At last! Singapore Airlines have finally made it possible to use KrisFlyer miles to buy physical items on KrisShop. This opens up the system and brings it closer to other airlines’ offerings, as there are now more ways to use miles than simply flying.

The store is set up so that 125 KrisFlyer miles will generally be equivalent to S$1, giving o.8 cents per mile value. Yes, it’s that low (for comparison, using miles for a First Class ticket gives 10 times that value at 8 cents per mile). But the same goes for almost all stores that allow you to redeem miles for purchased items. Whilst the value will be the same for all goods, in reality this system works well when you have left-over miles, miles that are expiring, don’t fly much, or simply don’t have enough for a useful flight ticket. Previously, if you were in this situation, you were forced to let your miles go to waste, and as such, non-frequent travellers often didn’t even bother signing up for KrisFlyer as the miles they would earn would be irrelevant and useless.

Now, though, even after relatively short trips, you can get something back (even if it is only small).

Until June 15, SIA is offering:

• Free Singapore delivery on orders over $80
• A free SIA Keyring on orders over $150
• A select group of items exclusively available for purchase with miles
• A 10% discount on the miles required for a purchase with miles (bringing most purchases to 0.9 cents per mile value

As well as paying in full with miles, you’re also able to mix miles and cash (however this will generally result in the cents per mile value falling even further). Also note that a minimum of 3,000 miles must be spent in one transaction. Any cash you use will earn KrisFlyer miles at a great rate of $1 to 1.5 miles. Note that taxes and delivery fees must be paid with cash.

You’re able to use your miles for purchases online through Krisshopair.com and either have the items delivered or collect them on your next flight.

So go and make use of this new offering! This will be welcome news to the not-so-frequent flyers who have a bunch of miles stagnating in their accounts.

For more information on KrisFlyer, click here.

To learn more about valuing points and miles, click here.

(Header image: Singapore Airlines)