How to maximise miles on the Apple iPhone 16

Apple’s latest iPhone 16 starts taking pre-orders from 8 p.m Singapore time tonight, ahead of its 20 September 2024 release date.

I have very little idea what’s changed from the previous iteration, though I gather from the hype that Apple Intelligence will put an end to world conflicts and male pattern hair loss (both of which may be related), so at least there’s that. 

In any case, you’re not here for the tech commentary- you’re wondering how to get the most miles out of this bad boy, which will set you back anywhere from S$1,299 to S$2,499. 

The way I see it, you should be at the very least be earning 3 mpd on this purchase, though with the right kind of stacking, that figure could go as high as 8 mpd.

Baseline: Don’t earn fewer miles than this!

Let’s start with what I call “baseline miles”, because no matter where you ultimately end up buying your iPhone, you should not be earning fewer miles than this.

Buy iPhone online

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per s. month Review
DBS WWMC Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.5K per c. month Review
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd MCC 5732*	Max. S$1K per c. month. Review
KrisFlyer UOB Card Apply	3 mpd MCC 5732*	No cap. Must spend at least S$800 on SIA Group in m. year Review
*And other whitelisted MCCs, refer to T&Cs for the full details. Most retailers which sell iPhones should code under MCC 5732.

Buy iPhone in-store

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks*
UOB Pref. Plat Visa Apply	4 mpd	Use mobile payments, max S$1.1K per c. month Review
UOB Visa Signature  Apply	4 mpd	Use contactless payments, min S$1K max S$2K per s. month Review
*Mobile payment= Add card to Apple/Google Pay and tap phone to pay Contactless payment= Tap physical card or add card to Apple/Google Pay and tap phone to pay

Given that this will be a big-ticket purchase, you’ll definitely want to ascertain the MCC before buying, if you’re using an MCC-sensitive card like the KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card or HSBC Revolution. 

Fortunately, there’s three ways of looking it up before making a purchase:

You might be wondering where the UOB Lady’s Cards are. MCC 5732 does not fall under any of the card’s bonus categories, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it. All we need to do is change the MCC to something else via KrisShop or HeyMax and pick the right bonus category.  I’ve covered how to do this in the sections below.

It’s also worth checking whether you qualify for any sign-up bonuses, because a four-digit purchase is going to put you some way towards achieving it. I’ve just published a round-up of the latest credit card welcome offers on the market, so be sure to check out the post below.

Roundup: Credit Card Sign-up Bonuses (September 2024)

Up to 5 mpd with Kris+

S$5 for new Kris+ Users

Get S$5 (in the form of 750 KrisPay miles) when you sign-up with code W644363 and make your first transaction

Kris+ lets you earn additional miles at participating merchants, on top of credit card rewards. This includes several retailers where the iPhone will be on sale. 

1 mpd from Kris+

The following electronics retailers are offering an incremental 1 mpd on all purchases, including Apple iPhones.

Retailer	Earn Rate
	2 miles per S$2
	3 miles per S$3
	1 mile per S$1

Don’t forget to transfer any miles earned to KrisFlyer within 21 days of the transaction, in their entirety. If you wait longer than 21 days, or use Kris+ to spend any portion of the miles earned, the remaining balance will be stuck inside Kris+.

Up to 4 mpd from credit card

Kris+ transactions code as online, and maintain the MCC of the underlying merchant.

This would be MCC 5732 Electronics Stores for the three Kris+ retailers mentioned above, so you can use the following cards for up to 4 mpd. 

💳 Best Cards for Kris+ (MCC 5732 Electronics)
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards + Amaze Apply	4 mpd	Max. S$1K per s. month. Do not use Citi Rewards Card alone- no bonuses Review
DBS WWMC Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.5K per c. month Review
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Max. S$1K per c. month Review
KrisFlyer UOB Card Apply	3 mpd	No cap Review

Up to 8 mpd with KrisShop

The iPhone 16 is available for pre-order on the KrisShop website (and before you get excited about the price, remember that it’s before 9% GST). 

