There’s a new transfer bonus for Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, which could be worthwhile, especially when stacked with another offer.
In this post:
Amex to KrisFlyer 20% transfer bonus
The US American Express Membership Rewards program seems to be offering a 20% bonus when you transfer points to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. That means that Amex points transfer to KrisFlyer at a 1,000:1,200 ratio.
Note that:
- This promotion may be targeted, though it at least seems to be pretty widely targeted
- There’s no published end date for the offer, and it’s noted that “if you return to redeem points later, this offer may no longer be available”
I wouldn’t be surprised to see this offer available until the end of the year, but we certainly can’t count on it. I’d recommend taking advantage of this sooner rather than later if interested.
There are lots of great cards earning Amex Membership Rewards points, so I imagine this offer could be interesting to many. Amex Membership points transfers to Singapore KrisFlyer generally aren’t instant, and can take up to two days.
Stack this with KrisFlyer Star Alliance Gold promotion
The Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program is running another lucrative promotion, and the two offers can be stacked. Through February 28, 2022, you can earn KrisFlyer Elite Gold status if you transfer 250,000 points to the KrisFlyer program from a partner.
This unlocks Star Alliance Gold status, which offers perks across Star Alliance airlines, including priority check-in, lounge access, priority boarding, and much more. Being able to earn a 20% bonus on points transfers, plus getting Star Alliance Gold status, is a pretty awesome combo.
Should you transfer points to Singapore KrisFlyer?
There are three major reasons to consider taking advantage of this promotion:
- Bonuses like this have historically been rare; we’ve seen transfer bonuses a couple of times in recent months, but pre-pandemic we just about never saw a bonus from a transferable points currency
- Not only is there a transfer bonus, but you can stack this with a promotion that will earn you Star Alliance Gold status
- Singapore Airlines primarily restricts premium cabin long haul award space to members of its own KrisFlyer program, so if you want to redeem for these products, this is your best bet
That being said, there are also reasons not to take advantage of this promotion:
- While Singapore is starting to reopen with the “Vaccinated Travel Lane” concept, that’s still a long shot from a full reopening, and it’s anyone’s guess when Singapore will open on a more flexible basis
- Historically KrisFlyer miles expire 36 months after they’re earned, regardless of any qualifying activity, so you can’t just keep these miles forever
- The beauty of transferable points currencies is the flexibility that they offer you, and you lose all that flexibility when you transfer them to one particular partner
Personally I think this promotion is pretty tempting, especially as it comes at a time when global travel is slowly starting to open up again, and on top of that there are two offers to stack here. Getting a 20% bonus plus Star Alliance Gold status could represent a great deal.
You don’t have to travel to Singapore to maximize your KrisFlyer miles. Singapore Airlines also has fifth freedom flights from New York to Frankfurt and from Houston to Manchester, for example.
Bottom line
Amex Membership Rewards is offering a 20% bonus when you convert points into Singapore KrisFlyer miles. There’s no published end date, and it’s possible this offer is targeted, though it’s at least pretty widely targeted. This is potentially a valuable opportunity, especially when you consider the separate promotion that offers Star Alliance Gold status if you transfer 250,000 points.
Are you taking advantage of this Amex to KrisFlyer transfer bonus?
Is this deal still ongoing?
My question as well.......
to bad I cannot use those huge amount United miles sitting in my account :-( would transfer those in a heartbeat.
So, you would transfer huge amounts of United miles, which do not expire, to SQ miles, which have a shelf like of just 3 years, when United miles would take you, including through another *A carrier, to most places where SQ flies, as well as to many where SQ does not, and do so much more conveniently in many cases, if you are U.S.-based?
"to[sic] bad", indeed, because it would've offered to do the transfer you, as it would've been such a good riddance!
The transfer bonus is tempting with SQ releasing widely available space next fall for JFK-FRA
@platy: "meltdown" is the correct word. wait times on the phone are hours long, and if you go to their office you're told your number will be called in 3-4 hours. even when you get an agent, they make the promises they made (and kept) pre-covid ... but the words mean nothing. the back office seems to be in complete meltdown.
A word of caution, folks...
...my recent experience with Krisflyer has been very concerning:
- The change date online facility for an existing booking does not work
- The call centre wait times are excessive (hours long)
- The call centre will not respond to requests to make changes / cancellations to award bookings - you are told you will get a call back in 48 hours from the award team - this...
A word of caution, folks...
...my recent experience with Krisflyer has been very concerning:
- The change date online facility for an existing booking does not work
- The call centre wait times are excessive (hours long)
- The call centre will not respond to requests to make changes / cancellations to award bookings - you are told you will get a call back in 48 hours from the award team - this has never happened over four attempts
- I cancelled an award flight online and the wrong points total was refunded (the points due to expire that should have been extended because of the COVID exemptions were never returned even though it said they would be during the online cancellation process)
- I did manage to get case number for them to resolve the issue and emailed a screen grab showing it said that the 106,000 points would be returned - they promised a three day turnaround 4 weeks ago.
I was initially going to transfer from Amex to get the Silver status (thus enabling a paid 12 month extension of point expiry), but given may experiences I will not transfer or earn any more points on SQ / Krisflyer until it is clear the their lack of service issues are resolved and they are back to pre-COVID normal.
Similarly, I would strongly advise anyone considering a points transfer to pause and consider the risks involved in ZERO service provision to change or cancel an reward bookings.
To note that the current comments on the SQ Facebook page are a long and sad repetition of customers receiving zero service, no call backs, etc.
This is a very sad state of affairs given the airline's usual excellence in delivering its product - I have flown with the airline a number off times in their first / suites and always enjoyed outstanding service.
SQ appears to be in total meltdown.
I have used the website chat service to redeem awards several times in the past year. It has been quite easy and good. As a Solitaire member there is usually no more than a 2 minute wait on the phone. I can’t believe service for others has become so bad. Thats not good at all.
So do you have to transfer 250K Amex points or ~209K Amex points (~250K SQ miles) to earn the Star Gold status?
I saw a post on a travel blog (can't remember which) and the transfer had accrued the bonus points, but those bonus points did NOT count toads the status total. This 250k would be needed.
Perhaps someone can confirm either way.
How long do you keep gold status?
When does the Gold status expire if you transfer now vs Feb?