Buenos dias everyone. As first reported by Scott at Travel Codex, Singapore Airlines’s Krisflyer loyalty program has released a partner award chart for flights on Alaska Airlines. It seems confusing at first, but once you understand the full picture, it makes more sense.
Alaska’s route map is split into five zones:
- Zone 1: West Coast
- Zone 2: Mountain West and Canada
- Zone 3: Midwest
- Zone 4: East Coast, Southeast, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Mexico
- Zone 5: Alaska and Hawaii
Here’s some key pieces of information to understand this chart:
- Awards are only allowed for single segments – similar to British Airways Avios. So a ticket from Washington, DC to Los Angeles nonstop would be 12,000 Krisflyer miles, but a ticket from Washington, DC to Los Angeles via Seattle or Portland would be 19,500 miles (Zone 5 to Zone 1 plus Zone 1 to Zone 1). Also, it sounds like the latter itinerary would have to be booked as two separate tickets, which is inconvenient.
- The chart only applies to flights currently operated by Alaska Airlines – not Virgin America. That’s why there are some gaps in the chart.
That being said, there are some great deals to be had. 12,000 miles one way from California to Hawaii or Mexico is a great deal, since most programs (including the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan frequent flyer program) charge 17,500 miles each way for these routes. Even British Airways Avios costs 12,500 miles one way for these routes. Most other routes tend to be about the same price or slightly cheaper than using Alaska Airlines miles. In particular, Zone 1 (West Coast) to Zone 3 (Midwest) for 9,500 miles seems like a sweet deal.
On the other hand, First Class award prices are pretty atrocious – more than double the price of economy for shorter routes, and more than triple for longer routes. And intra-Alaska flights are much more expensive than they would be using Alaska Airlines miles or British Airways Avios.
Since you can transfer points to Singapore Krisflyer from Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You Points, American Express Membership Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest, this makes Alaska Airlines award flights far more accessible than they were in the past. For transfer times to Singapore Airlines, please read Transfer Times to Singapore Airlines from Chase Ultimate Rewards, AMEX Membership Rewards, Citi Thank You Points, and SPG Starpoints. To book these flights, you’ll need to check for availability (the easiest way to do this is probably via the American Airlines website, since searching on Alaska’s website will show you higher-priced awards that aren’t available to partners) and then call Singapore Krisflyer to book. There is no word yet on how much it will cost to use Alaska Airlines miles on Singapore Airlines flights, but I’ll keep you posted. Lastly, if you are not a Singapore Airlines Krisflyer member, Earn 1,000 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles for Referring a New Member.
Will you be using Singapore Krisflyer miles to book an Alaska Airlines flight in the future? What do you think of this award chart? Let me know in the comments.
Are you sure that the chart is only for single segments? Gary Leff called Alaska and was told otherwise. And, as a number of others have pointed out, many of the other terms and conditions make absolutely no sense in that case, such as the rules against backtracking or mixed cabins.
I’m not convinced either way, but I think we should wait for clarification from Singapore.
I’m not sure of anything – I’m just going off of the terms as they’re written. A lot of people claiming that it can’t be accurate (including Gary) argue that there are zones in the chart that don’t have nonstop service, but that’s inaccurate – there’s nonstop service on Alaska metal for every zone listed.
(Also, despite what he wrote in the article i assume Gary must have talked to Singapore, since Alaska wouldn’t have any information about Krisflyer’s award charts.)
Will definitely update this as more information becomes available
I think the terms and conditions don’t make sense either way, but I would guess that you are right, because they makes less sense the other way. And there’s no way that SQ is going to make a chart that lets me fly MSY-SEA-HNL for 12,500 miles. That’s the other thing that Leff and others aren’t considering: the award chart is too good to be true the way they are interpreting it.
It is indeed possible to fly non-stop from Zone 2 to Zone 5, that would be Las Vegas to Anchorage on Alaska.
That said, I still don’t understand why they would include the “back tracking” or “mixed cabin” language unless they just copied it from another chart that does allow for stops.
any data points on what the fees will be?
It should be the same taxes and fees you’d pay to book the ticket through Alaska – so about $11.20 roundtrip for domestic flights, slightly more to Alaska/Hawaii, $90 roundtrip to Mexico City, etc.
Great article and thank you for shedding the light on this new feature. However, for a lay-person, this whole thing is complicated – I wish you offer award booking service as it seems you know what are you writing about. :)
I have been sitting on this 131K KF miles for a year now transferred from Citi TYP. For a family of 4, this definitely will not get us to Asia on way even in coach. So, this is an opportunity to travel along the West Coast from our airports (SNA, LGB, LAX) to visit relatives in YVR or DFW.
Any suggestions or creative solutions?
Thank you!
Kalboz, the easiest uses for SQ miles are on United. You use them to fly on United to Central America for 17,500 miles each way. Same to Hawaii.
Does the award price on Alaska’s site affect the ability to use SQ miles? For instance, on 5/22/18, BUR-PDX, it’s 7500 AS miles. But on 5/24/18, BUR-PDX, it’s 20,000 AS miles. Exact same flight.
Yes. Alaska has various award rates, and only the lowest are available for partners to book. For BUR-PDX I believe that’s 7500 Miles.