KrisFlyer, the frequent flyer program of Singapore Airlines, is full of hidden gems! And it’s relatively easy to earn KrisFlyer miles in Australia through credit cards or – from 19 July 2022 – by transferring points over from Velocity.
As well as redeeming KrisFlyer miles for Singapore Airlines flights, miles can be redeemed to fly on any Star Alliance airline. This includes Air New Zealand flights, and the KrisFlyer award charts are full of sweet spots where redeeming points is exceptional value.
One such KrisFlyer sweet spot is award flights within the “Southwest Pacific” zone. KrisFlyer awards are priced based on geographical regions in the award charts. This means award flights are a fixed price when travelling from one region to another, or within a single region.
Since the slight price increase on 5 July 2022, any one-way award booking within the “Southwest Pacific” region costs a fixed price of 13,500 miles in Economy class or 34,500 miles in Business. This is interesting because the Southwest Pacific region is rather large! It includes Australia, New Zealand and most of the Pacific Islands including Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands and Tahiti.
With this in mind, it costs just 13,500 KrisFlyer miles plus around $100 in taxes to fly from Perth to Tahiti in Economy! This is a superb price for 9,442km worth of flying to tropical paradise!
You could also fly from any other airport in Australia that’s served by Air New Zealand. The Kiwi airline flies to Auckland from Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Cairns.
A return trip would cost 27,000 KrisFlyer miles and under $200 in taxes. The flights in both directions would be via Auckland with Singapore’s Star Alliance partner Air New Zealand.
When redeeming KrisFlyer miles for Air New Zealand flights, Economy award tickets include checked baggage, meals and in-flight entertainment (the same as a “Works” fare if purchased directly through Air New Zealand.)
KrisFlyer award seats from Australia to Tahiti can be booked using KrisFlyer miles on the Singapore Airlines website, although you may need to call up for some flights that don’t show online. Here’s an example of an itinerary from Sydney to Papeete that could be booked on the Singapore Airlines website:
When searching for Air New Zealand award availability, you may find it easier to look on the United Airlines website. If a seat is available as a Saver Award on the United website, you should also be able to book it via KrisFlyer.
The total trip time from Perth to Tahiti is 15 hours. The Perth-Auckland flight takes just over 6 hours and the onward flight lasts 5 hours. There’s a ~4 hour transit in Auckland and you’ll cross the International Date Line between New Zealand and French Polynesia.)
Award availability to Tahiti is typically limited, but there are some seats available if you’re flexible with dates.
Instead of Tahiti, you could also travel from anywhere in Australia to destinations including Rarotonga, Nadi, Apia and Queenstown for the same amount of KrisFlyer miles. Plus, you can have a free stopover in Auckland for up to 30 days if you book a return Star Alliance award ticket with KrisFlyer miles!
The same trip in Business class would be theoretically possible for 34,500 KrisFlyer miles, one-way. But Air New Zealand rarely releases any Business class award availability.
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