Top tips for redeeming air miles
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Transcript of Top tips for redeeming air miles
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TOP TIPS FOR REDEEMING AIR MILESA SPECIAL PRESENTATION FOR IPAYMY
8 DEC 2016
© The Milelion, All Rights Reserved. No portion of the content herein may be used or reproduced without the prior written consent of The Milelionwww.milelion.com | [email protected] | Slide design by June Fong
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PREFACE• The following slides were created for an iPaymy.com webinar and should not
be read in isolation without the accompanying video
• The Miles and Points Game is dynamic and information often quickly goes out of date. Future readers of this presentation should take into account the date of creation (8/12/2016) of this document.
• You should not play the Miles and Points Game if you have reason to believe you will have difficulty paying off your balance in full, on time, every month. Abuse of credit can lead to detrimental consequences for you and your loved ones.
• The Miles and Points Game may sometimes require you to engage in rather irregular behavior. Your friends and family may think you are mad. Try not to rub it in when you’re sipping Krug at 30,000 ft.
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WHAT DID WE LEARN LAST TIME ROUND?We have seen how miles can be earned. Now, let’s look at what you can spend them on
Decide objectives
1 Analyze spending patterns
2 Assess card offerings based on (1) and (2)
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• Where do I want to go?
• How do I want to get there?
• When do I want to go?
• How often am I likely to travel?
• Spend by category
• Big ticket items
• Expiry• Flexibility• Bonus
categories• Income
Start spending! (responsib
ly)
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Last Session
This Session
• What do I do with all those miles? • How do I choose a frequent flyer program?
• What are my options?• How can I improve my chances of getting award space?
• How can I minimize surcharges on my awards?
DBS UOB OCBC Citibank ANZ American Express Maybank SCB HSBC
Singapore AirlinesAir AsiaBritish AirwaysCathayChina
AirlinesDeltaEtihad
EmiratesEVA
GarudaMalaysia Airlines
Thai Airways
Which frequent flyer program should I use?
WHERE CAN I CASH OUT MY POINTS?Almost all banks in Singapore offer transfers to SQ and CX; it is relatively harder to accumulate
miles in other programs
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Buying items in Krisshop
Paying for revenue
SQ flights via Cash + Miles
OK, I CHOOSE KRISFLYER. NOW WHAT?Krisflyer is fairly limited in redemption options (compared to US programs).
However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing
Redeeming flights
on Star Alliance/ other partners
Redeeming Flightson SQ
1 2 3Redeeming
Tigerair or Scoot Vouchers
4 5
Bid on unique
experiences
Buy Broadway
Tickets
Shop for merchandi
seSend
flowersSend gift
cardsBuy restauran
t certificate
s
Magazine subscripti
onsHotel
awardsCar
awardsCruise awards
Lounge access
Inflight Wifi
Restaurants in
certain airports
TSA Precheck Donations
All boils down to one question: what value am I getting for my miles?
Awards
Upgrades
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WHAT KIND OF SQ AWARDS CAN I REDEEM?SQ offers Saver and Standard awards - saver awards cost less but standard awards have greater
availability
Saver Awards
Standard Awards
Economy Premium EconomyBusinessFirst
SQ Redemption
s
Partner Redemption
s
Cash + Miles
Scoot + Tiger
Krisshop
1
2
3
4
5
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WHAT KIND OF SQ AWARDS CAN I REDEEM?The $100 Bangkok Trip (one-way)
SQ Redemption
s
Partner Redemption
s
Cash + Miles
Scoot + Tiger
Krisshop
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2
3
4
5
Singapore
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WHAT CABIN SHOULD I BE REDEEMING FOR?Recall what we learned about the value of a mile - the greatest value is redeeming business or first
class tickets
• Your miles earn the greatest value when redeemed for Business or First class• Economy: ~1-2.5 cents• Premium Economy: ~2.5
cents• Business: ~4-5 cents• First: ~7-8 cents
• Economy class is Economy class• Alternatives?
