New to HeyMax? The app does a lot, from checking a shop’s MCC to buying vouchers to redeeming your Max Miles for a flight, and it gets overwhelming at the start. This guide covers one part of it: buying vouchers, and which card to pay with.
Buying a voucher does three things. You earn Max Miles on top of whatever your credit card already gives you. The purchase codes as a department store, a category far more cards reward, so a shop where your card earns next to nothing now earns its full bonus rate. And the spend still counts as retail spend on your card, so it helps you clear a minimum spend. It only pays off with the right card, and only if you keep to that card’s conditions.
What Is HeyMax?
HeyMax is a Singapore rewards app. You use it to earn a points currency called Max Miles. The simplest way to understand it is that it is the miles version of ShopBack. ShopBack gives you cashback when you shop through its app first; HeyMax works the same way, except you earn miles instead of cashback. You buy a merchant voucher inside the app — FairPrice, Grab, IKEA and many more — or click through it to a partner shop, then pay as normal. Your checkout price does not change. You pay the voucher’s face value, and the Max Miles are credited to your HeyMax account on top of whatever your credit card already earns. All you need is a free HeyMax account.
Don’t have a HeyMax account? You can sign up here:
43774BFE
- Download the HeyMax app from the App Store or Google Play
- Enter the referral code 43774BFE when prompted during sign-up
- Complete phone verification
- Make 1 confirmed transaction via HeyMax within 180 days of account creation
- Get 200 Max Miles as your sign-up reward
What Are Max Miles Worth?
There are two ways to use Max Miles. The first, and the best for most people, is FlyAnywhere: you redeem Max Miles against any flight, on any airline, with no blackout dates. You book and pay for the flight yourself on a platform like Trip.com, submit the receipt, and HeyMax pays you back at 1.8 cents per mile. One condition to plan around: FlyAnywhere covers a flight in full, so you cannot part-pay a ticket with the Max Miles you have and top up the rest in cash.
The second is to transfer to partners: 25 airline, hotel and lifestyle programmes, most of them one-to-one. This is the route for business-class redemptions. Max Miles do not expire while your account stays active. KrisFlyer is not a direct partner, so there is no button to move Max Miles into your KrisFlyer account. The workaround is to convert Max Miles into yuu Points first, then move those into KrisFlyer, which works out to about 0.83 KrisFlyer miles for each Max Mile. It is an extra step for a lower rate, so FlyAnywhere is usually the better use.
Not sure a HeyMax offer is worth it for you? I built a miles calculator for exactly this. Open the “a promo lets me choose my reward” tab — it values Max Miles at that 1.8-cent floor, so you can see whether the miles beat simply taking cash.
Buying Of Vouchers With The Right Credit Cards Is Key!
Every card payment comes tagged with a Merchant Category Code (MCC), a four-digit label the payment network uses to tell your bank what kind of shop you paid.
Sheng Siong is a supermarket, so it codes as 5411, Grocery Stores. IKEA sells furniture, so it codes as 5712, Furniture. Every voucher you buy on HeyMax codes as 5311, Department Stores, whichever shop the voucher is for. Tagging varies by merchant and acquirer, so treat these as examples rather than a guarantee.
Take HSBC Live+. As a new cardholder you earn 8% cashback on its bonus categories for your first two quarters, up to S$250 of cashback each quarter. That is a very good rate, and on the same spend it beats a 4 mpd card.
Since HSBC Live+ gives cashback on Dining, Shopping and Entertainment, groceries and furniture categories sit in none of them, so paying Sheng Siong or IKEA directly earns you the base 0.3%. The full card is in my HSBC Live+ review.
But department stores are on the Shopping list. Buy the Sheng Siong or IKEA voucher on HeyMax instead, and the same spend now codes as one, so you get the full 8%. The voucher moves your spend into a category your card actually rewards.
Here is what that looks like in the app. A S$20 Sheng Siong voucher earns 4 Max Miles, and you get those with any Singapore-issued card. Pay for it with Live+ and you also earn 8% cashback on that S$20, once you meet the card’s conditions. Check the voucher’s own terms before you copy: the Sheng Siong voucher is single-use, in-store only, and it does not stack with Shop & Earn Miles.
