Singapore Airlines is devaluing its Star Alliance redemption chart on December 07, 2017. The award chart was never very attractive in the first place, but every program has its sweet spots.
The good news is that Star Alliance redemptions will be available for online booking after the devaluation. The bad news is that there will be very few attractive redemptions after the devaluation on Star Alliance partners.
I want to focus on two particular first class redemptions.
- North America to Europe: currently 80,000 miles / 95,000 miles on 07 Dec 2017
- North America to Middle East/North Africa: currently 75,000 miles / 90,000 miles on 07 Dec 2017
If you are scratching your head, you’re not the only one.
Indeed, traveling to the Middle East typically requires transiting Europe. And when you transit Europe, you don’t pay the higher price. So by adding an extra flight, you currently save 20K miles (and will still save 5K miles after the devaluation).
But here’s what you might not know. Fuel surcharges may actually be cheaper to/from the Middle East (despite the extra segment) than to simply going to Europe.
I discovered this when I traveled to Jordan earlier this year.
Take a look at Lufthansa First Class to Amman:
and to Frankfurt:
Note the YQ line: $478 from LAX to FRA but only $197 if you fly from LAX to FRA and connect to AMM. It means you will pay much less in taxes/fees if you fly to the Middle East.
Connect the dots…if you’re just going to Europe, why not pay 5K less miles and half the fees by adding in a throw-away segment to the Middle East?
That sure makes sense to me. Just note that Lufthansa First Class typically does not open until a few days before (or less) before travel.
Food for thought this morning.
More details on the devaluation here.
I dont see where you can save 20k miles? is there a typo?
75K to Middle East, 80K miles to Europe. 5K.
I love such nuggets. Gem of an article, to the point !
Isn’t it only a savings of 5,000 miles? 75K vs 80K before devaluation? Am I missing something?
You’re right. I’ve made that clear in the post.
“So by adding an extra flight, you currently save 20K miles (and will still save 5K miles after the devaluation).”
Does the lower YQ only happen when it’s connecting flights w transit only in Germany ? Or can it be done w a stopover ?
Great question. I checked and a stopover in Germany does not change the YQ. In the Amman example, it remains $197USD.
In what scenario are we able to save 20K miles? That’s the part that’s confusing in your post.
“Book a flight through Europe to the Middle East now for 75k (with a throwaway segment at the end), instead of waiting and paying 95k for a flight to Europe.”
Any risk of being kicked out of KrisFlyer or barred from redeeming Star Alliance awards on LH (or another partner for that matter) for not flying the throwaway segment?
Book a flight through Europe to the Middle East now for 75k (with a throwaway segment at the end), instead of waiting and paying 95k for a flight to Europe.
I get that. What I’m asking, and maybe not articulating properly, is whether skipping the second segment will result in the frequent flyer program barring you from future redemptions. When Skiplagged.com came out I know there was a lot of talk about what happens if you skip a paid segment that you booked just to get ther lower price. I was wondering if there are any datapoints on doing that with this redemption.
Why would they throw you out of their program for “missing” a flight or you picked up a stomach bug on the first segment and need to hang at a casino for a few days of R&R before deciding to fly back on another carrier… or whatever.
I would transfer only enough points for your current booking. If they close your account, big deal…you just open a new one. Very different than say an American or United account in which you have lifetime status and don’t want to risk losing it.
From what I’ve seen and heard, if you frequently engage in behavior the airlines consider abusive, which includes using throw-away ticketing to qualify for a lower fare, they can kick you out of the program and/or confiscate your miles. It would be unusual for that to happen if you do it once. To piggyback off of Kevin, you were having so much fun in the Senator lounge that you lost track of time and missed your connection. Oops.
What’s the 20K part??
what @brteacher said above: “Book a flight through Europe to the Middle East now for 75k (with a throwaway segment at the end), instead of waiting and paying 95k for a flight to Europe.”