Citibank has announced some upcoming changes to the Citi Prestige Card’s airport limo and golf benefits, which take effect from 1 July 2023 (in reality though, some of them are already in effect).
The main change to note is that no-fee Citi PayAll transactions will no longer count towards qualifying spend for limo rides. The rest of the changes mainly involve existing policies being codified into the T&Cs, in order to make them more explicit.
Complimentary Airport Limousine Transfers
Citi Prestige Cardholders are currently entitled to two complimentary airport limo transfers when they charge at least S$12,000 qualifying spend within a calendar quarter.
- Q1: 1 January to 31 March
- Q2: 1 April to 30 June
- Q3: 1 July to 30 September
- Q4: 1 October to 31 December
A maximum of two free rides can be earned per calendar quarter.
Citi’s eDM highlights three policy changes for airport limo rides that take effect from 1 July 2023.
Changes to qualifying spend
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The qualifying spend of S$12,000 per quarter for 2 complimentary limousine rides will now exclude Citi PayAll transactions where the customer is not charged the Citi PayAll service fee. -Citi eDM |
Some brief context: back in February 2023, I was surprised to learn that Citi included no-fee PayAll transactions in its calculation of qualifying spend for Prestige limo rides and sign-up bonuses.
This basically meant there was absolutely no reason for a Citi Prestige Cardholder not to get their two free rides per quarter, given the wide range of bill payments covered by PayAll.
That said, it was a little too good to be true, and sure enough Citi subsequently decided to exclude no-fee Citi PayAll transactions from qualifying spend for sign-up bonuses, effective 2 May 2023. However, it was unclear what this meant for Prestige limo rides, and despite several queries to Citibank, I never received a response.
Well, now we know. From 1 July 2023, no-fee Citi PayAll transactions will not count towards the S$12,000 qualifying spend required each quarter to unlock two complimentary limo rides. The T&Cs have been updated as follows (emphasis mine):
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3. “Qualifying Spend” refers to any retail transactions (including internet purchases) which do not arise from: (i) any Equal Payment Plan (EPP) purchases; |
On the bright side, this means that you still have one quarter left to make hay. Citi Prestige limo entitlements are based on calendar quarter, so you have until 30 June 2023 to clock S$12,000 of no-fee Citi PayAll transactions and earn two complimentary limo rides.
No rollover of entitlements
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The qualifying entitlement(s) cannot be rolled over beyond the quarter which the qualifying spend charge was made. Cardmembers must charge a minimum of S$12,000 in Qualifying Spend to his / her Citi Prestige card within the quarter and book the Qualifying Entitlements within the same quarter the Qualifying Spend charge was made. -Citi eDM |
It’s strange that Citi is only communicating this now, because this isn’t actually a new policy.
At the start of 2023, Citi ended its COVID-era concession of allowing cardholders to bring forward unutilised limo rides up till the end of the calendar year. Rides now need to be booked in the same quarter they are earned, although the ride date can be outside the earning quarter.
For example, on 3 May 2023 I charge S$12,000 in qualifying spend to my Citi Prestige Card. This earns me two complimentary limo rides, which I must book by 30 June 2023. The actual utilisation date can be beyond 30 June 2023.
Remember, limo rides are charged at the time of booking (not utilisation), so all that matters is the charge is reflected in the correct quarter.
As before, reimbursements will be processed within the following quarter.
Changes to grace waiting time
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Asia-Pacific destinations: For Airport Arrival pickups, you will be accorded a 60-minute grace waiting period. All other pickups: You will be accorded a 15-minute grace waiting period. -Citi eDM |
The previous T&Cs offered a grace period of 60 minutes regardless of pickup location, which truth be told was probably a little too generous.
The new T&Cs divide pickups into airport and off-airport pickups. Airport pickups continue to receive 60 minutes of waiting time, which should be more than sufficient for an efficient airport like Changi (despite the eDM referring to “Asia-Pacific destinations”, the Prestige limo pickups are only valid within Singapore).
Off-airport pickups will receive 15 minutes of waiting time, which is in line with what other cards stipulate.
Complimentary golf games
Citi Prestige Cardholders are currently entitled to six complimentary green fee rounds per calendar year, split into three local and three regional.
Citi’s eDM highlights two policy changes for golf games that take effect from 1 July 2023.
No rolling over of entitlements
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All complimentary green fee rounds for the current calendar year have to be used within the same calendar year and cannot be carried forward into the following calendar year. -Citi eDM |
I was always under the impression that golf entitlements could not be carried forward anyway, but I suppose this makes it explicit.
No conversion of entitlements between regional and local games
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All regional complimentary green fee rounds cannot be converted into local complimentary green fee rounds -Citi eDM |
Likewise, I was not aware that the entitlements for local games could be converted into regional ones (or vice versa), but again I suppose this is about putting it in black and white to pre-empt any objections.
Conclusion
Citi Prestige Cardholders will have received an eDM about upcoming changes to the card from 1 July 2023.
The main change to take note of is the exclusion of no-fee PayAll transactions from qualifying spend for limo rides. That said, you still have one month left until the change comes into effect, so enjoy two “low-effort” rides while you can!
