First business class flight

[Xizor]

Looking for some advice and perspective if i may please. We have 138K KF points expiring in a few months time we need to use. We also have another 83K Velocity points that could be converted to KF if worthwhile. We have never flown business class and always wanted to. I am an awful flyer and rarely get a wink of sleep even in premium economy/exit rows, so the notion of flying business class being a reality and having an element of comfort is amazing to me.

I've tried to do some reading up and it seems the best redemption for the 2 of us is a simple SYD->SIN (or the reverse leg for way home) in business one way would consume the 138K KF. Or have i overlooked an enticing alternative?

Assuming we did that route, is there a particular plane we should avoid? I understand the A380 is the best for business class on this route but it seems flying out of Sydney there is almost no saver availability unless jumping on newly made available 12 months out, and the return leg flies out around midnight which im not so keen on. Is either the A350-900 or 777-300ER particularly good or one of them to be avoided? Or is the A380 really a step above we should go for?

Thanks all

 

[drron]

Personally I really don't like the 777 J seats. lumps in all the wrong places.
with the A350 it depends whether you get the regional or long haul version.
My belief is the A380 would be the best.

I have just looked at the availability of saver awards out of BNE. To Singapore in July August it is wide open and the day time flight at 0920 available most days. The 1445 though is mainly waitlisted.
Coming back from Singapore certainly savers are available but virtually all overnight. On 13/8 there were 2 J savers on the day time flight.

 

[Scr77]

Do you need to travel as a couple? If not, there are F savers available from Melbourne.

Also, you could transfer to Velocity and use to fly virgin business domestically. Obviously not as good as long haul, but will cover more flights than using in 1 hit.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I would recommend flying TO singapore rather than back. Flying to singapore is slightly longer. For many of the overnight flights back you can have very limited catering on board and most people go to sleep.

To maximise the experience I’d be taking a lunch or dinner flight, from Australia to Singapore.

If you can get 2 x F even better. F is a marked step up from business class.

 

[SydneySwan]

Also, you could transfer to Velocity and use to fly virgin business domestically. Obviously not as good as long haul, but will cover more flights than using in 1 hit.

And once in Velocity no hard expiry date of the points.

 

[drron]

But 2 in F is a lot more than 138K points even 1 way.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

But 2 in F is a lot more than 138K points even 1 way.

Together with the OP’s 84,000 velocity points it should be close though.

 

[Wyler]

To maximise the experience I’d be taking a lunch or dinner flight, from Australia to Singapore.

This. SIN to SYD overnight is underwhelming.

 

[auriga]

I think the cost to fly to various SE Asian cities is the same as to SIN.
So that is one way to extend/maximise your experience.

And you get to experience the lounge in Changi

 

[JackMiles]

It's not clear to me if you actually want to go to Singapore especially, or if your research has led you to that being the best value use of points, because for the same points you could get to other places in SE Asia (eg Hanoi, Siem Reap, Bangkok), or for only slightly more, get a little further in Asia. Now, I also note you said you're an 'awful flyer' but again, not clear if that means you dislike flying altogether or just find it hard to sleep. If the former then I can see why an extra flight is of no appeal. But from your post as a whole it seems like the latter, in which case arguably bonus of a different destination is you get more flight time in J class (plus time in the lounge at SIN - or even a layover in SIN - I forget the current rules on this), thus, from certain aviation/points nerds' POV, better value for your points - plus of course perhaps a more appealing destination.

 

[Xizor]

Personally I really don't like the 777 J seats. lumps in all the wrong places.
with the A350 it depends whether you get the regional or long haul version.
My belief is the A380 would be the best.

Thanks drron. The 777 seats you dont like, are they these newer ones mentioned half way down in this pointhacks article guide to Singapore Airlines’ many Business and First Class seats and suites ? My reading of that is that most likely both the 777 and A350 will have the same seats. I know its a plane lottery no matter what we try and book but we certainly can book for later next year to try and get the A380. It lands in the evening though so a bit of a waste of a day but dont plan to do much in SIN anyway.

Do you need to travel as a couple? If not, there are F savers available from Melbourne.

Also, you could transfer to Velocity and use to fly virgin business domestically. Obviously not as good as long haul, but will cover more flights than using in 1 hit.

Yes, logistics and time wise its much easier even if it means booking later in the year. I think we have enough velocity at the moment for one way SYD</>PER business which we'll either use or keep accumulating until return eligible.

Together with the OP’s 84,000 velocity points it should be close though.

Unless im doing it wrong it seems First SYD to SIN is 155K KF points per person. Even if we converted our velocity we would only have enough for 1 person (i dont think she'd be too impressed ).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Unless im doing it wrong it seems First SYD to SIN is 155K KF points per person. Even if we converted our velocity we would only have enough for 1 person (i dont think she'd be too impressed ).

saver awards in F are 93.5k per person, for a total of 187k for two people. With your velocity conversion it should give you enough, or be very close. With SQ you can also top up at time of booking if you are 1000 short or whatever.

As others have suggested that 93k will get you beyond Singapore to close-by destinations, like vietnam or thailand (same for your business class too).

