Citibank Cash Back+ Credit Card: MoneySmart Review 2024

citi-cash-back-plus-mastercard-moneysmart-review

I have a soft spot for cash back credit cards. There’s none of that beating around the bush, trying to predict when your rewards points expire or getting slapped with fees for converting air miles. One of Citibank’s most fuss-free cash back cards is the Citi Cash Back+ Card.

It’s not to be confused with the plain old Citi Cash Back Card (without the plus), which is a very popular all-round cash back card in Singapore, but operates very differently.

In a nutshell, the Citi Cash Back+ Card falls under the “unlimited cashback card” category, offering 1.6% cash back on all purchases, with no minimum spending and no cash back cap. Let’s see how it stacks up.

Citi Cash Back+ Mastercard Review—Is it MoneySmart?
citi-cash-back-plus-cardOverall: ★★★★☆ (3.7)
Best for: Both small spenders (as there’s no minimum spend requirement) and big spenders (as cashback is unlimited) who want a fuss-free cashback card.
The catch: Some cashback categories are excluded, such as healthcare, insurance premiums, bills and instalments. 
Category Our rating The deets
Earn rates: Cashback ★★☆☆ 1.6% unlimited cashback
No minimum spend required
– Cashback earned doesn’t expire.
– Earn cashback on practically everything. Exceptions include: Annual fees, instalments, bills, payments to educational, governmental, and financial institutions, insurance premiums, and more.
Earn categories ★★★★
Annual fees and charges ★★★★☆ $196.20 (first year waived)
First supplementary card free, $98.10 for subsequent supplementary cards.
Accessibility ★★★★☆ Minimum income requirement: $30,000 (Singaporeans and PRs) / $42,000 (Non-Singaporeans)
Extras/periphery rewards ★★☆☆☆ – Complimentary travel insurance with up to S$1 million coverage when you charge your travel tickets to this card
– Get exclusive shopping, dining and travel deals with Citi World Privileges
Sign-up bonus ★★★★★ Sign-up reward:
– Apple iPad (10th Gen), 64GB (worth $529)
– Secretlab TITAN Evo Lite Chair (worth $519)
– Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (worth $589)
– $300 Cash via PayNow

Gift requirements: Spend a minimum of $500 within 30 days from card approval date.
Valid till: 15 Jun 2024

See our credit card ranking rubric to find out how we rank credit cards.

Don’t miss our ultimate list of credit card reviews for the low-down on credit cards in Singapore.

 

Citi Cash Back+ Card terms & conditions

Citibank logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
ASCOTT MILLIONAIRE LUCKY DRAW | EXCLUSIVE TO CITI
Cash Back on Eligible Spend
1.6%
Min. Spend per month
S$0
Cash Back Cap per month
Unlimited
MoneySmart Exclusive:

[MoneySmart x Ascott Travel Like A Millionaire Lucky Draw]
Get S$350 Cash or 5,040 SmartPoints  in as fast as 5 weeks when you meet the spend criteria. T&Cs apply. PLUS stand a chance to win up to $6,500 worth of Staycay, Flights and Rewards! T&Cs apply.
 
PLUS: Stand to win 50,000 SmartPoints in Rollin’ Rewards!
Enrol in our Rollin’ Rewards campaign for FREE and stand a chance to win 50,000 SmartPoints! That’s enough to redeem ANY item from our Rewards Store, such as a Sony BRAVIA 3 85-Inch 4K Ultra HD Google TV (worth S$5,799) + an Apple iPhone 16 Plus 128GB (worth S$1,399).

Valid until 09 Dec 2024
Citi Cash Back+ Card
Annual fee & waiver $196.20 (first year waived)
Supplementary annual fee $98.10
Interest free period 25 days from date of statement of account
Annual interest rate 27.90%
Late payment fee $100
Minimum monthly payment 1% of current balance (+ 1% of any outstanding unbilled installment amounts and interest charges + late payment charge or $50 whichever is greater
Foreign currency transaction fee 3.25%
Cash advance transaction fee $15 or 8%, whichever is higher
Overlimit fee $40
Minimum income $30,000 (Singaporean / PR), $42,000 (foreigner)
Card association Mastercard 
Wireless payment MasterCard PayPass, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay

 

How the Citi Cash Back+ Card works

The card’s main benefits are the following:

  • 1.6% cashback on everything.
  • No minimum spending requirement
  • No cashback cap
  • Typical exclusions apply: you can’t get cashback when you pay your income tax, late payment fees, etc

The Citi Cash Back+ Card’s strongest selling point is that it’s very straightforward. You don’t have to worry about meeting minimum spending requirements or rack your brains trying to remember what it offers cashback for.

This is typical of all unlimited cash back cards: They’re easy to use because they reward you for all kinds of spending, but the catch is that the cash rebate is relatively low. For such cards, 1.6% is already fairly high in the market.