• Premium economy redemptions are ~80% the cost of business• Implications?
Commentary SQ Redemption
s
Partner Redemption
s
Cash + Miles
Scoot + Tiger
Krisshop
1
2
3
4
5
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WHAT ABOUT UPGRADING REVENUE FARES?SQ only allows upgrades on its highest fare economy tickets, making mileage upgrades unrealistic on
holiday fares
Zone (One-way, before 15% discount)
Upgrade Y to PY
Upgrade Y to J
Upgrade PY to J
Zone 4: South China, Hong Kong & Taiwan 9 17.5 12
Zone 5: North China (Beijing & Shanghai) 14 27.5 18
Zone 6: South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Maldives & Bangladesh) 14 27.5 18
Zone 7: Japan & South Korea 15 30 20Zone 9: Australia (ex Perth &
Darwin) & NZ 22.5 45 30
Zone 10: Africa, ME and Turkey 18 35 25Zone 11: Europe 32.5 65 45
Zone 12: USA (West Coast) 32.5 65 45Zone 13: USA (East Coast) 34 67.5 47
Zone 14: South America (Sao Paulo) 35 69.5 50
• Upgrading Y to PY
• Upgrading PY to J
• Upgrading Y to J• No upgrading to business
class from economy when premium economy is available• A380• 77W
• Be sure that award space is availablebefore buying!• Same pool as regular
awards
Commentary SQ Redemption
s
Partner Redemption
s
Cash + Miles
Scoot + Tiger
Krisshop
1
2
3
4
5
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HOW LIKELY AM I TO GET SAVER SPACE?SQ offers Saver and Standard awards- saver awards cost less but standard awards have greater
availability
• Charts on left are research based on (A) time to departure, (B) route and (C) standard vs saver awards
• A= Available, W= Waitlist, N/A= not available
• Key observation• Business Class- book just
before departure or >180 days out
• First Class- book >180 days out
Commentary SQ Redemption
s
Partner Redemption
s
Cash + Miles
Scoot + Tiger
Krisshop
1
2
3
4
5
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I ’M WAITLISTED. NOW WHAT?There is no scientific way of knowing when (or if) a waitlist will clear as the process is entirely manual
Status with SQSeats available
Route
1 2Factors Affecting Chances of Krisflyer
Waitlist Clearance
Solitaire PPS
PPS
KF Elite Gold
KF Elite Silver
Someone who doesn’t deserve it
You
Cabin Class
Travel Period
Seats Request
ed
What if I need a confirmed seat?
• Aircraft type• Demand
(GRU example)
• Holiday period
• Economy• Busines
s• First
• 1 vs 2 passenger scenarios (break up or not?)
SQ Redemption
s
Partner Redemption
s
Cash + Miles
Scoot + Tiger
Krisshop
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2
3
4
5
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W H E N S H O U L D I R E D E E M M Y M I L E S F O R S TA R A L L I A N C E AWA R D S ?Star Alliance partner tickets may make sense of (1) SQ doesn’t serve a destination,
(2) saver space is not available or (3) SQ surcharges are too high
Scenario 1: SQ doesn’t fly there
Scenario 2: SQ Saver space is not
available
Scenario 3: SQ surcharges are
ridiculously high
1 2 3
• SQ levies high surcharges on redemptions
• Redeem an award to the closest city then book separate ticket?
• Or redeem one award with Star Alliance partner?
• SQ saver awards are cheaper than Star Alliance partner awards but not always available.
