Hi,

Im having a bit of dilemma.

As u all might heard, maybank will increase it redemption for airmiles by 10%.

So as a newbie in this game i have accumulated 400,000 tp in 4 months time. The situation is i need to redeem this TP to airmiles before 1/6/2019 (before the increase).

The dilemma is i have 60,000 EM(got it from CIMB Enrich programme) and 400,000TP, to which airmiles should i redeem it to EM/KF/AM?
Need to fly to Tokyo for 2 person.

Current redemption for 1 pax to tokyo:
EM: 130,000
AM: 100,000
KF: 180,000

No, they won’t release as award to fill it full even they can’t sell in cash ticket , this apply to especially sq

Okay, I completed the Comparison table between EM/KF/AM for some popular destinations:
Frequent Flyer Comparison

All amounts are for return flights, based on the cheapest redemption ticket (Basic on EM, Saver on KF, Standard on AM). No doubt these miles required might not be available when you book due to availability / wishlist issues, but it serves as a good benchmark.
(p.s. I don't have sufficient miles in my AM account that's why I'm unable to check the taxes required for J class redemption)

My conclusions are:
1. EM is good for Economy Class if you want direct flights out from KUL, but only to the rather limited routes it flies to. EM is poor value if you're redeeming Business Class
2. KF & AM is good in that you can fly to many other cities, but the downside (or maybe an upside?) is that there's an additional transit.
3. AM has way higher taxes. (Some of you have mentioned that AM requires less miles than KF, but I don't see too much of a difference, unless perhaps it's because I'm comparing the baseline cheapest redemption amounts?).
4. KF there's potential to redeem their impressive Suites Class & AM you can get Qatar QSuites or JAL Suites.

I will give some sample tax/charges on AM for the rest of your comparisons:

1. Tokyo - RM720
2. New York / LA - RM1347
3. Milan - RM1210
4. Paris - RM1517
5. London - RM2086
6. Sydney - RM1433

I would say this comparison is the absolute basic usage for the Frequent Flyer program, as you can get even better value when you look at other aspects of the programs, such as partner redemption etc, for example:

1. you can use KF miles to fly to Dubai at 49k, then spend another 29k on star alliance flights to europe, it is cheaper than outright redemption on SQ to europe, with a stopover (currently there is promotion flying to dubai for only 34k) but with a bit more taxes.

2. For AM, you would not redeem CX to fly to Australia as that is taking the long way. You could just outright redeem MH or even QF flights with less miles and shorter travel time.

3. If you look at Multi carrier award redemption for Asiamiles, you may get some seriously outsized value. for example flying to NYC cost 170k miles, if you use MCA, it will cost 165k miles, and you can take some extra flights up to 20000 miles total travel distance, eg you can go via hong kong with cx and return with AA + JL with a stop at Hawaii and Tokyo

So my conclusion is use KF miles if you want to fly SQ, because redeeming on other partners (with the exception on some routes) will cost you as much taxes as they did on AM. I find AM generally gives better value and flexibility, unless Im fixated on flying SQ suites.

Because AM require less miles on almost all routes, MCA let u fly several airlines on one ticket, etc.

Also for long haul flights (13h+) I will always prefer to break the flight into 2 segment and sometimes I purposely arrange overnight layover, this is much more manageable when Im traveling with young children, so the idea of spending 14hours on SQ to Europe etc with young children does not appeal to me.

MCA is MIC friend lo. Jk.
MCA = multi carrier award, fly on different airlines under one ticket.

If you are new to miles, ignore this.
Go for simple and direct redemption.

Generally, both KF and AM have their own pros and cons.
If you have fixed destination, check which airlines has direct flight or flight best suit you.
If not mistaken, CX do fly more cities compare to SQ.

If you have no plan and just wanna try flying business, I suggest Australia is a good spot to start with (but don't fly on CX).
Else check those European cities that SQ/CX have direct flight.

if u exKUL via HKG using AM, Frankfurt/Amsterdam/Zurich/Rome/Milan is 65k 1way under Long1 zone, other EU cities which CX fly need 85k. Use www.gcmap.com, not any worldmap.

Enrich is revenue based thus your miles only offset the cost needed by deducting miles based on certain value per mile they have set

that for oneworld alliance, not mh metal

My previous redeem trip using KF is confirm one trip then another trip is on waiting list (going to euro in waiting list, return to SG had confirm).

Then I start playing with another date (going to euro), keep changing and wait for week.

finally less than a month of trying I get the confirmation(going to euro) 3 month before the flight. Again, my return to SG had confirm early.

except be flexible with date, can be flexible with carrier also, I alr have an inbound flight from US this coming early September , but have yet to book the outbound flight from Singapore yet , which is set to travel at end of August...haha

ANA to Tokyo and transit with SQ, so is star alliance pricing.

Sometimes advantage also need waitlist or even not available, all depend on inventory control.

Star alliance airline one way is half the miles of return trip.

U can’t waitlist on star alliance award, only can waitlist with sq

I book under star alliance award chart, they only have one pricing, technically is ‘saver’. No waitlist is allow , so is direct confirmation, booked on January.

If your itenery involve carrier other than sq, even if sq is part of the itinerary, it will fall under star alliance award chart, so no waitlist .

yes, return date confirm, but i still can cancel since both flight is not confirm.

I actual plan in December, since cant confirm date on both time and weather super cold, i change to March.

KF advantage have better avaibility over saver , but sometimes do waitlist or even not available as well

AM choice is like KF saver, tailored is like KF advantage

Finally redeemed TPs and last minute decided to dump in Enrich for the convenience of departing from KL. My thinking is that TPs can be earned, but time and convenience (especially when travelling with kids) can't.

Does anyone know how long it takes for miles to appear in Enrich account?  CS told me 5 working days, but hope I will see them sooner than that (paranoid if system glitches etc).

Oh sorry, choice can book the ticket 360 days in advance , one week earlier than standard, by right, they should have better availability as they charge higher miles, this is also what claimed by asiamiles. Doesn’t means can comfirm on the spot, waitlist is still a norm even for choice award in asiamiles, in term of waitlist , I can’t comfirm but I do believe standard have priority over choice

I've never redeemed for Skyteam flights, but I read the easiest way to search for Air France award space is via KLM website (have to register their FFP first to search).

Besides Enrich charge exorbitant miles + passes on YQ on partner airlines, so never bothered with it anyway haha

i plan go from hong kong to kuala lumpur at 18 july 2019. can some one teach me how to redeem the ticket with asiamlies.

which airline is more valuable
i have 40000 asiamiles point and want to book for 3 pax.

thanz

For AM,
best is confirm your flight number that you want to take, and available seat.
Call AM regarding the redemption, pay the airport charges.

Using form will take longer time, which might end up in the ocean.