Do First/Suite Saver seats get released from Sydney > Europe?

[Bronica]

Finally saved enough points for 2x First/Suite seats for a honeymoon to Europe next year from Sydney. Looking at the miles calculator, it say's a Saver is 183,500 and advantage is 282,000.

However, when i look at Sydney > London, Paris, Frankfurt or Zurich where the Suites flights are available they only have Advantage seats. When i change to Melbourne, there is a bunch of Saver seats available.

Does Sydney offer First/Suite Saver seats, and i'm just not quick enough to book them?

 

[MathNerd]

When i change to Melbourne, there is a bunch of Saver seats available.

Really? I don't see SQ releasing any Suites Savers for Melbourne either...
What dates are you seeing this availability? And are you doing a search for 1 or 2 people? That could be the reason you're seeing availability.

Does Sydney offer First/Suite Saver seats, and i'm just not quick enough to book them?

In general, no, Suites are usually restricted to Advantage due to lack of supply (only 6 per A380 compared to 12 before) and very high demand. It's possible they release one or two Savers but if so it definitely won't be in June/July/August which is when everyone wants to go to Europe.

What dates are you trying to get Suites for OP? And you're flexible on destination?

 

[Bronica]

Really? I don't see SQ releasing any Suites Savers for Melbourne either...
What dates are you seeing this availability? And are you doing a search for 1 or 2 people? That could be the reason you're seeing availability.

In general, no, Suites are usually restricted to Advantage due to lack of supply (only 6 per A380 compared to 12 before) and very high demand. It's possible they release one or two Savers but if so it definitely won't be in June/July/August which is when everyone wants to go to Europe.

What dates are you trying to get Suites for OP? And you're flexible on destination?

I can see a few if i search Melbourne - London, for example one on 24/06/24 and 17/06/24:



I'm just searching for 1 person just to see if there is even 1 Sydney First/Suite Saver seat.

No specific date, nor destination as long as it's not domestic. Really, the treat is to be able to take a flight in a Suite, but I still can't even see First/Suite Saver seats on the other eligible routes - Beijing, HK, Shanghai, Tokyo or NY.

 

[MathNerd]

I can see a few if i search Melbourne - London, for example one on 24/06/24 and 17/06/24:

The issue with both of those dates and routes is two-fold:

1. These are First, not Suites (First on B777, Suite on A380). I would personally only blow such a large amount of miles if I was flying Suites rather than First, Suites is another level altogether.
2. These are availabilities only for 1 passenger, not 2. If I was flying for a honeymoon (which I managed to do in Suites 4 years ago, albeit only the MEL-SIN sector), I would definitely want to be flying in the same cabin!

I'm just searching for 1 person just to see if there is even 1 Sydney First/Suite Saver seat.

Yep, if SQ does release a Saver for First/Suites, it would only be for 1 passenger, not 2. All the blogs out there saying otherwise are either lying or are using an account with status (PPS/PPS Solitaire).

No specific date, nor destination as long as it's not domestic. Really, the treat is to be able to take a flight in a Suite, but I still can't even see First/Suite Saver seats on the other eligible routes - Beijing, HK, Shanghai, Tokyo or NY.

Good on you for putting in the effort to find something. As I said though, regardless of route, SQ just doesn't release 2 Saver Suites (anyone with evidence to the contrary please do correct me, I'm more of a J flyer now given the impossibility of getting 2 Savers in First/Suites these days).
They *may* release multiple Suite Savers on the DEL or BOM routes (back when I checked a while back), but these days there's nothing, not even Advantage on those routes. Plus, DEL has lost the A380 so only BOM has it*, and still no availability even for 1 person.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, if you do find a date and destination with a Saver Suite available, I'd recommend book yourself in 1 Saver and your partner in 1 Advantage, it's the only way really.

How to get the extra miles for Advantage? Spend spend spend...

Good luck and please let us all know how you go. There's plenty of us here that love a good success story! Happy booking (and travels!)!

* This info is frequently in-date and out-of-date as SQ seems to shuffle their A380 India deployments (from what I can see - I usually only fly to BLR not BOM or DEL so I don't monitor the BOM or DEL routes often or at all). However, there are always up-to-date lists of SQ's A380 routes available on MainlyMiles which is a good source.

