Question / Suggestion on redemptions

[bubbles]

Hi everyone

I've been accumulating miles mostly through spends/trips and I now have about 250k KF miles. Some miles will start to expire from May onwards progressively every month.

So we have decided maybe it's time to utilise the miles. A quick check seem to indicate that the miles have gone up a fair bit since we made our last 2 redemption (Biz class tickets) and most trips we search have both legs on wait list as oppose to our previous redemptions where we had at least 1 leg confirmed.

There's 2 adults and 1 toddler. We thought of redeeming tokyo for 2017 but was wondering if it's a good use of miles for a flight journey of 8 hours. I think at the back of our head we thought it might be good to use it for a location that is further out with travel time of say 10 hours or more? Understandably many destinations are still beyond our miles reach as we did think of London but the miles ask was too high and it's unlikely I would hit 400k+ miles by May before the miles starts expiring in small blocks.

What are your thoughts on this if you were in my situation?

Also would it make sense for me to buy a Economy ticket then use my miles to upgrade to Biz or just do full Biz upgade with the miles?

thoughts and views appreciated!

[fone]

Also would it make sense for me to buy a Economy ticket then use my miles to upgrade to Biz or just do full Biz upgade with the miles?

I believe now the upgrade is to next class of service, so if you want Biz, you'd have to buy upgradeable Premium Economy seats. Then the miles used for upgrade vs pure redemption does not have a big difference. The only difference in the end is that the upgrade ticket is eligible for mileage accrual (on the original ticket) vs 0 miles for redemption ticket. So, do you NEED the miles?

1 way SIN - NRT in J is like 40k miles before discount. Upgrade from premium economy to Biz is 20k miles, economy to business is 30k miles (for flights without premium economy). Your say on what 10k or 20k miles is worth, but upgradeable tickets are not cheap either.

[alian]

Hi bubbles

My personal take is that I would usually redeem for biz tickets. Comparing economy saver tickets vs biz save tickets they are usually 4 times more thus making the redememption on a miles per $ more valuable. It's also a nice way to treat / reward yourself and family

To upgrade from a paid ticket you would need to pay for the highest y ticket or in some case PEY class and it would cost half of the redemption miles which in my opinion is not best value per mile dollar (I'm looking from saver price purchase perspective)

So my personal opinion is to redeem for J but do take into consideration your requirements and how the maths works out for you. Another recommendation for you to note is the aircraft type you are redeeming for I'd go for A380/777-300ER/A350 flight over A330 or 777-200. An example is SQ flies the first set of planes to Tokyo but flights to Osaka are on the A330 or SYD vs BNE. So do look out on the destinations vs aircraft type as well

Good luck and all the best

[bubbles]

I believe now the upgrade is to next class of service, so if you want Biz, you'd have to buy upgradeable Premium Economy seats. Then the miles used for upgrade vs pure redemption does not have a big difference. The only difference in the end is that the upgrade ticket is eligible for mileage accrual (on the original ticket) vs 0 miles for redemption ticket. So, do you NEED the miles?

1 way SIN - NRT in J is like 40k miles before discount. Upgrade from premium economy to Biz is 20k miles, economy to business is 30k miles (for flights without premium economy). Your say on what 10k or 20k miles is worth, but upgradeable tickets are not cheap either.

Thanks for the note on upgrade is to next class of service. Didn't realise that it was to Premium Economy if I bought a Economy ticket.

[bubbles]

Hi bubbles

My personal take is that I would usually redeem for biz tickets. Comparing economy saver tickets vs biz save tickets they are usually 4 times more thus making the redememption on a miles per $ more valuable. It's also a nice way to treat / reward yourself and family

To upgrade from a paid ticket you would need to pay for the highest y ticket or in some case PEY class and it would cost half of the redemption miles which in my opinion is not best value per mile dollar (I'm looking from saver price purchase perspective)

So my personal opinion is to redeem for J but do take into consideration your requirements and how the maths works out for you. Another recommendation for you to note is the aircraft type you are redeeming for I'd go for A380/777-300ER/A350 flight over A330 or 777-200. An example is SQ flies the first set of planes to Tokyo but flights to Osaka are on the A330 or SYD vs BNE. So do look out on the destinations vs aircraft type as well

Good luck and all the best

Hey Alian

Thank you for all the tips and notes above. Very grateful for that. I was looking to utilise the miles to treat the family so was looking to see the best way to maximise my miles usage

I dont think I would go down the route of paying for the highest Y or PEY ticket just so i can upgrade. As you pointed out, not the best value per mile dollar. Thanks again for your tips on the aircraft, will definitely keep a lookout for that. My 4yo has a huge fascination for planes, so if i can get a A380 it would be a big treat for her.

