alphaod

So starting next month I'll be making bimonthly short-hauls from PVG-SIN. Mostly on the red-eye back and forth.

I currently have CA Platinum which equates to *G. So I already have lounge access, priority baggage and boarding, etc. I know they don't do opt ups.

Will there be any benefit for me to signing up and crediting to KrisFlyer? My main concern is really PPS Club which I understand requires S$25K travel in F or C. Are there benefits to PPS that I would favor me?

Obviously with all this crediting I risk losing my CA Platinum status, and these being SQ flights I don't get lifetime status mileage anyways. Also the CA *A upgrade site is impossible to use. Requires IE. Yikes.

Anyways S$25K is about 8 1/2 RTs, which isn't really a problem over the course of the next year or so. I won't be flying C all the time seeing I'm spending my own money (I'd rather spend on food and stuff).

Based on the flight distance I should be able to earn KF Gold in about 3 months of flying.

Any advice for me on this matter?


Of course my next viable option is to fly CX, but requires a stop in HKG; benefits are C will be cheaper and I can earn OW status which is quite useful. Also, I'm already halfway to CX Gold.

stargold

Other than the ability to redeem Krisflyer miles on SQ F and J where other airlines FFP can't, there is nothing different in terms of benefits of KF*G vs. a different *G. Certainly not worth making any special effort over.

I would either stick to CA, find a better Star program (OZ/TK are both very easy to maintain *G), or build status on CX.

avm2806

You can stick to CA for miles and mileage based status while simultaneously crediting PPS value to SQ. Having PPS status has its benefits, like double excess baggage, lots of soft benefits, waitlist priority, guaranteed y seats etc

alphaod

How do I credit to mileage CA and credit PPS to SQ at the same time?

lcpteck

If I'm not wrong PPS credit is done automatically, only the mileage you have to key your preferred FFP details.

carrotjuice

Just record your CA FFP for the flights. After the trips, submit a retroactive claim form to SQ for PPS credits. This way it 'avoids' having the miles go wrongly to KF.

mitwg

I dunno why, but when I saw this thread, I immediately thought of this inflight announcement.

"PPS club members and Krisflyer Gold members will receive a 10% discount on Krisshop purchases"

I don't know if this is a permanent benefit though but it seems to come and go and has been for a while.

Also if you do shop in S'pore, you can get discounts at places by showing your PPS card (same as if you had a SIA boarding pass) but using the card is handy because its always in your wallet.

SQ325

PPS also get 10% discount at the Duty Free at Changi.

mitwg

Not sure if this restriction exists for CA but if it does, fundamentally on this topic, doesn't the ability to redeem on J/F on the 380 or 77W trump everything else?

This is less of a concern for intra-asia routes but still even for PVG, you are still looking at locking out 2 reward options if we were to enforce this rule.

Although lifetime *G status is really attractive (OZ is real easy to hit at 500k), this condition is reason alone I'd rather credit PPS value AND miles to SQ.


Edit: The above is obviously written with the expectation that you'd be flying with SQ 'most' of the time. If you don't have this restriction, then this becomes a non-issue.

alphaod

Duty free isn't really my cup of tea.

I have never done reward bookings; I only use my miles for upgrades. I don't know if that's good or bad value, but it's what I always do. Unless you're saying they don't open up award upgrades in F/J non KF members.

Apart from flying to sg, I don't see any reason to book SQ. I've already gone a few times out of way to fly CX, I can't imagine flying SQ anywhere (except South Pacific) being based in Shanghai.

Right now I'm also juggling going SQ which is basically SQ 825/6 PVG-SIN on weekends or something else. This is the most convenient and the best schedule as two red-eye flights. I flight in Saturday mornings and return Monday mornings.

The other option is via CX. It's actually a bit cheaper on CX, though I'm looking at 4 hours extra for flight and transfers every time. With CX I can earn OW status and if needed credit to CA.

Thanks.

SMK77

If you are paying your trips out of your own pocket you might want to upgrade on SQ or just redeem miles for a ticket from time to time.

Business and First awards are harder to get (as well as upgrades) and SQ is still giving preference to PPS members to clear waitlists for both.

csidler

Unless I read the charts wrong, you get much better value redeeming points for an award class in J/F than using your points to upgrade from Y to J.

mitwg

In pure mileage terms, this is definitely true. The miles required to upgrade a class is so close to a outright redemption level that it doesn't seem like its worth it at all.

But on the flipside, upgrading means you still earn miles plus SQ's YQ is absolutely ridiculous to some sectors that a discount economy fare isn't that much more expensive (not that you can upgrade these however)

So whether to redeem in J or upgrade from Y to J, there's probably an argument that can go towards either side.

The one thing that completely doesn't make sense is outright Y redemptions though. This is utterly a waste of both miles and money (lol @ this being a new TPPS benefit)

travelinmanS

If you're thinking of going with CX and foregoing the *A miles to save money why not just go all in and take MU? Nonstop and much cheaper than SQ. Service won't be great but if you're flying overnight who cares?

alphaod

I don't like MU. Couple of bad experiences. I tend to go my way to avoid them.

If I do end up going CX, I can still earn *A miles with CA.