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Singapore has announced changes to its fare bundles, which come into effect as of January 20, 2018. The new changes see Singapore introducing new types of fares for different classes of travel as well as tinker with baggage allowances, seat allocations, and mileage earning.
New Fare Types
There will be three new types of fares: Lite, Standard, and Flexi. However not all ticket classes will have all three. For instance, Economy class below will have all three:
Premium Economy tickets will only have a Standard and Flexi type of fares:
In Business Class, the three types of fares are again offered:
Finally, First and Suite class tickets will only have one type of fare:
Seat Selection
The most significant change in seat selection is that the least expensive Economy fares will have to pay to select a seat, while other Economy travelers can choose when booking. It is worth noting that for extra legroom, seats in Economy are excluded from complimentary seat selection. Selection of these seats is available to all fare types and starts from $25.
Changes To Earning
Surprisingly, the earning on some of the cheaper fares has gone up, while the earning rates on some of the more expensive Economy fares have gone down. When comparing earning of the new fare types to current Singapore earning chart, the following earning rates will apply:
- The cheapest coach fares earn 50% of flown miles, up from the current 10%
- The cheapest Premium Economy fares go from earning 110% down to 100%
When it comes to more expensive fares, things are looking a little better:
- More expensive Premium Economy fares will now earn 125% which is an increase from the current 110%
- High-end Business class tickets will now earn 150%, as opposed to the current 125% earning rate
- First and Suite class fares will now earn 200% instead of 150%
Award Changes
Singapore is also introducing several changes to its awards. First, they will be renaming their awards:
- Standard awards will now be renamed Advantage awards
- Saver awards will keep their name
While both awards will still retain their free seat selection, only Advantage awards will have the option of selecting seats within the “forward zone of the aircraft”. In addition, on non-US flights Advantage awards will still have their checked bag allowance increased to 35kg from 30kg.
Upgrades are also set to change; currently, only the most expensive Economy fares are upgradable, but going forward from January 20, 2018 both Flexi and Standard Economy fares will be upgradable. However, Singapore has also increased the cost of its upgrades. The same concept will also apply to upgrades from Premium Economy and Business class, with the cheapest fares now being ineligible for an upgrade.
Our Take
While the changes are relatively minor, the winners are people that care about mileage earning on most fares. At the same time if you regularly fly on more expensive Economy fares or even Business or First class tickets, then the changes are somewhat more positive with greater mileage earning and a couple of other perks.
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Pretty minor changes really.
thanks for the info!
These all seem like reasonable and actually quite fair changes.
Not really nice that you can’t upgrade the cheaper fares
We flew the suites in November. Loved every minute. They definitely spoil you. JFK-FRA.
Intersting to see how Singapore usually just teaks rules instead of clearly downgrade them. Other airlines should take note!
I’m quite surprised they didn’t start charging for seat selection in award tickets as well.
Looks like some relatively small changes.
So should i transfer my Amex MR Points to SQ? And do FRA-SIN in Suites? Good Idea?
If that is one of your goals, yes. Just be flexible with your travel dates.
Its one of the Goals, yes 🙂
Never do that, but would love to do so – at least once!
Would you think FRA-SIN is easier than SIN-SYD? Or is it the same few Seats available for Awards?
I’d say either route is likely to have limited capacity. Personally, I’d look at the aircraft operating the routes — it looks like both 777 and A380s are on these routes and your award availability will likely be limited on the few suites that are available for both.
It’s refreshing to see a program change that isn’t an absurd devaluation
Interesting fare structure. Just glad they didn’t introduce a basic economy class.
Too bad I don’t really earn miles THROUGH Singapore, as opposed to redeeming with them