Great deal: Earn 2.5 mpd on any Citi PayAll payment; buy miles at 0.8 cents each

Citibank has been putting some major marketing spend behind Citi PayAll of late. We recently saw some great deals, in the form of a 1% fee for existing customers, two fee-free payments for new customers, and some S$100 GrabFood vouchers thrown in for good measure.

And now, they’ve rolled out an almost impossible-to-lose promotion that’s perfect for income tax season. Citi cardholders can now earn 2.5 miles per S$1 spent on Citi PayAll, for any type of payment up till 31 August 2021. If you’re a first-time PayAll user, you’ll get an additional S$50 cash credit as well.

It’s almost too good to be true. 

Earn 2.5 mpd on Citi PayAll transactions

From 1 May to 31 August 2021, eligible cardholders will earn a flat 2.5 mpd on up to S$120,000 of Citi PayAll transactions with the following cards: 

Card	Earn Rate	Cost Per Mile @ 2%
Citi ULTIMA	1.6 mpd 2.5 mpd	1.25 cents 0.8 cents
Citi Prestige	1.3 mpd 2.5 mpd	1.54 cents 0.8 cents
Citi PremierMiles	1.2 mpd 2.5 mpd	1.67 cents 0.8 cents
Citi Rewards	0.4 mpd 2.5 mpd	5 cents 0.8 cents

The Citi app will (unhelpfully) show the regular earn rate of 1.2-1.6 mpd by default, but don’t worry- the bonus miles (the difference between 2.5 mpd and your card’s regular earn rate) will be credited within 10 weeks from the end of the promotion period, i.e by 9 November 2021. The full T&C of this offer can be found here.

What’s particularly awesome about this deal is that Citibank is offering the same rate across all three eligible cards. You’ll earn 2.5 mpd, regardless of whether you’re using the Citi ULTIMA, Prestige, PremierMiles or Rewards. How’s that for egalitarian?

There’s no need to set up a recurring payment scheme, or meet any minimum number of transactions. Any payment made within this period will earn 2.5 mpd, as simple as that. 

As a reminder, Citi PayAll currently supports the following types of payments:

There’s also a handy category of “miscellaneous payments”, which includes renovations, wedding expenses, storage, charitable donations, parking fees, domestic helper service fees etc. It’s basically a catch-all, and really, I don’t think they’re too fussed about what exactly you pay (so long as it’s not a mortgage repayment, crypto or gambling related transaction).

While there’s nothing stopping you from getting a friend or family member to invoice you for services rendered (love and affection ain’t free, y’know), do remember that there could be tax implications. After all, an invoice is evidence that one party has earned income from the other, and a person is liable to pay income tax if his/her collective earnings exceed S$20,000. 

The most obvious use case for this promotion would be income tax payments. This 2.5 mpd offer makes Citi PayAll the cheapest way of paying your taxes by far (the next cheapest option costs ~35% more!), and if you hold one of these cards, it’s a no-brainer. Heck, even if you don’t have one now, you should at least get the Citi PremierMiles Card (first year free) and use it to make payment. 

New customers: Get S$50 extra cashback

Cardmembers who have never made a Citi PayAll transaction prior to 1 May 2021 will receive a one-off S$50 cash credit when they complete at least 1 Citi PayAll transaction by 31 August 2021.

There’s no minimum amount that needs to be paid, so seriously, there’s no reason not to jump on this. If you’re in the market to buy miles, a S$50 cash credit is equivalent to free miles on a payment of up to S$2,500. Even if you’re not looking to buy miles, a simple S$1 payment to IRAS would be enough to trigger S$50 cashback. 

Is it worth it?

Without a doubt, yes. 

Buying miles at 0.8 cents each, even in the current pandemic situation, is an incredible offer. Remember, you’re not just buying KrisFlyer miles; Citibank points can be transferred to 11 different frequent flyer programs, including some with great sweet spots like Etihad Guest, British Airways Executive Club, and Turkish Miles&Smiles. Even the newly-revitalised Qatar Privilege Club might be a good bet.

💳 Citibank Transfer Partners
For a full list of transfer partners, refer to this article

Assuming you opt for plain vanilla KrisFlyer miles, it’s easy to get >0.8 cents per mile when redeeming them. 

Conclusion

There’s very little to dislike about this Citi PayAll offer. 0.8 cents per mile is an extremely competitive rate for buying miles, the mechanics are simple, and the ceiling of S$120,000 is more than sufficient for most peoples’ needs. 

It seems to me like Citibank is determined to dominate the payments space, and with rates this low, it’s hard to justify going any other route. I’m certainly going to make a few ad-hoc payments to IRAS, in an attempt to diversify my mileage collection.