I have some Velocity Points as well as a lot of Amex Points stored up.
Looking to finish off my 2017 trip Singapore-Brisbane in Business Class (J/C) for 2 Pax. With the wind up of the Etihad service, Singapore Airlines (SQ) looks to be the best option with availability. (I have plenty of QF points, but availability on the one QF flight each day is rare, and the EK 777 flight is at an unfortunate time).
Singapore departing flights seem to all attract crazy fees.
Trying to now figure out the best way to redeem points for a flight on Singapore Airlines (SQ) - Kris Flyer, Velocity, or Asia Miles? Anybody have recommendations as to best option in terms of points burn, seat availability, fees?
Hi etrust,
For your request of a flight on Singapore Airlines, you can’t use Asia Miles points for this. But it can be done with Kris Flyer or Velocity points.
There is an article on Points Hack comparing Velocity awards against Kris Flyer awards. The summary, from memory, being if you are points rich, redeem with Velocity and pay lower taxes/charges, or use KF for its online 15% points reduction to help offset its higher taxes/charges.
For seat availability for 2, your best hope is with Kris Flyer. SQ has better award availability for its own members than its partners.
So in summary, if I was you, I would be making a Kris Flyer web booking for this trip. To fund it, the points would be moved from AMEX to KF. If my KF balance was still insufficient, I’d transfer Velocity points to KF points to make up the difference.
Regards, Bluenose.
Excellent answer, exactly what I needed. I noticed the availability was pretty low on Velocity. But those fees on SQ… ouch
Interestingly, I found that when attempting a dummy booking (in any class) One-Way from Singapore, there is no availability on any date. (Plenty on One-Way flights to Singapore from Australia. Is this a restriction on the Velocity website? KFF looking even better!
Hi,
Looks like the VFF system is currently having problems making SQ reservations:
“Thanks all, we are aware of this issue and working with Singapore Airlines to resolve. The issue is caused by Singapore Airline’s Global Distribution System and we hope to rectify within the next 48 hours. If you need to urgently change an existing booking, please call our call centre on 131 875 and we will do everything possible to assist.”
Source: http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/ask-velocity-frequent-flyer/velocity-cannot-access-sq-reward-75763.html
Regards, Bluenose.