How does Singapore Airlines' KrisFlyer waitlist work for award flights?
Singapore Airlines is widely recognized as having some of the best seats and service in the world thanks to its excellent onboard products that range from economy class to luxurious first-class Suites.
At the same time, award seats in these premium classes are some of the hardest to book, as the carrier typically doesn't release these awards to most Star Alliance partners like United MileagePlus.
However, don't give up hope even if you can't find award inventory on your desired dates and flights through Singapore Airlines' own KrisFlyer loyalty program. We'll examine a unique way to gain access to KrisFlyer awards using its waitlist program.
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How does Singapore Airlines' waitlist work?
As noted above, except for Air Canada's Aeroplan program, Singapore doesn't release long-haul business- or first-class award seats to loyalty programs of its Star Alliance partners.
Even through its KrisFlyer program, award seats at both the cheaper Saver and more expensive Advantage levels are strictly limited and difficult to find at peak periods.
However, KrisFlyer has a unique option that allows you to put your name on a waitlist for the seats you want. Then, the airline will only charge you if seats become available and your reservation clears. You can think of it as flying standby but with the chance of getting approved in advance.
There are a couple of rules you should be aware of when going the waitlist route. First, you must have the miles in your account before requesting to be placed on a waitlist. Second, you must submit your waitlist request at least 21 days before your flight and clear from the waitlist at least 14 days before your flight.
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Getting started with a waitlist request
Thankfully, the process for joining a waitlist for flights is fairly easy. First, you must open a KrisFlyer account, log in and search for the flight(s) you want.
Remember that waitlisting is only an option for flights operated by Singapore Airlines, not flights operated by Star Alliance partners such as United Airlines, Lufthansa and Air Canada. When you search for an award, you will see results displayed at the Saver and Advantage mileage levels as "Available," "Waitlist" or "Not Available."
Here's an example of an option to travel from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN). In this case, Saver and Advantage awards are only available to request as a waitlist.
If you see a date on the calendar with a price but no waitlist notice (such as March 9, 2025), you can book a seat immediately for the price listed without needing to join the waitlist.
To be added to the waitlist, you must have at least 107,000 KrisFlyer miles in your account. Unfortunately, this presents a bit of an issue for those planning on transferring points from a flexible points program.
These transfers are almost always irreversible, so if your waitlisted segment never clears, you'll be left with a mileage balance in the KrisFlyer program rather than one that can be transferred to other airlines or hotels later. While some of the strategies below can help prevent this unfortunate scenario, there's no guarantee you'll clear.
Once you're on a waitlist, you will receive an email notifying you if your award clears, but that does not mean your award will be ticketed. All it means is that you can call to ticket it or choose not to ticket it, perhaps because you booked something else in the meantime.
When you receive an email indicating that your waitlist request has cleared, you'll be given a ticketing deadline of about a day. If you don't book before that time runs out, you'll no longer be eligible to ticket the award.
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Strategies to maximize your chances on the Singapore Airlines waitlist
Now that you know how to get on the waitlist, what can you do to increase the probability of your award clearing? There are no guarantees, but here are some suggestions:
- Book early. Since awards can clear anytime, those who book early will have the best opportunity for an award to clear. Furthermore, booking early increases your chances of being ahead of others waiting for the same flight, noting a higher-status passenger may trump you.
- Waitlist multiple flights. Even though you must have the necessary miles in your account to ticket any flight you waitlist, Singapore does allow you to waitlist multiple awards while only having enough miles in your balance for the single, most expensive award. So, if there are multiple flights in a day to your destination, such as the Los Angeles example above, then you can waitlist several of them at once.
- Avoid peak travel times. Waitlisted awards will clear if Singapore's revenue management staff thinks the carrier is less likely to sell that seat. In other words, your chances of success are greater when you choose dates not in high demand, such as weekends and major holidays at both the origin/destination and in Singapore itself.
- Book confirmed awards as backups. For some people, it would be way too stressful to waitlist a flight and then have an entire trip hinge on the whims of an airline revenue management person and potentially lack confirmed travel plans until 14 days before departure. So, the real trick is to have a backup flight booked in case your waitlisted award doesn't clear. It might be in a lower class of service and perhaps on an airline less desirable than Singapore Airlines, but if you book a confirmed award that is cancelable for a small fee, you get the best of both worlds: a confirmed travel plan if your waitlist does not clear and the option to "upgrade" your flight for a small change or cancellation fee of your existing booking, if you wish.
- Hold KrisFlyer elite status. While there is no guarantee an elite status member will clear a waitlist, and Singapore Airlines does not disclose the order in which waitlists are approved or denied, if you hold elite status in the KrisFlyer program, such as Solitaire PPS Club, you can expect to have a better chance than a KrisFlyer member without any status.
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How to earn Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles
KrisFlyer partners with several major transferable rewards programs, including:
- American Express Membership Rewards: 1:1 transfer ratio
- Capital One miles: 1:1 transfer ratio
- Citi ThankYou Rewards: 1:1 transfer ratio
- Chase Ultimate Rewards: 1:1 transfer ratio
- Marriott Bonvoy: 3:1 transfer ratio, plus a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred
Earning transferable rewards with one or more of these programs and transferring them to Singapore Airlines is one of the easiest ways to earn KrisFlyer miles, but remember that transfers to KrisFlyer are irreversible, so you won't be able to move them back to your credit card program if your waitlist does not clear.
Best credit cards to earn Singapore KrisFlyer miles
The following cards all currently offer strong welcome bonuses that you could easily convert to KrisFlyer miles:
- American Express? Gold Card
- The Platinum Card? from American Express
- The Business Platinum Card? from American Express
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
- Chase Sapphire Preferred? Card
- Ink Business Preferred? Credit Card
Bottom line
If you've ever dreamed of indulging in a premium-class long-haul award flight on Singapore Airlines, you'll almost certainly need to use the carrier's KrisFlyer program. This can be challenging given the demand for these terrific products and the limited inventory Singapore releases for awards.
However, if you have a stash of transferable credit card points and feel lucky, Singapore's waitlist program can help bring those awards within reach.