What it costs and is allowed

When Tracy rened the 2024 Summer Olympics, she booked her flight to Paris via Singapore Airlines with miles.

But she didn't deserve her – she bought her.

Instead of shopping for miles directly from the airline, which sold $ 1,000 for around $ 40, Ren turned to Carousell, a well-liked online marketplace within the Asian-Pacific area that sells latest and used goods-and increasingly loyalty points and rewards.

By buying miles online, “the costs are almost 50%compared to the purchase of the ticket,” said Ren.

Purchase and sale of Airline -Mile online isn’t illegal, said Aaron Wong, founding father of the Travel and Loyality website The Milelion.

It also doesn’t violate Carousell's service conditions. The company, which prohibits weapons and cryptocurrency sales, told CNBC a few representative who: “The governance of the sale of miles and points of the airlines depends on the conditions … [of] The airline … Carousell is unable to enforce these agreements from third -party providers. “

Here online sellers rule the foundations, said Wong. Singapore Airline's loyalty program says that “the sale or bartering of Krisflyer Miles … is prohibited”.

“So the question is not so much whether you can or not … but whether you can get through with it,” said Wong.

If an airline catches travelers, buying or selling the kilometers, the miles can expire or your traveler's loyalty account might be closed, he said. Buyers also run individually Risk to lose your money to online fraudstershe said.

Some sellers transfer bank card points on to the crisis flyer account of a buyer, said Wong. The names on the 2 accounts must match, he said, but added that “stuff falls through the cracks”.

A more frequent method is to call a buyer as a “candidate” within the Singapore Airline crisis flyer program, he said. Members can “”Nominate as much as five people“According to the program, you can redeem flights to use your miles.

A member of the Singapore, who spoke to CNBC, said that in the past and a half years he had sold this method with this method to strangers to Carousell Prize from $ 17 in Singapore ($ 12.75) per $ 1,000 miles.

The seller who asked to stay anonymously to protect his identity at work said that buyers have to share their fit details in order to call a candidate.

“Since I actually have to have your personal data, I also share my details with you. I let you know my proof of address … my phone number,” he said. “There is additional comfort if something goes unsuitable.”

And things go wrong, he said. He had to intervene twice with tickets that he had redeemed for others, including an instance in which a buyer had to move a flight on the day of departure.

“It worked out pretty much in this case, but when he had called me quarter-hour later, I could be in a gathering for an hour,” said the seller and added that the buyer immediately paid the flight change fee.

He said that the low and low crime rate of Singapore makes it easier to sell flight miles in the city state.

“It is a reasonably compliant society. People often don't take one another for a visit,” he said.

Another seller who refused to give his name or allow CNBC to use his Carousell screen name, said he started selling miles more than 10 years ago after he had accumulated more points – mainly through credit card purchases – than he could use. In addition, he was always “followed with the method,” he said.

In his carousel list, he sells 1,000 miles for 15 to 25 US dollars -depending on the purchase method and the number of miles purchased. He had six “five-star rankings for Miles Sales” last month, with buyers floating from his “fast” and “problem-free” transactions.

However, the first seller, the CNBC, said he sells points for a completely different reason – to buy flights for his family on cheaper airlines.

“Singapore Airlines is ultimately a really expensive airline for flying, so I might rarely spend my very own money to proceed to fly [it]”He said.” You sell these miles, you get the means and the identical means are used to your other bookings. “

In addition, he usually books about six weeks in advance – at that time the redemption flights are usually sold out, he said. He also said he doesn't Buy products with Krisflyer Miles Because “the arithmetics don’t stack”.

This seller said CNBC that he did not feel that he violated rules.

“In the airline's regulations, people should be added in my account as a candidate,” he said. “There is nothing I do, which violates all conditions.”

When asked about the sale of Krisflyer Miles on Carousell with the nominated system of Singapore Airlines, a representative said that the terms of the program “the sale or barter trade of Krisflyer Miles, Elite -Mile, PPS value, premiums, premiums, price cards or other services ban”.

“Members who perform such activities risk the abolition of those services,” said the representative. “Sia works closely with the responsible authorities to watch these platforms and can take decisive measures against every member that violates these rules.”

This did not prevent this from diving online from “Miles Broker” activity, said the Milelion's Wong.

“Airlines would reasonably think about the brokers, the larger boys,” he said. “Carousell sellers know that too.”

He said that the airlines are trying to prevent the sale of miles, without redemption for members “,” that play according to the rules “, to make excessive stress. In the tip” they are not really able to coordinate it completely. “

Wong suggests using services corresponding to Citi Payall and Cardup ​​with which users can earn miles with invoices, rent and academic payments.

“The irony I see here is that they could – legitimate – do it for less.”