KayF

I have some FF points with Singapore/KrisFlyer. My plan is to book international flights for 2024 with Air Canada.

Is it better to join their loyalty scheme (Aeroplan) or instead use my KrisFlyer membership number when making the Air Canada booking (if that's even possible)?

They are both Star Alliance and it would be nice if one day I had enough points for an international flight but I'm not sure you can combine/transfer points.

J62

I've found it easier to just stick with the primary airline for a particular alliance, which in this case would be United (for me in the US) for the Star Alliance. So any flights on Star partners I just use my UA FF # - don't know if i get as many points, but I only havce one place i need to look... if Sing air is your primary Star alliance airline that's what I would do myself....

But your question about combining points is a good one that I don't know the answer to.

Gardyloo

In general it's not possible to merge points/miles from two different mileage plans. You absolutely CAN use KrisFlyer points to book flights on Air Canada and vice-versa. Whether you assign miles from new flights to the Singapore or AC account really depends on how and when you plan to redeem those miles for flights. Different airlines' mileage plans have different redemption requirements so it's worth studying their programs to see which one would work best for you.

Here's a summary table of KrisFlyer mileage requirements (I cannot vouch if this is current) - SQ_AwdChart.pdf (singaporeair.com)
... and here's one for AC. Flight Reward Chart (aircanada.com)

You can compare them to see which might generate better value for your miles than the other. Be aware, however, that not only might the redemption standards be different, but so might the earning ones - how many miles/points you'd earn on a new booking. It could depend on the specific booking class - not just economy but what specific sub-category you purchase. Again, the only solution is a little homework on your part.

mrwunrfl

What do you mean by "some" Krisflyer miles? How many and how earned? It is one thing if you have 500 miles from a car rental and another thing if you have 50,000 miles (especially if they were earned on SQ flights this year). And how much flying on AC are you planning for next year? Flying from Toronto to Europe or Asia every quarter? Toronto to Vancouver once a month?

The fare type you book on AC matters a lot:
Earn faster with Air Canada - Aeroplan


Earn - Star Alliance
You can join multiple member airline frequent flyer programmes if you wish, but they are each managed separately, so you cannot transfer miles or points between them or combine them into one. By using a single frequent flyer programme whenever you fly, you will reach Star Alliance Silver or Gold status faster.

KayF

Thanks everyone, this is helpful. I'll book on Air Canada but use my Krisflyer membership number. I've got about 30,000 points from Singapore Airlines and am not counting on being able to use them, though that would be nice. Next year the plan is to fly from Australia to London, via Vancouver, return. I have a thread on the Canada forum about it.

Geordie

Just a thought but you can join if you're not already a member Virgin Australia's Velocity Program and transfer the 30,000 miles from Krisflyer to Velocity, you also can earn miles and status on both Singapore and Air Canada
How to transfer KrisFlyer miles to Velocity Points - Point Hacks
I really like Velocity as it allows you to add family members to it and their miles and status credits get added to my account, so I am able to maintain platinum status pretty easily and we can share the benefits e.g. lounge access. The list of airline partners is not as extensive as Star Alliance but to be honest, a lot of them I would never fly anyway
Velocity Frequent Flyer Partners | Earn and Redeem Points | Velocity Frequent Flyer

mrwunrfl

Good plan, KayF.

KrisFlyer mileage accrual levels on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Partner airlines

MEL/SYD-YVR-LHR roundtrip would be about 25,000 miles, but you might earn 25% or 50% of that. That would be a nice addition to a KF account where you already have a decent chunk of miles.

KayF

Can someone please help? I was going to book Air Canada flights but it appears I need to set up an account with Aeroplan, which would give me Aeroplan points. I would like to use my Krisflyer membership number instead but cannot find if that's possible (so points all go into the same place - KrisFlyer). I'm going around in circles.

If anyone has done this - booked on the Air Canada website but used membership from another Star Alliance member - where and how do you do that? Thanks for any help. If it's not possible, I'll just join Aeroplan.

I found this - below - but it seems to be only for a round the world ticket which is not what I want. I'm going Brisbane to Vancouver, to London, then return.
https://www.staralliance.com/en/book-and-fly

J62

As you go through the booking process you'll be asked if you are a member of a Aeroplan or a partner program. Then pick Singapore Air from the drop down menu.

mrwunrfl

I tried it and clicked Yes and looked below for the program option but only saw the contact information field, Took a bit of toggling the Yes/No option before I noticed the Loyalty program option appeared ABOVE the Yes/No option, next to the DOB input. It appeared in what had been a blank area.

KayF

Thanks everyone for all your help. I've just had a frustrating hour booking Air Canada flights and have nothing to show for it. It went quite smoothly until I got the payment screen and I tried different cards and got either an error message or just nothing - the screen looked like I hadn't pressed Pay. I tried calling them (there is a number to call from Australia) but gave up waiting. So I may not be going to Canada, if I can't book the flights I want. I'll try again later I guess. Not the result I hoped for.

jacketwatch

I was on hold with Air Canada a few years ago for seat assignments for over one hour. I feel you!

mrwunrfl

Yep, try again, reboot, try a different browser.

I had a similar problem tyring to book an Asiana ticket for Tokyo to LAX. I could not pay for it on their website.

Short story is that I gave up and was able to book via Amex Travel and got the mileage credited to United. Am not clear on what currency was used for the ticket but the cancel/change fee was in JPY.

I think I tried as a guest and as an Asiana Club member. My (browser default) setting is United States, English. (it occurs to me that maybe I should have tried Japan, English, which is what I use with JAL for domestic flights). The only currency display options on their website were KRW and JPY.

I tried every (i think) combo of names, with entry fields for Last Name and First Name, so I tried:
LAST/FIRST
LAST/FIRST MIDDLE
LAST/FIRSTMIDDLE
and probably swapped those field values and tried three more times (because Korean names)

There was some condition, somewhere, that specified "when booked directly with the airline", Maybe it was the fare, or cancel/refund or mileage, but booking with Amex Travel served to meet that condition.