Back in August of 2017, I wrote about Alaska Airline’s announcement that it was partnering with Singapore Airlines. This was news in and of itself because Singapore Airlines is a Star Alliance member and one that was well known for high-quality premium cabins for Business and First Class. The problem at the time and an issue that continues to this day is that premium cabins are never made available for award redemptions for routes from North America. That all changes as of today … at least with Alaska Miles redemptions!!!
North American Premium Cabin Availability
This was a definite no go with Aeroplan and other Star Alliance points programs. The only way to redeem for premium cabins was to collect Singapore Kris Miles, which is very difficult as a Canadian. Those in the know knew that you could pretty easily find award availability for routes like Singapore (SIN) to Hong Kong (HKG) as well as some other intra-Asia routes using Aeroplan but the elusive white whale that everyone was searching for was the North America to Singapore routes.
Luckily, Alaska Airlines has come to the rescue! Somehow they have managed to negotiate award availability on Singapore Airlines in both Business and First Class. Based on my experience with Frequent Flyer Programs (FFPs) from my time at WestJet, Alaska has been able to negotiate rates that Singapore Airlines found favourable enough to allow award space to be given to Alaska Mileage Plan members.
Based on my quick search of award space, it looks like Alaska has also managed to negotiate more award space than they make available to their Star Alliance partners, which is very interesting indeed.
There have been reports of First Class award availability earlier in the day but they seem to have been snapped up by some very excited Travel Hackers.
As an example, here’s some First Class award availability found by Ricky from Prince of Travel.
Singapore Airlines Allowable Redemptions
As of right now, you can book North American redemptions on Singapore Airlines to Africa, Asia, India and South Asia, the Middle East, and the South Pacific.
That’s quite a few locations you’ll be able to book Singapore Airlines awards to and it’s quite exciting because there are bound to be some hidden gems hidden amongst those award charts given Alaska’s very generous routing rules.
For right now, I would encourage you to check the redemption rates directly from Alaska Airlines and as I start to explore, I’ll provide a better in-depth write-up around the sweet spots of the Alaska Mileage Plan program as it relates to Singapore Airlines, much like my series on Alaska Airlines Partner Awards.
For right now, I wanted you to know that premium space award is now available on Singapore Airlines using Alaska Mileage Plan!
How to Get Alaska Miles
Now if you want to get in on the Alaska redemption train, I would suggest you first read my review on the Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard. I have a couple of reasons for this.
- I want you to make an informed decision on whether the card makes sense for you before you sign up. I’m not a blogger that believes in flogging affiliate links to make a buck. I truly am interested in helping you make your dream trip a reality. If it works for you great, if not, keep reading the blog as I hope to be able to find a solution for you as well.
- The review provides a way for you to get the card for a $39 annual fee, which is regularly $99. This $39 gives you 30,000 Alaska Miles and will quickly get you on your way towards redeeming on Alaska and its partners.
Next Up
This weekend, I plan on doing a LOT of research around these redemptions and nerding out on how to stretch your Alaska Miles for redemptions on Singapore Airlines. I expect to find some interesting things that I can share with you so you can start to take advantage before all the award space gets snapped up.
This is gonna be fun!