 

[Bronica]

The issue with both of those dates and routes is two-fold:

1. These are First, not Suites (First on B777, Suite on A380). I would personally only blow such a large amount of miles if I was flying Suites rather than First, Suites is another level altogether.
2. These are availabilities only for 1 passenger, not 2. If I was flying for a honeymoon (which I managed to do in Suites 4 years ago, albeit only the MEL-SIN sector), I would definitely want to be flying in the same cabin!

Yep, if SQ does release a Saver for First/Suites, it would only be for 1 passenger, not 2. All the blogs out there saying otherwise are either lying or are using an account with status (PPS/PPS Solitaire).

Good on you for putting in the effort to find something. As I said though, regardless of route, SQ just doesn't release 2 Saver Suites (anyone with evidence to the contrary please do correct me, I'm more of a J flyer now given the impossibility of getting 2 Savers in First/Suites these days).
They *may* release multiple Suite Savers on the DEL or BOM routes (back when I checked a while back), but these days there's nothing, not even Advantage on those routes. Plus, DEL has lost the A380 so only BOM has it*, and still no availability even for 1 person.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, if you do find a date and destination with a Saver Suite available, I'd recommend book yourself in 1 Saver and your partner in 1 Advantage, it's the only way really.

How to get the extra miles for Advantage? Spend spend spend...

Good luck and please let us all know how you go. There's plenty of us here that love a good success story! Happy booking (and travels!)!

* This info is frequently in-date and out-of-date as SQ seems to shuffle their A380 India deployments (from what I can see - I usually only fly to BLR not BOM or DEL so I don't monitor the BOM or DEL routes often or at all). However, there are always up-to-date lists of SQ's A380 routes available on MainlyMiles which is a good source.

Thanks MathNerd, you're absolutely right on point 1 I completely forgot to take this into account - would have been a nasty surprise if i booked them!

Thank you for the information above, very helpful!

Knowing this, and obviously my opinion, but almost seems that the 280k cost is not worth it at more than 2x the cost of business class.

 

[Human]

A couple of weeks ago, OMAAT did a deep dive into the nitty gritty of booking Singapore First Class and Suites with points. You might be interested to have a read:

How To Redeem Miles For Singapore A380 Suites & 777 First Class

Want to redeem miles for Singapore Airlines' incredible A380 Suites and 777 first class? Here's everything you need to know.

onemileatatime.com

 

[wohoo]

Do you need to have star alliance gold status to see more seats?

 

[MathNerd]

Do you need to have star alliance gold status to see more seats?

I doubt that'd help.

SQ would, maybe, only help high level PPS or PPS Solitaire members. If they're feeling generous.

Star Alliance Gold status won't even come close.

 

[MathNerd]

A couple of weeks ago, OMAAT did a deep dive into the nitty gritty of booking Singapore First Class and Suites with points. You might be interested to have a read:

How To Redeem Miles For Singapore A380 Suites & 777 First Class

Want to redeem miles for Singapore Airlines' incredible A380 Suites and 777 first class? Here's everything you need to know.

onemileatatime.com

Very interesting read, @Human, thanks for sharing. Ben is pretty good at what he does, though some find him annoying/pretentious at times, but I don't think so. His focus is on the US market of course, so I don't visit OMAAT too often.

However in this case he's hit the nail squarely on the head. He even said:

If you want a shot at redeeming for Singapore’s A380 Suites, you’ll want to have access to KrisFlyer miles (through points transfers). Also, *be prepared to pay the higher Advantage award cost*, especially if you want to fly a long haul route, which gives you the full experience.

Yup, exactly what I've said above as well. If SQ ever released a Suite Saver on a long haul, that would be the ultimate unicorn.

OP @Bronica, have a read of the link that was posted, which confirms what I've said.

If you really do want to experience the Suites, then try to BOM or HKG. Be aware though of Ben's warning (again my second point above):

Now, let me say that if you’re looking for more than one seat, that complicates things significantly, especially on long haul flights. I’m not saying you won’t ever find seats, but it will reduce options by 90% or so.

Let us know what you end up booking, OP. Unfortunately with SQ halving their Suites from 12 to 6, this was the straw that broke the camel's back regarding availability (who better to sympathise with than resident SQ guru @Cruiser Elite).

 

[coolkid101]

I doubt that'd help.

SQ would, maybe, only help high level PPS or PPS Solitaire members. If they're feeling generous.

Star Alliance Gold status won't even come close.

