The best Singapore Airlines Business Class redemptions, ranked by miles per hour
I did the math on every Singapore Airlines Business Saver route out of Changi. The best value in the whole network is Cape Town at about 4,857 miles per hour of business class flying. The worst is Jakarta at 12,000. Same cabin, same seat, nearly triple the price for every hour you actually spend in it.
Most people only look at the total miles price. That number hides the thing you are actually buying, which is time in a lie-flat seat with champagne. This page ranks all 29 routes by what an hour costs, so you can spend the same balance and fly almost three times more.
How does the Miles Per Hour rule work?
Divide the one-way Business Saver price by the flight time. That gives you the miles you pay for each hour on board. Lower is better: the goal is the least miles for the longest time in the sky.
Saver miles ÷ flight hours = miles per hour. Below ~6,500 is a steal. Above ~9,000 you are burning miles on a route cash covers cheaply.
The sweet spots: where your miles work hardest
Long flights on modestly priced awards. Cape Town is the standout: 14 hours of business class for 68,000 miles, which is less than some people pay to get to Tokyo and back.
| Rank | Destination | Flight time | Business Saver | Miles per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 14h 00m | 68,000 | 4,857 |
| 2 | New York (via Frankfurt) | 22h 30m | 117,000 | 5,200 |
| 3 | Istanbul | 11h 00m | 68,000 | 6,182 |
| 4 | Johannesburg | 10h 40m | 68,000 | 6,375 |
| 5 | New York (direct) | 17h 50m | 117,000 | 6,561 |
The middle of the pack: decent value
Nothing wrong with these. Long-haul Europe and the US sit here, and Bali at 22,000 miles is a lovely low-commitment way to try business class for the first time.
| Rank | Destination | Flight time | Business Saver | Miles per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Beijing | 6h 15m | 45,000 | 7,200 |
| 7 | Auckland | 9h 50m | 72,000 | 7,322 |
| 8 | Los Angeles | 15h 10m | 112,500 | 7,418 |
| 9 | London | 14h 20m | 108,500 | 7,570 |
| 10 | Paris | 14h 20m | 108,500 | 7,570 |
| 11 | Taipei | 4h 40m | 35,500 | 7,607 |
| 12 | San Francisco | 14h 40m | 112,500 | 7,670 |
| 13 | Delhi | 5h 50m | 45,000 | 7,714 |
| 14 | Bali | 2h 50m | 22,000 | 7,765 |
| 15 | Amsterdam | 13h 50m | 108,500 | 7,843 |
| 16 | Copenhagen | 13h 45m | 108,500 | 7,891 |
| 17 | Tokyo | 6h 50m | 54,500 | 7,976 |
The bottom of the table: think twice
Short hops price terribly by the hour. Jakarta costs 22,000 miles for under two hours in the seat. You barely finish the meal before descent. If the cash fare is low, which on these routes it usually is, pay cash and save the miles for the top of this page.
| Rank | Destination | Flight time | Business Saver | Miles per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Perth | 5h 15m | 42,500 | 8,095 |
| 19 | Mumbai | 5h 30m | 45,000 | 8,182 |
| 20 | Milan | 13h 00m | 108,500 | 8,346 |
| 21 | Shanghai | 5h 15m | 45,000 | 8,571 |
| 22 | Darwin | 4h 50m | 42,500 | 8,793 |
| 23 | Hong Kong | 4h 00m | 35,500 | 8,875 |
| 24 | Osaka | 6h 05m | 54,500 | 8,959 |
| 25 | Sydney | 8h 00m | 72,000 | 9,000 |
| 26 | Melbourne | 7h 25m | 72,000 | 9,708 |
| 27 | Maldives | 4h 35m | 45,000 | 9,818 |
| 28 | Bangkok | 2h 30m | 25,000 | 10,000 |
| 29 | Jakarta | 1h 50m | 22,000 | 12,000 |
Does this mean I should never fly short-haul business?
No. Miles you cannot bring yourself to spend are worth zero, and a two-hour flat bed after a brutal week has its own value. This table is not a rulebook, it is a price tag per hour, so at least you know what the convenience costs before you pay it.
How do I earn the miles for these redemptions?
Everyday spend on the right cards. A no-fee card earning about 4 miles per dollar on online and contactless spend gets you to a Bali Saver from roughly S$5,500 of normal spending. My full breakdown of the card I would start with is in the HSBC Revolution review.
Prices are one-way Business Saver from Singapore, checked July 2026. KrisFlyer reprices and flight times shift with schedules, so confirm on singaporeair.com before transferring anything. Saver space is limited and some routes rarely release seats.