My Thoughts on the Upcoming KrisFlyer Devaluation

Not much has happened since my time away churning through nights at work, which tends to be the reality of being in the UK banking industry during summer.

That said, one major update worth addressing is the recently announced devaluation of Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program. Plenty has already been written about the specifics by other bloggers, so I won’t be repeating the same points here.

Full details on the devaluation (and other announcements) can be viewed here.

Instead, I’d like to offer a different perspective—focusing on a few routes that matter to me personally, and also on the nuances of how these miles are actually earned in the first place.

Key Saver Redemption Rate Changes

Since most of my flying is on Oneworld carriers, I usually look at KrisFlyer redemptions only when Oneworld doesn’t make sense, or when stopover cities don’t interest me.

Skipping The Pier First is definitely not on my radar!

For instance, I wouldn’t redeem KrisFlyer to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong via Singapore when I can fly Cathay Pacific directly. The same logic applies to Greater China routes or regional hops like Bangkok and Jakarta, where Malaysia Airlines has multiple daily flights and a Singapore stopover would feel unnecessary.

Where KrisFlyer has been useful for me is to Europe. I’ve redeemed flights to London in the past, especially when Saver awards lined up with my schedule.

Singapore Airlines also operates direct services to cities like Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Barcelona—all of which sit high on my radar.

Singapore Airlines has direct flights available to Copenhagen

For North Asia, I typically stick with Cathay Pacific, but I’ll consider Singapore Airlines for destinations like Tokyo or Sapporo if Cathay space dries up.

Across these highlighted routes, London is the one hit hardest by the devaluation—which isn’t surprising given demand.

With 114K KrisFlyer miles now required for a one-way redemption from KL–Singapore–London, it’s now slightly higher than the 108k Enrich Miles needed for a direct Malaysia Airlines flight to London without stopovers. At that point, it really boils down to personal preference.

Some would rather pay the extra miles to avoid flying Malaysia Airlines altogether (especially on a long-haul), while others would simply prefer the convenience of a direct flight. And if we’re comparing the overall product between the two, it’s hardly a fair fight.

Personally, I don’t see this as entirely negative. With KrisFlyer rates creeping higher for Europe, perhaps we’ll see more competition shift back toward Malaysia Airlines instead.

As for me, I previously leaned towards redeeming Avios for Qatar Airways. At 75,000 Avios for KL–Doha–London in Qsuite, it’s still the benchmark for me, so these KrisFlyer changes don’t affect my strategy much, although QR availability via Asia Miles is dry these days.

How difficult is it to earn KrisFlyer miles in Malaysia?

Rather than focusing purely on redemption costs, I think it’s worth looking at the other side of the equation—how easy (or not) it is to actually earn KrisFlyer miles from Malaysia.

With AmBank’s heavy nerf to its Enrich Visa Infinite cards, the straightforward path to Enrich miles isn’t what it once was. That said, pairing the Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite (1 MPR on dining) with the UOB PRVI Miles Elite (0.83–1 MPR on overseas spend) is still an effective way to build Enrich balances—assuming your spending pattern fits.

For KrisFlyer, the combination isn’t too bad either.

Pairing the Maybank Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer American Express Platinum Credit Card (0.4 MPR on local spend) with UOB’s Visa Infinite (0.41 MPR on dining) and PRVI Miles Elite (0.83–1 MPR overseas) allows you to channel miles steadily into KrisFlyer.

This is exactly what I'm doing, as I've emphasized in my 2025 Airline Miles Strategy, as having the flexibility to convert UNIRM to either Asia Miles or KrisFlyer depending on award space is a nice advantage.

In fact, I know plenty of people who consolidate their dining and overseas spend with UOB while routing their local spend through the Maybank KrisFlyer AMEX (when AMEX is accepted). Over time, this racks up a decent balance without too much effort.

Bottom line: despite all the talk of devaluations, earning KrisFlyer miles in Malaysia isn’t necessarily harder than it looks. With the right mix of cards and spend categories, the miles add up quickly enough—sometimes even more efficiently than Enrich, given Malaysia Airlines’ inflated redemption rates.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, devaluations will happen and how many miles you can realistically earn comes down to your spending habits. If you spend heavily on dining and overseas transactions, KrisFlyer becomes much easier to rack up than people often assume. If most of your spend is elsewhere, another program may make more sense.

As for the KrisFlyer devaluation itself—yes, redemption costs have gone up, but it might not be all bad.

Higher mileage requirements could ease the squeeze on award availability, especially for high-demand routes like Europe. If that means fewer people chasing the same Saver seats, then paying a bit more in miles might actually be worth it for the certainty of securing a seat.

In that sense, this devaluation could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It’s a reminder to match your credit card strategy to your actual spending patterns, and to stay flexible when comparing across programs.

At the end of the day, the value of a mile isn’t just about charts—it’s about how easily you can earn it, and whether it gets you on the flight you want.