Singapore Airlines has opened the awards floodgates for its coveted business class offering. At the time of writing, there is extensive business class award space between July 2023 and October 2023. This news was first reported by View from the Wing.
The airline operates two flights a day from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), with at least two seats most of the time, saving 107,000 miles on price.
Singapore Airlines also offers direct flights to its Singapore hub from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). While the availability of flights from these airports is more limited, our testing shows a spread of savings award space (fewer miles) and wider advantage award space (more miles).
Additionally, travelers flying to Europe can take advantage of the airline’s Fifth Freedom service, which runs the gamut from JFK to Frankfurt (FRA) and Houston George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) to Manchester (MAN).
Here’s what you need to know about the deal.
trade
airline: Singapore Airlines.
route: SFO, LAX, JFK, SEA, EWR to and from SIN and JFK-FRA and IAH-MAN.
cost: From 81,000 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, business class one-way tax is US$5.60.
date: July-October 2023.
Pay taxes/fees by: American Express Platinum Card® (5 points per dollar on air tickets booked directly with the airline; up to $500,000 on such purchases per calendar year), Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 points per dollar on travel points) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar in travel) for travel protection on award flights.
sample itinerary
This is a prize space. These flights have at least two available seats.
San Francisco to Singapore in July, August, September and October
JFK flies to Singapore in July, August and September
LAX flies to Singapore in July, August, September and October
JFK flies to Frankfurt in July, August, September and October
Houston to Manchester in July, August, September and October
Related: 7 takeaways from my first Singapore Airlines business class experience
Earn miles to book this award
Sadly, despite being a Star Alliance member, Singapore Airlines does not release its long-haul business class award space to Star Alliance partners. This means you won’t be able to book these flights with points currencies like United MileagePlus or Air Canada Aeroplan.
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Besides Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, the only other point currency you can use to book these flights is the Alaska Mileage Program. Typically, you’ll only find Alaska award space on flights that Singapore Airlines has designated as saver awards in its own program.
On a given flight from SFO to SIN, you can choose to use 107,000 Singapore Airlines miles or 100,000 Alaska miles
Thankfully, earning Singapore miles is relatively easy. You can transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Citi ThankYou and Chase Ultimate Rewards to Singapore on a 1:1 basis.
On the other hand, Alaska miles are notoriously one of the hardest to earn and it’s not transferable from any credit card program. For this reason, we recommend booking with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer unless you have excess Alaska miles and are in a rush to redeem them.
Make sure to pay for reward taxes with a card that earns Airfare Rewards points and provides travel protection. Some eligible cards include the Platinum Card from American Express, the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, and the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
RELATED: It doesn’t get any better than this: Business class on Singapore Airlines’ A380 from Frankfurt to New York
the bottom line
While SIA has an aging business class hard product, which will turn 10 next year, the soft product (namely service, amenities and food) remains one of the best in the sky.
Additionally, customers booking Singapore Airlines Business Class flights from the US can access United’s award-winning Polaris lounge. If you book a flight departing from SFO, the Polaris Lounge is in the same terminal as Singapore Airlines’ departure terminal. In Los Angeles and Newark, the Polaris Lounge is a few terminals away from the Singapore Airlines gate.