SQ award as back up for QR - change and cancel rules

Joined
Oct 30, 2021
Posts
86
Planning a 3-week trip to Greece for May-June 2027.
Looking to book 2 x J awards via Athens or Istanbul.

Current preferred plan is:
Out: MEL-DOH-ATH on QR for late May
Back: IST-SIN-MEL on SQ for June (3 weeks later; limited availability on QR from Athens)

Current availability for QR leg appears more limited compared to SQ via IST.
The catch is that both outbound and return SQ flights become available ~1 month before the QR flights (booking via Velocity).
So my backup is to book SQ to IST first and then if QR available cancel the outbound SQ and use those points on the return leg. However, then I won't have enough KF/Vel points to book the QR flight, as I will have transferred all points into SQ.

So just looking to see if I've missed anything in my logic/thinking.

Questions:
1. If I cancel the SQ outbound flights and then rebook the return flights, appears will cost 2 x $50 USD in cancel fees. Is this correct?
2. Is it correct that I cannot change my outbound SQ flight to a return SQ flight as the new ticket would be more than 1 year from the original ticket issuance?
Or is there a way I can re-use the KF points on the outbound flight?
3. Any other advice or options I've missed?

Currently I'm leaning towards just sticking with SQ and forget about QR to avoid the stress, even though the routing through IST not ideal.

Also, what are the changes of getting new SQ J seats in June 2027 on these routes? 10%?

TIA!
 
Elevate your business spending to first-class rewards! Sign up today with code AFF10 and process over $10,000 in business expenses within your first 30 days to unlock 10,000 Bonus PayRewards Points.
Join 30,000+ savvy business owners who:

✅ Pay suppliers who don’t accept Amex
✅ Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
✅ Earn & transfer PayRewards Points to 10+ airline & hotel partners

Start earning today!
- Pay suppliers who don’t take Amex
- Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
- Earn & Transfer PayRewards Points to 8+ top airline & hotel partners

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.

Recent Posts

Back
Top