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 the cashflow benefits, but also to optimise bonus caps on specialised spending cards, double dip on Atome+ points, and even convert otherwise ineligible MCCs into reward-earning ones.
In this post, we’ll explore which credit cards earn the most points for Atome spending, as well as the various use cases.
What MCC does Atome code as?
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| 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.
| Method | Ease of Use | Reliability |
| ❓HeyMax | ●●● | ● |
| 📱 Instarem app | ●● | ●● |
| 🤖 DBS digibot | ● |
●●● |
| Note: “Ease of use” and “reliability” are all relative. HeyMax already provides a solid baseline for reliability, and the DBS digibot is still simple enough to use, despite requiring more steps than the other two methods. | ||
What cards should I use for Atome?
When paying with Atome, the following credit cards will earn up to 4 mpd, subject to the conditions shown below.
| Card | Earn Rate | Remarks |
 Citi Rewards CardApply |
4 mpd | Max S$1K per s. month Review |
 DBS Woman’s World CardApply |
4 mpd | Max S$1K per c. month Review |
 HSBC Revolution CardApply |
4 mpd | Max S$1.5K per c. month* Review |
 KrisFlyer UOB Credit CardApply |
2.4 mpd | Min. S$1K spend on SIA Group in a m. year. No cap Review |
| C. month = Calendar month | S. month = Statement month | M. year= Membership year | ||
| *Reduced to S$1K per c. month from 1 March 2026 | ||
| ❓ Aren’t instalments ineligible for points? |
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The T&Cs of credit card rewards programmes typically exclude instalments from earning points. But when banks say “instalments”, they’re referring to their in-house instalment plans. Atome spend is treated as regular retail spend. |
If you’re using the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, it’s slightly complicated. Transactions made with the card directly will not earn points. However, if you wrap it in Apple Pay (Atome doesn’t support Google Pay), then reports say that it’s possible to earn points.
A few additional things 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
- 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). 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.
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.
| ❓ Why do I see options longer than three months? |
| Atome also offers longer payment plans of 6, 9 and 12 months, but these incur additional processing fees. If you want to avoid these, stick to the classic 3-month plan. |
Optimise bonus caps
Atome breaks up a large transaction into three smaller payments, which enables you to better optimise the bonus caps on your credit cards.
For example, suppose I have a Citi Rewards 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 (4 mpd x S$1,000 + 0.4 mpd x S$500) instead of 6,000 miles.
But if I were to use Atome, 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
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.
| 🏫 Atome Education/Enrichment Partners (sample list, view app for more) |
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Paying via Atome transforms the MCC into 5999, which is rewards eligible, and a simple way to circumvent this restriction.
Earn Atome+ points
In addition to your credit card rewards, all Atome transactions 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 rewards, including KrisFlyer miles ever since August 2022.
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| 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.
Alternatively, points can be redeemed for Max Miles.
|
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| Atome+ Points | Max Miles |
| 760 | 400 |
| 1,900 | 1,000 |
If you choose this option, then paying with Atome earns an extra 0.26 mpd.
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
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| Get S$10 off first Atome purchase |
With the demise of Hoolah, Pace, Rely, ShopBack Pay and Split, Atome is one of the last major BNPL players left standing in Singapore.
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.
Oh… I used to use it using Amaze + CRMC… didn’t know that I can do it directly with CRMC.
I guess I was wrong all the while lol..
And yes… use it responsibly.
Great article, as always. The Atome points can also be redeemed for Atome vouchers – I currently see a $10 voucher for 1000 points.
is atome still operating in sg? i don’t see their qr codes or campaigns anymore
Yes, they are. I just did payment for Jal yoga recently.
Would this invalidate credit card protections? Say travel insurance, extended warranty or what not.
“MCC 5999 does not appear to earn bonus points with the Citi Rewards Visa, though the Mastercard version is fine”
This is a very important point! Thanks for letting us know.
Hi Aaron, in your previous article (https://milelion.com/credit-cards/guide/#atome), the Citi Rewards card was not listed. Only 2 cards were listed in that article – the DBS Woman’s World Card and the HSBC Revo.
Can I confirm that manually set Atome payments still qualifies for Citi Rewards 10x points?
i’ll need to update that, since we now have more data points. info in this article is the most current. thanks!
Just to share that I enquiry with HSBC cso. They mentioned that 5999 mcc even with recurring do count into the earning points under HSBC revolution visa. I think this would be the safe bet for now which I think is good for those who want to do atome payment path
I used UOB preferred platinium visa on atome on 30 April and transaction posted on 2 May but I was not awarded the bonus miles. I contacted customer service and was told that while the MCC is 5999, BNPL is excluded from earning 9X uni$ for UOB PPV card. Mile chasers proceed with caution.
thanks for the #dp, have updated the post. there was a successful data point for paying at agoda with atome, so it looks like it’s inconsistent at best.
With the incoming nerf to the UOB PPV, I assume the $600 for online spend will extend to using Atome too? If that’s the case, I might just cancel my DBS WWMC since that’s all I really use it for. Might get a no-frills cashback card for smaller purchases in the region of < $5
PPV has a very chequered record with atome. use at your own risk
Does Citirewards Mastercard earn miles for travel bookings if paid via atome?
Hi Aaron… if I were to use Atome with CardUp, can I still earn rewards?
The key to using UOB Preferred Platinum Visa for Atome and getting your bonus UNI$ is to ALWAYS use mobile wallet (Apple Pay + UOB PPV, and not the naked card). Have always gotten my bonus UNI$ with this method.