KrisShop has launched a new promotion offering 30% off Apple products, including iPhones, iPads, and Watches, when you pay in full using KrisFlyer miles.
This is a periodically-recurring offer, and invariably results in confusion when people mistakenly believe they can get a discount on otherwise price-controlled Apple products. However, that’s not the case. Instead, the promotion increases the value of KrisFlyer miles spent on KrisShop from 0.8 cents to 1.17 cents per mile (higher than the 1.14 cents of previous promotions, because of a new feature that lets you pay for GST using KrisFlyer miles).
While this isn’t exceptional value, it could be a reasonable option if you have expiring miles and no upcoming travel plans.
KrisShop offering 30% off full miles redemptions for Apple products
KrisShop Sale |
From 15-31 January 2025, KrisShop is offering 30% off selected Apple and other products paid for in full with KrisFlyer miles.
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 getting a great deal: an Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max for S$1,219.54, when it’s retailing for S$1,899 on the official website?
Not quite. 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$1,329.30.
Second, that cash price is imaginary. You can’t actually pay S$1,329.30 for this. You must make payment with 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
- Hence, the final post-GST price of S$1,329.30 becomes 166,163 miles (S$1,329.30 x 125)
- The actual cost of the Apple iPhone, after GST, is S$1,899
- Therefore, your value per mile has been boosted to 1.14 cents (S$1,899/166,163 miles), which is better than usual, but not the amazing deal it looks like at first glance
Confused? I don’t blame you. It’s not the most intuitive way of putting it, and I’m sure there are people who get excited when they think they can 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 KrisFlyer miles.
New feature: Pay GST with cash
While KrisShop has run similar promotions in the past, customers were required to pay for both the purchased item and its applicable GST with KrisFlyer miles.
This time round, there’s the option of paying the GST component with miles, cash, or both. At the check-out stage, a slider bar appears that lets you choose the mix.
My advice is to pay the GST component fully in cash, because it gives you a better value per mile.
For example, if I wanted to buy the iPhone 16 Pro Max (S$1,899):
- I could pay for the phone with miles (152,443 KrisFlyer miles) and the GST in cash ($109.76), which gives a value of 1.17 cents per mile
- I could pay for both the phone and GST with miles (166,163 KrisFlyer miles), which gives a value of 1.14 cents per mile
Is the price realistic?
Apple products are price-controlled, so the 1.14/1.17 cents per mile valuation is more or less reliable.
However, other gadgets are also on “sale”, and when evaluating these options, you need to consider whether the retail price shown on KrisShop is realistic to begin with.
For example, during a .sale, 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?
Cashing out miles at 1.14-1.17 cents each isn’t exactly the best use of them, but still represents a higher valuation compared to most on-ground options (to the extent that KrisShop’s prices aren’t inflated to begin with!).
❓ Options for Spending KrisFlyer Miles | ||
Redemption Option | Value per mile | |
✈️ | Award flights with SIA or partners | ≥2¢ |
🛍️ | KrisShop (Sale items) | 0.8¢ |
✈️ | Cash + Miles with SIA or Scoot | 0.95¢ |
🚘 | Hotels and rental cars on KrisFlyer vRooms | ≥0.8¢ |
🏨 | Shangri-La Circle conversion | 0.74¢ |
🏬 | CapitaStar conversion | 0.70¢ |
📱 | Spend via Kris+ | 0.67¢ |
🎡 | Redeem activities on Pelago | |
🛒 | LinkPoints conversion | 0.59¢ |
🏨 | Accor Live Limitless conversion | 0.64¢ |
🏨 | Marriott Bonvoy conversion | 0.50¢ |
⛽ | Esso Smiles conversion | 0.47 to 0.67¢ |
KrisFlyer miles started expiring again from July 2023, so those with expiring miles and no plans to travel might want to explore this, rather than letting them expire unused.
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 | Earn Rate |
Cap |
Apply |
4 mpd Direct Kris+ |
Cap S$1K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category |
Apply |
4 mpd Direct Kris+ |
Cap S$2K per c. month. Must choose Travel as bonus category |
Apply |
4 mpd Direct Kris+ |
Cap S$1.5K per c. month |
Apply |
4 mpd Direct 0.4 mpd Kris+ |
Cap S$1K per s. month |
Apply |
4 mpd Direct Kris+ |
Cap S$1.1K per c. month |
Apply |
4 mpd Direct Kris+ |
Cap S$1K per c. month |
Apply |
4 mpd Direct Kris+ |
Cap S$1.1K per c. month |
Apply |
3 mpd Direct Kris+ |
No cap |
Apply |
2 mpd Direct 1.2 mpd Kris+ |
No cap |
Apply |
2 mpd Direct 1.1 mpd Kris+ |
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 now offering 30% off Apple products and other gadgets till the end of January 2025. The catch is that you can’t actually pay the cash prices shown on the website. instead, you’ll need to pay the entire amount (or almost the entire amount, apart from GST) with KrisFlyer miles, which gets you a value of up to 1.17 cents per mile.
This isn’t necessarily the best way of using miles, but if expiry is looming, then some value is better than none at all.
Do make a point of comparison shopping, especially with non-Apple gadgets, to make sure that the prices shown on KrisShop are comparable. Otherwise, your “real” value will be lower than you might think
Apple sales are not the greatest so its normal to buy one from Lazada or Shopee at a heavily discounted price. That said, if you got miles expiring, why not.