KrisShop offering up to 50% off with full miles redemption

As part of KrisFlyer’s 25th anniversary celebrations, KrisShop has launched a Spectacular Deals promotion (their words, not mine) that offers up to 50% off when redeeming KrisFlyer miles.

Because of the confusing way that KrisShop displays prices, this has caused some initial euphoria that quickly becomes disappointment once people realise what’s going on.

The tl;dr is that you’ll be getting anywhere from 1.14 to 1.6 cents per mile, depending on the quantum of discount and how competitive KrisShop’s prices are. It could be an option for those with expiring miles, but it’s not the screaming good deal that it appears to be on first glance.

KrisShop 25th anniversary sale

KrisShop Sale

From 15-29 February 2024, KrisShop is offering up to 50% off with full miles redemption for the following items:

• 15-19 Feb: Tech products
• 20-24 Feb: Beauty and luxury fashion
• 25-29 Feb: Kitchen home appliances

Items on sale are marked down in red on the Spectacular Deals page. 

Now, here’s where some explanation is needed. Look at those Apple gadgets. Given how tightly Apple controls its pricing, you may think you’re looking at a great deal: 4x AirTags for S$96.56, when they’re retailing on the official website for S$150.35?

Not so fast. First of all, the prices on KrisShop don’t reflect the 9% GST you’ll need to pay for Singapore delivery, so at check-out it becomes S$105.25.

Second, that cash price is imaginary. You can’t actually pay S$105.25 for this, nor can you mix miles and cash. You must pay for it in full with 13,156 KrisFlyer miles!

What’s happening here is that KrisShop is boosting the value of your miles when used for full payment.

• KrisShop normally offers a rate of 125 miles = S$1, or 0.8 cents each
• Therefore, the final price of S$105.25 becomes 13,156 miles (S$105.25 x 125)
• The actual cost of these Apple AirTags, after GST, is S$150.35
• Therefore, your value per mile has been boosted to 1.14 cents (S$150.35/13,156 miles), which is better than usual, but not life-changing

Confused? I don’t blame you. It’s not the most intuitive way of thinking about it, and there was a feeding frenzy when people thought they could purchase an iPhone 15 Pro Max for S$1,295.65 and flip it instantly for a profit.

Sorry, but no. That’s not happening. The cash price tag is illusionary; all that matters for this promotion is the price in miles. 

What’s the value per mile?

From what I’ve seen on the KrisShop Spectacular Deals page, discounts range from 30-50% (Apple products are all discounted by a flat 30%).

This gives you the following values per KrisFlyer mile:

However, these valuations assume the original retail price shown on KrisShop is realistic.

For example, a pair of Beats Studio Buds are listed on KrisShop with an original price of S$184.22 (S$200.80 after GST). After adjusting for the discount, you pay 16,119 miles (17,570 miles after GST).

This gives us a valuation of 1.14 cents per mile (S$184.22/16,119 miles or S$200.80/17,570 miles), but that only holds if the price on KrisShop is reflective of what you’d pay elsewhere.

In reality, that same pair of Beats can be bought on Amazon Singapore for S$159, which means your actual value is 0.90 cents per mile (S$159/17,570).

This is less of an issue with Apple products since their pricing is fairly standardised, but you need to be careful with other items. 

Here’s how the valuation compares with other KrisFlyer redemption options.

If you have expiring miles and don’t want to use them for a redemption flight, then this would be one of the better ways of using them on the ground, but only to the extent that KrisShop’s prices aren’t inflated to begin with.

tl;dr: be sure to comparison shop!

Other uses for expiring miles

If you find yourself with expiring miles on your hands, don’t forget that there’s other options for spending them. I’ve written a detailed guide that analyses each option, though ideally you’ll be burning your miles for flights well before expiry comes into the picture. 

What to do with expiring KrisFlyer miles

What card to use with KrisShop?

If you prefer to spend cash instead of miles with KrisShop, remember that KrisShop transactions code as MCC 5309 Duty Free Stores. Using the following cards will earn you an additional 2-4 mpd.

💳 Best Cards for KrisShop
Card	KrisShop.com	KrisShop on Kris+
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	6 mpd1	6 mpd1
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card Apply	6 mpd2	6 mpd2
DBS WWMC Apply	4 mpd3	4 mpd3
Citi Rewards  Apply	4 mpd4	0.4 mpd4
UOB Pref. Plat. Visa Apply	4 mpd5	4 mpd5
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd6	4 mpd6
OCBC Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd7	4 mpd7
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	3 mpd	3 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend Apply	2 mpd	1.2 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card Apply	2 mpd	1.1 mpd
1. Cap S$1K per c. month, must select “Travel” as quarterly bonus category 2. Cap S$3K per c. month, must select “Travel” as quarterly bonus category 3. Cap S$2K per c. month 4. Cap S$1K per s. month 5. Cap S$1.1K per c. month 6. Cap S$1K per c. month 7. Cap S$1.1K per c. month S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month

Do note the distinction between KrisShop.com and KrisShop on Kris+ for the Citi Rewards Card and AMEX KrisFlyer cards.

While the Citi Rewards Card will earn 4 mpd on KrisShop.com, it will only earn 0.4 mpd on KrisShop on Kris+. That’s because checkouts on Kris+ must be done via in-app payments, using a card linked to Apple Pay or Google Pay. This is excluded from the Citi Reward Card’s 4 mpd bonus (although apparently pairing it with Amaze solves the problem).

Likewise, KrisShop.com transactions earn 2 mpd on the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend and AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card, but only the regular 1.2/1.1 mpd via Kris+. This has something to do with how the transactions are coded, since payment processing via Kris+ is different from KrisShop. 

There is no such distinction for the rest of the cards. 

Conclusion

KrisShop is running a limited-time sale with up to 50% off prices for KrisFlyer miles redemptions. The catch is that you’ll can’t actually pay the cash prices shown on the website. You’ll need to pay the entire amount with KrisFlyer miles, and KrisShop’s prices may be inflated to begin with.

It’s possibly worth a look if you have expiring miles, but otherwise, this sale shouldn’t be the cause of FOMO.