KrisFlyer vRooms allows you to Book Hotels and Rent Cars using KrisFlyer Miles - Here's Why You Should Not

KrisFlyer vRooms now allows KrisFlyer members to use their valuable miles on hotel stays and car rentals but the bottom line is this - save your miles for those Business Class and First Class flights instead. Now I have no expertise in car rentals but I dare say that I have had my fair share of hotel stays over the years. 

Photo Credit: Singapore Airlines 

Let's check out a number of hotels and see how their fare on KrisFlyer vRooms - for the first comparison, we are going to look at the Pan Pacific Singapore on a random weekend in June 2018. At the time of writing, KrisFlyer members are able to redeem 44,400 KrisFlyer Miles or a combination of S$255.86 + 1,700 KrisFlyer Miles for a free night in a Deluxe Room which is the lead-in room category. What KrisFlyer vRooms is offering here is the opportunity to offset S$255.86 with 42,700 KrisFlyer Miles - this puts the valuation of each KrisFlyer Mile at 0.6 cents (remember you can typically purchase miles at 2.0 cents each by paying for the right credit card's annual fee). In other words, using your miles in this situation is a terrible idea and you should avoid it at all cost. 

Now let's look at how much the Deluxe Room at the Pan Pacific Singapore sells for on the same weekend - the official Pan Pacific website lists this room for S$320++ (S$288++ for DISCOVERY Loyalty members) with comparable cancellation policy and inclusions. Now I am not advocating the use of KrisFlyer Miles for free hotel stays but honestly, redeeming them for the Miles + Cash option (which is S$255.86 + 1,700 Miles in this case) is not that bad since it gives you an approximately value of 4.9 to 7.1 cents. On the other hand, redeeming a free night using miles only is a terrible, terrible idea that should be avoided at all costs. 

Hotel	Hotel Price	KrisFlyer vRooms		Mile Valuation
		Miles Only (Option 1)	Miles + Cash (Option 2)	Miles Only (Option 1)	Miles + Cash (Option 2)
Deluxe Room - Pan Pacific Singapore	S$320++ (S$376.64)	44,400 Miles	S$255.86 + 1,700 KrisFlyer Miles	$0.008	$0.071
Deluxe Room - Pan Pacific Singapore	S$288++ (S$338.98)	44,400 Miles	S$255.86 + 1,700 KrisFlyer Miles	$0.008	$0.049

In the worst case scenario (where the room rate is just S$288++) above, redeeming a Deluxe Room at the Pan Pacific Singapore offsets S$83.12 of the room rate with just 1,700 KrisFlyer Miles and this means that every mile is worth 4.9 cents (which isn't bad since you can purchase them for 2.0 cents!). 

The Fullerton Bay Hotel

Premier Bay View Room

Read Review

Let's look at a second example where there are no member pricing (just to make it simpler for comparison). The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore is selling the Premier Room (with complimentary wireless internet and daily buffet breakfast) for S$544++ (S$640.29 after applicable taxes) - this is a non-refundable rate. KrisFlyer vRooms is offering the exact same room with the same cancellation policy and inclusions for 92,300 KrisFlyer Miles (which puts the valuation of each KrisFlyer Mile at 0.7 cents) or S$501 + 8,800 KrisFlyer Miles (which puts the valuation of each KrisFlyer Mile at 1.6 cents) - in the latter situation, it is actually looking a bit better but still that is lower than the acquition cost of 2.0 cents. 

Now it definitely seems like the valuation of KrisFlyer Miles vary from property to property and in the case of the Pan Pacific Singapore it actually does not look too bad for the Miles + Cash option. I am also dead certain that these stays do not count towards your elite qualification so that is definitely something worth considering as well. My personal opinion is this - avoid KrisFlyer vRooms and use your KrisFlyer Miles for proper flight redemption instead.