Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer just announced they will be devaluing their Star Alliance award chart; this was an inevitable devaluation after the most recent KrisFlyer change for the worse.
After the KrisFlyer devalued their redemptions on Singapore Airlines a few months ago, the Star Alliance chart was left unchanged. This meant that in some cases, Star Alliance redemptions were much cheaper than outright redemptions on Singapore Airlines. For example, you can fly from Australia to Europe with Singapore Airlines in first or business class and just tag on an extra Star Alliance partner within Europe for much less than what KrisFlyer would charge on the same route but then without the additional Star Alliance partner flight.
I think the main reason KrisFlyer didn’t simultaneously devalue both charts at the time was due to the logistics involved, which I would imagine are far more significant when there are multiple partner airlines involved.
So from April 16, 2019, Star Alliance redemptions in business and first class are going up by 6-12%. Prices on economy redemptions remain unchanged. This does give you a few weeks to lock in some redemptions at the old rates. (You can always change the ticket afterwards for $50 and keep the same redemption rate)
You can find the old award chart here and the new one here.
In this post:
Which routes should you lock in?
Australia to Europe in business/first class
While a one-way business class redemption will cost you 116,000 miles when flying with Singapore Airlines all the way, tagging on a flight to another European country can drop the prices to only 105,000 miles! This means you get more flights for a lower price (slightly higher taxes).
Australia to Japan in business class
This route costs 91,000 miles one way if you fly it all on Singapore Airlines or only 83,000 miles when you fly the Singapore to Tokyo segment on ANA.
Australia to Istanbul
Another sweet spot on the chart is Australia/New Zealand to Istanbul which clocks in at only 78,000 miles when you fly the Singapore to Istanbul leg with Turkish Airways. Compare that to the 86,000 miles required to fly the same route all the way with Singapore Airlines.
Conclusion
This devaluation was expected since it doesn’t make sense that KrisFlyer is allowing better prices on their partners compared to flights operated by Singapore Airlines. Since we have been giving a reasonable amount of notice, now’s a good time to lock in your flights.
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