Citi PremierMiles Card offering up to 4 mpd for overseas spending

Citi has launched a new overseas spending promotion for its PremierMiles cardholders, which offers up to 4 mpd on in-person foreign currency (FCY) spending from now till 31 January 2024.

The minimum spend and cap for this offer is set at S$5,000 per calendar month, and there’s no cap on the maximum number of eligible cardholders. 

There’s also a separate, capped FCY spending offer for Citi Prestige Cardholders of up to 4.5 mpd, which I’ve covered in a separate post. 

Citi Prestige Card offering up to 4.5 mpd for foreign currency spend

Earn up to 4 mpd on FCY spending

Registration

To register for this offer, the principal cardholder must send the following SMS to 72484.

📱 SMS to 72484

CITIPMCFX<space>Last 4 digits of your Citi PremierMiles Card e.g. CITIPMCFX 1234

There is no cap on the maximum number of registrations. You are only considered enrolled once you receive a confirmation SMS from Citi. 

Once registration is completed, you will be eligible to participate from the start of that month onwards (e.g. registration on 15 December 2023 means that your spending from 1 December 2023 to 31 January 2024 will be entitled to earn up to 4 mpd).

Minimum spend

Once registered, Citi PremierMiles Cardholders must spend at least S$5,000 in a given calendar month to qualify for the 4 mpd FCY earn rate in that calendar month. 

The minimum spend consists of all SGD and FCY retail purchases, whether online or offline, excluding the following:

For avoidance of doubt, Citi PayAll transactions will count towards the minimum spend, provided you pay the service fee. Citi PayAll is currently running a promotion till 29 February 2024 which offers 1.8 mpd on all payments, reducing the cost per mile to 1.2 cents. You can read more about that in the post below.

Citi PayAll offering 1.8 mpd on all payments; buy miles at 1.2 cents each

You can choose to participate in all three months of this offer by meeting the minimum spend in each month, or just selected months if you wish. 

Qualifying spend

Citi PremierMiles Cardholders who meet the minimum spend will earn an extra 2 mpd (in the form of an extra 2 Citi Miles per S$1) on all in-person overseas spend. This, combined with the regular base rate of 2 mpd, gives a total of 4 mpd. 

The bonus component is capped at 10,000 Citi Miles (10,000 miles) per calendar month, which means you’d max out the offer with a monthly spend of S$5,000. 

Once again, a reminder that only in-person FCY spend is eligible for the bonus miles. Online FCY spend will not earn any bonuses, though it will count towards the S$5,000 minimum spend to unlock the offer.

Qualifying spend excludes the usual suspects such as charitable donations, education, and insurance premiums. 

Minimum spend and qualifying spend is determined by transaction date based on Singapore timing (GMT+8), so exercise caution if you’re spending overseas on the last day of the month!

Minimum spend vs qualifying spend

Since these two concepts are sometimes confused, I figured it be good to have a brief section explaining the difference between minimum spend and qualifying spend.

The S$5,000 minimum spend required to unlock this offer can also be part of qualifying spend. For example, if I were to spend the equivalent of S$5,000 in-person overseas, I would earn 4 mpd on the entire amount, since the minimum spend has been met and the spend is also qualifying.

However, minimum spend may also not be part of qualifying spend. For example, if I were to spend S$5,000 in Singapore, I would then qualify to earn 4 mpd on up to S$5,000 of in-person overseas spending- but not on the S$5,000 already spent (since it’s non-qualifying).

While supplementary cardholders don’t enjoy a separate bonus cap, their spending will be combined with that of the principal cardholder in determining minimum and qualifying spend. 

When will bonus points be credited?

Citi PremierMiles Cardholders will initially receive the regular 2 mpd earn rate for all FCY transactions. 

The bonus 2 mpd awarded under this promotion will be credited (in the form of Citi Miles) according to the following timeline

Terms & Conditions

The T&Cs for this offer can be found here.

What can I do with Citi Miles?

Citi Miles do not expire, and Citi PremierMiles cardholders get access to 10 different frequent flyer programs and one hotel partner. 

Points can be transferred to miles in blocks of 10,000 Citi  Miles (10,000 miles). There are some great sweet spots with programmes like British Airways Executive Club, Turkish Miles&Smiles, and Qatar Privilege Club.

Partner	Transfer Ratio (Citi Miles: Partner)
	10,000:10,000
	10,000:10,000
	10,000:10,000
	10,000:10,000
	10,000:10,000
	10,000:10,000
	10,000:10,000
	10,000:10,000
	10,000:10,000
	10,000:10,000
	10,000:10,000

A S$27 conversion fee applies for every transfer, and do note that Thank You points earned on the Citi Prestige & Citi Rewards cards do not pool with Citi Miles, so you’ll have to redeem them separately.

How does this compare to Amaze?

As with every FCY spending promo, the inevitable question is: how does this compare to Amaze?

Here’s my quick thoughts:

I think the Amaze is probably a superior option, provided you pair it with the right card. You’re looking at 4-6 mpd with an implicit FCY fee of ~2%, versus 4 mpd with a 3.25% FCY fee. There’s also no minimum spend necessary, and your bonus miles will arrive earlier.

However, the Citi offer could still come in useful if you burst the 4-6 mpd caps on the cards that you’d pair with Amaze. Think of it as a secondary sponge, a useful fallback option for big spenders.

Conclusion

Apply Here

From now till 31 January 2024, Citi PremierMiles Cardholders can register to earn up to 4 mpd on in-person overseas spending. A minimum spend and cap of S$5,000 per calendar month apply. 

There is no registration cap for this offer, unlike the Citi Prestige’s FCY promo, but it’s also more restrictive because only in-person overseas spending counts.

Hopefully you’ll have a trip planned!