You book through t(e call centre, AU-SIN will be in F, the connecting service in business. But as you are arriving in Singapore in F you will have access to The Private Room lounge.

 

[Xizor]

It's not clear to me if you actually want to go to Singapore especially, or if your research has led you to that being the best value use of points, because for the same points you could get to other places in SE Asia (eg Hanoi, Siem Reap, Bangkok), or for only slightly more, get a little further in Asia. Now, I also note you said you're an 'awful flyer' but again, not clear if that means you dislike flying altogether or just find it hard to sleep. If the former then I can see why an extra flight is of no appeal. But from your post as a whole it seems like the latter, in which case arguably bonus of a different destination is you get more flight time in J class (plus time in the lounge at SIN - or even a layover in SIN - I forget the current rules on this), thus, from certain aviation/points nerds' POV, better value for your points - plus of course perhaps a more appealing destination.

Very observant Jack, appreciate you asking. Mostly the latter! I personally have no interest in Singapore but my Ms does, it's not a must though. We are more interested in Thailand (probably Koh Samui as not been to that part) and/or Vietnam (Phu Quoc or Nha Trang). But holy molly, i didnt realize the points difference to have the end destination be elsewhere in Asia was negligible. I dont know how i got this wrong before when exploring options. This is definitely more appealing.

Wrt being an awful flyer, mostly the latter plus i get bad motion sickness but its manageable with medication. Its OK its only Asia so subsequent flights are much shorter. I note if i add an actual stopover it cannot be a saver redemption so not practical points wise, but layover looks appealing. A layover i guess keep minimal, or long enough to get a hotel and let the ms hit up the gardens or whatever she wants to do, then fly out again. Sounds like the way to go.

 

[Xizor]

saver awards in F are 93.5k per person, for a total of 187k for two people.

Thanks MEL. Interesting. We would have approx 190K if we converted the remaining velocity. So this looks within reach. Is saver F not shown on the website as i couldn't see it yesterday?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks MEL. Interesting. We would have approx 190K if we converted the remaining velocity. So this looks within reach. Is saver F not shown on the website as i couldn't see it yesterday?

F savers are shown on line, but will not show if searching intra-asia as a connection. You should search separately in that case, looking for F saver AU-SIN, the. look for the connecting business class flight to asia.

Scr77 mentioned there were saver awards out of MEL.

You can stay up to 24 hours without your transit being considered a stopover. So as long as you depart for your next asian city by 23hrs59mins you’ll be good to go. Arriving into SIN at say 6pm would give you the whole night and next day.

 

[drron]

We had the &&& from SIN-LHR-SIN and both times the same seat. Certainly large but as I said I find it uncomfortable. We also travelled on the A350 to SIN and back and experienced both the regional and long haul versions on the J seat. The Long haul J seat to me is better than the 777 seat for comfort but I doubt I would be able to have much sleep in it.

As to F savers they are as rare as hen's teeth ATM due to high demand. Even less likely to and from Australia so have a look but doubt you would get a saver award. I just looked at F awards on October 5th next year which was 40 minutes after they would have been released. Whether SYD-SIN or SIN-SYD the only availability in F is 15500 points as an advantage reward

PS I went and had a look at flights from MEL - SIN and there were 2 saver awards on 1 flight but as I went to look at other dates they went to waitlist. And that was 50 minutes after release so you would need to logon at Midday AEDST to nab them if they come up.

 

[Xizor]

PS I went and had a look at flights from MEL - SIN and there were 2 saver awards on 1 flight but as I went to look at other dates they went to waitlist. And that was 50 minutes after release so you would need to logon at Midday AEDST to nab them if they come up.

Yeah it looks like perhaps a bit of an overreach for us to snare. Either way, it seems SYD-SIN-coughet (then separate flight to Koh Samui) is probably the simplest agenda for this trip to get decent use of the points.

 

[dajop]

People will wax lyrical about their preferred and least preferred seats. My first long haul business class experience was on older style cradle seats (Qantas millennium seat) in 2002 and it was still amazing. If you’ve not flown business class before it really doesn’t matter what seat you get. Just avoid anything departing Australia around 11pm or anything that’s overnight from SIN as you will get an abbreviated service.

 

[Xizor]

People will wax lyrical about their preferred and least preferred seats. My first long haul business class experience was on older style cradle seats (Qantas millennium seat) in 2002 and it was still amazing. If you’ve not flown business class before it really doesn’t matter what seat you get. Just avoid anything departing Australia around 11pm or anything that’s overnight from SIN as you will get an abbreviated service.

Thanks dajop. I suppose just a bit paranoid if there was a plane particularly to avoid so good to get your perspective.

 

[Xizor]

OK so we made a booking for later next year. Business class from Sydney through to coughet with a 21hr layover in Singapore so we can sleep in a hotel, have a lunch maybe even hit up the gardens before going back for an early evening flight the next day.

Received a confirmation email straight away with booking reference and attachments starting with "eticket". No SMS received. Assume this is about as confirmed as it gets? We should pick our seats and cross our fingers?