SIA extends loyalty memberships for 3rd year, adds benefits

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) announced on Thursday (Jan 13) that it will automatically extend its loyalty memberships for a third year for the same reason: A lack of flying opportunities due to the border closures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 1-year extension applies to its Priority Passenger Service (PPS) Club and KrisFlyer Elite memberships that are set to expire between March this year and February next year.

The airline said: "This supports our members who have been unable to fly as before due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and follows a similar extension in 2020 and 2021."

The airline added that Elite miles earned by KrisFlyer Elite members in the 12 months prior to the latest extension will be credited back into their accounts.

Elite miles earned during the previous membership qualification cycle will also count towards their requalification in the March 2023 to February 2024 cycle.

Meanwhile, KrisFlyer miles that are set to expire this year will be automatically extended by six months at a time, at the end of each month. For example, KrisFlyer miles that are expiring this month will be extended to July. If the KrisFlyer miles remain unutilised by the end of July, they will be extended to January 2023.

Rewards earned from the PPS Rewards and KrisFlyer Milestone Rewards that are due to expire this year will also be extended to Dec 31, 2022. This will offer members "greater flexibility in utilising the rewards earned from flying with SIA", the airline said.

KrisFlyer Milestone Rewards is an initiative that SIA launched last year to reward KrisFlyer members with Elite miles earned from flying on SIA and on flights with Scoot, SIA's low-cost airline subsidiary.

Beyond an extension, SIA will also give additional benefits to KrisFlyer members who fly on Scoot from February.

This means that PPS Club and KrisFlyer Elite tier members can get priority boarding, complimentary standard seat selection, an additional 5 kg check-in baggage allowance with any baggage purchase. They can also get 25 per cent more KrisFlyer miles for every mile earned when travelling on Scoot.

On top of that, members can earn 2.5 Elite miles for every KrisFlyer mile earned from flying on Scoot, up from 1 Elite mile for every KrisFlyer mile. SIA pointed out that this will help members upgrade to higher KrisFlyer membership tiers more quickly.

SIA also launched 2 new tiers of KrisFlyer Milestone Rewards. Members who earned 1,000 Elite miles can get 1,000 bonus KrisFlyer miles as their reward on their next Scoot flight. Those who earned 2,500 Elite miles can get a 20 per cent discount on Scoot.

KrisFlyer will continue to find ways to "bolster its position" as a leading lifestyle-centric rewards programme, offering a myriad of ground and in-flight benefits for all members, said JoAnn Tan, SIA's senior vice-president for marketing planning.

Shares of the carrier closed S$0.02 higher at S$5.04 on Thursday.

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