Long story short, we will no longer be able to pay US$100 to insert a stopover.

On 7th June 2022, this email was sent out by Singapore Air –

REVISIONS TO STOPOVER OPTION FOR REDEMPTION BOOKINGS

Stopovers for eligible redemption bookings ticketed on or after 1 August 2022 will be limited to a maximum of 30 days. Complimentary stopovers exceeding 30 days, as well as the paid stopover option, will no longer be available for tickets issued on or after 1 August 2022.

If you have plans to make use of the US$100 stopover feature, act now. You will continue to enjoy stopovers of up to one year in duration.

For the curious, how the stopover hack works is to book an itinerary/route that is the end of your trip #1 and the start of your trip #2.

Take for example, assume I’m flying to Bangkok in October, followed by Bali in December.

I could be flying to Bangkok via Scoot one-way ticket.

On the way back, I can redeem a flight from Bangkok to Bali and pay for a US$100 stopover (that lasts 2 months) in Singapore.

The primary difference between a stopover and layover is in the length of time.

• Stopover rules vary by airline – in the case of Singapore Airlines, it can be up to a year in length but it is going to be nerfed to 30 days, but most airlines, if not all, define a stopover as at least 24 hours in length.
• Layovers are connections less than a day in length.

Getting your ticket issued before 5th July 2022 will also ensure that you get the redemption before the devaluation happens.

If you have trouble getting in touch with an SQ reservations agent, you can refer to my earlier blog post which might help.

Some days earlier, I had successfully redeemed a pair of Singapore Airlines business class flights BKK-SIN-DPS by making use of the Kris Chatbot feature.

Referring to my example earlier, you can book an itinerary that looks like this.

If you are in the same situation as me and already have a ticket is issued prior to 1st August 2022, the changes (such as the stopover being limited to 30 days) does not apply. This is the understanding that I have after reading different sources including Milelion.

Prior to devaluation, the redemption for Bangkok, Thailand > Singapore > Denpasar, Bali required 21,500 miles plus S$228.90 in fees per passenger.

The new Singapore Airlines award chart (effective 5 July 2022) indicates that the same redemption (Thailand, Zone 3 to Indonesia, Zone 2) would require 24,000 miles in future.

Well, it was amazing while it lasted.

It is not difficult to see how insanely attractive the stopover open-secret was.

A quick check online for SQ’s October business flights would put the Bangkok-Singapore one-way ticket at 12,730 Baht or S$500 per pax.

By making a redemption, it means paying S$229 for not one, but two business-class tickets. Of course, we can’t ignore the value of miles vs the alternative in cash-back which we would have received, but that’s another story for another time.

With the stopover nerf, does it mean that I’m getting out of the miles game? Nah.

It just means that I’d probably redeem one-way Saver tickets in future with the remaining miles that I have.

Would you be making a redemption soon?

Misc

Been a little tied-up on the personal front so I have been a little lacklustre with blog posts. With markets looking all down and gloomy in May, I hardly did anything since I’m not that great at acting in the face of volatility.

Robo-advisors and stablecoins yield does much of the work for me so there’s that.

Meanwhile, Citi Prestige latest 1-for-1 dining deals just dropped today. Foodies, rejoice!