FF program: Singapore or Eva Air?
Jan 3, 2024 | 10:49 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 27
FF program: Singapore or Eva Air?
I find myself in a situation where I have accumulated a bunch of points (around 110k) through our credit card (DBS) here in Taiwan.
Planning a flight TPE-ZRH (Taipei-Zurich) with my wife and <2y old infant, I am trying to figure out which FF program to convert the points to. The aim is to pay at least for 1 of us with miles.
One thing I definitely want to avoid, is to end up with miles that can't be used for an award flight, as has happened to me before with Qantas: their program doesn't allow paying with miles+cash for the flights I want to book, turning my miles there useless (I will probably never have enough miles to pay for 2+1 infant at once).
Currently, I could exchange the points to Singapore Airlines, Eva Air, Asia Miles (all 1 to 1) or China Airlines (1 mile for 2 points). I tend towards the first two programs, for reasons given below.
1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
>>> Award availability, Miles+Cash option, award redemption rates, low additional fees that can't be paid in miles
2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
>>> Taipei-Tokyo 1-2x per year; a long-haul flight (e.g. Taipei-Zurich) every 1-2 years.
3. What fare class do you usually buy?
>>> Economy
4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
>>> Yes, I can choose and mostly travel for pleasure.
5. Which routes do you fly most often?
>>> Taiwan-Japan, Taiwan-Europe
6. What is your home airport?
>>> TPE (Taipei Taoyuan)
7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> No status, just approx. 20k miles in Qantas
8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> I like both Singapore (& Scoot) and Eva Air which makes this decision so difficult. Avoiding Cathay and prefer Eva over China Airlines.
As for award tables, Singapore seems to charge less miles for the same flight. But since I am no expert in FF, I am not sure if I am taking everything into account. For example, whether there are some less obvious rules that would prevent me from booking a flight for 2+1 with around 110k miles plus cash.
Planning a flight TPE-ZRH (Taipei-Zurich) with my wife and <2y old infant, I am trying to figure out which FF program to convert the points to. The aim is to pay at least for 1 of us with miles.
One thing I definitely want to avoid, is to end up with miles that can't be used for an award flight, as has happened to me before with Qantas: their program doesn't allow paying with miles+cash for the flights I want to book, turning my miles there useless (I will probably never have enough miles to pay for 2+1 infant at once).
Currently, I could exchange the points to Singapore Airlines, Eva Air, Asia Miles (all 1 to 1) or China Airlines (1 mile for 2 points). I tend towards the first two programs, for reasons given below.
1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
>>> Award availability, Miles+Cash option, award redemption rates, low additional fees that can't be paid in miles
2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
>>> Taipei-Tokyo 1-2x per year; a long-haul flight (e.g. Taipei-Zurich) every 1-2 years.
3. What fare class do you usually buy?
>>> Economy
4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
>>> Yes, I can choose and mostly travel for pleasure.
5. Which routes do you fly most often?
>>> Taiwan-Japan, Taiwan-Europe
6. What is your home airport?
>>> TPE (Taipei Taoyuan)
7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> No status, just approx. 20k miles in Qantas
8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> I like both Singapore (& Scoot) and Eva Air which makes this decision so difficult. Avoiding Cathay and prefer Eva over China Airlines.
As for award tables, Singapore seems to charge less miles for the same flight. But since I am no expert in FF, I am not sure if I am taking everything into account. For example, whether there are some less obvious rules that would prevent me from booking a flight for 2+1 with around 110k miles plus cash.
Last edited by TomPete; Jan 3, 2024 at 10:49 pm Reason: Corrected numbers
