With Cathay Pacific Locked Down, Singapore Airlines Doubles Down On NYC; Miles And Status Extended And Star Alliance Gold Status For Transferred Miles Now Valid For 2 Years

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Once upon a time, Cathay Pacific had 5 daily flights from NYC. Currently there are none.

Hong Kong was once one of the world’s great transit hubs and business centers, but between China’s suspension of democracy in the territory and China’s zero COVID strategy the city remains cut off from the world. Cathay Pacific’s traffic numbers were down 97% before Omicron, which is now being used by China as a reason to shut down transit via Hong Kong. The lack of transit passengers will mean those abysmal numbers will plummet even further. The airline has a bleak future as a standalone carrier and it seems likely that it will be taken over by a Chinese state run airline, which seems likely by design at this point.

Singapore is well positioned to take over Hong Kong’s role as a giant travel hub and business center. Singapore Airlines smells blood in the water with Cathay Pacific’s struggles and will go all in on NYC flights.

Effective on March 28th, Singapore will fly nonstop daily on an Airbus A350-900ULR from both Newark to Singapore (9,534 miles and 18 hours and 45 minutes) and JFK to Singapore (9,537 miles and 18 hours and 50 minutes). JFK to Singapore nonstop is the longest commercial flight in the world and if you’re going to be on the longest flight in the world, Singapore is an excellent airline to fly on. Singapore’s A350-900ULR has 67 business class seats and 94 premium economy seats.

Singapore also flies from JFK to Frankfurt and from there to Singapore. As of March 28th that will be operated by their retrofitted A380-800 with new first class suites and couples suites. Singapore’s retrofitted A380-800 has 6 first class suites, 82 business class seats, 44 premium economy seats, and 343 economy seats.

Business class saver award availability from NYC to Singapore is wide open for 99K Singapore miles each way with no fuel surcharges.

A first class suite from NYC to Frankfurt is 86K Singapore miles each way with no fuel surcharges.

Singapore will also extend all miles expiring in 2022 by 6 months, including multiple 6 month extensions if needed so that no miles will expire this year.

The airline is also extending elite status for a 3rd year in a row. Status that was set to expire between March 2022-February 2023 will be extended for another year.

You can currently earn Star Alliance Gold status when you transfer 250K points to Singapore. Normally that status would expire in a year, but thanks to this extension you’ll get 2 years of Gold status.

Star Alliance Gold status allows you and a guest access to Star Alliance lounges worldwide when flying on any Star Alliance carrier. Incredibly, non-United Star Alliance Gold status also works to get access to United Clubs even when flying on domestic itineraries. United doesn’t even allow their own 1K Star Alliance Gold elites to access United Clubs on domestic first class tickets unless they have a paid United Club membership!

Star Alliance Gold status comes with an extra free checked bag, but it doesn’t stack on top of the free bag that United credit cards come with.

You can read more details about the offer in the original post here. The promotion ends 2/28/22.

• You can transfer AMEX, Capital One, Chase, Or Citi points to Singapore at a 1:1 ratio. 

Capital One cards with transferable points to miles include:

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card X offering 100,000 miles+$200 towards vacation rentals, $300 annual travel credit, 10,000 mile anniversary bonus, 2-10 miles per dollar spent, Capital One Lounge access, Priority Pass Lounge access, Global Entry/Pre-Check Membership and more. $395 annual fee. Read more here.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offering 60,000 miles, 2 miles per dollar everywhere. Global Entry/Pre-Check Membership. $95 annual fee.
• Capital One Spark Miles for Business offering 50,000 miles for spending $4,500 in 3 months, 2 miles per dollar everywhere. Global Entry/Pre-Check Membership. $0 intro annual fee, then $95 annual fee.

AMEX cards with transferable Membership Rewards points include:

• AMEX Blue Business Plus
• AMEX Platinum Business
• AMEX Gold Business Card
• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• American Express® Gold Card
• AMEX Green Consumer Card
• AMEX Everyday Preferred Consumer Card
• AMEX Everyday Consumer Card

If you, a member in your household, or an authorized user has one of the following Chase cards, you can transfer points into miles:

• Chase Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card® Card has a 60K signup bonus, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.3 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a 50K signup bonus, earns 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, has a $300 travel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.5 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($550 annual fee with $300 travel credit). Read more here.
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card  earns 3 points per dollar on shipping, advertising, and travel, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($95 annual fee). Read more here.

Chase no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:

• • Ink Business Cash® Credit Card  earns 5 points per dollar on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, office supply stores, and gift cards from office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
  • Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card  earns 1.5 points per dollar everywhere ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
  • Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus, plus earn 5 points per dollar on up to $12K in groceries for 1 year, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a 20K signup bonus, plus earn 5 points per dollar on up to $12K in groceries for 1 year, at least 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

If you or a friend has one of the following Citi cards, you can transfer points into miles:

• Citi Premier® Card has a 60,000 point bonus for spending $4,000 in 3 months, 3 points per dollar on airfare, hotels, travel agents, groceries, gas, and dining. $95 annual fee. Read more here.

Citi no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:

• The Citi Double Cash® Card offers 2% cash back or 2 points per dollar spent everywhere that can be transferred into ThankYou points. If you also have a Citi Premier® Card Card you can transfer points into miles. No annual fee. Read more here.
• The Citi Custom Cash® Card offers 5 points per dollar on up to $500 in purchases in your top eligible spending category each billing cycle. This is marketed as 5% cash back, but will actually come in the form of 5 ThankYou points per dollar spent! Eligible categories include Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs, and Live Entertainment. You will also get 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. No annual fee. Read more here.
• The Citi Rewards+® Card offering 15,000 points for spending $1,000 in 3 months. This card can’t transfer points on its own, but can transfer points if you have one of the Citi cards above. This card automatically rounds up rewards earned on every purchase to the nearest 10 points, meaning you earn 10 points on a $0.50 Amazon balance reload. Earn 2 points on $6K in annual spending at supermarkets, 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and a 10% points rebate when you redeem points, up to a 10K points rebate per year. If you also have a Citi Premier® Card Card you can transfer points into miles and get a 10% points rebate on transferred or redeemed miles. No annual fee. Read more here.