By jahanzaib 
In October 2021, I redeemed a one-way Singapore Airlines Business Saver award ticket to San Francisco for the following month. I can’t recall why, but the goal was to assess the process for traveling to the United States, which had recently been introduced to the VTL scheme.
However, I decided to cancel the trip and replace it with Australia and South Korea because the procedures in those nations were more difficult and hence worth writing about.
Not wishing to pay a US$75 cancellation fee, I continued moving the travel date back, taking advantage of SIA’s gratis change policy (which has already expired). I eventually parked it in September 2022, assuming I’d have plenty of time to arrange something.
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So naturally, I forgot about it until last week, resulting in a 17-hour drive to San Francisco.
Background
I’ll be honest. If I had a choice, I would probably skip this trip entirely, because my crowded calendar means that now is not the best time to travel overseas. So why not pay the cancellation fee? Because the miles utilized on this ticket have already expired.
“Wait a minute,” you say. Hasn’t Singapore Airlines previously provided an extension of all expiring KrisFlyer miles until at least January 2023? Yes, if they aren’t already linked to an award ticket. If the miles in question are associated with an award ticket, there is no extension.
With only a few weeks of ticket validity remaining, further date modifications were out of the question (not to mention that Business Class award availability on this route had vanished for the rest of 2022), and the choice was clear: accept the flight or forfeit the miles.
There wouldn’t be much use in writing another Singapore Airlines A350-900 review, but while looking for return flights, I discovered a glut of Japan Airlines First Class award space from San Francisco to Tokyo. On some days, the complete 8-seat cabin was available for grabs!
Flights
I’ll be flying Singapore Airlines Business Class from SIN to SFO for the reasons outlined in the prior section. This was booked at the pre-devaluation pricing of 95,000 KrisFlyer miles plus S$75 (now risen to 107,000 KrisFlyer miles).
This 15-hour flight is operated by an A350-900ULR, and because I have already examined the Business Class experience multiple times, I will not provide a new review.
From SFO, I’ll fly Japan Airlines First Class to NRT. I booked trip using Asia Miles, which regrettably incurred very high fuel surcharges. The final damage totaled 120,000 Asia Miles plus S$570.
Japan Airlines does not have the most modern First Class cabins, but it does offer an excellent wine program. Passengers can drink Louis Roederer Cristal 2014 (to Japan), Salon 2007 (from Japan), and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2007 (both ways).
Hotels
For my one-night stay in the United States, I’ve chosen the Aloft San Francisco Airport. It is not even in San Francisco; rather, it is in Millbrae. There’s no point staying in San Francisco proper when my total time on the ground is 17 hours.
I chose the Aloft because it was the least expensive Marriott Bonvoy facility in the region. The fact that an In-N-Out was only a short walk away may have also affected my selection!
I don’t see anything particularly interesting about this cookie-cutter hotel, so I’ll probably skip this review.
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