• SQ standard awards are
almost 2X the price of saver
• Green= *A (Star Alliance) partner awards cheaper than SQ
• Red/Yellow= *A partner awards more expensive than SQ
• It makes more sense to redeem *A partner awards over SQ Standard awards
• There are limited situations where the premium of *A partner awards is <20% that of SQ Saver- can also consider if SQ saver can’t be found
Commentary
SQ Redemption
s
Partner Redemption
s
Cash + Miles
Scoot + Tiger
Krisshop
1
2
3
4
5
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W H AT O T H E R S W E E T S P O T S A R E O N T H E S TA R A L L I A N C E C H A RT ?USA domestic flights and Europe to Middle East are two of my favourite sweet spots
on the Krisflyer partner chart
• USA domestic flights – first class prices as business• SFO/LAX-EWR• One way (OW)
20,000 miles business class
• Europe - Middle East• OW 25,000 miles
business class• OW 35,000 miles
first class
• Upgrading Star Alliance partner tickets
Commentary
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SQ Redemption
s
Partner Redemption
s
Cash + Miles
Scoot + Tiger
Krisshop
1
2
3
4
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IS IT WORTH IT TO PAY WITH MILES?Krisflyer a l lows you to use your mi les to offset the cost of revenue fares at 1 cent per Kr isflyer
mi le
• Paying with miles allows you to use your miles on revenue fare tickets
• Your miles are given a value of
1.02 cents each and used to offset the total cost
• SIN-JFK in Suites = 187,000 KF miles (saver), 382,500 KF miles (standard) + taxes
• SIN-JFK paid with miles = 1.8 million KF miles!
CommentarySQ
Redemptions
Partner Redemption
s
Cash + Miles
Scoot + Tiger
Krisshop
1
2
3
4
5
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A R E T I G E R A I R /S C O O T VO U C H E R S W O RT H R E D E E M I N G F O R ?Krisflyer miles can be redeemed for vouchers on Tigerair and Scoot
at a value of about 0.95 cents each
KrisFlyer miles required for redemption
Value of voucher (SGD)
Implicit value of 1 KF mile
(in Singapore cents)
3,200 30 0.9375
5,300 50 0.9434
10,500 100 0.9524
• Scoot and Tigerair vouchers can be bought in denominations of S$30, S$50 and S$100 for 3,200, 53,00 and 10,500 KF miles
• This yields a value of ~0.95 cents per mile, below the minimum 2 cents we should be getting
Commentary
SQ Redemption
s
Partner Redemption
s
Cash + Miles
Scoot + Tiger
Krisshop
1
2
3
4
5
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IS KRISSHOP WORTH REDEEMING MILES FOR?Krisflyer allows you to redeem your miles on Krisshop for 0.8 cents each
• Every 125 KrisFlyer miles gives you approximately S$1 in spend on KrisShop.com, subject to a minimum usage of 3,000 KrisFlyer miles per transaction
• Low valuation- 0.8 cents per mile, below the 2 cents we should be getting
• Inflated Krisshop prices- Amazon is much cheaper
Commentary SQ Redemption
s
Partner Redemption
s
Cash + Miles
Scoot + Tiger
Krisshop
1
2
3
4
5
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A N Y O T H E R F R E Q U E N T F LY E R P R O G R A M S I S H O U L D C O N S I D E R ?
If you want to stretch your dollar further, Asiamiles is a good alternative to Krisflyerthanks to its much more reasonable surcharges
• Most banks allow the conversion of points to Krisflyer or Asiamiles at the same ratio
• Asiamiles awards have lower surcharges than SQ
• Example: SIN-JFK in Business• SQ: 144,500 miles + S$980• CX: 145,000 miles + HKD
744
• Pitfalls• One way prices on CX
>50% of round trip• Waitlist
Commentary
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Fly INTO high tax airports, fly OUT of
low tax airports
WHAT OTHER TIPS DO YOU HAVE FOR REDEMPTIONS?
Redemption tips
Starting journey outside of Singapore
can save on surcharges
1 2
• High tax airports• UK• Germany
• Low tax airports• Norway• Turkey• Finland• Sweden• Ireland• Spain
• UK Air Passenger Duty• GBP73 for long haul
economy• GBP 146 for long haul
premium cabin
• Hong Kong, Philippines and Brazil do not have fuel surcharges
• SIN-SFO via HKG- 136,000 miles + S$768
• HKG-SFO- 127,500 miles + HKD 799 (S$147)
Always compare to revenue prices!
