Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer devaluation: How bad is it, and what should you do now?

Singapore Airlines has announced that it will revise its KrisFlyer award charts from 1 November 2025, which will, for the most part, increase the number of miles required for award flights and upgrades.

This really shouldn’t come as a surprise, if you’ve been paying close attention. SIA had already hinted back in June that changes to the KrisFlyer programme were brewing, and with the last devaluation taking place in July 2022, it was quite obvious that a further devaluation was a question of when, not if.

Even if this news has caught you by surprise, the good news is that there’s still time to redeem awards at the current rates before the changes take effect. In most cases, you may even be able to adjust your travel dates after the devaluation, without needing to spend extra miles.

Let’s look at how award prices will be changing, how you can lock in the current rates, and whether it’s worth doing so ahead of November.

How are award prices changing?

Here’s an overview of how KrisFlyer award prices will change from 1 November 2025.

Saver awards

The cost of Singapore Airlines First and Business Saver awards will increase by 5% across most regions, except Zone 10 (which includes Africa, the Middle East and Turkey), where the increase ranges between 10-20%.

Surprisingly, Economy Saver awards for travel within Asia Pacific are being reduced by 5%, though other regions will see 5% increases (Zone 10 is again the exception with a 10% increase).

Saver Award Prices
	First & Business Class	Economy Class
Zones 1-9 (Asia Pacific)	+5%	-5%
Zone 10 (Africa, Middle East, Turkey)	+10-20%	+10%
Zone 11-13 (Europe & USA)	+5%	+5%

Advantage awards

The cost of Singapore Airlines First and Business Advantage awards will increase by 15%, while the increase for Economy Class is mostly between 10-13%.

Advantage Award Prices
	First & Business Class	Economy Class
Zones 1-9 (Asia Pacific)	+15%	+10%
Zone 10 (Africa, Middle East, Turkey)	+15-18%	+5%
Zone 11-13 (Europe & USA)	+15%	+13%

You can view the current and revised Singapore Airlines award charts via the links below.

Current Singapore Airlines award chart (valid till 31 October 2025)
Revised Singapore Airlines award chart (valid from 1 November 2025)

Upgrade awards

The cost of upgrade awards on Singapore Airlines will be increased by 5-10% on average.

Current Singapore Airlines upgrade chart (valid till 31 October 2025)
Revised Singapore Airlines upgrade chart (valid from 1 November 2025)

However, these were never a particularly good idea to begin with. Only the more expensive fare classes can be upgraded, and even then, there is no guarantee of availability. It’s a different situation if your employer is paying for the ticket, but otherwise you might be paying more for nothing!

Star Alliance awards

Star Alliance awards will increase by 5-12% on average, which is broadly in line with the Singapore Airlines chart.

Current Star Alliance award chart (valid till 31 October 2025)
Revised Star Alliance award chart (valid from 1 November 2025)

I’ve never considered the Star Alliance award chart to be very attractive on the whole, but there were some instances where it priced the same as the Singapore Airlines award chart. For example, it costs 103,500 miles to fly between Singapore and Europe in Business Class on Singapore Airlines, or through Star Alliance partners. Therefore, you could add a further flight within Europe and not have to top-up any miles, such as Singapore to Frankfurt to Madrid.

Unfortunately, these opportunities will be nerfed from November, as in every combination of zones, the Star Alliance chart will now be more expensive.

Other partners

Further changes will be made to the award charts for Garuda Indonesia, Juneyao Airlines and Virgin Australia. There is no change to the Malaysia Airlines award chart, nor the recently-introduced Scoot award chart.

Scoot awards continue to start from a very enticing 1,500 miles, and it can be possible to find good value here depending on route and time of year.

How bad is it?

Overall, this devaluation feels far from the worst-case scenario. Most people can understand that award prices need periodic adjustments to reflect the growing number of miles in circulation, and there are certainly more ways of earning miles today compared to several years ago.

By comparison, other frequent flyer programmes have been much harsher: Cathay Pacific Asia Miles increased First and Business Class award prices by 30%, and Turkish Miles&Smiles hiked some awards by as much as 100%! In that light, this latest change feels like a bullet dodged, and if nothing else, it means that further changes are unlikely for the next 1-2 years at a very minimum.