Yes very much status dependent these days. From my end there's ready availability across Europe.
In fact just booked another 3 x R award from syd to Europe return

As someone who is fortunate enough to be on the top end of the KF program (PPS solitaire both my wife and I >10 years), i must say things at this part of the world have been better than i've ever experienced.

Over the last few years, and especially since COVID, KF have really stepped up their loyalty perks to us.

Our experiences, both published and un-published:
Priority/advance reward booking access before anyone else
More availability - this has been massive - R/F always 2 available, often 3, have even cleared waitlist for a 4th seat on some flights. (just last month we were 4 in R - 2 paid and 2 redemption and had 2 waitlisted from J upgraded close in SYD-LHR both sectors)
Priority waitlist - again - lots of availability being offered, even for my nominees the waitlist clearance is very high
Dedicated phone line/agent

I got given a hard time about this when i wrote about it previously but i know a lot of KF elites (ourselves included) are also holding multiple seats across dates especially if unsure when/where to go - with easy cancellation at no cost, miles that don't expire and an 8 figure miles balance SQ have been very accommodating with this.

So while I read the above and acknowledge what the experiences are like - I suppose it's like any regular flight for any airline where the 10% at the front make up 70% of the revenue

 

[MathNerd]

3 x R award from syd to Europe return

Wow, never thought the day would come that I'd see those words.
Did you book at Saver or Advantage level? And did you have to ring up to ask them to release the seats?

PS congrats on the PPS Solitaire for that length of time, that's impressive. It looks like you'd have to fly SQ in J/F/R fortnightly at the bare minimum to obtain/maintain that status.
Great that the status is paying off though @coolkid101!

 

[drron]

Another practical point. Look at Singapore School holiday dates. Next year we are going to fly DRW-SIN-NRT. I have been checking the availability and to wards the end of May the awards went from saver J available virtually every day to Waitlist but advantage awards available. I started checking every day. I wanted the award on 27/6/24. Then for Monday 24/6/24 they went back to saver awards and have stayed the same. Checked Singapore school holiday for 2024 and they are from late May to 23/6/24.

 

[coolkid101]

Wow, never thought the day would come that I'd see those words.
Did you book at Saver or Advantage level? And did you have to ring up to ask them to release the seats?

PS congrats on the PPS Solitaire for that length of time, that's impressive. It looks like you'd have to fly SQ in J/F/R fortnightly at the bare minimum to obtain/maintain that status.
Great that the status is paying off though @coolkid101!

I think it booked at advantage.
We have someone who usually helps us book our trips from our end and a dedicated Pps agent who books it from their end so we don't book online. Don't think we get seats released. Usually we just say we need xx number of R and J and they just tell us how many we have to buy and how many awards. Most recent booking I just looked is 3R and 4J all awards. Paid 2.9mil miles so a quick calculation appears to be all advantage awards. Previous trip we ended up paying for 4R and 3J when they had no awards and we had to travel on a fixed date and it was only a month out so we didn't want to chance it. So we win some and pay for the others.
We don't fly that often. A few times a year is enough for Pps. Our previous trip booked a month out I think almost half qualified us for another year almost with the one ticket.

 

[MathNerd]

I think it booked at advantage.
We have someone who usually helps us book our trips from our end and a dedicated Pps agent who books it from their end so we don't book online. Don't think we get seats released. Usually we just say we need xx number of R and J and they just tell us how many we have to buy and how many awards. Most recent booking I just looked is 3R and 4J all awards. Paid 2.9mil miles so a quick calculation appears to be all advantage awards. Previous trip we ended up paying for 4R and 3J when they had no awards and we had to travel on a fixed date and it was only a month out so we didn't want to chance it. So we win some and pay for the others.
We don't fly that often. A few times a year is enough for Pps. Our previous trip booked a month out I think almost half qualified us for another year almost with the one ticket.

Thanks for the insight, @coolkid101. Very valuable advice indeed.
PPS/Solitaire may very well be an impossible dream for me, so I'll just have to live vicariously through your accounts of the benefits etc

 

[terrier]

We have just finished a suites lhr to Singapore on points, we were originally booked on 777 but sq changed the plane to a a380, both seats booked at saver rates, having seen the 777 f class I wouldn’t pay the extra over business for it, the suites are an altogether another matter, I doubt if I will have a more comfortable flight ever again.

 

[RAM]

Whilst the A380 suites are definitely the ultimate goal - our experience with the B777 1st mini cabins (sliding door) with roughly 1.6m (IIRC) high walls was very enjoyable.

