The Citibank Cash Back Card is one of the most eye-catching cashback cards in Singapore, promising a very huat 8% cash rebate on everyday spending categories.
In contrast, the average cashback card offers only 3% to 5% rebates at best, which can leave you feeling a tad underwhelmed. Let’s take a closer look at the Citi Cash Back Card and see if it’s as good as it sounds:
Citibank Cash Back Card terms & conditions
| Citi Cash Back Card | |
| Annual fee & waiver | $192.60 (waived for 1 year) |
| Supplementary annual fee | $96.30 (waived for 1 year for first 2 supp cards) |
| 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% |
| Cash advance transaction fee | 6% or $15, whichever is higher |
| Overlimit fee | $40 |
| Minimum income | $30,000 (Singaporean) / $42,000 (non-Singaporean) |
| Card association | Mastercard (from 30 Mar 2020, previously Visa) |
| Wireless payment | Mastercard PayPass, Samsung Pay, Citi Pay |
How the Citibank Cash Back Card works
The Citibank Cash Back Card is everyday cashback card for the average Singaporean, covering most of our daily spending categories i.e. food and transport.
It gives you a very impressive 8% cashback on major spending categories – groceries, dining and petrol – as long as you hit the minimum spend of $888 a month.
Each category is capped at $25, which means that ideally you won’t exceed a certain amount of expenditure each month. Here’s a break down of the categories:
| Spending category | Cashback | Cap | Max. expenditure |
| Dining (restaurants, cafes, bars) | 8% | $25 | $312.50 |
| Groceries (all supermarkets, Honestbee, Redmart) | 8% | $25 | $312.50 |
| Petrol (all stations, but bonus savings up to 20.88% at Esso & Shell) | 8% | $25 | $312.50 |
(Note that most of these are worldwide, so if you travel frequently or go to JB to buy groceries often, that’s not a problem.)
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- Cash Back on Dining, Groceries & Petrol
- 8%
- Cash Back Cap per category, per month
- S$25
- Min. Spend per month
- S$888
Who should use the Citibank Cash Back Card?
The Citi Cash Back Card appears to cover all the bases, but because of the specific cashback caps, it takes a very specific spending profile to truly maximise this credit cards.
Let’s call our ideal user Joe Average. He’s probably been in the workforce a few years and is earning enough to comfortably spend about $1,000 a month on life’s essentials.
Whether single or married, he doesn’t cook at home much, so a grocery bill of about $300 each month should take care of the pantry staples and toiletries. Most of the time he dines out (3 to 4 times a week, nothing too pricey) or orders food delivery.
Joe drives a regular (non-luxury) car to work every day, spending about $300 on petrol each month.
Notice also that Joe Average has a very regular, predictable lifestyle, and is not prone to wild fluctuations in these 4 main categories of expenses. If you tend to randomly fly off to exotic countries for a “sabbatical” or are always indulging in your latest lifestyle craze, then maybe this isn’t the right credit card for you.
Alternatives to the Citibank Cash Back Card
Unless you are exactly like Joe Average, it will be challenging to try to adjust your lifestyle to the credit card. You may be better off with one of the many other cashback cards in Singapore that don’t impose category-specific cashback caps.
There are tons of these but we’ll highlight just 3 all-purpose cards:
- Cashback on Everyday Dining (Including Local, Overseas and Online Food Delivery)
- 6%
- Cashback Cap per month
- S$80
- Min. Spend per month
- S$800
OCBC 365 Credit Card – With a lower minimum spend of $800, the OCBC 365 is more accessible than the Citi Cash Back Card, but it loses out as the rebates are much lower and more dining-focused: 6% on dining, 3% on grocery, land transport, online travel and recurring telco and electricity bills, plus up to 23% savings at Caltex.
- Cash Rebates for everyday essentials
- Up to 15%
- Cash Rebates cap per month
- Up to S$80
- Min. Spend per month
- S$800
POSB Everyday Card – If you find the Citi Cash Back Card’s minimum spend rather annoying, the POSB Everyday Card is a no-hassle alternative for 5% cashback at Sheng Siong (capped at $50) and 3% at Watsons, plus up to 20.1% savings at SPC.
BOC Family Card – Minimum spend of $800, but still pretty competitive rebates across a whole bunch of categories: 10% on dining and entertainment, 5% on selected merchants (BEST Denki, Popular Bookstore, Unity Pharmacy, Watsons and Welcia-BHG), 3% on groceries, online shopping, telco bills, Grab and taxi rides in Singapore, capped at $1,200 cash rebates in a year. You will have to use a separate petrol credit card if you drive though.
Still, if you happen to be a good fit for the Citibank Cash Back Card, it’s pretty damn impossible to find a better deal out there. As a bonus, you’ll get $150 in NTUC FairPrice, Takashimaya or CapitaLand vouchers if you’re new to Citi and sign up through MoneySmart:
- Cash Back on Dining, Groceries & Petrol
- 8%
- Cash Back Cap per category, per month
- S$25
- Min. Spend per month
- S$888
Related articles
Best Citibank Credit Cards in Singapore – Credit Card Reviews
The Best Cashback Credit Cards in Singapore
3 Best Credit Cards for Petrol in Singapore
Tags: Citibank, Credit Cards
