What is the best way to pay for iPhone?

I am planning to purchase an iPhone through my telecom company (Circles). What is the best way to pay for my phone? I was thinking of using the DBS Live Fresh credit card to pay for my phone in instalments, but the credit limit for the student card is too low. (I'm an undergraduate student with no full-time job)

DBS Live Fresh Credit Card

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Nicholas Beh

08 Mar 2021

Student Ambassador 2020/21 at Seedly

Hi Amelia!

Unfortunately students don't get much access to instalment plans due to our lack of income. You can consider Apple resellers that offer BNPL payment arrangements (such as Atome, Hoolah, etc.). Alternatively you can just use your parents' credit card and pay them back directly.

However, for maximum savings, Carousell is the way to go. Look out for sealed and unactivated sets, as they will provide you with the full 1-year warranty period upon activation. Took a quick look and found a few fairly trustworthy sellers selling at least $150 below retail price.

If you are getting the iPhone through Circles, make sure that you take advantage of CIS benefits where they will give you $120 cashback ($10 x 12 bill rebates) when you buy an iPhone from them. Not sure if NUS students get to enjoy these benefits, but NTU students do. PM me if you need a code!

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thefrugalstudent

08 Mar 2021

Founder at thefrugalstudent.com

Hi Amelia,

"Best" way to pay is subjective because it depends on how you define it. This could be maximising rewards earned for the payment, but it could also be optimising your monthly cash flow (esp if you only have a fixed budget you can spend every month). I'll assume that you're looking to maximise the rewards earned for this payment.

As a student with no access to regular credit cards, there aren't many options available. The best rewards you can get are probably either double-dipping using SC cashback debit card + Singtel Dash Visa or SC cashback debit card + GrabPay card. I believe Grab has made it so you can't top up your GrabPay wallet via the Singtel Dash Visa anymore, so triple-dipping doesn't seem to be possible anymore (I could be wrong). Depending on your membership status for Dash/Grab, you can choose the better option (0.4/0.8/1.2% for Silver/Gold/Plat for Dash & 0.4/0.6/0.8% for Silver/Gold/Plat for Grab). This gives a total of up to 2.2% cashback.

Also, the Singtel Dash Visa and GrabPay card can be added on ShopBack. I'm not sure if buying an iPhone via Circles is eligible for cashback on ShopBack (I know Apple store is), but it could be worth checking out.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

thefrugalstudent

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