Showing posts with label transport. Show all posts
Lifehacksg#20 - Krisflyer... or not?
[Savings type - $$; >$500 when redeeming miles]
Most people are buzzing about cheap airfares and promotions provided by low-cost carriers these days. If you have not already jumped on that bandwagon, you should definitely check out Jetstar's unique booking features we covered in Lifehacksg#7.
But for today's lifehack, we will put you ahead of the crowd in being airfare-savvy. We decided to delve even deeper into what these airline 'promotions' and frequent flyer programs entail. Specifically, we will scrutinize the frequent flyer program which most people based in Singapore are part of – Singapore Airlines Krisflyer.
Most people are buzzing about cheap airfares and promotions provided by low-cost carriers these days. If you have not already jumped on that bandwagon, you should definitely check out Jetstar's unique booking features we covered in Lifehacksg#7.
But for today's lifehack, we will put you ahead of the crowd in being airfare-savvy. We decided to delve even deeper into what these airline 'promotions' and frequent flyer programs entail. Specifically, we will scrutinize the frequent flyer program which most people based in Singapore are part of – Singapore Airlines Krisflyer.
For most of us who grew up in this country, Singapore
airlines has been known to be the flagship carrier of this entire nation. Famous
for its excellent service and extremely posh premium-services, we can comfortably
assume that it is one national icon we are all pretty proud of. This sense of power and pride manifests itself in a little card
which sits in all our wallets – the Krisflyer frequent flier card. We hate to admit that we have fallen prey to this card for years, but a recent epiphany made us realize that it has
been a very big mistake.
This post is derived from well-grounded research by expert
analysis from the wonderful world wide web, based on a comparison between
Krisflyer (Singapore Airlines) and Mileage Plus (United Airlines). We figured
that since these folks have already done so much of the work, we will not
reinvent the wheel and will instead report the facts as they are.
According to a very comprehensive analysis here, one of the
biggest pain points of redeeming miles via Krisflyer is the amount of taxes/fees
involved, and the table below can speak for itself. While these numbers may be
from 2012, sources tell us that as recent as September 2013, a roundtrip San Francisco-Singapore flight on United miles merely costs an additional USD61.90 in
taxes/fees. The same route on Krisflyer miles today will set you back 10x the cost due to an exorbitant USD630.59 in taxes/fees.
Roundtrip
|
Program
|
Miles
|
Fees (USD)
|
Singapore – New York
|
Krisflyer
|
63,750
|
688.35
|
Mileage Plus
|
65,000
|
42.10
|
|
Auckland – Colombo
|
Krisflyer
|
59,500
|
546.94
|
Mileage Plus
|
60,000
|
65.50
|
|
New York – Dubai
|
Krisflyer
|
75,000
|
740.47
|
Mileage Plus
|
80,000
|
74.40
|
There are plenty of other benefits to compare, including free
upgrades, bonus mileage, award booking discount etc., but for the purposes of
this Lifehacksg post, we simply want to focus on the exorbitant Krisflyer
taxes/fees compared to United, which really make the Krisflyer program look a
lot less attractive. The >$500 you will
save can definitely go into additional shopping/food budget on your travels.
Here's the scoop to have your cake and eat it too: If you want to redeem miles with low taxes and fly in the comfort of Singapore Airlines, the Mileage Plus program will still work for you. Not only can you accrue Mileage Plus miles while flying Singapore Airlines as both are members
of the Star Alliance, you will also be able to redeem your Mileage Plus miles on SQ flights (under "Partner Flights") if they are available.
P.S. This is a
comparison only between KRISFLYER and MILEAGE PLUS.
Lifehacksg#19 - Park & Ride
[savings type - $$; Annual - $2000]
To put things in perspective, for your additional efforts required to adopt the Park and Ride scheme, you will be compensated with a reward equivalent to a round-trip ticket to the US. Talk about a free holiday.
Think about it.