[yflyer]

Hi bubbles!

That's enough miles for a decent trip!

1. I normally try to redeem in F or J, because once you factor in all the taxes and surcharges, a Y redemption can cost almost as much as a discounted/promo Y fare. J or F would be much better value.

2. Between full redemption and paid Y ticket and upgrade redemption, I've almost always done a full redemption, because Y fares eligible for upgrade are usually quite a bit more expensive than SQ promo fares (not elig for upgrade).

3. If you have a destination in mind, but don't have enough miles for a round trip redemption, it may be feasible to do a one-way redemption in J or F and get a separate one-way ticket for the return sector (Mainly LCC's offer inexpensive one-ways, but I have seen some good deals on full service carriers too for one-way.)

4. Standard awards aren't great value, I would go for Savers if at all possible.

5. Sometimes F redemption availability is easier to get than J availability, so if J is full, also check F. The mileage premium usually isn't that much higher.

6. Equipment types differ. A redemption in J costs the same number of miles whether is is regional J, new 2006 J, new 2013 J or Retro Blue Ultimo ...so look closely at the equipment types operating each flight.

7. Not sure if it is still possible, but I would also check if you can pay an infant fare (10% of adult fare) for the toddler, and redeem miles for the adults.

[kapitan]

FYI, redemption with THAI is cheap, paying only taxes.... no other charges... I recently redeemed BKK-NRT in J at S$66...

[fone]

FYI, redemption with THAI is cheap, paying only taxes.... no other charges... I recently redeemed BKK-NRT in J at S$66...

Using Krisflyer miles or Thai miles?

[mingster]

Hi bubbles!

That's enough miles for a decent trip!

1. I normally try to redeem in F or J, because once you factor in all the taxes and surcharges, a Y redemption can cost almost as much as a discounted/promo Y fare. J or F would be much better value.

2. Between full redemption and paid Y ticket and upgrade redemption, I've almost always done a full redemption, because Y fares eligible for upgrade are usually quite a bit more expensive than SQ promo fares (not elig for upgrade).

3. If you have a destination in mind, but don't have enough miles for a round trip redemption, it may be feasible to do a one-way redemption in J or F and get a separate one-way ticket for the return sector (Mainly LCC's offer inexpensive one-ways, but I have seen some good deals on full service carriers too for one-way.)

4. Standard awards aren't great value, I would go for Savers if at all possible.

5. Sometimes F redemption availability is easier to get than J availability, so if J is full, also check F. The mileage premium usually isn't that much higher.

6. Equipment types differ. A redemption in J costs the same number of miles whether is is regional J, new 2006 J, new 2013 J or Retro Blue Ultimo ...so look closely at the equipment types operating each flight.

7. Not sure if it is still possible, but I would also check if you can pay an infant fare (10% of adult fare) for the toddler, and redeem miles for the adults.

Unfortunately it looks like bubbles' toddler is 4 which means the same miles required as an adult (I have a 4yr old too so I feel your pain )

I do agree with the others though that J or F is definitely the best "bang for your buck". Unfortunately 250k doesn't go too far for 3 return J flights nowadays. Aust/NZ could be an option if you can find another 30k miles otherwise IST falls within your miles budget and is an 11+hr flight.

Finding 3 saver J's available is also not the easiest unless you do a fair bit of advance planning so don't be afraid to book well in advance. You can always change dates for free later (subject to availability).

Good luck!

[alian]

One trick for children under 12 is to use the miles redemption on the adults and pay cash for the child as child tickets cost 75% or 70% of adult ticket if there is insufficient miles for the entire family. Also if I'm not wrong finding 3 saver redemptions may not be easy.

Do workout the final overall cost and value that best suits your needs and budget. If A380 is a preferred choice NRT or SYD is a good recommendation and generally good place for family holiday with younger children.

My 5 cents