Points and miles are an incredibly useful way to fly cheaper and more comfortably. However, using them also means you will often have fewer options than if you were to buy your flight with cash. This is because airlines issue limited Prizes availableespecially when it comes to popular days and routes.
That means you may have to compromise by flying at a less convenient time or following a more complicated itinerary.
But as my real-life example below shows, sometimes you can turn an inconvenience—in the form of a schedule change—into a more comfortable journey. This is what I did recently on a flight from Australia to Malaysia.
An inconvenient but doable flight
I am from Australia and plan to visit home for Christmas as usual later this year. Since the distance is so great, I am trying to arrange a trip to another part of Australia or the Asia-Pacific region to make it a two-in-one trip.
I sat on a pile Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles for a few years now, and they have a hard expiration date within 36 months of earning (or transferring from a bank program, in my case). My points expire in February 2025, and I need to find a way to redeem them for travel next year. So when I found a business class seat on a connecting flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, via Singapore, I jumped on it.
However, the flight I booked didn’t have the most convenient departure time of 7 a.m. Plus, it wasn’t a weekday flight; it was on New Year’s Day. Needless to say, I didn’t think I’d be in the best of spirits after the festivities the night before. Then came a welcome change that widened my options: a change of schedule.
2 schedule changes
Airlines often adjust schedules before departure to accommodate aircraft, demand, and route changes.
In the past month, I have received emails from Singapore Airlines informing me of two schedule changes.
The first flight pushed back my arrival time in Kuala Lumpur by just five minutes. This seemed reasonable so I accepted the change.
Daily News
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers to get the latest news, in-depth guides, and exclusive offers from TPG experts
The second flight moved my departure time from Melbourne up five minutes to 6:55 a.m. I thought, “I wonder if I should try my luck and ask to be transferred to a later flight that day. Surely that won’t work.” Well, I was wrong.
Using schedule changes to my advantage
Typically, there needs to be a “significant” schedule adjustment for you to be able to rebook your flight. This varies by airline, but generally, your departure or arrival time needs to change by at least an hour, or a direct flight needs to be changed to a connecting one. (United Airlines is one of the most generous, offering rebooking for changes within just 30 minutes.)
The email I received said I could accept the change or call the airline to discuss alternatives. So I did my research and chose my ideal itinerary, departing nearly four hours later than the airline had originally suggested—at 10:35 a.m.—and cutting my layover in Singapore in half, from three hours to 90 minutes.
While that won’t give me much time to enjoy Singapore Airlines’ excellent lounges at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), it does make for a quicker transit. And in case I’m delayed on the first flight of my trip, I’ll have the peace of mind knowing I can hop on a later flight on the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur corridor, world’s busiest international route.
I explained to the agent that the schedule change—a terribly inconvenient five-minute schedule change—no longer fit my travel plans, and that I wanted to move to a later flight. I gave her the exact flight numbers and departure times of the two flights I wanted to take.
Although there is no Ability to earn savings level awards on those flights she expedited my case; after 23 minutes on the phone a new itinerary was sent to my email.
The last line
What constitutes a “significant” schedule change often varies between airlines—and indeed, between customer service agents—but it’s still worth trying to change your flight for a more comfortable trip.
Related: What to do when the airline changes your flight
My advice is to monitor your emails for any schedule changes, make the agent’s job easier by researching your ideal itinerary before contacting them, be polite and be prepared to hear no.
After all, you will never know if you don’t try.
Read more related:
