Unbeatable deal: Get S$100 cashback and 2.5 mpd with Citi PayAll payments

Last month, Citibank launched a fantastic deal for Citi PayAll which offers 2.5 mpd on up to S$120,000 of payments made by 31 August 2021. This reduces the effective cost per mile to 0.8 cents each, making it hands down the best option to use for income tax payments (or any kind of payment, really). 

Now, they’ve sweetened the deal even further by launching a S$100 cashback offer for recurring payments, valid up till 30 September 2021. No registration is required, and I’ve confirmed with Citibank’s PR team that the offer (1) is open to all and (2) stacks with the 2.5 mpd promotion.

This is basically an opportunity to generate free miles, and you should absolutely take it up. 

Get S$100 cashback on Citi PayAll recurring payments

From 1 June to 30 September 2021, Citi PayAll customers who schedule recurring payments of at least six consecutive months and a minimum of S$500 per month will receive S$100 cashback. The first charge date must fall within the promotion period, but the subsequent five can come after 30 September 2021 if you wish. 

The following cards are eligible for this offer:

• Citi ULTIMA
• Citi Prestige
• Citi PremierMiles Card
• Citi Cash Back+ Card
• Citi Cash Back Card
• Citi Rewards

Eligible customers will receive S$100 in the form of a statement credit within 10 weeks of completing the third payment (don’t try and be clever by cancelling the rest; I’m sure they’ll claw it back if that happens). 

To illustrate, consider the following payment schedule: 

In this example, you’re paying a S$20 fee on S$6,000 worth of payments- just 0.33%! Naturally, the effective fee will rise the larger your payment, since the S$100 cashback is fixed. But if your monthly payment ranges S$500 to S$833, then the miles are absolutely free. 

The T&C of the offer can be found here. 

What kind of recurring payments can I make?

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to pay income tax with this offer, because Citi PayAll does not support recurring payments to IRAS. You can of course make ad-hoc payments to IRAS to take advantage of the 2.5 mpd offer, but ad-hoc payments won’t qualify for the S$100 cashback offer. 

Citi PayAll supports the following recurring payments:

• Education expenses
• Insurance premiums
• Membership
• Misc. payments (e.g parking, storage, utilities, wedding expenses)
• Rent

It should be fairly easy to find some kind of payment to make, especially since “misc. payments” is such a broad category. Heck, there’s even a category called “travel expenses”, which lets you transfer money into someone’s personal bank account. The only caveat I’d mention is that there may be income tax implications for the receiving party, depending on the nature of the payment- but in any case, IRAS doesn’t tax annual income that falls below the S$20,000 mark. 

Remember, the recurring payment must be at least S$500 per month for six months. 

Stacking with the 2.5 mpd Citi PayAll offer

As mentioned earlier, the S$100 cashback offer can be stacked with the ongoing 2.5 mpd offer that Citibank is running on Citi PayAll. 

Here’s the cost per mile with a 2.5 mpd rate and a 2% fee.

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

Once you factor in the S$100 cashback, things get even sweeter. Here’s the example from above, with the 2.5 mpd rate factored in (remember, the rate only applies till 31 August 2021). 

Illustration with Citi PremierMiles Card
Month	Payment	Miles	Fee @ 2%
Jun 2021	S$1,000	2,500	S$20
Jul 2021	S$1,000	2,500	S$20
Aug 2021	S$1,000	2,500	S$20
S$100 credited within 10 weeks from Aug 2021 payment 2.5 mpd offer ends 31 Aug 2021
Sep 2021	S$1,000	1,200	S$20
Oct 2021	S$1,000	1,200	S$20
Nov 2021	S$1,000	1,200	S$20
Total	S$6,000	11,100	S$120
Rebate			(S$100)
Net Fee			S$20
Cost Per Mile			0.18 cents

In this scenario, you’re paying just 0.18 cents per miles- a sensational price. Again, if your monthly payment is between S$500-833, you’re getting free miles. 

How many free miles? Assuming you schedule your first payment in June, you’d earn up to:

• Citi PremierMiles: 9,801 free miles
• Citi Prestige: 10,066 free miles
• Citi ULTIMA: 10,861 free miles

Even if you don’t fancy paying for miles, at a bare minimum, everyone should be walking away with this. 

As if all that wasn’t enough, first-time Citi PayAll customers will get a further S$50 cashback when they make a minimum of one transaction by 31 August 2021. This is on top of the 2.5 mpd earn rate. My goodness, they’re really throwing those fat stacks around.

I would highly advise you to schedule your first recurring payment in June, so you can maximize both promotions. For example, if you wait till July, you’ll only enjoy 2.5 mpd on two sets of payments (July and August). 

The T&C of the 2.5 mpd and S$50 cashback offer can be found here. 

Is it worth it?

You’d be mad not to take it up. 

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, here’s the range of value that you get when redeeming them:

When your miles are coming so cheap (or even free), it’s impossible to lose. You could even spend them on Kris+ and I wouldn’t complain 😉.

Conclusion

This is a fantastic promotion, no two ways about it. Find something, anything to charge to PayAll, and if your monthly recurring payment is S$500 to S$833, you’re printing free miles.

Citibank is putting some serious money behind its Citi PayAll service, not just in Singapore but worldwide (no fees in Australia and Philippines). I don’t know where the funds are coming from, but then again, this is the bank that could offer an uncapped 8 mpd on Apple Pay, and you shouldn’t look a gift horse in any orifice. 

More of the same, please.