13 replies to this topic

[Jay-11]

I'm in the process of scheduling a trip to Indonesia in October of this year and was looking at booking a "B" or "Y" class ecomony ticket and then use some of my United mile to upgrade into business. However, in talking with Singapore I was advised that they were not allowing tickets to be upgraded with outside Star Alliance points/miles. The people I spoke to at Singapore stated it was due to equipment size and safety reasons and could not get to a supervisor to discuss this either. I was wondering if anyone else had run into this issue recently?

I have not been able to get an answer from United/Cont. yet about this issue.

[operam]

AFAIK, Singapore Airlines might not allow Star Alliance upgrades and/or award tickets on Business and First classes in their newer airplanes, i.e. Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A380, the reason being that they consider these premium products. I wonder if your itinerary involves flying using these planes. You can also check FlyerTalk, the people there are very knowledgeable with this kind of stuff.

[focker]

My wife and I booked our trip coming up with Singapore Airlines and had to convert Amex miles to Singapore Air Kris Flyer miles to do the upgrade deal. If you want to buy tickets for upgrade and have miles you can convert to use for the upgrade you will have to purchase "Flexi" not Sweet Deals or Flexi Saver tickets.

[drako]

How many miles do you have? And far out is the trip planned for?

If you already have a large pool of miles in United you can sign up for a United/ Chase Sapphire credit card, they usually range in giving out 40-50,000 points after completing minimum spend.

Chase allows you to transfer to United.

A one way award for Business is 60k (First is 10k more). Since you are booking with United, they will handle the intricacies and deal with Singapore Air.

As Focker mentioned, another good bet is Amex points.

Check out www.flyertalk.com
They focus on these exact issues.

Jose

[scorpio_fish]

I've had the same issues with One World. Actually getting reward tickets is quite different than trying to upgrade with various alliance miles. It can also vary from airline to airline within the alliance.

Good luck.

[Drew]

I think you are supposed to work through UA to upgrade SQ flights. I had no problem with SQ-VA and VA-SQ, each time working with the airline the miles are with. I usually make sure it's possible to upgrade with the FF points airline before buying the tix.

[drako]

I think you are supposed to work through UA to upgrade SQ flights. I had no problem with SQ-VA and VA-SQ, each time working with the airline the miles are with. I usually make sure it's possible to upgrade with the FF points airline before buying the tix.

I think thats possible only if you book through United, (which is if you call).

[troporobo]

This is correct, the availability and "price" in points of SQ upgrades depends on the equipment. If you have a choice of flights, look for the ones using the 777-200, and then an upgrade may be possible. It is sometimes possible (depending on route) to upgrade on the 777-300 and A380 for more points. Your Star Alliance status also matters, the higher the better of course. The info is well buried on their KrisFlyer pages if you have the patience to dig it out.

I fly SQ long haul flights several times a month (for work, sadly!) and have experienced just about every combination of rules they have. I find that the only way to get reliable information is to call the KrisFlyer agents in Singapore directly rather than their offices in other countries. A phone call is cheap compared to the ticket and the quality-of-life improvement that an upgrade brings and so is well worth getting to them directly. Their number is +65 6789 8188

AFAIK, Singapore Airlines might not allow Star Alliance upgrades and/or award tickets on Business and First classes in their newer airplanes, i.e. Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A380, the reason being that they consider these premium products. I wonder if your itinerary involves flying using these planes. You can also check FlyerTalk, the people there are very knowledgeable with this kind of stuff.

[sasdasdaf]

Troporobo is correct, the info is all on the website but deeply buried. The people on the phone are quite knowledgeable but it often takes several calls or some waiting to get through, which I find quite frustrating. In general, Singapore Airlines' mileage system is quite customer unfriendly as they set aside few seats for mileage redemptions and have all kinds of restrictions on their premium products.

[Drew]

While all of this may be true, UAL Mileage Plus handles the transaction using the program's miles. What you guys are talking about are Krisflyer's own policies. There may be even more restrictions for Star Alliance upgrades with UAL, so it's best to ask UAL about its own program.

Krisflyer is the worst FF program of the top tier airlines. No complimentary upgrades, fewest seats allotted for upgrades and flight restrictions as well. Ever try getting an upgrade on the direct LAX/NYC-SIN flights? Nightmare! I'm probably going to switch to Cathay this year. At least Marco Polo remembers your birthday with a cake!

[reubencahn]

I'm probably going to switch to Cathay this year. At least Marco Polo remembers your birthday with a cake!

and an upgrade: http://www.flyertalk...ay-upgrade.html

[reefman]

i booked a trip in nov for this coming october, MIA-MNL using star alliance miles(i realize the original post dealt with upgrades which i haven't tried using overseas). i visited the star alliance website, found flights, called US AIRWAYS/dividend miles program(my primary US airline and star alliance member)and after about 15 minutes on the phone with a us airways rep, i redeemed 120,000 miles for a buisness class ticket. luftansa(A380), mia to frankfurt and singapore airlines(A380)frankfurt to singapore then on to manila(B777). the return, same airlines, route and aircraft. no issues whatsoever and the flights were wide open(almost all seats were available for my selection in buisness class including those on the singapore airline segments and were booked in those 15 minutes). never directly spoke with anyone from luftansa or singapore air. efficent and hassel free, i thought,,,,,,,,,


reefman
key largo

Edited by reefman, 24 January 2012 - 02:49 PM.

[Drew]

Reuben, Asia Miles sux! Go for Marco Polo!

[reubencahn]

Reuben, Asia Miles sux! Go for Marco Polo!

I wish. Flights on Cathay are far and few between for me--and booked with AA miles.