New to HeyMax? You can do a ton of things on the app, and it often gets overwhelming at the start. From checking a shop’s MCC, to buying vouchers, to redeeming your Max Miles for a flight, everything on it is geared towards helping you get more miles to fly. This guide covers what you need to know about buying vouchers, and the card you pay with.
Buying a voucher there does three useful things. First, you earn extra Max Miles on top of whatever your credit card already gives you, on everything you buy. Second, it works as a workaround: the voucher makes your purchase code as a department store, a category many more cards reward, so a shop where your card would earn almost nothing now earns its full bonus rate instead. Third, that spend still lands on your card as a qualifying retail spend, so it helps you reach the qualifying card spend that some cards ask for before their bonus rate kicks in. The catch: 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 that earns you a points currency called Max Miles. The simplest way to picture 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 collect miles instead of cash. 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, because HeyMax is paid by the merchant, not by you, and the Max Miles is earned in your HeyMax account on top of whatever your credit card already earns. All you need is a free HeyMax account. Since Max Miles do not expire, you can turn those Max Miles into flights.
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?
Max Miles are HeyMax’s own points, and there are two main ways to use them. 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 by deducting Max Miles at 1.8 cents each. One condition to plan around: FlyAnywhere only covers a flight in full, so you cannot part-pay a ticket with the Max Miles you have and cover the rest in cash.
The second is to transfer them, one-to-one, into more than 25 airline and hotel programmes — the route for business-class redemptions. Max Miles do not expire while your account stays active. One thing to know: KrisFlyer is not a direct HeyMax partner, so there is no button to move Max Miles straight into your KrisFlyer account. There is a workaround, though — you 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 the spending category. The shop’s acquiring bank sets that label, not you.
The label is what decides your earn rate. 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.
This is where the hack lives. 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.
Live+ pays that 8% on Dining, Shopping and Entertainment. Groceries and furniture 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 that 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 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 this one: the Sheng Siong voucher is single-use, in-store only, and it does not stack with Shop & Earn Miles.
The Best Miles Credit Cards for Buying HeyMax Vouchers: Miles
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 in the table: it earns 2.4 mpd, and only once you have spent S$1,000 on SIA-group spend that membership year.
| Card | Earn on a HeyMax voucher | Monthly bonus cap | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSBC Revolution | 4 mpd (8 mpd if you hold S$50,000 in a sole HSBC Everyday Global Account) | S$1,000/calendar month; S$1,200 at the S$50,000 EGA tier | |
| UOB Preferred Visa | 4 mpd | S$600/calendar month | |
| Maybank XL Rewards | 4 mpd | S$1,000/calendar month (min S$500/month) | only for those below 40 years old |
| OCBC Rewards | 4 mpd | S$1,110/calendar month | |
| Citi Rewards | 4 mpd | S$1,000/statement month | |
| DBS Woman’s World | 4 mpd (online) | S$1,000/calendar month | |
| UOB Lady’s | 4 mpd, only if “Fashion” is your chosen bonus category | S$1,000/calendar month (Classic); S$750/category (Solitaire and above) | Must be “Fashion” |
| KrisFlyer UOB | 2.4 mpd, uncapped | none | Only after S$1,000 of SIA-group spend in your membership year |
My Take
Apart from KrisFlyer UOB, they all earn the same 4 mpd on a voucher, so if you already hold one of these, use it rather than applying for another card just for this. HSBC Revolution is the winner here as if you hold S$50,000 in the HSBC EGA account, your earn rate gets boosted to 8 mpd with a higher spend cap of S$1,200.
Latest Sign Up Deals:
- 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 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.
- Eligible for new main Citi Cardmembers only (no existing Citi card, no Citi card closed in the past 12 months)
- Spend S$800 in the first 2 months of card approval
- You qualify if: you have no Citibank credit card right now AND haven't cancelled any Citi credit card in the last 12 months
- 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.
The Best Cards for Buying HeyMax Vouchers: Cashback
Here are the best cards you can use to earn cashback. A voucher is an online purchase that codes as a department store, so these cards pay their bonus on it.
| Card | Earn on a HeyMax voucher | Cashback cap | Minimum spend required |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSBC Live+ | 5% [8% for new cardholders in their first two quarters] | S$250 a quarter | Min S$600/month; new cardholders instead need S$1,000 across the whole first quarter |
| UOB EVOL | 10% on local online and mobile-contactless spend | S$30 a month | Min S$800/month |
| OCBC FRANK | 8% on online spend | S$25 a month | Min S$800/month |
| Maybank Family & Friends | 6% or 8% | S$30 on chosen category as Online Shopping, a month | Min S$800/month for 6% Min 1,600/month for the 8% |
| DCS Flex | 6% on online spend | S$25 a month | Min S$600/month |
| Citi SMRT | 5% on online spend | S$600 a year | Min S$500/month |
Latest Sign Up Deals:
- 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.
- Eligible for new main Citi Cardmembers only (no existing Citi card, no Citi card closed in the past 12 months)
- Spend S$800 in the first 2 months of card approval
- You qualify if: you have no Citibank credit card right now AND haven't cancelled any Citi credit card in the last 12 months
- 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.
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. Others, like FairPrice, 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), instead buy vouchers.
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 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.
