KrisShop, Singapore Airlines’ “omnichannel retailer”, can be a good way to earn additional miles throughout the year when you can secure products that are competitively priced, with between 1.5 mpd and 4 mpd KrisFlyer miles accrual on top of your credit card points.
However, the site is rarely a good way to redeem, with a year-round flat rate of 0.8 cents per mile against purchases – only worth considering if your miles are expiring (and even then, there may be better options!).
That said, this month KrisShop does have an improved redemption offer that may be worth a look if miles expiry is looming on your account in the coming months, with 30% off the miles required when you redeem a range of Apple products like AirTags, AirPods, iPads, iPhones and MacBooks.
Unfortunately there’s no discount if you’re paying with cash – these deals are for full miles redemption only – but it does lift the value per mile from 0.8 cents to 1.14 cents, a 42% hike.
KrisShop ‘Spectacular Deals’ Apple promo
From 13th June 2024 till 30th June 2024, you will receive a 30% discount on the number of miles needed when you make a full miles redemption to purchase selected Apple products and some other tech brands too, as part of KrisShop’s latest ‘Spectacular Deals’ promotion.
The full list of eligible products included in the promotion is available here.
At first, the promotion may seem a bit confusing because all the items listed are shown with a 30% discount on their original price, then the KrisFlyer miles redemption rate alternative still works out as 0.8 cents per mile.
That’s actually not the case – you can only purchase these items with full miles redemption during this offer, so the discounted cash price shown is meaningless.
What you’re actually getting is the ability to redeem fewer miles than usual for a full-priced item (Apple products are price-controlled), and this just seems to be the only way KrisShop’s website can be programmed to display this deal.
In the example above, you’re spending 34,755 miles not to save S$278.04, but to save S$397.20 (1.14 cents per mile).
The S$278.04 pricing is entirely fictitious – ignore it.
GST is added later
Because KrisShop is a Duty Free store, when you’re ordering products like this for home delivery in Singapore you’ll also have to pay GST on your purchase.
Again, under this offer that must be settled using KrisFlyer miles – cash is not an option.
That means your end purchase will look something like this.
Note that this does not affect the value of each mile you are using, since the product above is usually priced at S$397.20 + GST = S$432.95, and the outlay in KrisFlyer miles to cover the product cost and the GST is 37,882 miles (still 1.14 cents per mile).
Just bear in mind the first miles rate you’re quoted isn’t the final one – quite important if you’re only looking to dispose of expiring miles here.
Full terms and conditions for this promotion are available here.
Careful with non-Apple products
While Apple products are price-controlled, and therefore the 1.14 cents per mile in value you’ll get from a redemption via KrisShop during this promotion is effectively “real”, that’s not necessarily the case when it comes to the non-Apple product lineup that’s also part of this promotion.
For example, this pair of Bowers & Wilkins Headphones is priced at S$642+GST (S$699.78) on KrisShop.
At the discounted “price” (or miles rate, since that’s the only option), you’ll spend 61,231 miles for them, which on paper is 1.14 cents per mile (S$699.78 ÷ 61,231).
However, these headphones are available elsewhere for less.
At iShopChangi, they are being sold for S$641.28 including GST (marketed as GST ‘absorbed’, even for Singapore address deliveries).
That really makes your 61,231 miles outlay at KrisShop worth only 1.05 cents per mile (S$641.28 ÷ 61,231).
As always, be sure to shop around before committing to a KrisShop purchase.
Other ways to redeem expiring miles
Normally we wouldn’t be mentioning a relatively poor value way to redeem your hard-earned KrisFlyer miles like this one, but a once-forgotten issue is now rearing its head again for many members.
KrisFlyer miles started expiring again in July 2023, with monthly batches dropping out of affected accounts then and at the end of each subsequent month after that, including of course on 30th June 2024.
That means in the worst case some members will be waving goodbye to miles, or trying to cash them out at relatively poor value, in the very near future.
Assuming the best use of miles – a flight redemption with Singapore Airlines or a partner airline – isn’t one of your options, our recently updated list starts to look a little sad value-wise.
