KrisShop offering 30% off full miles redemptions for Apple products

KrisShop has launched a new Spectacular Deals promotion (their words, not mine) that features 30% off on Apple products and other gadgets when paying in full with KrisFlyer miles.

This is an offer that periodically pops up, and invariably results in confusion when people think they can get a discount on strictly price-controlled Apple products, only to realise that’s not what’s going on. 

The tl;dr is that this promotion boosts the value of spending your KrisFlyer miles on KrisShop from 0.8 cents to 1.14 cents. 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 offering 30% off Apple products

KrisShop Sale

From 13-30 June 2024, KrisShop is offering 30% off selected Apple and other products with full miles redemptions. 

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: an Apple iPhone 15 Pro for S$1,068.79, when it’s retailing for S$1,664.25 on the official website? 

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$1,164.98.

Second, that cash price is imaginary. You can’t actually pay S$1,164.98 for this, nor can you mix miles and cash. You must pay for it in full with 145,622 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 post-GST price of S$1,164.98 becomes 145,622 miles (S$1,164.98 x 125)
• The actual cost of the Apple iPhone, after GST, is S$1,664.25
• Therefore, your value per mile has been boosted to 1.14 cents (S$1,664.25/145,622 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 I’m sure there were people who got excited when they thought they could purchase an iPhone below retail price 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. 

Is the price realistic?

The 1.14 cents per mile valuation assumes the original retail price shown on KrisShop is realistic. 

This is less of an issue with Apple products where the pricing is fairly standardised, but can be a big problem with non-Apple items.

For example, during a similar sale previously, a pair of Beats Studio Buds were listed on KrisShop with an original price of S$184.22 (S$200.80 after GST). After adjusting for the discount, you paid 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).

How does this compare to other options?

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.

So be sure to comparison shop, whatever you buy!

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+	Cap
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	4 mpd	Cap S$1K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card Apply	4 mpd	4 mpd	Cap S$2K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category
DBS WWMC Apply	4 mpd	4 mpd	Cap S$1.5K per c. month
Citi Rewards  Apply	4 mpd	0.4 mpd	Cap S$1K per s. month
UOB Pref. Plat. Visa Apply	4 mpd	4 mpd	Cap S$1.1K per c. month
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	4 mpd	Cap S$1K per c. month
OCBC Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	4 mpd	Cap S$1.1K per c. month
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	3 mpd	3 mpd	No cap
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend Apply	2 mpd	1.2 mpd	No cap
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card Apply	2 mpd	1.1 mpd	No cap
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 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 30% off Apple products and other gadgets. 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, which gets you 1.14 cents per mile- provided KrisShop’s prices aren’t inflated to begin with!

If you have miles that are due to expire and no plans to travel, perhaps it’s worth taking a look. But otherwise, you should be saving your miles for premium cabin redemptions instead.