Citi Premier Miles Review

Citi PremierMiles Review: Best for the Avid Miles Collector

Branded as the one of the best air miles credit cards in Singapore, Citi PremierMiles card has some of the most competitive sign up bonuses a credit card can offer. One of the bonuses that Citi miles credit card can offer is bonus miles upon sign up on top of your regular usage to earn miles.

Key Features

  • Supplementary annual fee – Upon signing up, your supplementary annual fee will be given as complimentary
  • Annual membership fee – The annual membership fee is $192.60 
  • Interest free period – You will also have a 25-day interest free period and after you will be paying 26.90%
  • Mastercard perks – You can use your Citi PremierMiles card to pay for your day-to-day shopping via MasterCard Paypass, Samsung Pay, or Citi Pay
  • No miles expiry – For as long as your account is active, you can keep accumulating miles until such time that you need it for vacation, business, or emergency flights.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Wide Variety of Transfer: The first thing to note with your Citi PremierMiles Card is the fact that it has a wide variety of transfer partners in Singapore – 12 airline and hotel programs to be exact. 
  • No Expiration: Another positive aspect you should consider is that your Citi miles never expire, provided that your Citi credit card remains open.
  • Free Visits: You are already earning miles every time you use your Citi miles credit card. When you reach a certain minimum spend, you are allowed to buy additional air miles. With your card Citi PremierMiles, you are also entitled to two free visits per year for lounge access.

Cons

  • Can’t pool points with another credit card: The only downside your Citi miles credit card account might have is that it is unable to pool points with another credit card. Given this, you need to transfer all the points in your credit card before cancelling, else it will be good as forfeited.

 

What is a Citi PremierMiles Card?

The Citi PremierMiles card is one of the competitive credit cards in the market that allows you to earn miles even from local spending. Although Citi credit cards might carry a high annual fee, it is still arguably the best miles credit card in the market because of its sign up bonuses that include bonus miles.

It is a credit card that lets you earn air miles as you pay for local dining, your new apple watch set, utilize travel booking sites, and even for your big purchases. This is one of those credit cards that lets you buy miles once you reach the minimum spend.

 

How does your Citi miles credit card work?

It is no exaggeration to say that the Citi PremierMiles card has the best sign up bonuses in the industry. Upfront you are given a huge welcome bonus of 45,000 miles.

The standard miles accrual rate is equivalent to 1.2 Citi miles per $1 of local spend 2 Citi miles for foreign currency transactions. Since Citi miles never expire, you slowly earn Citi miles to be used along the way.

 

Who should use the Citi PremierMiles Card?

There might be other miles cards that surpass the Citi PremierMiles card’s 1.2 Citi miles for local spend. Although UOB PRVI Miles card’s local spend is equivalent to 1.4 miles, Citi PremierMiles card still exceeds the benefits ranking when used with travel aggregators like Kaligo and Agoda.

If you are big on earning air miles, always consider the travel promotions and bonus earn rates with your Citi PremierMiles card. It also comes with Priority Pass membership for the principal card member and a complimentary travel insurance coverage up to $1,000,000.

 

What are your alternatives?

1. UOB PRVI Miles Card

UOB PRVI Miles card gives 1.4 miles for local spend of $1 and 2.4 miles for foreign currency spend. There is a cash rebate of $300 for new UOB PRVI Miles card members. You can consider this card for your everyday use.

  • Complimentary personal accident coverage and emergency medical assistance of up to $500,000
  • No minimum spend and no cap on earned miles
  • Choice to redeem for miles, cash rebate, or vouchers
  • Earn 2.4 miles for every $1.00 of foreign currency spend and 1.4 miles for every $1.00 local spend
  • Earn 6 miles with every $1.00 spent on major airlines and hotel bookings through Expedia, UOB Travel, and Agoda

 

2. American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card

Upon credit card approval, you get a sign up bonus of 5,000 KrisFlyer miles. You also get 3.2 miles for every $1 you spend on Grab rides capped at $200 per month.

  • Up to $1 million travel insurance coverage
  • Spend above $15,000 on eligible purchases on singaporeair.com within first 12 months of Card approval and get upgraded to KrisFlyer Elite Gold Membership
  • $1 is equivalent to 1.2 KrisFlyer miles
  • $1 in foreign currency spend on eligible purchases in June & Dec is equivalent to 2 KrisFlyer miles

 

3. Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card

Maybank Horizon Visa Signature gives 3.2 miles per $1 on local dining, petrol, and taxis. Definitely these types of credit cards are to be used for daily expenses. However, rewards are capped at 30,000 points per month.

  • 3 years annual fee waived
  • Complimentary Travel Insurance up to $1,000,000
  • Complimentary Travel Insurance up to S$1,000,000
  • Complimentary lounge access for a minimum spend of $1,000, single transaction on a retail purchase
  • Earn 2 air miles for every $1 spent on air tickets, travel packages, and foreign currency spend
  • Earn 3.2 air miles for every $1 spent on dining, petrol, taxi fares, and hotel bookings at Agoda.com/horizon

 

Citi PremierMiles Card Promotions

1. Kaligo

Having your hotel bookings with Kaligo using your Citi PremierMiles card lets you earn 10 Citi miles per S1 you spend through the website. This promotion will be valid until December 31, 2021.