How do I lock in the current prices?

KrisFlyer members will be able to book awards at the current rates until 31 October 2025, 11.59 p.m SGT, after which the new award prices will apply.

It’s important to emphasise that while you must book your award tickets by this date, you do not necessarily need to travel. Award tickets can be booked up to 355 days in advance, which means that the latest travel date that can be booked at pre-devaluation prices will be 21 October 2026 (355 days from 31 October 2025).

Furthermore, you can make changes to the dates of your award ticket without incurring a top-up, provided that your revised travel dates are within one year of the date your award ticket was originally issued.

For example, suppose I book an award ticket on 1 October 2025 for travel in April 2026. Subsequently, in December 2025, I decide I want to travel in May 2026 instead. I will not need to top-up the difference in miles, because the revised travel date is still within one year of issuance. However, if I decide I want to travel in December 2026 instead, the ticket must be reissued, and the new award chart prices will apply.

Do note that even though no top-up of miles is required, it will still cost US$25 (~S$32) to change the date of a Saver ticket (date changes for Advantage tickets are free).

Moreover, any changes of route (e.g. changing Singapore-Sydney to Singapore-Melbourne), cabin (e.g. Economy to Business) or award type (e.g. Saver to Advantage) will require a reissuance, and the revised ticket will be priced according to the new award charts.

Another important thing to know is that any waitlists which clear after 31 October 2025 will be ticketed at the new prices, even if you joined the waitlist prior to the devaluation. There’s not a whole lot you can do from your side to expedite the clearance of waitlists, but if the deadline is looming and you’re still unconfirmed, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to start making alternative plans.

Should I make bookings now?

Given that there’s a two-month window until the devaluation comes into effect, I’m sure many KrisFlyer members will be contemplating booking awards now to secure the current prices.

Here’s my stance: to the extent that you’ve firmed up your travel plans for the end of 2025 and beyond, by all means go ahead and book your flights now.

However, you should carefully consider how many miles you’re actually saving, and balance that against the possibility of having to pay change and/or cancellation fees further down the road. That’s especially the case if you’re booking Saver awards, which as I mentioned earlier, are seeing rather modest price increases.

For example, a Business Saver award between Singapore and Bangkok is increasing from 24,000 miles to 25,000 miles. By booking ahead of the devaluation, you will save 1,000 miles, but once you make even one date change, the US$25 (~S$32) fee will almost certainly outweigh the savings. And should you have to cancel the ticket, that fee increases to US$75 (~S$96)!

So in that sense, it’s possible to be “miles wise, cash foolish”. Booking speculative awards to save some miles may backfire, if you end up paying more in change and cancellation fees.

On the other hand, if you’re planning to travel to destinations like Dubai, Johannesburg or Cape Town, then you might want to consider locking in awards because these routes are seeing a higher-than-average increase. For example, a Business Class award to Cape Town now costs 56,500 miles, which is excellent value for a 13-hour flight. From 1 November 2025, this will increase by 20% to 68,000 miles.

There may also be a case for booking certain Advantage awards now, because the price increases are higher both in percentage and absolute terms. For example, a Business Advantage award between Singapore and New York City will increase by 21,500 miles, and a First Advantage award between Singapore and London will increase by 34,000 miles. No one likes paying Advantage prices, but it may be the only option on certain routes and cabins, such as Suites to London or Sydney.

Don’t forget that Advantage awards enjoy complimentary date changes, so you can move the dates as many times as you wish - subject to availability - without paying any extra miles or cash.

Conclusion

Singapore Airlines will be raising the cost of KrisFlyer award redemptions and upgrades from 1 November 2025, the programme’s first adjustment in more than three years.

There is still a window of opportunity to lock in awards at the current prices, however, for travel up to 355 days into the future. As such, those who have firmed up their travel plans might want to consider making their bookings ahead of the devaluation.

That said, this is not a reason to panic-book every award you can find. The increases, while unwelcome, are relatively measured compared to other programmes, and locking in speculative tickets could cost you more in change or cancellation fees than you save in miles.

Instead, focus on booking high-value routes, particularly those to Zone 10 and long-haul destinations in premium cabins, where the increases are most significant. For everything else, treat this devaluation as a reminder to keep redeeming your miles, rather than hoarding them indefinitely.

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