The HighFlyer business travel programme is Singapore Airlines’ travel reward programmer for business. Some may say it is the KrisFlyer equivalent for business travel. For seasoned corporate travellers, HighFlyer is a way to maximise travel rewards because HighFlyer can be used in conjunction with KrisFlyer for individuals.
While the HighFlyer is best used together with American Express Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card, it may also be used alone as long as you travel via Singapore Airlines.
Read Also: Guide To American Express Singapore Airlines Business Credit Card
HighFlyer Is Targeted At Registered Businesses Of Any Size
Unlike KrisFlyer which is targeted at individual travellers, HighFlyer is for businesses. To qualify for HighFlyer, you would need to be a registered business of any size. This means that freelancers with a business registration to large MNCs may sign up for HighFlyer.
Even if your business engages travel agents or travel management companies to book your corporate flights. However, if your business is a travel agency, your HighFlyer membership is only for your own internal corporate flights and not flights booked on behalf of your clients.
HighFlyer has 4 different membership tiers for businesses ranging from small to large businesses:
The entry tier is free to sign up which makes it accessible to all businesses.
Earn HighFlyer Points For Flights And Other Benefits
As a travel award programme, HighFlyer allows its members to earn points for flights and these points may be redeemed for rewards such as flights and other benefits. Unlike many travel reward programmes, HighFlyer’s point accrual is by the amount of money spent on the qualifying flight instead of the miles travelled.
At the entry tier, you will earn 5 HighFlyer points for every S$1 spent on a qualifying flight with Singapore Airlines, Scoot or the partner airlines (Lufthansa and SWISS). Gold and Platinum members earn at a higher point accrual rate of 6 HighFlyer points for every S$1 spent. The points remain valid for 3 years after the month of accrual.
The points accrued is based on the sum of base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges in Singapore dollars, excluding airport taxes and government surcharges. The sum is multiplied by the membership tier’s accrual rate.
Additionally, HighFlyer Silver, Gold and Platinum members will have access to preferential airfares. The higher the tier, the better the discounted corporate fares. HighFlyer Gold and Platinum members will also have access to priority services such as reservation waitlist, airport standby and upgrades.
What Are The Qualifying Flights?
All publicly available non-discounted fares on Singapore Airlines accrue HighFlyer points.
However, Economy Class Value bookings (Q, N) will only accrue at 50%. Group bookings (G), Economy Class Lite bookings (V, K), as well as First, Business, and Economy Class redemption bookings (I, O, X) do not qualify for accruals. Codeshare flights (e.g. SQ 4-digit flight number operated by another airline) also do not qualify for accruals.
Additionally, for HighFlyer accounts registered in Singapore (and New Zealand), the corporate traveller must be a KrisFlyer Corporate Traveller to accrue HighFlyer points.
Flights Must Be Booked For Corporate Travellers
As this is a business travel reward programme, the flights must be booked as a corporate. Either via the online corporate booking platform or directly through Scoot’s HighFlyer portal.
For booking via a travel agent, you would have to contact the customer service first to set up the process.
For HighFlyer, employees must be a KrisFlyer member to be registered as a Corporate Traveller. HighFlyer Silver and above do not have this requirement but do note that for Singapore-registered accounts, the corporate traveller must be a KrisFlyer Corporate Traveller to accrue HighFlyer points.
HighFlyer Points Can Be Redeemed For Flights
HighFlyer points can be used to offset the payment needed when making a ticket booking. This includes the ticket price, airport taxes and government surcharges. The entire value of the ticket can be paid for using the points if there are sufficient points accumulated.
However, they cannot be used for award flights, redemption upgrades or mix with cash for cabin class upgrades. However, if the ticket is not issued with points for partial payment, the traveller may use their individual KrisFlyer miles to upgrade to a higher cabin class.
It is not possible to use both the company’s HighFlyer points and the traveller’s personal KrisFlyer miles to purchase tickets on the corporate booking platform.
The minimum number of points that can be used is 1,050 per transaction (equivalent to $10 value).
Additionally, points may be used to pay for additional baggage, seat selection and cabin class upgrades or to redeem airline e-vouchers to fly on selected partner airlines (i.e. Scoot and Lufthansa). They can also be used to redeem Changi Airport lounge passes.
Read Also: 16 Corporate Passes To Singapore Attractions You Can Buy In Time For Holidays
Corporate Travellers Also Earn KrisFlyer Miles As Individuals
One benefit of HighFlyer is that on top of earning points for corporate flights, the same flights also allow the corporate traveller to earn KrisFlyer miles as an individual. For a self-employed person who signs up for HighFlyer, this effectively helps you earn bonus KrisFlyer miles that go towards your personal travel rewards.
Additionally, the HighFlyer points earned can also be converted to KrisFlyer miles at a rate of 1 HighFlyer point to 1 KrisFlyer mile.
This makes HighFlyer even more attractive for small businesses and self-employed as they can use the corporate travel rewards to maximise their personal travel rewards.
This article was originally published on 25 July 2022 and updated with new information.
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