The Citi PremierMiles Card used to be in the spotlight for the longest time: It was considered one of the most popular Citibank credit cards, and once upon a time, some even regarded it as the best miles credit card in Singapore.
Why? Citi PremierMiles Card had one of the best sign-up bonuses in town. Those were the good ol’ days when the Citi PremierMiles Card welcomed new customers with a hefty sign-up bonus of 45,000 miles.
Earning miles on an air miles credit card takes a painfully long time, and one way to work around that is to get a credit card with a big sign-up bonus so you can get a sizeable bump in your miles. We hate to deliver the bad news but much has changed with the Citi PremierMiles sign-up bonus.
However, is the CitiPremierMiles Card still worth getting? Let’s find out.
Citi PremierMiles Card essential information
| Citi PremierMiles Card | |
| Annual fee | $192.60 |
| Supplementary annual fee | Complimentary |
| Interest free period | 25 days |
| Annual interest rate | 26.90% |
| Late payment fee | $100 |
| Minimum monthly repayment | 1% or $50, whichever is higher |
| Foreign currency transaction fee | 3.25% |
| Cash advance transaction fee | 6% or $15, whichever is higher |
| Overlimit fee | $40 |
| Minimum income | $30,000 (Singaporean/PR) / $42,000 (non-Singaporean) |
| Card association | Mastercard |
| Wireless payment | MasterCard PayPass, Samsung Pay, Citi Pay |
How the Citi PremierMiles Card works
The Citi PremierMiles Card used to be a top pick for air miles because of its huge welcome bonus of 45,000 miles. Citibank has since shaved that down to 25,000 miles.
Let’s compare this across the board with other air miles cards and see how the Citi PremierMiles Card fares against other miles cards with the same minimum income requirement of $30,000.
| Card | Welcome bonus miles | Terms & Conditions |
| Citi PremiereMiles | 25,000 | Annual fees + Minimum spend $800 within 2 months |
| American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 10,000 | Minimum spend $1,000 within 2 months |
| DBS Altitude Visa | 12,000 | Annual fees + Minimum spend $4,000 within 60 days |
| KrisFlyer UOB | 3,000 | Single transaction of minimum $5 |
| 10,000 | Minimum spend $5,000 within 2 months |
Even after cutting back, the Citi PremiereMiles card offers the best welcome bonus miles.
When you meet the minimum spend of $800 within 2 months and pay the annual fee of $192.60, 25,000 bonus miles will be credited to you within the next 3 months. Alternatively, you if only meet the minimum spend of $800 within 2 months, you will only be awarded 5,000 bonus miles. For most of us, hitting the minimum spend of $800 in 2 months is fairly easy.
- Local Spend
- S$1 = 1.2 Miles
- All Foreign Currency Spend including Retail and Online
- S$1 = 2 Miles
- Selected Online Hotel Bookings
- S$1 = Up to 10 Miles
Welcome promotions aside, the Citi PremierMiles Card standard miles accrual rate is $1 = 1.2 Citi Miles (local spend) and $1 = 2 Citi Miles (foreign currency spend). We’ve definitely seen better dollar-to-mile conversion rates but it is worthy to note that Citi Miles never expire.
If you aren’t travelling as frequently as before, you can still claim them later. You’ll also not have to worry about expiring miles in the event of another global pandemic. You just never know these days!
Who should use the Citi PremierMiles Card?
The Citi PremierMiles Card is fantastic for making travel bookings and big purchases. Both the overseas and local earn rates lose to its biggest competitor the UOB PRVI Miles Card ($1 = 2.4 miles for foreign currency spend, and $1 = 1.4 miles for local spend, no minimum).
That said, you may get quite a bit of utility out of the Citi PremierMiles Card if you make most (if not all) your bookings via travel aggregators Agoda and Kaligo, thanks to the current travel promotions and bonus earn rates.
The Citi PremierMiles Card also comes with Priority Pass membership for the Principal cardmember only (on application basis, 2x airport lounge visits per year) and complimentary travel insurance coverage of up to $1,000,000.
Citi PremierMiles Card promotions
Kaligo
- Earn 10 Citi Miles per $1 spent on Kaligo.com. Valid till 31 December 2022.
Agoda
- Earn up to 7 Citi Miles per $1 spent on hotel bookings worldwide. Valid for bookings made now till 31 July 2022 and for stays till 31 October 2022.
Alternatives to the Citi PremierMiles Card
I mentioned earlier that the Citi PremierMiles has poorer earn rates than its main competitor, the UOB PRVI Miles Card. Let’s compare it against similar credit cards on the market:
UOB PRVI Miles Card – Much better earn rates than the Citi PremierMiles, at $1 = 1.4 miles (local) and 2.4 miles (overseas), hence a better credit card for day-to-day use. It also has a competitive travel booking promotion with $1 = up to 6 miles (Agoda, Expedia, UOB Travel).
- Local Spend
- S$1 = 1.4 Miles
- Overseas Spend
- S$1 = 2.4 Miles
- Selected Online Hotel and Flight bookings
- S$1 = 6 Miles
American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card
– Poorer overall earn rates than the Citi PremierMiles Card, but has bonus accrual for Grab rides capped at $200 ($1 = 3.1 miles). Its welcome offers is also less attractive: You only get 5,000 KrisFlyer miles the first time you charge to your card — for first-time American Express Singapore Airlines Credit Card applicants only.
To qualify for an additional 5,000 KrisFlyer miles, you’ll have to hit a minimum spend of $1,000 in the first 2 months. This is higher than Citi PremiereMiles Card’s $800 minimum spend in the first 2 months.
- Local Spend
- S$1 = 1.2 Miles
- Overseas Spend
- S$1 = 2 Miles
- Grab rides
- S$1 = 3.2 Miles
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card – With high bonus earn rates ($1 = 3.2 miles) on local dining, petrol and taxis, it’s hard to beat this one for getting miles on your daily expenses. There is a $300 minimum spend, which is reasonably low. Rewards are capped at 30,000 TREATS points per month.
- on Dining, Petrol, Taxi and Hotel Bookings at Agoda
- S$1 = 8X Points
- on Air Tickets, Travel Packages and Foreign Currency Spend
- S$1 = 5X Points
- Rewards to Miles Conversion for Selected Airline Partners
- 1 Point = 0.4 miles
Apply and spend S$350 monthly for 2 consecutive months to get a Jabra Elite 3 True Wireless Earphone (worth $128) PLUS receive a Samsonite Harts Spinner 68/25 worth S$550 (First 4,500 applicants) or S$100 Cash Credit (4,501 applicant onwards). T&Cs Apply.
All in all, the Citi PremierMiles Visa Card has a decent, no-strings-attached welcome bonus, but that’s about it. Its main spend category for bonus miles is travel booking sites, but even for those, you’re better off with the UOB PRIVI Miles card’s more attractive earn rates.
If you want to earn miles while swiping for day-to-day stuff like meals and transport instead, then the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature is a much, much better choice.
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