It’s been a nervous couple of days for the miles community, who were suddenly forced to confront the idea of life after Amaze x Citi Rewards.
That’s because earlier this week, reports started coming in that Amaze transactions were only earning 1X base points (0.4 mpd) on the Citi Rewards Card, with the 9X bonus points (3.6 mpd) AWOL. All sorts of transactions were affected, even those with whitelisted MCCs (such as using Amaze at an overseas department store).
Fortunately, it looks like we can relax for now…
Amaze x Citi Rewards 9X bonuses now posting
According to data points in the MileChat, Amaze transactions from 22 January 2024 onwards are earning both the 1X base and 9X bonus points on the Citi Rewards Card.
I can verify this too, as I’ve seen a small jump in my points balance that can only be attributed to 10X points from transactions with Canva and ChatGPT (no, I’m not using it to write articles; is there anything else I can help you with?).
| ❓ How do I calculate my Citi Rewards points? |
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Here’s how to calculate the points earned on the Citi Rewards Card 1X: Round down trxn. to nearest S$1, then multiply by 1 Both base and bonus points are posted at the same time If you’re using Excel, plug the following formulas in (where X= eligible transaction amount) Base: ROUNDDOWN(X,0)*1 For a list of formulas for other credit cards, refer to this post. |
However, it looks like Amaze transactions from late-day 19 January to 21 January are still in limbo. Whether or not the 9X ends up posting really boils down to whether this was an Amaze or Citi problem; if it’s the latter I wouldn’t be too worried, if it’s the former then some follow up may be necessary.
What happened?
I’ve heard a range of theories as to why The Blip happened in the first place, with some drawing a somewhat-unlikely link to the upsized InstaPoints campaign over the weekend, and others citing the back-end migration of the Citi ThankYou Rewards portal.
Your guess is as good as mine, and I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure. But if nothing else, it’s a good reminder that many of the things we enjoy in the miles game live under the ever-present shadow of the nerf of Damocles. Enjoy it while it lasts.
At least we can now rest assured that Amaze continues to convert offline transactions into online ones, a trick which has implications beyond just Citi. If you’re a KrisFlyer UOB Credit Cardholder, for example, the offline to online conversion is crucial to maximising the uncapped 3 mpd for online shopping (since it lets you enjoy the bonus at physical stores too).
Conclusion
Citi Rewards Cardholders should be getting the full 10X points on their Amaze transactions from 22 January 2024 onwards, confirming that the pairing is indeed alive and well- if a little glitchy.
If you have transactions from 19-21 January that weren’t bonused, my advice would be to wait a week or so before hitting the phones. Unfortunately, the retirement of the Citi ThankYou Rewards portal means it’s significantly more difficult to track your points, but with the right Excel setup you can import your transactions and calculate the points accordingly.
For the record, I take full credit for this reverse-jinxing, and am now off to write my next article called “Why we won’t see Singapore Airlines’ new Boeing 777-9s in 2024”.
Awesome news, thanks for the update! Btw can I pay the ChatGPT bill using only Citi rewards to earn 10X points?
Just got a message from Instarem – they have some other “promption” this weekend where you will earn more instapoints on certain linked card transactions. Let’s hope it does not cause another blip in the 9X rewards if the linked card is the Citi Rewards card.
Have been in contact with Citibank CS, they have admit to the missing points for online transactions (Amaze) between 22 Jan and 23 Jan. They need 4 weeks for the points reinstatement, let’s see.