sunset Star Alliance Round-the-World Awards
Round-the-world tickets can offer incredible savings compared to individually booked trips or flight segments. In premium cabins, the savings are even more pronounced. Plus, what's better than seeing a good chunk of the world on a single itinerary?
Few airlines offer travelers an option to book these tickets. Star Alliance member Singapore Airlines has long been one of them, but that's going to change. On May 1, 2024, Singapore Airlines will stop ticketing these awards:
“Round The World Awards will not be available for ticketing via Singapore Airlines from 1 May 2024. Award tickets issued before 1 May 2024 will remain valid.”
In other words, you have until the end of April to book round-the-world awards at the following prices — assuming you can find availability:
- Economy: 200,000 KrisFlyer miles
- Business Class: 280,000 KrisFlyer miles
- First Class: 405,000 KrisFlyer miles
To book a Star Alliance round-the-world award in the future, you'll have to look toward ANA Mileage Club or Lufthansa Miles & More.
Booking a Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer round-the-world award
Booking a round-the-world award is, in one word, difficult — and more so in premium cabins. On top of that, travelers have to tangle with several rules when crafting an itinerary, such as:
- Itineraries must start and end in the same country.
- Backtracking isn't allowed.
- Maximum of 16 flight segments.
- Maximum of 7 stopovers.
- No more than two stopovers are allowed in the same country.
- Itineraries can't cover more than 35,000 miles.
- Only saver-level seats are bookable.
- Changes aren't allowed after the trip has started.
When you book over the phone or with the reservation request form (warning: PDF), you'll also be responsible for a $250 booking fee, plus any taxes and fees associated with each individual flight segment. That's a lot, but you can be extremely creative if you've got the miles and the funds to book one of these awards.
Round-the-world award inspiration
To draft a round-the-world award itinerary, you'll want to keep a few tools in your back pocket:
- The Great Circle Mapper
- A list of Star Alliance carriers
- An award search tool like United's award calendar or Seats.aero
These tools let you plot your trip, ensure it fits Singapore Airlines' guidelines, and confirm bookable seats.
Without further ado, here are two examples of round-the-world itineraries bookable with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles:
- Business class example — 280,000 KrisFlyer miles
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Panama City (PTY) on Copa Airlines
- Panama City (PTY) to Istanbul (IST) on Turkish Airlines
- Istanbul (IST) to Bangkok (BKK) on THAI
- Bangkok (BKK) to Singapore (SIN) on Singapore Airlines
- Singapore (SIN) to Sydney (SYD) on Singapore Airlines
- Sydney (SYD) to Auckland (AKL) on Air New Zealand
- Auckland (AKL) to San Francisco (SFO) on United Airlines
- Economy example — 200,000 KrisFlyer miles
- Chicago (ORD) to Vienna (VIE) on Austrian Airlines
- Vienna (VIE) to Addis Ababa (ADD) on Ethiopian Airlines
- Addis Ababa (ADD) to Dubai (DXB) on Ethiopian Airlines
- Dubai (DXB) to Mumbai (BOM) on Air India
- Mumbai (BOM) to Tokyo (HND/NRT) on ANA
- Tokyo (HND/NRT) to Honolulu (HNL) on ANA
- Honolulu (HNL) to Chicago (ORD) on United Airlines
How To Get Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles
It's not a secret that Star Alliance round-the-world awards are expensive. However, if you want to seize the moment and book one of these once-in-a-lifetime awards through Singapore Airlines before you lose the option, there are plenty of ways to fill your account with the necessary miles.
Here's the list of credit card rewards programs that offer transfers to the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer frequent flyer program:
Related: Do Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles Expire?
Final Thoughts
Yes, round-the-world awards are expensive. But if you've got access to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, it's worth considering whether you should try booking one before the airline stops ticketing globetrotting awards on May 1, 2024. Once Singapore Airlines sunsets these aspirational awards, the options for booking Star Alliance round-the-world will become ever more slim. However, options will remain outside Star Alliance: Oneworld options exist from Cathay Pacific and Qantas.
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