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• It may sometimes not make sense to redeem miles based on sales available
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?QUESTIONS
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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Alliance Member Airlines (selected) Tiers Pros Cons
Star Alliance
• Singapore Airlines• Lufthansa• Thai Airways• United Airlines• Eva Air• 22 other airlines
• Gold• Silver
• Avianca Lifemiles• Solid benefits at
Gold level• Asian-airline heavy
• Very weak Silver benefits
• Weak Middle East and South America coverage
OneWorld
• Cathay Pacific• American Airlines• Japan Airlines• Malaysia Airlines• Qantas• 11 other airlines
• Emerald• Sapphire• Ruby
• 2nd tier elites (Sapphire) get lounge access
• Generally the most open with inter-carrier award redemption
• No Africa coverage• Smallest overall
alliance
SkyTeam
• Delta Airlines• KLM• Air France• Korean Air• 16 other airlines
• Elite• Elite Plus
• Not as many “prestige carriers”, mostly tier 2 and 3 airlines
• Most dysfunctional alliance- members block award space on each other
• No Oceania/South America coverage
AIRLINE ALLIANCESThe first step in selecting an airline is determining which alliance you want to be part of.
This in turn determines your accrual, benefits and award redemption possibilities
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MISCELLANEOUS CHARTSThese are for general reference. Refer away.
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23MISCELLANEOUS CHARTSThese are for general reference. Refer away.
24MISCELLANEOUS CHARTSThese are for general reference. Refer away.
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THANK YOUfor attending “ T O P T I P S F O R R E D E E M I N G A I R M I L E S ”
CONGRATULATIONS!Simply by attending this session live you have EARNED TWO BONUS PRIZE ENTRIES
in the iPaymy Maldives Holiday Prize Promotion.
Want to increase your chances of winning?
See next page for details.
See full details, terms and conditions on the prize website. *To qualify for additional prize entries the email address registered for each activity must be the same.
Win a luxurious getaway here!
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WIN A TRIP TO THE MALDIVES WITHINCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING!!EARN MORE HOLIDAY PRIZE ENTRIES THIS DECEMBER BY:
See full details, terms and conditions on the prize website. *To qualify for additional prize entries the email address registered for each activity must be the same.
EARN AN EXTRA ACTION REQUIRED WHERE TIMELINE
1 prize entry See the Maldives Holiday prize details &ENTER the PRIZE DRAW OFFICIALLY
Maldives Holiday Prize page
By 31 December 2016
5 prize entries Make a successful Rental Payment over $1,500 via www.iPaymy.com
www.iPaymy.com By 31 December 2016
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EARN AIR MILES WITH iPaymy has built solutions to enable you to convert your expenses into rewards. One of the solutions is a platform that provides a suite of services for tenants, agents & landlords. Through this platform tenants can pay rent & other expenses in Singapore on their credit card to earn huge air miles.
• Pay rental expenses in Singapore using iPaymy.com in “My Properties” • Make “Other Payments” including:
• Education expenses - school fees, transport fees & Extra Curricula Activities (ECA)• Condo Management Fees - Rental Security & Good Faith Rental Deposits• Trade Services - air con servicing, plumber, handyman services• Supplier payments – ideal for a variety of other supplier payments.
Other helpful services:• “My Alerts” - set reminders to keep you organised (never forget air conditioner
servicing again!)• “My Documents” - protect your rental deposit with transparent storage of important
documents & images.
Additional information:• iPaymy.com charges a 2.6% software licensing fee on payments made by credit cards. • Please allow 5 business days for payment to be processed. Refer to our FAQs for more
details.
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TOP TIPS FOR REDEEMING AIR MILESA SPECIAL PRESENTATION
8 DEC 2016
© The Milelion, All Rights Reserved. No portion of the content herein may be used or reproduced without the prior written consent of The Milelionwww.milelion.com | [email protected] | Slide design by June Fong