2. Agoda

When you use your Citi PremierMiles Card to book with Agoda, you are entitled to earn up to 7 Citi miles for every S1 you spend on hotel bookings worldwide. This promotion is only valid for bookings made until January 31, 2022 and for stays up until April 30, 2022.

 

Other information that you might need to know.

  • The Citi PremierMiles card has a VISA option with the features being virtually the same. However, with the Citi PremierMiles card of VISA, you will be able to earn points for GrabPay top-ups unlike your Citi PremierMiles card with MasterCard.
  • Annual fees for a supplemental card are free for the first and subsequent years. While the Principal Card will be charged $192.60 for the subsequent years while having the first year free.
  • There is a transfer fee of $26.75 for a minimum transfer of 10,000 miles to Citibank’s partner institutions.
  • There is a Foreign Currency fee of 3.25%
  • The minimum income requirement for your Citi PremierMiles card is $30,000 per annum.
  • Upon usage of complimentary lounge visits, you will be charged $32 additional per visit.
  • You can be charged $100 for late payment fees.
  • Your cash advance transaction fee is at 6% or $15, whichever is higher.

 

Complimentary travel insurance with your Citi PremierMiles card

You are entitled to $1,000,000 accidental death insurance and a $40,000 worth of medical benefits. Other complimentary travel insurance you can get are loss of luggage at $1,000, luggage delay at $600, flight delay at $500, trip cancellation at $500, and trip interruption at $500.

 

Shopping with credit card

What other gifts can you receive when you sign up?

1. New-to-bank Customers

It is always Christmas time with a Citi PremierMiles card as it gives away gifts for existing customers and new-to-bank customers. New-to-bank customers, or those who are not a principal Citibank credit card principal for the past 12 months, are entitled to get additional miles in two options.

The first option is for these new-to-bank customers to spend $9,000 within 3 months from card approval and get a complimentary 45,000 Citi miles provided they pay the $192.60 annual fee. Another option is for these new-to-bank customers to spend $4,000 within 3 months from approval to get 18,000 Citi miles and enjoy a fee waiver for the 1st annual fee.

2. Existing Customers

For existing customers, you have the option to spend $9,000 within 3 months from approval of your credit card and pay the $192.60 annual fee in order for you to be eligible to get 24,300 Citi miles plus a $100 e-voucher from Kaligo. The other option is for you to choose not to pay the 1st year of annual fee.

Either way, these options for the two categories are only valid up until January 31, 2021.

 

Earning additional Miles per Dollar on PayAll Transactions

Citibank’s bill payment service called Citi PayAll allows its card holders to pay certain expenses using their Citi PremierMiles card and earn rewards in exchange of a 2% service fee.

Since Citi PremierMiles card holders earn 1.2 miles for every dollar spent, it is equivalent to buying miles at 1.67 cents each.

 

Tiers for your Citi PremierMiles Card

For the entry-level tier, you must earn at least $30,000 to be qualified. The following tier will be the Mass Affluent in which you need to amass a minimum $120,000 income per annum. The top tier called Elite will require a $500,000 minimum annual income.

 

Miles per Dollar comparison

The Citi PremierMiles Card might not provide the highest miles per dollar rate but overall, it is still competitive given the $30,000 income level range.

  Local Spend Foreign Currency Spend
Citi PremierMiles Card 1.2 2.0
UOB PRVI Miles 1.4 2.4
OCBC 90N 1.2 2.1
DBS Altitude 1.2 2.0
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card 1.1 2.0
BOC Elite Miles 1.0 2.0
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card 1.2 1.2

 

Frequently asked questions

1. When are Citi Miles credited? 

It usually takes around 1 to 3 business working days for your points to be credited because the transaction made should first be posted prior to crediting.

2. How are Citi Miles calculated?

For local spend, the transaction is rounded off to the nearest $1 before being multiplied by 1.2 and the result of which will be rounded off to the nearest number.

For Foreign currency spends, the transaction is also rounded off to the nearest $1 before being multiplied by 2 and rounded off to the nearest whole number.

3. What transactions aren’t eligible for Citi Miles?

Following the general terms and conditions of Citibank rewards, there are several transactions that are not eligible for points accumulation. These transactions are Quasi cash transactions, Utilities payments, Insurance, payment to Real Estate Agents and Managers, payment for Educational Institutions, Professional Services and Membership Organizations, Government Services, and Top-ups to prepaid accounts among others.

4. What do I need to know if I were to transfer my points?

The point transfer ratio is at 1:1 with a minimum transfer block of 10,000 miles. Through the frequent flyer program, you can transfer points to the following: KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, British Airways Executive Club, Etihad Guest, Eva Air, Flying Blue, IHG Rewards Club, Enrich Malaysia, Frequent Flyer, Qatar Privilege Club, Royal Orchid Plus, and Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.

5. Can I redeem my points for cash rebates?

Yes, Citi PremierMiles Card allows you to redeem for cash rebates at a dismal rate of 165 miles converted to $1.

 

Conclusion

There are various cards that let you earn miles through usage, you just have to know what is the best card to avail that will be able to fit your lifestyle. Click here to find out more on the best airmiles credit card in Singapore. For those eyeing a card focused on accumulating miles, Citi PremierMiles card would meet your requirements and mark check on all the necessary boxes.

  • It can potentially provide a big sign up bonus of 45,000 upon signing up
  • It has additional miles when you book your hotels through aggregators like Kaligo and Agoda.
  • With your Citi PremierMiles Card, you can collect miles worry-free as it never expires.

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