Best Miles Cards for Buying HeyMax Vouchers
These cards earn 4 miles per dollar (mpd) on a voucher, because a HeyMax voucher buy falls into their department-store or online bonus category. KrisFlyer UOB is the one exception: it earns 2.4 mpd, and only once you have spent S$1,000 on SIA-group spend that membership year.
| Card | Earn Rate | Min Spend & Cap | Why it earns | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 HSBC Revolution | 4 mpd* | Min: none Cap: S$1,000/calendar month (S$1,200 at 8 mpd) | MCC 5311 is on its bonus list | |
| Earn Rate: 4 mpd (8 mpd if you hold S$50,000 in a sole HSBC Everyday Global Account) | ||||
 UOB Preferred Visa | 4 mpd | Min: none Cap: S$600/calendar month | MCC 5311 is on its online list; separate S$600 online cap | |
 Maybank XL Rewards | 4 mpd | Min: S$500/month Cap: S$1,000/calendar month | apply between 21 and 39 | |
 OCBC Rewards | 4 mpd | Min: none Cap: S$1,110/calendar month | MCC 5311 is on its bonus list | |
 Citi Rewards | 4 mpd | Min: none Cap: S$1,000/statement month | MCC 5311 is on its 10X list | |
 DBS Woman's World | 4 mpd* | Min: none Cap: S$1,000/calendar month | Counts as online spend | |
| Earn Rate: 4 mpd (online) | ||||
 UOB Lady's | 4 mpd* | Min: none Cap: S$1,000/calendar month (Classic); S$750 per category on two (Solitaire) | Must be "Fashion" | |
| Earn Rate: 4 mpd, only if "Fashion" is your chosen bonus category | ||||
 KrisFlyer UOB | 2.4 mpd* | Min: none Cap: none | Only after S$1,000 of SIA-group spend in your membership year | |
| Earn Rate: 2.4 mpd, uncapped | ||||
* rate depends on certain conditions — tap the row for the full wording.
mpd = miles per dollar.
My Take
Apart from KrisFlyer UOB, every card here earns the same 4 mpd on a voucher, so use the one you already hold rather than applying for another card just for this. HSBC Revolution is the winner here if you hold S$50,000 in an HSBC Everyday Global Account, because your earn rate goes up to 8 mpd with a higher cap of S$1,200.
Best Cashback Cards for Buying HeyMax Vouchers
A voucher is an online purchase that codes as a department store, so these cards pay their bonus on it.
| Card | Earn Rate | Min Spend & Cap | Why it earns | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 HSBC Live+ | 5%* | Min: S$600/month Cap: S$250 a quarter | new cardholders instead need S$1,000 across the whole first quarter | |
| Earn Rate: 5% [8% for new cardholders in their first two quarters] | ||||
 UOB EVOL | 10%* | Min: S$800/month Cap: S$30 a month | Counts as online spend | |
| Earn Rate: 10% on local online and mobile-contactless spend | ||||
OCBC FRANK | 8%* | Min: S$800/month Cap: S$25 a month | Counts as online spend | |
| Earn Rate: 8% on online spend | ||||
 Maybank Family & Friends | 6%* | Min: S$800/month for 6%, S$1,600/month for 8% Cap: S$20 a month at 6%, S$30 at 8%, on Online Shopping as one of your 5 categories | Online Shopping must be one of your 5 categories | |
| Earn Rate: 6% or 8% | ||||
Maybank XL Cashback | 5%* | Min: S$500/month Cap: S$80 a month | apply between 21 and 39 | |
| Earn Rate: 5% on dining, shopping, travel and entertainment | ||||
 DCS Flex | 6%* | Min: S$600/month Cap: S$25 a month | Counts as online spend | |
| Earn Rate: 6% on online spend | ||||
 Citi SMRT | 5%* | Min: S$500/month Cap: S$600 a year | Counts as online spend | |
| Earn Rate: 5% on online spend | ||||
* rate depends on certain conditions — tap the row for the full wording.
My Take
Every cashback card here carries a minimum spend, so these only work if the card is already your main card. HSBC Live+ is the pick if you are a new cardholder inside your first two quarters, because its cashback cap runs by the quarter instead of by the month. UOB EVOL, OCBC FRANK and DCS Flex works for all online spend, so all vouchers on HeyMax will be considered eligible spend for higher cashback. Maybank XL Cashback is the one to use if you are under 40 and able to hit a lower minimum spend.