Up to 4 mpd from KrisShopper

KrisShopper Tier	Qualifying Spend	Earn Rate
Non-KrisShopper	N/A	1.5 mpd
Member	N/A	2 mpd
Insider	S$5,000	2.5 mpd
Icon	S$10,000	3 mpd
Ambassador	S$15,000	4 mpd
*Qualifying spend includes purchases on KrisShop.com, KrisShop on Kris+, KrisShop on KrisWorld, Inflight purchases on Singapore Airlines. Excludes GST, duties and delivery charges

The thing to remember here is that KrisShopper does not award miles on GST, so if your iPhone 16 costs S$1,191.74 + S$107.25 GST, for example, you’ll only earn the 1.5-4 mpd on S$1,191.74.

This means your effective earn rate will be slightly less than the figures mentioned above. 

Up to 4 mpd from credit card

KrisShop purchases code as online transactions under MCC 5309 Duty Free Stores, so you can use the following cards for up to 4 mpd. 

💳 Best Cards for KrisShop/Krisshop on Kris+ (MCC 5309 Duty Free Stores)
Card	Earn Rate	Cap
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	S$1K per c. month with Travel as bonus category
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card Apply	4 mpd	S$2K per c. month with Travel as bonus category
DBS WWMC Apply	4 mpd	S$1.5K per c. month
Citi Rewards  Apply	4 mpd*	S$1K per s. month
UOB Pref. Plat. Visa Apply	4 mpd	S$1.1K per c. month
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	S$1K per c. month
OCBC Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	S$1.1K per c. month
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	3 mpd	None
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend Apply	2 mpd	None
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card Apply	2 mpd	None
S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month *0.4 mpd if KrisShop on Kris+. Circumvent this by pairing with Amaze

Do note that KrisShop is also offering a bonus 2,000 KrisFlyer miles for Mastercard customers who spend a minimum of S$1,000 on Apple iPhones by 30 September 2024 (or when 2 million miles are given away, whichever comes first).

Up to 7.5 mpd with HeyMax

👍 700 Max Miles joining bonus

Sign up for a HeyMax account and get up to 700 Max Miles as a welcome bonus after adding a card, purchasing a voucher and viewing the redemption page

700 bonus Max Miles

MCC lookup platform HeyMax also sells vouchers, where purchases earn Max Miles that can be converted to 27 airline and hotel loyalty programmes. 

Up to 1.5 mpd from HeyMax

The following HeyMax merchants should eventually stock the iPhone 16:

• Shopee: 0.35 mpd
• Lazada: 0.5 mpd
• Courts: 1 mpd
• Amazon SG: 1.4 mpd
• Qoo10 (um, maybe not): 1.5 mpd

Up to 6 mpd from credit card

HeyMax voucher purchases code as online transactions under MCC 5311 Department Stores, so you can use the following cards for up to 6 mpd. 

💳 Best Cards for HeyMax gift cards (MCC 5311 Department Stores)
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
OCBC Rewards Apply	6 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month, must choose Fashion as bonus category
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$2K per c. month, must choose Fashion as bonus category
Citi Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per s. month
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month
UOB Pref. Plat. Visa Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.1K per c. month
KrisFlyer UOB Apply	3 mpd	Min S$800 spend on SIA Group in a membership year required

Other tips

Optimise bonus caps with BNPL and gift cards

Given the hefty price of the iPhone 16, it’s highly likely you’ll bust the bonus cap on some of the 4 mpd cards out there.

For example, if I were to buy an iPhone 16 Pro Max 1TB at S$2,499 with the DBS Woman’s World Card, only the first S$1,500 would earn 4 mpd. The remainder earns 0.4 mpd, which means 6,400 miles in total, or an effective earn rate of 2.56 mpd. 

