TheRealBabushka

Am I right to think besides non-expiring miles and access to SKL when flying Y on SQ, there are no additional benefits to PPS (non-Solitaire) from KF Gold?

Is the spend of SG$25,000 solely on SQ metal worth what would appear to be very little in return? There are plenty of destinations that SQ doesn't fly to, even if you want to fly them. So really, we're looking at an annual travel budget in excess of SG$25,000.

I know there is some cachet sporting a PPS luggage tag, but is it just form over substance?

whughes3

You are right. there are not a lot of benefits for PPS over KF Gold. The only obvious ones are:
- you can pre-select the front row seats in J at any time
- you get free Krisshop vouchers to the value of SG$280 every year which you can spend on on board.

The cabin crew do tend to be super-nice to you but I am not sure how much value to attach to that.

onlySIA

Hmm... I didn't get any vouchers yet (I am in my first year), though it did take them about three months to send the baggage tags so maybe I need to wait a bit longer.

All of the benefits are relatively small and I guess it's a matter of personal opinion whether they are worth it. (Are you spending the $25,000 just to get PPS status or are you spending it because you want/need to do a lot of premium air travel?)

You get better access to award bookings/upgrades, and instead of having to wait on hold for an operator when you call up, you send SQ a notification that you want to talk to someone and they call you. (Though as wait times for the regular phone line aren't too bad, having to wait for a callback may be slower than just phoning up.) Possibly they have better trained operators on the PPS Connect service. There is also a benefit of a guaranteed economy seat on a flight as long as you give 24 hours notice (they will bump or upgrade a passenger to accommodate you if it's full), which probably isn't useful 99.99% of the time but could come in handy in an emergency.

whughes3

They used to send out paper vouchers in the PPS renewal kit along with the bagtags, but now they e-mail you e-vouchers but apparently only after you have booked a flight in the new membership year.

RayG

They do provide meet and greet at certain destinations. Has been super useful for me at jfk as I am traveling without pre-check etc. so been able to get to curbside from plane door in ten mins with hand luggage only by way of example.

But agree, makes only sense if your travel patterns naturally lead you to PPS rather than manufacture spend. Would not go out of my way.

lokijuh

IIRC, vouchers are a benefit on renewal, not when you first achieve the status.

I concur with most of what is written above.

Probably the biggest benefits were always better seat selection, used to always take your meal selection first as well (if you didn't pre-book your meal) and access to the SilverKris Lounges in SIN, although with the T3 lounge renovation the differential isn't quite as big as used to be to the Krisflyer Gold lounge, I understand. And anecdotally marginally better access to op-ups short haul, I received multiple from BKK and MNL as a PPS, none as as Krisflyer Gold.

The other minor benefit not mentioned is Overseas Medical Travel Insurance.

I see all as a by-product of having the status of travel being done already. It's not like status point based programs where people assign $ per status credit or tier point to evaluate chasing status with, it's one SGD for every dollar, no variation. Having said that if it was going to tip me across the line it might be a factor in paying up to business in some situations (for example travelling to US, where often you can find non-Singapore originating fares for good value in business class vs economy fares originating in Singapore).

SMK77

I think PPS makes sense for someone who lives in Singapore and flies once a month: SIA's ability to listen and willingness to help seems to increase a lot over KFG.

The call center and award availability alone can save a lot of time and money.

I think it's important to note that airlines have increased their Gold/top tier requirements a lot. United 1K requires 18,000 USD in spend - that's 25,000 SGD or PPS level.

Airline margins are usually less than 10%. So taking 25,000 SGD, that's just 2,500 SGD. How many benefits can an airline offer without compromising that already slim margin? Not so many I am afraid.

SQ does a good job with Solitaire PPS at a much higher requirement with some nice features like the satellite check-in and "First Class" lounge.

redvelvetmartinis

Most of the operators (if not all) on the PPS hotline are Singaporeans/based out of their SG office. Which always helps when getting things done, as they seem to be a lot better trained/knowledgeable than those in the normal call centre.

redvelvetmartinis

Having double luggage allowance, especially for ALL members of your travelling party (whether on the same PNR or not, as long as you check in together) has been fantastic during family holidays.

PPS Reserve Value is also worth a mention - it allows you to accumulate the value from heavy flying years to offset those years when you're not able to travel as much/as frequently, yet still maintain status. Helpful when things like life and health may derail your flying.

WISEMEN

Overall, I'd say that PPS probably overdelivers beyond the promised published benefits. Overall, I'd say that SQ is much more flexible and accommodating to PPS than lower tiers. While it's quite a few years since I was a QPPS, I think the highlights for me were:

- I used the guaranteed Y seat many times when I really had few choices and would otherwise have been stranded. Occasionally when using this privilege, I was then upgraded to J as the flight was overbooked

- Access to the bulkhead seats in the 2013 seats is a big deal for me - it's the difference between a good and compromised night of sleep

- The crew onboard generally do try harder and are generally slightly more attentive to PPS. For example, you'll always get your first choice of meal. Plus many of your preferences will be stored in the CEM ipad so you receive them automatically

- PPS Connect is excellent, especially after it was recently upgraded to be an in-app push. The contact centre agents are appreciably better and yes, in Singapore

- You'll have much more luck sending waitlist chasers than KrisFlyer members. Not 100% guaranteed, and difficult with current demand, but worthwhile

- If you travel in Y frequently, complimentary access to the emex seats will save you a lot of money and make the experience more tolerable

hardworking21

While I do agree with your post overall, one quick note is that United's spend requirement is across various categories / metal types I believe, whereas PPS only counts if you fly SQ J / F class, which is a narrower spend bucket. Thus, not sure if it's a direct 1:1 comparison?

SMK77

That's correct and I believe United is following in AA's footsteps in 2024 and will even recognise non-airline activity to achieve status.

whughes3

Where is this documented? I do not recall seeing any reference to this, or is it just well hidden?

lokijuh

At the bottom of the page here ... https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/s...ub/privileges/

PDS here ... https://www.singaporeair.com/pdf/pps...anceOnline.pdf

Not sure if I'd rely on this for travel to US (limit is $1m SGD), but that is consistent with the limits on many Singapore based TI policies.

whughes3

This is indeed easy to miss if you are not looking for it, but looks pretty good, certainly for my travel! Thanks for alerting us to this.