Latest Sign Up Deals
Each offer sets its own conditions: a minimum spend, a deadline, and for some, a redemption form to return. Open Details for the full steps on that card. The gift is paid only when every condition is met.
- You qualify if: you have no HSBC credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any HSBC credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 by the end of the month after you're approved. Example: approved in May → spend by 30 June.
- During the application, tick the box to receive marketing messages from HSBC. Don't unsubscribe until your gift arrives — if you do, HSBC can cancel the reward.
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
- Apply for XL Cashback or XL Rewards Card via the button
- Fill the Google Form after signing up
- Make one transaction → cashback auto-credited to card account
- You qualify if: you have no OCBC credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any OCBC credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$400 within 30 days of card approval
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
- You qualify if: you have no DBS/POSB credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any DBS/POSB credit card in the last 12 months
- Enter promo code SINGSAVER during application
- Spend min. S$500 within 30 days of card approval
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
- You qualify if: you have no UOB credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any UOB credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 within the first 30 days from card approval
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
- You qualify if: you have no UOB credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any UOB credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 within the first 30 days from card approval
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
- You qualify if: you have no HSBC credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any HSBC credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 by the end of the month after you're approved. Example: approved in May → spend by 30 June.
- During the application, tick the box to receive marketing messages from HSBC. Don't unsubscribe until your gift arrives — if you do, HSBC can cancel the reward.
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
- You qualify if: you have no UOB credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any UOB credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 within the first 30 days from card approval
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
- Apply for a new Maybank Credit Card (not applicable for Maybank XL cards)
- Charge min. S$1,300 within the first 2 months of card approval
- Fill the Google Form after signing up
- Alternative: apply for CreditAble + a Maybank Credit Card, then charge min. S$1,200 within 2 months
- Apply for XL Cashback or XL Rewards Card via the button
- Fill the Google Form after signing up
- Make one transaction → cashback auto-credited to card account
Take note:
- A voucher can expire, and you cannot get your money back — it is non-refundable. Only buy vouchers for places you will actually spend at, soon.
- Some vouchers are single-use. A Grab voucher can only be used on one order — so if you buy S$500 in S$100 vouchers, that is five separate Grab transactions, not one. You can split a larger Grab voucher into smaller ones in the Grab app, and you have to do that split before the vouchers show up under My Rewards. Others, like FairPrice and Amazon, hold a balance you can spend across purchases. For the single-use ones, buy the amount you will spend in one go.
- Avoid the mistake of redeeming vouchers with your miles (as shown below); buy vouchers instead.
AVOID: Redeem vouchers, under the Redeem tab, spends the Max Miles you have already earned.
CHOOSE: Buy vouchers, on the Earn tab, is the one you want: you pay with your card and earn the Max Miles.
Step By Step Guide On How To Buy Vouchers On HeyMax:
Step 1: Log In to HeyMax and Tap "Buy Vouchers"
Open the HeyMax app. On the home screen, find the Buy vouchers row and tap See All to open the full list of merchants.
Step 2: Choose the Merchant Voucher You Want to Buy
Browse the list, or use the search bar at the top. Each merchant shows how many Max Miles you earn per dollar. Tap the one you want, then choose the voucher value, such as S$5, S$10 or S$20, and the quantity. One of my picks for value is the Sheng Siong voucher.
Step 3: Pay With Your Credit Card
At the bottom of the screen you can choose which card to pay with. Select your card (any of the cards I’ve mentioned above), then swipe to pay. The Max Miles are credited to your account straight away.
Step 4: Find Your Vouchers Under Profile > "My Vouchers"
Your voucher is stored in the app under Profile, then My Vouchers. Use the code in store or online, the same way you would use a gift card.
Final Thoughts
Buying HeyMax vouchers is one of the cleaner ways to stack extra miles on top of whatever your card already earns. You get Max Miles on the voucher purchase, and because the voucher shifts your spend into a category your card actually rewards, your card pays out its full bonus rate on a merchant that would normally earn you next to nothing.
Whether the extra step is worth it comes down to your own card and habits — what it rewards, how much bonus cap you’ve got left, and whether the voucher is even for somewhere you already spend.
💳 Credit cards change their T&Cs every so often and it’s difficult to stay updated. That’s why I created a Telegram Broadcast where you can receive timely bite-sized updates.