But there’s ways of circumventing this. Assuming the store doesn’t let you split the cost over different cards, you could try Atome, which partners with KrisShop, iStudio and Singtel. This breaks the transaction into three interest-free monthly instalments, while changing the MCC to MCC 5999 Misc. and Specialty Retail.

My S$2,499 payment would then become S$833 per month, well within the bonus cap of various specialised spending cards. 

Here’s a summary of the best cards to use for Atome.

💳 Best Cards for Atome (MCC 5999)
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per s. month
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.5K per c. month
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month
UOB Pref. Plat. Visa Apply	4 mpd*	Max S$1.1K per c. month
KrisFlyer UOB Apply	3 mpd*	Min S$800 spend on SIA Group in a m. year
*While MCC 5999 is on the whitelist, there have been several reports that Atome does not earn bonus miles with UOB cards so proceed at your own risk!

Alternatively, you can purchase gift cards from a platform like Wogi (MCC 5947 Card Shops, Gift, Novelty and Souvenir Shops), which sells Best Denki, Challenger, eCapitaVouchers and more. 

For example, I could buy S$1,500 worth of eCapitaVouchers with my DBS Woman’s World Card and S$1,000 worth of eCapitaVoucher with my Citi Rewards Card, staying within the bonus caps for both.

Here’s a summary of the best cards to use for Wogi.

💳 Best Cards for Wogi (MCC 5947)
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per s. month
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.5K per c. month
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month
UOB Pref. Plat. Visa Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.1K per c. month
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	3 mpd	Min S$800 spend on SIA Group in m. year

AMEX x Apple Rewards Store

AMEX Apple Rewards Store

American Express offers an online Apple Rewards Store where Membership Rewards points can be used to offset purchases at a rate of S$6 per 1,000 MR points (versus S$4.80 per 1,000 points normally). 

Based on the conversion rates to miles, this is equivalent to accepting a value of:

• AMEX Platinum Charge/Centurion: 0.96 cents/mile
• All other AMEX cards: 1.08 cents/mile

Truth be told, it’s not a fantastic valuation, so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re flush with MR points. 

Use the DBS yuu Card for 18% rebates

I know we’re supposed to be talking about miles, but if you’re buying an iPhone from a Singtel Shop or Singtel Exclusive Retailer, paying with the DBS yuu Card would earn 18% rebates in the form of yuu Points.

Apply (AMEX)
Apply (Visa)
Points	Remarks
Base 10 points per S$1 spent (equivalent to 5% rebate)	No min spend No cap
Bonus 26 points per S$1 spent  (equivalent to 13% rebate)	S$600 min. spend S$600 cap Min. spend and cap shared with all other yuu merchants
Note: The amounts above include the base 1 point per S$1 (0.5%) from the yuu Rewards app

The 18% rebate is capped at S$600 per calendar month, but by getting both the AMEX and Visa versions, you can effectively double your rebate cap. Any amount in excess of S$600 will still earn an uncapped 5% rebate, which isn’t too shabby either. 

If you’re planning to dull the upfront pain of a new iPhone by buying an (overpriced) monthly plan, you can also earn 18% rebates on your monthly Singtel bill by paying with the yuu Card at Singtel kiosks.

Extra 2-6 mpd with the UOB Lady’s Cards

Every time you see the UOB Lady’s Cards mentioned above, don’t forget that you can earn an extra 2-6 mpd by opening a UOB Lady’s Savings Account.

Realistically though, an extra 2 mpd is all that makes sense given how the bonus miles are awarded. 

Complete FAQs: UOB Lady’s Savings Account

Conclusion

The latest Apple iPhone 16 will put a dent in your wallet, but at least it’ll pad your miles account. The key here is to look for stacking opportunities, and to split up the amount via gift cards, BNPL, or simply paying with multiple cards in-store so you can optimise your bonus caps.

And here I am still waiting for the Pixel 9 Pro…