The excruciating pain of travelling to work every morning is
something we can all identify with. Today’s Lifehack discusses one of the main
woes in Singapore - Transportation. Specifically, this targets readers who own
a car/drive to work. Yes, driving to work can be a pain. We know this because Singapore has one of the highest ratios of vehicles per kilometer of road at 281, significantly higher than the UK (77), Japan (63), and the US (38). We actually think it is
hilarious that radio stations report on traffic conditions every morning because
well, all they do is take the expressway abbreviations in Singapore and add “congested”
after it. If you drive to work, you will know what we mean.
Unknown to many people, the Singapore LTA has a Park and Ride Scheme which was created with the intention to reduce traffic flow in and
out of the city area during rush hours. In fact, the scheme was first
introduced more than 20 years ago back in 1990! Under the scheme, motorists are
allowed to park their vehicles at designated car parks on route to work, and
make the rest of the journey into the city on a public bus or train. Now before
you start doubting the availability of designated car parks, there are actually
more than 40 islandwide.
There are two options for the scheme - a monthly fee or
ad-hoc parking. The former is represented by a $70 Park and Ride set which consists
of a $30 season parking ticket and a $40 Park and Ride EZ link card, while the
latter is a flat $3/day (7am-9pm) parking fee. The math works in your favor with the season pass option.
Now, let’s take a look at potential savings through
Lifehacksg’s lenses.
Intangibles:
- Avoiding the frustration from the remaining distance between
the designated car park and your office
-
Saving on time stuck in congestion for the remaining
distance between the designated car park and your office
Tangibles:
Assuming that parking in the city costs you $250/month (this
may be conservative for some of you), the net savings to you from adopting the
Park and Ride scheme works out to be more than $2000 per year! Yes, there is additional effort required to turn into a designated parking lot, park
your car, walk back out towards the closest train station and additional
time involved, but if you successfully do this together with Lifehacksg#4 , we
are looking at sizable annual savings.
Lifehacksg#4 - Free MRT rides
[Savings type - $$; Annual - up to $360]
...now we're often pretty skeptical about our government and especially so with greater transport-related issues in recent times. Having insufficient infrastructure to support a 5.1million (and growing) population, public transport congestion woes seem to be one of the top problems facing this nation today.
Thankfully (and finally) the government together with SMRT have managed to think out of the box and a one year trial will commence starting June 24th 2013 - offering free rides to commuters who exit at any of the 16 designated stations in the Central Business District before 745am. If you hit that snooze button and end up exiting between 745am - 8am, you save $0.50 on your ride instead.
Let's breakdown the numbers for you:
P.S. The 16 designated stations are Bugis, Chinatown, City Hall, Clarke Quay, Dhoby Ghaut, Lavender, Orchard, Outram Park, Raffles Place, Somerset, Tanjong Pagar, Bayfront, Bras Basah, Esplanade, Marina Bay and Promenade.
...now we're often pretty skeptical about our government and especially so with greater transport-related issues in recent times. Having insufficient infrastructure to support a 5.1million (and growing) population, public transport congestion woes seem to be one of the top problems facing this nation today.
Thankfully (and finally) the government together with SMRT have managed to think out of the box and a one year trial will commence starting June 24th 2013 - offering free rides to commuters who exit at any of the 16 designated stations in the Central Business District before 745am. If you hit that snooze button and end up exiting between 745am - 8am, you save $0.50 on your ride instead.
Let's breakdown the numbers for you:
- Before 745am - Let's assume an average ride into town costs $1.50. Making an effort to arrive at work early for 20 working days a month, 12 months a year translates to annual savings of $360!
- Between 745-8am - At $0.50 savings a ride, 20 working days a month, 12 months a year translates to annual savings of $120!
P.S. The 16 designated stations are Bugis, Chinatown, City Hall, Clarke Quay, Dhoby Ghaut, Lavender, Orchard, Outram Park, Raffles Place, Somerset, Tanjong Pagar, Bayfront, Bras Basah, Esplanade, Marina Bay and Promenade.
