What’s the best card to use for Atome?

Atome and other BNPL services might have a bad reputation in some circles, but I see them the same way I do credit cards: great for those who know what they’re doing, dangerous otherwise.

If you’re a responsible spender, then there’s really no reason to avoid using Atome— not just for its cashflow benefits, but also to optimise bonus caps on specialised spending cards, and even convert ineligible MCCs into reward-earning ones!

In this post, we’ll explore which credit cards earn the most points for Atome spending.

What MCC does Atome code as?

Get S$10 off first Atome purchase

Unlike “passthroughs” such as Amaze and Kris+, which preserve the original merchant’s MCC, all Atome transactions will be classified as online spend under MCC 5999 (Miscellaneous and Specialty Retail Stores).

But if you’re ever in doubt about an MCC, here are three ways of checking it before spending. 

What cards should I use for Atome?

When spending with Atome, the following credit cards will earn up to 4 mpd, subject to the conditions shown below.

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per s. month Review
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1.5K per c. month  Review
HSBC Revolution Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month Review
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	3 mpd	Min. S$800 spend on SIA Group in a m. year. No cap Review
C. month = Calendar month | S. month = Statement month | M. year= Membership year

A few additional points to note:

• MCC 5999 is not a whitelisted MCC for the OCBC Rewards Card
• MCC 5999 is not a whitelisted MCC for the UOB Lady’s Card or UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card, even under the Fashion category
• The UOB Preferred Platinum Visa has a mixed record for earning points for Atome transactions (despite MCC 5999 being on its whitelist). One recent data point says it does, but another says it doesn’t. Proceed with caution
• MCC 5999 does not appear to earn bonus points with the Citi Rewards Visa, though the Mastercard version is fine

While Atome will automatically bill your card each month, it’s best practice to trigger the 2nd and 3rd payments manually (which can be done via the Atome app, under the Bills section). It’s been reported that automatic payments may be seen by the bank as recurring billing arrangements, which are ineligible for points.

If you don’t see the full number of points credited right away, do remember that certain specialised spending cards award bonus points in the following month. Refer to the article below for the full details. 

When do credit card bonus points post?

What are the benefits of Atome?

Improved cashflow

With Atome, purchases are split into three interest-free instalments.

• First payment: Due at the time of purchase
• Second payment: Due 30 days after the first payment
• Third payment: Due 30 days after the second payment

This allows you to stretch your cashflow, at no additional cost. What’s more, if you’re paying with a credit card (as you should be), the interest-free period from Atome stacks with the interest-free period from the bank, providing more leeway to use your funds for other purposes. 

Optimise bonus caps

Because Atome splits your transaction into three payments, you can use it to optimise the bonus caps on your credit cards.

For example, suppose I have a HSBC Revolution Card and want to buy a S$1,500 laptop on Amazon. Because the purchase amount exceeds the monthly 4 mpd cap of S$1,000, I would earn 4,200 miles instead of 6,000 miles (4 mpd x S$1,000 + 0.4 mpd x S$500).

But if I were to use Atome, then the purchase is split into three instalments of S$500 each. This is within the monthly bonus cap, so I can earn 4 mpd on the entire S$1,500 transaction. 

Convert ineligible MCCs into reward-earning ones

All Atome transactions code as MCC 5999, a rewards-eligible MCC.

However, Atome partners with numerous education and enrichment providers who, if paid directly, would very likely fall under the education MCC range, which most cards exclude from earning rewards.

Paying via Atome transforms the MCC into a rewards-eligible one, and is a simple way to circumvent this restriction.

Earn Atome+ points

All Atome transactions will earn 1 Atome+ point per S$2 spent (the rate used to be 1 point per S$1, but was devalued a few years ago).

These points can be redeemed for various gifts, including KrisFlyer miles ever since August 2022. The current transfer ratio is shown in the table below.

Atome+ Points	KrisFlyer miles
960	400
2,400	1,000

Therefore, paying with Atome earns you an extra 0.21 mpd, assuming you convert Atome+ points to KrisFlyer. It’s not life-changing by any means, but remember, this is on top of your existing credit card rewards.

Avoid Agoda DCC fees

While this is a bit of a niche use case, one big annoyance with Agoda is that it prices bookings in SGD, but processes Mastercard transactions outside of Singapore (in Hong Kong to be precise).

If you use a Mastercard to pay, most banks including DBS and UOB will charge a 1% cross-border fee (it’s conceptually the same as walking into a store in Hong Kong and choosing to pay in SGD).

Paying with Atome allows you to avoid this fee. 

Conclusion

Get S$10 off first Atome purchase

With the demise of Hoolah, Pace, Rely, ShopBack Pay and Split in Singapore, Atome is one of the last major BNPL players left standing. 

So long as you’re not using it to spend beyond your means, it’s a no-brainer for miles chasers. Not only do you earn your usual credit card rewards, you can also enjoy improved cashflow, better optimise bonus caps, convert ineligible MCCs into rewards-earning ones,  and rack up Atome+ points for further miles.