If you've never flown 1st before than on SIA I think ANY 1st class long haul is memorable for all the right reasons. If you can get the B777 savers via MEL then I'd be tempted to try & fly down to MEL the day before so that you can enjoy the pre-flight 1st lounge experience as much as possible. Then prepare to be a little more 'treated' when you arrive in SIN and go to The Private Room.

BTW - 14 hours in The (old) Private Room was overkill - even with a half day 'free' Singapore Tour thrown in by the Singapore Tourist Office (available to all with long transits, not just F, from early morning to late afternoon). That is if it is available post-Covid changes.

 

[lilkid28]

We have just finished a suites lhr to Singapore on points, we were originally booked on 777 but sq changed the plane to a a380, both seats booked at saver rates, having seen the 777 f class I wouldn’t pay the extra over business for it, the suites are an altogether another matter, I doubt if I will have a more comfortable flight ever again.

Really? 130k in J vs 183.5 in F , I'd pay the extra 53.5k miles to be in F even for B777. I get to drink easily 2 bottles of Krug over 2 legs, another 1-2 bottle of $200-300 red wine. I get to go to the private room in Singapore. Definitely worth the 53.5k miles one way in Saver level.

 

[anat0l]

Well I am in a pretty precarious position similar but also with a difference compared to the OP.

I have a bunch of KF miles that are about to expire (October) after having been given multiple chances during the pandemic extensions. It's not enough for some Suites redemptions outright, but I have another ~150k KF ready to sweep as needed (preferably soon thanks to the recent devaluation announcement).

I know I am searching at peak times (well, I am a teacher), but I cannot find any Suites. I've even "shortened" it to just from SIN. Probably doesn't help that the only worthy longhaul Suites is SIN-LHR (there are no other Suites to Europe).

I'm fully ready to pay Advantage prices, but there's not even any Suites to waitlist for - they just aren't any. There's plenty of 777-300ER to waitlist for and a handful to be redeemed straight up...

Yes, I am aware of all of the different factors at play here: travel glut, being earlier off the mark to get seats, accepting shorter flights with Suites, PPS and KF Gold getting first dibs (I have neither)... just not sure what to do with my soon-to-expire KF balance.

 

[Human]

I'm fully ready to pay Advantage prices, but there's not even any Suites to waitlist for - they just aren't any. There's plenty of 777-300ER to waitlist for and a handful to be redeemed straight up...

I'm seeing Suites available to waitlist during school holidays (eg. SIN-SYD on December 17 and December 19). How many passengers are you searching for? I'm just doing a search for 1.

 

[angusburns]

Well I am in a pretty precarious position similar but also with a difference compared to the OP.

I have a bunch of KF miles that are about to expire (October) after having been given multiple chances during the pandemic extensions. It's not enough for some Suites redemptions outright, but I have another ~150k KF ready to sweep as needed (preferably soon thanks to the recent devaluation announcement).

I know I am searching at peak times (well, I am a teacher), but I cannot find any Suites. I've even "shortened" it to just from SIN. Probably doesn't help that the only worthy longhaul Suites is SIN-LHR (there are no other Suites to Europe).

I'm fully ready to pay Advantage prices, but there's not even any Suites to waitlist for - they just aren't any. There's plenty of 777-300ER to waitlist for and a handful to be redeemed straight up...

Yes, I am aware of all of the different factors at play here: travel glut, being earlier off the mark to get seats, accepting shorter flights with Suites, PPS and KF Gold getting first dibs (I have neither)... just not sure what to do with my soon-to-expire KF balance.

In order of value:

1. Use them for business class seats to Europe - SYD-LHR has the most seats per day, so hopefully the most availability, but sometimes other destinations have availability. Book a flight at the far end of availability - about 350 days out - today, 17 July 23, I can book a flight on 6 July 23 - this let's you get a seat in peak periods, just has to be one year away.

2. Roll them over for 6 more months (Will cost you 1200 points per 10k extended - a 12% haircut, and only for 6 months, so don't do it if you're not going to use it. Only really handy if you want to book a flight 12-18 months away from now, obviously. https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/us/ppsclub-krisflyer/forms-and-fees/service-fees/

3. Transfer them to your Virgin Australia Velocity account where they will not expire, as long as your Velocity account remains active. Exchange rate is 1.55 KF to 1 VA point (65%, so 65k VA points per 100k KF transferred) A 35% haircut but better than losing them all.