Citibank dramatically improves the Citi Rewards card with 10X on all online transactions

The Citi Rewards card has always been a bit of a strange one for me. On paper (and in the T&Cs), it purports to offer 10X points (4 mpd) online and offline at “department stores, or stores which sell bags, shoes and clothes as their main business activity”.

And yet, it’s probably the worst kept secret that the Citi Rewards card also gives 10X points on all sorts of things that aren’t bags, shoes and clothes. People have long reported earning 10X on Grab rides and top ups, Points.com transactions and the Comfort Taxi app for example. Is this accident or design? Who knows.

So in that sense, Citi’s enhancement (and it really is an enhancement) of the Citi Rewards card is welcome, but not that surprising.

Earn 10X rewards for all online spending, except travel and mobile wallet transactions

From today onwards, the Citi Rewards card will offer 10X points on all online spending, with the exception of mobile wallet transactions and the following travel related expenditures:

This change puts it more in line with the DBS Woman’s World MasterCard (WWMC), with two key exceptions:

• The DBS WWMC has a 10X cap of $2,000 spending per month, versus $1,000 for the Citi Rewards
• The DBS WWMC offers 10X on travel transactions, so long as they are processed online

In that sense, the DBS WWMC remains a superior card for online spending. However, it also has an income requirement of $80K per annum, so if you don’t meet that threshold than the Citi Rewards card ($30K per annum) is a good substitute.

The other implication of this change is that you’ll no longer be able to use the Citi Rewards card to earn 10X points on GrabPay top ups. It seems that banks are really starting to crack down on GrabPay (case in point: BOC), although the silver lining is that Grab Rides and GrabFood transactions have a different MCC from GrabPay, so you should continue to earn 10X via the Citi Rewards card going forward.

The same change will apply to the Citi Rewards Mastercard, so if you hold both cards you’ll be able to enjoy 10X on online spending for up to $2,000 in total each month.

The revised T&C can be viewed here.

Conclusion

This is a welcome move by Citibank, not least because Citi ThankYou points are one of the most valuable points currencies to have in Singapore. With the most transfer partners of any bank in Singapore, you can access both the usual Asia Miles/KrisFlyer as well as more “exotic” programs like Turkish and British Airways.

You’re going to want to note that Citi points do not pool, however. If you have a Citi Prestige and Citi Rewards card, for example, you’ll need to pay two separate transfer fees when converting points to miles.

A reminder that if you’re looking to sign up for a Citi Rewards card, you can do so via the SingSaver #whatsnext campaign, and get up to $200 in Grab/Taka/NTUC vouchers (existing customers get $60).

(HT: The Shutterwhale)