Singapore Airlines has launched a lucrative new promotion that makes it possible to earn Silver or Gold status in the airline’s KrisFlyer frequent flyer program, simply by converting credit card points into KrisFlyer miles.
By transferring points from a credit card program such as Amex Membership Rewards, Westpac Altitude or ANZ Rewards, you could earn KrisFlyer Elite Gold status for a year. With KrisFlyer Gold status, you’ll enjoy benefits when travelling with Singapore Airlines, Star Alliance airlines and even Virgin Australia! Plus, of course, you’ll be able to redeem those miles for travel on Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand and the rest of the Star Alliance network once international borders open up.
As part of the new Singapore Airlines “Unlock Status Credits without Flying” campaign, which runs until 28 February 2022, you can also earn KrisFlyer Elite Miles or PPS Value through KrisShop, the KrisFlyer Spree online mall and other non-air program partners. KrisFlyer Elite Miles are equivalent to status credits, and count towards a member’s Silver or Gold elite status.
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How to earn KrisFlyer Elite Miles on the ground
According to the Singapore Airlines website, you can earn KrisFlyer Elite Miles (or PPS Value if you’re currently in PPS Club) without flying until 28 February 2022 in the following ways:
As you can see, during this campaign you’ll receive 1 KrisFlyer Elite Mile for every 5 KrisFlyer miles converted from bank points (as long as you convert at least the equivalent of 10,000 KrisFlyer miles at a time).
From 7-21 April 2021, you can also earn “double status credits” (Elite Miles) on qualifying transactions made through KrisShop, KrisFlyer Spree or with Kris+ partners.
Benefits of KrisFlyer status
Naturally, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer status comes with benefits when you travel with Singapore Airlines. If you have Gold status, perks include airport lounge access, additional baggage allowance, priority check-in & boarding, free “forward zone” seat selection and various fee waivers. If you ever need to pay to extend the validity of your KrisFlyer miles, you’ll also get an extra six-month validity extension if you have KrisFlyer status.
As Singapore Airlines is part of Star Alliance, KrisFlyer Silver or Gold status also gets you reciprocal Star Alliance Silver or Star Alliance Gold benefits across the entire alliance network.
Plus, you’ll receive reciprocal status benefits on other partner airlines including Virgin Australia, Virgin Atlantic and Vistara. KrisFlyer Gold members flying with Virgin Australia receive lounge access (with one guest), extra baggage allowance, priority boarding, priority baggage and priority check-in.
See the Singapore Airlines website for a full list of KrisFlyer Gold status benefits.
How many Elite Miles do you need to earn or renew KrisFlyer status?
To earn KrisFlyer Elite status, you would normally need to earn the following amounts of Elite Miles:
- KrisFlyer Elite Silver (Star Alliance Silver) – earn 25,000 Elite Miles in 12 consecutive months
- KrisFlyer Elite Gold (Star Alliance Gold) – earn 50,000 Elite Miles in 12 consecutive months
Normally, it’s only possible to earn Elite Miles by flying with Singapore Airlines, Scoot or other Star Alliance airlines. (Note that you cannot earn KrisFlyer Elite Miles on Virgin Australia flights, unless booked on a “SQ” codeshare.)
KrisFlyer Elite Miles earned during this campaign count towards upgrading to a higher status tier.
KrisFlyer status extensions for existing members
Singapore Airlines has already extended the status of all existing KrisFlyer Silver & Gold members for two years due to COVID-19. But Elite Miles earned during this promotion will not go to waste!
If you’re already a KrisFlyer Silver or Gold member, Elite Miles earned during this campaign will either count towards renewing your current expiring status or be rolled over into your next membership year. So, either way, they will contribute to renewing your status beyond March 2022-February 2023.
See the Singapore Airlines website for more information about existing status extension and rollover offers.
How to earn KrisFlyer Gold status by transferring credit card points
To recap, you would need to earn 50,000 KrisFlyer Elite Miles within 12 months to achieve Singapore Airlines Gold status. And until 28 February 2022, you’ll receive 1 Elite Mile for every 5 KrisFlyer miles received from a credit card transfer. That means you would need to transfer the equivalent of at least 250,000 KrisFlyer miles from your credit card by 28 February 2022 to receive Gold status.
250,000 KrisFlyer miles is equivalent to the following amounts of points with these eligible Australian bank loyalty programs:
- 500,000 American Express Membership Rewards points (2:1 conversion rate)
- 750,000 ANZ Rewards points (3:1 conversion rate)
- 750,000 NAB Rewards points (3:1 conversion rate)
- 750,000 Westpac Altitude points (3:1 conversion rate)
- 500,000 St George/Bank SA/Bank of Melbourne Amplify points (2:1 conversion rate)
- 500,000 Diners Club Rewards points (2:1 conversion rate)
- 500,000 HSBC Rewards Plus points (2:1 conversion rate)
- 625,000 Citi Rewards points (2.5:1 conversion rate)
- 625,000 Suncorp Rewards points (2.5:1 conversion rate)
The only major Australian bank that doesn’t partner with Singapore Airlines is Commonwealth Bank.
You can use AFF’s Credit Card Points Transfer Assistant to learn more about which airlines you can transfer your credit card points to, and how to spend transferred points.
What can I get for 250,000 KrisFlyer miles?
By transferring the equivalent of 250,000 KrisFlyer miles to Singapore Airlines by 28 February 2022, you won’t just receive KrisFlyer Gold status for a year. Of course, you’ll also have 250,000 KrisFlyer miles to spend!
That’s not a bad conundrum, as KrisFlyer is one of the most competitive frequent flyer programs in the Asia-Pacific region for international flight redemptions. Plus, if you redeem your KrisFlyer miles to travel with Singapore Airlines, there are no fuel or carrier surcharges.
We have a helpful guide to what you can do with different amounts of Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. To give you an idea, 250,000 KrisFlyer miles is more than enough for two return Singapore Airlines Business class tickets from Australia to Asia or one return Business Class ticket to Europe. In fact, you could book a Star Alliance round-the-world award ticket in Business class for 240,000 KrisFlyer miles, plus taxes.
However, beware that KrisFlyer miles expire after 3 years – regardless of your account activity. As this promotion is running until the end of February next year, you might prefer to wait until international borders open up again before transferring your points to KrisFlyer. As your KrisFlyer status will only last for 12 months, it would also be wise to wait until you have some upcoming travel. (Just don’t leave it to the very last minute, as it can take a few days or weeks for the transfer to be completed.)
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: SQ offering status without flying
