Singapore Airlines will continue extending the validity of expiring KrisFlyer miles, for six months at a time, until at least March 2022 (previously June 2021).
It’s welcome news for Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer members who are concerned that their miles could expire before they have a proper opportunity to redeem them, particularly as international borders remain closed.
This means that all KrisFlyer miles due to expire by March 2022 will be automatically extended by six months. Miles that have already been extended are also eligible to receive additional six-month extensions if their updated expiry date still falls before March 2022.
For example, miles due to expire on 31 July 2021 will be extended until 31 January 2022. Those miles would then be extended again at the end of that period until 31 July 2022, if still unused.
Singapore Airlines has been continuously extending the validity of expiring KrisFlyer miles since April 2020.
This diagram on the Singapore Airlines website explains how the rolling six-month extension blocks will now work:
KrisFlyer members with miles due to expire between July 2021 and March 2022 were advised of the extensions by email.
“In view of restricted travel opportunities globally, we will be extending the validity period of all expiring KrisFlyer miles. This means that there will not be any expiry of KrisFlyer miles until April 2022,” the email said.
It’s not yet clear what will happen to miles due to expire in April 2022 and beyond. In the FAQs on the Singapore Airlines website, the airline says: “As the situation remains fluid, we will continue to monitor and review this closer to date”.
Singapore Airlines has come under a lot of criticism recently for its unfair and outdated policy whereby all KrisFlyer miles normally expire after three years – regardless of account activity. In normal times, this is problematic because it would be impossible for many members to save up enough miles for a meaningful reward – such as a long-haul Business or First Class flight – in just three years.
But with Australia’s international border now closed for well over a year (except now to New Zealand), and counting, Australian KrisFlyer members with large existing balances of KrisFlyer miles remain at risk of their miles expiring if they are still unable to use them as they had intended by March 2022. (You can at least redeem miles to book travel up to a year in advance.)
Many Australian Frequent Flyer members transferred large quantities of Virgin Australia Velocity points to KrisFlyer in late 2018, getting in before the rate at which Velocity points could be converted to KrisFlyer miles was devalued on 1 January 2019. (This program feature was later suspended in April 2020.) Those KrisFlyer miles – if not yet redeemed – would have been due to expire later this year.
Outside of special COVID-19 extensions, KrisFlyer members can pay a fee to extend their miles for up to six months (or 12 months for Silver & Gold Elite members).
Many other frequent flyer programs which previously had fixed-term expirations of miles, such as Asia Miles and Etihad Guest, have recently changed their policies so that account activity prevents the miles from expiring. (This is exactly how Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity work.) And some airlines no longer expire miles at all, including Hawaiian Airlines as of last week.
It’s time for Singapore Airlines to do the same thing because its current expiration policy – COVID-19 extensions notwithstanding – is untenable in the current environment. And, although KrisFlyer is generally an excellent frequent flyer program, its expiration policy is now a huge disincentive for Australians to earn KrisFlyer miles.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: GOOD NEWS! Krisflyer Miles to be extended until April 2022 and beyond.
