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When Tracy Ren decided to go to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, he reserved his flight to Paris in Singapore Airlines using miles.
But she didn’t win them, she bought them.
Instead of buying miles directly from the airline, which sells 1,000 miles for around $ 40, REN resorted to Carousell, a popular online market in Asia-Pacific that sells new and used products, and, more and more, loyalty and rewards points.
When buying miles online, “the cost is almost 50% compared to the purchase of the ticket,” Ren said.
Is this allowed?
Buying and selling miles from the online airline is not illegal, said Aaron Wong, founder of the travel and loyalty website MILELIO.
Nor does it violate Carousell’s terms of service. The company, which prohibits weapons and cryptocurrency sales, said CNBC trips Through a representative that: “The governance of the sale of miles and points of the airline depends on the terms and conditions … (of) the airline … Carousell is not aware and is not in a position to enforce these third -party agreements.”
This is where online vendors govern in conflict with the rules, Wong said. The terms of the Singapur airline loyalty program indicate that “Krisflyer Miles barter … is prohibited.”
Online vendors often generate Krisflyer miles less than half the cost of Singapore Airlines, which sells 1,000 miles of Krisflyer for about $ 40.
China news service | China news service | Getty images
“The question, then, is not so much about whether or not it may or may not go out with yours,” Wong said.
If any airline catches travelers who buy or sell miles, the miles can be lost or the loyalty account of their traveler can be closed, he said. Separately, buyers also execute the Risk of losing your money to scammers onlinesaid.
How it works
Some sellers transfer credit points directly to the Krisflyer account of a buyer, Wong said. The names of the two accounts must coincide, he said, but added that “things fall into cracks.”
A more common method is to name a buyer as “nominated” under the Krisflyer program of the Singapore airline, he said. Members can “nominate up to five people“They can exchange flights for using their miles, according to the program.
There is nothing that is making any term and condition contravene.
A Krisflyer member based in Singapore who spoke with CNBC said he has been using this method to sell his miles to strangers in Carousell, with a price of $ 17 of Singapore ($ 12.75) per 1,000 miles, during the last year and a half.
The seller, who asked to remain anonymous to protect his identity at work, said buyers must share their passport details to be designated as nominated.
“As I have to have their personal data, I also share my data with them. I share with them my address test … My phone number,” he said. “It gives them additional comfort if something goes wrong.”
And things go wrong, he said. He has to intervene twice with the tickets he redeemed for others, he said, including an instance in which a buyer asked to postpone a flight on the game.
“In that situation, it worked quite well, but if I had called me 15 minutes later, I would be in a meeting for an hour,” said the seller, added that the buyer also paid the flight change rate.
He said that the small size and crime rate of Singapore make it easier to sell miles of airlines in the city.
“It’s a Quite compatible society. People generally do not take a walk, “he said.
Why do sellers sell
Another seller, who refused to give his name or allow CNBC to use his Carousell screen name, said he began selling Krisflyer Miles more than 10 years after accumulating more points, mainly through credit card purchases, of what he could use. In addition, he was always “being persecuted with expiration,” he said.
His List of Carousell says he sells 1,000 miles for $ 15 to $ 25, depending on the purchase method and the number of miles bought. He had six five -star criticisms for mile sales in the last month, with buyers excited about his “rapid” and “without problems” transactions.
However, the first seller who spoke CNBC said that he sells points for a completely different reason: buying flights for his family in cheaper carriers.
“Singapore Airlines ends up being a very expensive airline to fly, so I rarely spent my own money to fly (that),” he said. “You sell those miles, you get the funds and the same funds are used for your other reserves.”
In addition, he generally reserves trips approximately six weeks in advance; By then, redemption flights generally run out, he said. He also said no Buy products with Krisflyer Miles Because “arithmetic does not accumulate.”
This seller told CNBC that he does not feel that he is breaking any rule.
“Airline regulations say that people must be added as nominated in my account,” he said. “There is nothing that I am making that will contravene the terms and conditions.”
However, when asked about the sale of Krisflyer Miles in Carousell using the Singapore Airlines candidate system, a representative said that the terms of the program “strictly prohibit the sale or barter of Krisflyer Miles, Elite Miles, PPS Value, Rewards, Award Tickets or Other Benefits.”
“The members who participate in such activities are at risk of cancellation of these benefits,” said the representative. “SIA collaborates closely with the relevant authorities to monitor these platforms and will take decisive measures against any member that contravenes these rules.”
Legitimate forms for less
That has not prevented an artisanal industry with “thousands broker” online cutting companies, said the Wong of Milley.
“The airlines would tend to focus more on the runners, the biggest boys,” he said. “Carousell sellers also know.”
He said the airlines try to avoid the sale of miles without making the reimbursements too burdensome for the members “who play with the rules.” In the end, “they are not really able to seal it completely.”
Wong suggests using services such as Citi Payall and Cardup, which allow users to earn miles of invoices, rent and educational payments.
“The irony I see here is that you could do it, legitimately, for less.”
