The Citibank Citi Rewards credit card is one of Singapore’s most popular rewards-earning cards. Despite being marketed as a rewards card, did you know that it’s actually one of the best miles-earning cards?
In this article, we will explore the different benefits of the Citibank Citi Rewards credit card and evaluate if you should apply for it.
Citi Rewards Card: Introduction
The Citi Rewards Card is one of the many credit cards offered by Citibank in Singapore. Officially on Citibank’s website, the card is marketed as a rewards-earning credit card instead of a travel credit card.
However, as many people in the travel and miles game in Singapore would tell you, this is undoubtedly one of the best cards in the country to earn miles for travel. This is because the Citi Rewards Points earned from the card can be easily transferred to airline partners at a very favourable rate.
Citibank used to offer the same card in 2 different flavours, the Citi Rewards Visa Card and Citi Rewards Mastercard. However, in recent years, the Visa version has been discontinued, leaving only the Mastercard one around. Therefore, in this review, we will only be specifically talking about the Mastercard flavour.
Earning miles
- 4 miles per S$1 on shopping and online spending excluding travel, up to S$1,000 per statement month
- 0.4 miles per S$1 on everything else
On paper, the Citi Rewards credit card earns 10X Rewards points on shopping and online spending excluding travel. As these points can be transferred at a 5:2 ratio into airline miles, this essentially results in a 4 miles per S$1 (mpd) earn rate. With 4 mpd, you can earn enough miles to redeem for business class flights in no time.
There are some caveats here to take note of. The bonus 4 miles per S$1 earn rate only applies to the first S$1,000 per statement month. If you’re spending past that in a month, you’ll be earning a measly 0.4 mile per S$1.
In addition, travel, one of the biggest spending categories for most people, is notably excluded from this special earning rate. This includes flight ticket and hotel stay purchases. Therefore, do not use this card when making travel plans.
Pair Citi Rewards with Instarem Amaze Card
Another common trick relating to the Citi Rewards card is to pair it with the Instarem Amaze card. This converts all offline transactions into online transactions, effectively turning almost all purchases into the card’s bonus category.
It works for both local (Singapore) purchases and overseas purchases. Although for local purchases, you won’t be able to receive the 1% additional cashback by Instarem.
This is by far the fastest way to reach the card’s monthly S$1,000 bonus limit for me personally.
Citibank Transfer Partners
| Airline / Hotel | Frequent Flyer Program | FFP Currency | Conversion Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Airways | British Airways Executive Club | Avios | 25,000 : 10,000 |
| Cathay Pacific | Cathay | Asia Miles | 25,000 : 10,000 |
| Etihad Airways | Etihad | Etihad Guest Miles | 25,000 : 10,000 |
| Eva Air | Infinity MileageLands | Award Miles | 25,000 : 10,000 |
| KLM | Flying Blue | Miles | 25,000 : 10,000 |
| IHG Hotels | IHG Rewards Club | IHG Rewards Club Points | 25,000 : 10,000 |
| Qantas | Qantas Frequent Flyer Points | Qantas Points | 25,000 : 10,000 |
| Qatar Airways | Qatar Airways Privilege Club | Avios | 25,000 : 10,000 |
| Singapore Airlines | Krisflyer | Krisflyer Miles | 25,000 : 10,000 |
| Thai Airways | Royal Orchid Plus | Royal Orchid Plus Miles | 25,000 : 10,000 |
| Turkish Airlines | Miles & Smiles | Miles & Smiles Miles | 25,000 : 10,000 |
Citibank is the most generous bank in Singapore in terms of the number of transfer partners it supports. Because of this reason, I would rank Citibank Points as the most valuable bank point currency out of all the banks in Singapore.
This allows for flexibility and maximisation of the value of your redemptions.
However, a major downside to Citibank cards is that they do not pool. If you have multiple cards from Citibank, you’ll have to redeem each of them individually, paying the S$27.00 redemption fee each time.
Signing Bonus
There are always sign-up bonuses when applying for a new credit card, especially for a new-to-bank applicant. You are considered a new-to-bank applicant if you are not currently a Citibank primary cardholder, and have not cancelled a Citibank card in the past 12 months.
I’d recommend checking back on Singsaver before applying for a card as the deals do change from month to month.
| Offers Available |
|---|
| Dyson V8 Absolute™ (worth S$609) |
| Sony WH-1000XM5 (worth S$575) |
| Flujo Ayla Ergonomic Office Chair (worth S$1,139) |
| S$300 Cash by PayNow |
Eligibility
The Citi Rewards Credit Card is eligible for anyone earning more than S$30,000 annually for a local and S$42,000 for foreigners. Therefore, this card is sitting well within the reach of most working adults in the country.
Fees
It costs an annual S$194.40 with 8% GST (to increase to 9% in 2014) to hold onto the card. However, as with most other cards within the same income band, an annual fee waiver is almost guaranteed. This is the same in my experience.
In recent years, the whole annual fee process for Citibank has also been made a lot easier with an automated process. Therefore, you should never pay the annual fee for this card. If you do, it decreases the whole miles earning proposition of the card.
In addition, the card carries a 3.25% foreign transaction fee on top of the currency spread if you’re making any purchase in a foreign currency. To avoid this fee, I’d highly recommend pairing the Citi Rewards Credit Card with the Instarem Amaze card.
My Verdict – Should you get the Citi Rewards Credit Card?
The Citi Rewards Credit Card is undoubtedly one of the best miles-earning credit cards in Singapore. As mentioned in our overall credit card strategy, we already use this card for most of our purchases.
If you’re a serious miles chaser, this card should already be in your wallet. If you’re not, you should consider getting it as it can seriously increase the number of miles you earn from everyday purchases.
