Hi,
Thought I would share a letter in Business Traveler Magazine in September. I know Singapore Airlines is looking at changing their frequent flyer program soon - maybe you should wait to check out the changes before you join. It could cost you a lot of free flights if you don't.
From Business Traveler - September 2011:
"I recently had reason to compare SIA's frequent flyer program to comparable airlines flying the same routes as SQ.
I feel compelled to share my finding with fellow travelers.
I looked firstly at free upgrades. United Airlines, Lufthansa and Qantas all provide free upgrades in some form to their top tier frequent flyers.
Singapore Airlines does not.
Next, I looked at how many flights it takes to earn the same business class seat using reward points.
On SIA, a business class flight from Singapore to Sydney earns 4,890 pts. To redeem that same flight I need 90,000 pts.
That is, I need to fly that trip over 18 times, to earn enough points for one redemption flight. On Qantas, I need to fly only 6 times to earn a full Business-class redemption on the same route.
To redeem a business class flight from Singapore to Munich I need to fly 14 times on SIA, and only 9 times on Lufthansa. To redeem a business class flight from Singapore to San Fransisco I need to fly over 11 times with SIA, but only 7 times on United.
So, at least on these major routes, SIA needs three time more flights the Qantas, and at least 50% more than United or Lufthansa to earn a redemption seat. And remember, on all these extra fully paid business class flights you need to fly on SIA, you will never get an upgrade - never. "