If you’re looking exclusively in that bag of cards, then the Citi Cash Back+ Card is a good contender. However, if you’re comparing cashback cards in general, then you’ll find that 1.6% is pretty low.

Other cash back cards that offer rebates for selected spending categories typically give a much better earn rate of 5% to 10%—but only for those bonus categories. Let’s take the Citi Cash Back (without a +) card for example—this card offers 8% cashback when you spend on dining, petrol and groceries.

Citibank logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
ASCOTT MILLIONAIRE LUCKY DRAW | EXCLUSIVE TO CITI
Cash Back on Groceries, Petrol & Private Commute
Up to 8%
Total Cash Back Cap, per month
S$80
at Caltex, Shell & Esso
Up to 23.64% savings
MoneySmart Exclusive:

[MoneySmart x Ascott Travel Like A Millionaire Lucky Draw]
Get S$350 Cash or 5,040 SmartPoints  in as fast as 5 weeks when you meet the spend criteria. T&Cs apply. PLUS stand a chance to win up to $6,500 worth of Staycay, Flights and Rewards! T&Cs apply.
 
PLUS: Stand to win 50,000 SmartPoints in Rollin’ Rewards!
Enrol in our Rollin’ Rewards campaign for FREE and stand a chance to win 50,000 SmartPoints! That’s enough to redeem ANY item from our Rewards Store, such as a Sony BRAVIA 3 85-Inch 4K Ultra HD Google TV (worth S$5,799) + an Apple iPhone 16 Plus 128GB (worth S$1,399).

Valid until 09 Dec 2024

 

Who should use the Citi Cash Back+ Card?

First of all, if you’ve already found a cashback card that suits your daily spending habits, you probably shouldn’t cancel it for the Citi Cash Back+ Card. You can continue using that—your usual card—for your typical expenses like dining out, grocery shopping and transport.

However, due to the lack of a minimum spending requirement, the Citi Cash Back+ Card is a good card to have on hand as a backup card to pay for things you just don’t have a better card for. Think super niche purchases, like repairs at the car workshop, dental appointments or music lessons, to name a few.

Additionally, once you hit your cashback cap for the month, you can switch over to the Citi Cash Back+ Card to continue earning rebates since 1.6% cash back is better than none.

If all that was mind-boggling and you don’t want to think about having multiple cards for different purposes, then this card could be great for you too. The Citi Cash Back+ Card is as straightforward and fuss-free as it gets: just swipe, earn some rebates, and that’s it.

 

Citibank Cash Back+ Card promotions

If you are not yet a Citibank credit card member, you get to choose generous a welcome gift for getting the Citi Cash Back+ Card:

  • Apple iPad (10th Gen), 64GB (worth $529)
  • Secretlab TITAN Evo Lite Chair (worth $519)
  • Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (worth $589)
  • $300 Cash via PayNow

Plus, you’ll get your gift in as fast as 6 weeks from meeting the spend criteria of $500 within a month.

Promotion valid till 15 Jun 2024. Note: Promotions change every few weeks, so keep a lookout on our credit card promotions page to view the latest ones!

 

Alternatives to the Citi Cash Back+ Card

Here are the Citi Cash Back+ Card’s closest competitors.

UOB Absolute Cashback Card: This card has the highest cashback in the market at 1.7%, and works exactly like the Citi Cash Back+ Card, but better because categories like insurance also earn your cashback. The main downside is that it’s an Amex card, so you’ll be hard-pressed to find smaller merchants to accept it.

UOB logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
Unlimited 1.7% Cashback
Cash Back on Eligible Spend
1.7%
Min. Spend per month
S$0
Cash Back Cap
Unlimited
MoneySmart Exclusive:

MoneySmart Exclusive: Get S$100 Cash via PayNow on top of the UOB Online Promotion when you apply and spend a min. of S$500 in Eligible Transactions within 1 month from card approval date! For new-to-UOB Credit Cardmembers only. T&Cs apply.
 
UOB Online Promotion: Get a Samsonite EVOA Z Spinner 25'' Exp Luggage (worth S$730) when you apply, spend min. S$2,000 per month for 2 consecutive months AND pay the first year annual fee. SMS Registration required. T&Cs apply

Valid until 31 Dec 2024

OCBC INFINITY Cashback Card: These 2 are almost the same. They work the exact same way, and offer the same 1.6% cashback on everything, no minimum spending requirement, no cashback cap.

OCBC logo
Earn 1.6% unlimited cashback
on eligible transactions
Earn 1.6% Cashback
Min. Spend
S$0
Cashback Cap
Unlimited

Standard Chartered Simply Cash Credit Card: This card offers 1.5% cashback on everything, just slightly less than Citi’s. There’s also no minimum spending requirement, no cashback cap. The annual fee is waived for the first 2 years.

