Citibank Rewards Card – MoneySmart Review 2019

The Citibank Rewards Card is one of the more attractive credit cards in Singapore for shopaholics, offering 10X rewards points (or $1 = 4 miles) when you shop for shoes, bags and clothes online and offline, both here and abroad.

If you’re a serious fashionista, this arrangement should sound heavenly to you because the points you get from shopping can be converted into frequent flyer miles or… even MORE shopping vouchers!

Let’s see how attractive this card really is:

 

Citibank Rewards Card terms & conditions

Citi Rewards Card
Annual fee & waiver	$193 (waived for 1 year)
Supplementary annual fee	First 2 supp cards free for 1 year, subsequently $96.30
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	2.8%
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, Visa
Wireless payment	Mastercard PayPass, Visa payWave, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Citi Pay

 

How the Citi Rewards Card works

The card’s main strength is its generous miles conversion rate. You get 10X rewards points, the equivalent of $1 = 4 miles, when you spend on their bonus shopping categories:

• Shoes, bags and clothes (local and overseas)
• Department stores (local and overseas)
• Online shopping (fashion retailers only)

For all other spending, receive 1 rewards point for every $1 spent.

The card’s biggest weakness is the fact that the bonus categories that get rewarded are rather limited. For online shopping, you must make sure the website is one whose main business activity is selling shoes, bags or clothes.

The good news is that you enjoy discounts of up to 50% with some popular online shops like Foodpanda, Lazada, Zalora and Reebonz.

You can get 10X rewards for shopping on ASOS and Zalora, but perhaps not Lazada or Amazon. You definitely won’t be getting bonus rewards on all your other online spending such as air tickets, games and food delivery.

Still, for shopaholics whose spend a lot on fashion, this can be a good card to have. There’s a cap of 120,000 points for 5 years, i.e. you can just stop when you’ve spent $12,000 on this card.

 

What can you redeem from the Citibank rewards catalogue?

Your points expire in 5 years, after which you can redeem them for rewards from the Citibank rewards catalogue.

Here are some highlights from the Citibank rewards catalogue, and how much you’d have to spend in the bonus shopping categories to get them:

Reward	Points needed to redeem	Amount spent on 10X categories
$10 Starbucks voucher	2,640 points	$264
$20 Isetan voucher	5,390 points	$539
$50 Tangs gift card	12,380 points	$1,238
Bodum Columbia Coffee Maker	43,200 points	$4,320
Polar M430 (running watch)	71,910 points	$7,191

Citi’s rewards catalogue is actually one of the best in Singapore, as it has loads of items like watches and toys and hotel stays in addition to the usual miles and vouchers.

 

Alternatives to Citibank Rewards Card

The Citi Rewards Credit Card is a strong card, but it’s not the best. When it comes to shopping, it’s important to first figure out where you are going to be shopping most and then match the right card to maximise the benefits you get from the points multiplier.

Let’s have a look at how the Citi Rewards Card compares to similar cards for shoppers:

OCBC Titanium Card – Very similar to the Citibank Rewards Card in that it gives you 10X rewards points (4 miles) per dollar spent on the same merchant categories, plus electronics and kidswear. It also includes giants like Taobao, Amazon and Best Denki, where it’s super easy to make huge purchases that rack up points. Similarly capped at 120,000 points for a one year period so you needn’t worry about bursting a monthly cap.

UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card – Much less snazzy looking than the Citi Rewards card, but a good card nonetheless. It gives you 10X rewards (equivalent to 4 miles) when you spend online and when you make contactless payment using payWave or your mobile phone.

HSBC Revolution Credit Card – Get 5x rewards (equivalent to 2 air miles) every $1 spent on online transactions, local dining and entertainment. This includes not just shopping but air tickets, movie tickets, insurance premiums, etc. This card is nowhere near as generous as Citi Rewards, but there’s no cap at all.

Still keen on the Citibank Rewards Card? If this is your first Citibank card, you can get $200 NTUC FairPrice, Takashimaya or CapitaLand vouchers just for signing up through MoneySmart.

What is your favourite credit card to use for online shopping? Share your recommendations in the comments!

 

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Tags: Credit Cards