How to keep Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles from expiring

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles are among of the world’s most popular and highly-valued airline loyalty currencies.

However, one of their downsides is that Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles have a fixed expiry date of three years after each mile is earned.

That’s at odds with other airline miles or points, which either never expire (hat tip to United Airlines) or which remain fresh as long as there’s some earn or burn activity on your frequent flyer account within, say, an 18 month period, as is the case with Qantas.

So what can you do about it? 

How to check your KrisFlyer miles expiry date

To check when your KrisFlyer miles are due to expire, log into your KrisFlyer account on the Singapore Airlines website or app.

• On the Singapore Airlines website, select the Account Summary page and scroll down to view the Expiring Miles section.
• On the Singapore Airlines app, tap the Miles tab under your profile and then tap Miles Validity.

Both of these methods will show any KrisFlyer miles expiring within the next six months, and let you know the degree of urgency.

Yikes: that's a lot of KrisFlyer Miles which are about to expire!

What is the KrisFlyer miles expiry date?

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles expire on the last day of the month three years after they were earned.

For example, KrisFlyer miles earned at any time in June 2024 will expire on June 30, 2027.

(If you want to get specific, the exact expiry time is 12am Singapore time the following day – so if you’re up against the clock and racing to make a booking with your KrisFlyer miles before they turn to dust, the difference between your local time and Singapore time could make or break things.)

KrisFlyer miles don’t expire for PPS Club members

This is one of the perks of holding Singapore Airlines’ PPS Club or Solitaire PPS Club membership: your KrisFlyer miles aren’t subject to the three-year expiry rule. They never expire.

But the PPS Club is only for the highest of high flyers, who spend at least S$25,000 per year on Singapore Airlines business class or first class flights.

What to do with expiring KrisFlyer miles

For the vast majority of frequent flyers who aren’t PPS Club members, what can you do when your KrisFlyer miles are approaching their expiry date?

Obviously, the best thing to do is to book a flight.

Don't let your hard-earned KrisFlyer Miles vanish.

That flight doesn’t have to be with Singapore Airlines.

KrisFlyer miles can also be used right across the Star Alliance group of airlines, opening up a world of possibilities with the likes of Air Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA, Eva Air, Lufthansa, Swiss, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and United Airlines.

KrisFlyer Miles can be used to book flights across all Star Alliance member airlines, such as ANA.

These can all be booked through the Singapore Airlines website, although availability will of course depend on each airline.

You should also check for any current Singapore Airlines promotions such as the regular Spontaneous Escapes offers, which slash the number of KrisFlyer miles needed on specific routes.

Spontaneous Escapes deals can provide a value-friendly getaway to Singapore or around Asia, even in economy class.

You can use your KrisFlyer miles to book an award flight which takes place after your miles expire, and as Singapore Airlines allows award bookings up to 355 days in advance, that gives you plenty of wiggle room.

Just note that if you cancel a KrisFlyer award flight booking after your miles would have expired, you won’t get those miles back – they’re gone for good.

Fortunately, changes to award bookings are permitted without seeing your miles vanish in a puff of smoke.

If you’ve already got an Singapore Airlines trip coming up and you’re booked on a Standard or Flexi fare, consider using your KrisFlyer miles for an upgrade to the next highest cabin.

(Note that on flights with premium economy, you can choose to upgrade from economy to either premium economy or business class.)

Booking a Virgin Australia flight with KrisFlyer miles

There’s another partner airline option for SQ flyers based in Australia: redeeming your KrisFlyer miles on a domestic Virgin Australia flight.

That’s especially handy if you have only a relatively small number of KrisFlyer miles about to expire – while 12,000 KrisFlyer miles won’t get you anywhere near Singapore, it’s enough for a one-way Virgin Australia economy seat between any two destinations in all Australian states except WA.

Don't overlook the Virgin Australia options for using or converting KrisFlyer Miles.

You can also transfer your expiring KrisFlyer miles to Virgin Australia Velocity points.

The conversion rate of 1.55 KrisFlyer miles to 1 Velocity point means you’ll lose a third of their value, but your Velocity points will remain fresh as long as there’s some activity on your Velocity account every two years.

Other ways to use your expiring KrisFlyer miles

Beyond flying, there are a few other canny ways to use your KrisFlyer miles – and these can be very appealing if you don’t have time to fly (or don’t want to fly) or don’t have enough KrisFlyer miles to make a trip.

These methods won’t deliver the best value for your KrisFlyer miles, but it’s better than losing them entirely.

• Convert your KrisFlyer miles to KrisPay miles – that’s the currency of Singapore Airlines’ Kris+ program, which works as an everyday payment for food and drinks, shopping and more, mainly in Singapore. The 1:1 conversion rate means each KrisFlyer mile becomes a KrisPay mile, and you’ll have six months to spend your freshly-minted KrisPay miles.
• Use Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer vRooms service to book a hotel room or hire a car, including flexible points+pay arrangements.
• Use least 1,000 KrisFlyer miles to offset purchases on Singapore Airlines’ online shopping site KrisShop.com (at a rate of 125 KrisFlyer miles per S$1).
• Consider converting your expiring KrisFlyer miles into the Shangri-La Circle points or Marriott Bonvoy points to use against a future hotel stay.

Paying to extend your expiring KrisFlyer miles

Finally, you can pay to push back the expiry date of your KrisFlyer miles by six months.

If you’ve got a slew of miles but are just too short on time to book a trip right now, this might be your best option.

You can use the Singapore Airlines app to extend your about-to-expire KrisFlyer Miles.

This costs US$12 or 1,200 KrisFlyer miles for every 10,000 miles you want to extend, and can be done through the Singapore Airlines website or app.

As a bonus, KrisFlyer Elite Silver or Elite Gold members – including complementary status earned through the HSBC Star Alliance credit card – will see the same fee extend their miles for a whole year.

But it’s a one-time deal: you can’t pay for a second extension on expiring KrisFlyer miles, so all you are doing is gaining extra breathing space against the ‘use them or lose them’ scenario.