Standard Chartered logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
2% UPSIZED CASHBACK | EXCLUSIVE TO MONEYSMART ONLY
Cash Back on Eligible spend
Up to 2%*
Min. Spend per month
S$0
Cash Back Cap per month
Unlimited
MoneySmart Exclusive:

Get S$380 Cash via PayNow or earn 5,040 SmartPoints  when you apply and meet the spend criteria! T&Cs apply.
 
Other offers you can enjoy:

  • UPSIZED UNLIMITED 2% CASHBACK on your credit card purchases when you spend over S$500! Only for MoneySmart applicants!
  • A chance to win a Porsche Taycan Base (2025) in SC Million Reasons to be Happier Lucky Draw! T&Cs apply.

 
PLUS: Stand to win 50,000 SmartPoints in Rollin’ Rewards!
Enrol in our Rollin’ Rewards campaign for FREE and stand a chance to win 50,000 SmartPoints! That’s enough to redeem ANY item from our Rewards Store, such as a Sony BRAVIA 3 85-Inch 4K Ultra HD Google TV (worth S$5,799) + an Apple iPhone 16 Plus 128GB (worth S$1,399).

Valid until 15 Dec 2024

Amex True Cashback Card: Like the SCB Simply Cash Credit Card, this card gives you 1.5% cashback on everything. However, there’s an additional +1% cashback on foreign currency purchases, which could be useful. Again, no minimum spending requirement, no cashback cap. Annual fee of $174.40 waived for 1 year.

American Express logo
Unlimited Cashback
on up to $5,000 spend in the first 6 months for new Card Members.
3.0% Cashback
all subsequent eligible purchases
1.5% Cashback
Cash Back Cap
Unlimited

The OCBC INFINITY Cashback Card offers the same 1.6% cashback rate, while the Amex True Cashback Card offers a more attractive 2.5% cashback on foreign currency purchases.

So, if you shop online or travel often, you would probably be better off going for the Amex card.

And as for the OCBC INFINITY Cashback Card, you can eventually switch to it if your request for an annual fee waiver for the Citi Cash Back+ Card gets rejected and vice versa—it’s always good to have options!

Don’t write off the Standard Chartered Simply Cash Credit Card too. It comes in at a close second with its 1.5% earn rate, and may have an attractive welcome gift that makes it worth your while.

 

P.S. Here’s our MoneySmart credit card ranking rubric

In case you’re wondering, here’s how we decide on our credit card rankings.

Is that credit card MoneySmart?
Our MoneySmart credit card ranking rubric
Category Our rating
Overall The average rating for the credit card on the whole, calculated from the ratings for the individual categories below. Plus, we’ll give you a one-liner on who we think the credit card is best suited for.
Earn rates: Air miles / Cashback / Rewards points Air miles / Cashback / Rewards points. This category looks at the depth rather than breadth of earn rates.
– 5 stars means this card’s got the highest earn rates within that credit card type.
– 3-4 stars mean it’s average
– 1-2 stars reflect earn rates that are below average.
Earn categories This category looks at the breadth rather than depth of your earnings.
– 5 stars: Earn with practically any spend—usual exclusions like taxes apply.
– 3-4 stars: Earn on a large number of categories (e.g. all dining, transport and retail, but not telco bills) OR earn on 1 very broad category (e.g. all contactless/mobile payments).
– 1-2 stars: Earn a decent rate only on selected categories, such as fast food only.
Annual fees and charges – 5 stars: $0
– 4 stars: $1-200
– 3 stars: $201-500
– 2 stars: $501-$999
– 1 star: $1,000 and up
We dock a star if fee waiver is NOT allowed.
Accessibility Minimum income requirements:

  • 5 stars: Less than $30,000 a year
  • 4 stars: Around $30,000 a year for Singaporeans and $40,000-$45,o00 for non-Singaporeans
  • 3 stars: $30,000-$60,000 a year for Singaporeans, $40,000-$70,000 for non-Singaporeans
  • 2 stars: $60,000-$120,000 a year for Singaporeans, $70,000-$120,000 for non-Singaporeans
  • 1 star: $120,000 and up for either, or both

Exclusivity: We dock 1-2 stars if there is/are another category/categories that make the card exclusive and very specific to a certain clientele.

Extras/periphery rewards These include:
– Travel benefits, such as airport lounge access
– Lifestyle benefits, such as spa privileges
– Dining benefits, such as complimentary AMEX Love Dining or Entertainer with HSBC subscriptions
We count the number of benefits and award between 0.5 to 2 stars for each, depending on how good the perk is.
Sign-up bonus 5 stars: The gift(s), cash, or miles are the highest we see out there compared to other credit cards of the same type (miles, cashback, etc). Also easy to attain these welcome bonuses.
3-4 stars: Average but not disappointing sign-up bonus compared to other credit cards. You aren’t losing out.
1-2 stars: You are probably losing out in terms of the welcome bonus you’re getting; there are other similar credit cards with sign-up bonuses that are better or easier to attain.

Check out all our MoneySmart credit card reviews: The Ultimate List of Credit Card Reviews in Singapore.

 

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