Redemption value for KrisFlyer miles
| Option | Min. Expiring Miles | Value per mile |
| Redeem an SIA or partner award flight | 8,500 | 1.90¢+ |
| Extend your miles for a fee | 1** | 1.74¢ |
| Offset a KrisShop purchase (Jun ’24 Apple & Tech deal) |
~3,400 | 1.14¢ |
| Transfer to Velocity points | 5,000 | 1.03¢ |
| Offset an SIA or Scoot cash fare | 1,050 | 0.95¢ |
| Redeem a vRooms hotel stay | 1,200 | 0.80¢* |
| Offset a KrisShop purchase (regular, year-round) |
~600 | 0.80¢ |
| Transfer to Velocity points then back to KrisFlyer | 7,750 | 0.79¢ |
| Transfer to Shangri-La points | 20,000 | 0.74¢ |
| Transfer to CapitaStar | 3,000 | 0.70¢ |
| Transfer to Kris+ | 1 | 0.67¢ |
| Redeem a Pelago experience | 1,050 | 0.67¢ |
| Transfer to LinkPoints then back to KrisFlyer | 3,390 | 0.60¢ |
| Transfer to LinkPoints | 3,000 | 0.59¢ |
| Transfer to Esso Smiles | 3,000 | 0.47¢ to 0.67¢ |
| Transfer to Marriott Bonvoy | 3,000 | 0.50¢ |
* vRooms can be better value in some cases, but is currently suspended.
** Or the miles quantity you have expiring in a single calendar month, if greater
Where necessary in this table, a miles redemption value for a Singapore Airlines flight is assumed at 1.9 cents. You may have to adjust the value per mile for some of these options, if your own valuation is different.
However, as you can see a KrisShop purchase of an Apple or other tech product is currently one of the better “cash out” options between now and 30th June 2024, so it might just be a good option to use any expiring miles you’re currently sitting on.
Full list of expiring miles alternatives
In case you missed it, we have a full guide on how you can get the best value from your expiring miles, from best to worst case, rather than letting them lapse.
Do take a read if any of your stash is affected this month or in the near future, since it’s best to plan as far ahead as you can.
Finally, please don’t just write off expiring miles, even if this KrisShop option isn’t helpful to you.
As we highlight in our guide above, if you have at least 1,000 expiring miles you can donate them to KidSTART Singapore, a charity that aims to provide a better life for young children and pregnant mothers from low-income families.
Just because you didn’t get any use or value out of your miles, someone very deserving might well do.
Which credit card to use for KrisShop purchases
If you’re sticking to the regular earning method at KrisShop, you won’t want to be spending any miles at all but instead will need to pay for your purchase by credit card.
KrisShop purchases code under MCC 5309: Duty Free Stores, and that means you can tap into some 4 mpd earn rates with a variety of credit cards, subject to their monthly requirements and spending caps.
Here’s an example of the cards which should give you upwards of 4 mpd for KrisShop.com transactions (KrisShop via Kris+ in-app payment transactions shown separately).
| Card | Earn rate | Monthly cap | |
| KrisShop direct |
KrisShop via Kris+ |
||
 UOB Lady’s |
4 mpd | 4 mpd | S$1,000 (Lady’s) or S$2,000 (Lady’s Solitaire) Subject to Travel being chosen as one of your bonus categories |
 DBS WWMC |
4 mpd | 4 mpd | S$1,500 per calendar month |
 Citi Rewards |
4 mpd | 0.4 mpd | S$1,000 per statement month |
 HSBC Revo |
4 mpd | 4 mpd | S$1,000 per calendar month |
 OCBC Rewards |
4 mpd | 4 mpd | S$1,110 per calendar month |
 UOB PPV |
4 mpd | 4 mpd | S$1,110 per calendar month |
 KF UOB |
3 mpd | 3 mpd | No cap |
 KF Amex Ascend |
2 mpd | 1.2 mpd | No cap |
 KF Amex |
2 mpd | 1.1 mpd | No cap |
Note that the Citi Rewards card should not be used to make in-app payments on Kris+, since mobile wallet payments are specifically excluded from bonus miles earning, regardless of the merchant MCC.
However, using the Citi Rewards card directly at KrisShop.com will attract the card’s 4 mpd bonus rate.
Also note that the KrisFlyer Amex cards don’t earn their 2 mpd KrisShop bonus rate when making KrisShop purchases via the Kris+ app, so do stick to the desktop site with these cards.
Summary
KrisShop is offering a 30% discount for full miles redemption on a range of Apple and other tech products between now and the end of June 2024.
We are certainly not suggesting that you rush and cash out your miles at 1.14 cents each (perhaps less for non-Apple brands), but if miles expiry is looming and there’s something you need on the list – you could do a lot worse,.
It’s certainly a better option than, for example, if you had resigned yourself to cashing out via Kris+ at 0.67 cents per mile.
As always though, do try to lock in a flight redemption with your expiring miles if you can – it’s almost always the best value you’ll get.
(Cover Photo: Singapore Airlines)