Citi PremierMiles Card boosting foreign currency earn rate to 2.2 mpd

While the Citi PremierMiles Card remains a solid general spending card, it’s lost a bit of ground in recent times for two main reasons. 

First, Citi PayAll has been nerfed significantly, with the admin fee hiked to an all-time-high of 2.6%. This, historically speaking, was a big reason to get the PremierMiles Card, as cardholders could buy miles from as little as 0.8 cents apiece during promotions. 

Second, its earn rates are starting to fall behind. Competitors like the DBS Altitude, HSBC TravelOne and OCBC 90°N Card have all started offering superior earn rates, making the Citi PremierMiles Card’s 1.2/2 mpd on local/foreign currency (FCY) spending look relatively lacklustre by comparison.

But Citi will soon change this- at least the FCY component. Per an update posted on the Citi mobile app last night:

Effective 12 September 2024, there will be revision (sic) made to the Citibank PremierMiles Program. Issuance of Citi Miles will be revised to 2.2 Citi Miles for every S$1 spend on overseas retail purchases posted to a cardmember’s card account

-Citibank

Citi PremierMiles Card hiking FCY earn rate

Apply Here

From 12 September 2024, Citi will adjust the earn rates on the PremierMiles Card such that cardholders will earn 2.2 Citi Miles per S$1 on FCY spend, versus the current 2 Citi Miles.

We don’t have the full details of the changes yet — those are set to be published on 23 July — but from what I can see, the local earn rate will remain the same.

This, sadly, means there’s no benefit to those planning Citi PayAll transactions. You’ll still earn the same 1.2 mpd, which with a 2.6% admin fee works out to 2.17 cents per mile. This is way too expensive a price to pay, and hence should not be considered outside of promotions.

It’s also interesting that at the moment, there’s been no changes announced for the Citi Prestige Card. You’d think that the more expensive $120K card would also receive a similar upgrade, but until further notice it’s still the same 1.3 mpd for local spending, and 2 mpd for FCY spending.

Citi’s FCY fee will remain constant at 3.25%, which given a 2.2 mpd earn rate works out to ~1.48 cents per mile, ignoring the spread charged by Visa/Mastercard.

Here’s how the Citi PremierMiles Card’s revised earn rates will measure up to other general spending cards at the S$30,000 income mark. 

💳 Earn Rates for General Spending Cards (income req.: S$30K)
Cards	Local Spend	FCY Spend
UOB PRVI Miles	1.4 mpd	2.4 mpd
HSBC TravelOne Card	1.2 mpd	2.4 mpd
DBS Altitude	1.3 mpd	2.2 mpd
OCBC 90°N Card	1.3 mpd	2.1 mpd
Citi PremierMiles	1.2 mpd	2.2 mpd
StanChart Journey	1.2 mpd	2 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend	1.2 mpd	2 mpd*
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card	1.1 mpd	2 mpd*
BOC Elite Miles	1 mpd	2 mpd
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card	1.2 mpd	1.2 mpd
*In June and Dec only, otherwise 1.1 mpd

It’s certainly more competitive, though my first choice for FCY spending would still be the UOB Visa Signature or Maybank Horizon Visa Signature, which offer 4 mpd and an uncapped 2.8 mpd respectively.

Of course, it’s also worth mentioning that earn rates aren’t the whole picture. Thanks to a more generous rounding policy, the Citi PremierMiles Card can outearn the UOB PRVI Miles and OCBC 90°N Cards, depending on transaction amount. For more on this, refer to my article on calculating points on general spending cards. 

Citi PremierMiles Card 30,000 miles welcome offer

Apply

As a reminder, Citibank is currently offering a 30,000 miles welcome offer for the Citi PremierMiles Card, which is currently set to lapse on 31 July 2024.

That said, I wonder whether we’ll see a new offer, given the revamp to core card benefits. Stay tuned!

New-to-bank

From now till 31 July 2024, new-to-bank Citi PremierMiles Cardholders can choose between two sign-up offers:

• 8,000 bonus miles with a minimum spend of S$800, with a first year fee waiver
• 30,000 bonus miles with a minimum spend of S$800, with payment of the S$196.20 annual fee

The S$800 must be spent within the first 2 months after approval, otherwise known as the qualifying period. The qualifying period runs from the approval date and two full calendar months following that. For example, those approved on 15 August 2023 will have until 31 October 2023 to meet the minimum spend.

In other words, you actually have 2-3 months to hit the minimum spend, and should apply as early in the month as possible to maximise your time. 

For the full details, refer to the following post.

Extended: Citi PremierMiles 30,000 miles sign-up bonus

Existing

If you already hold any principal Citi credit card, or cancelled one in the past 12 months, there is no sign-up bonus available to you. You will automatically be granted a first year fee waiver.

Conclusion

Citi PremierMiles Cardholders will soon be able to earn 2.2 mpd on foreign currency transactions from 12 September 2024 onwards. 

This 10% boost will put it ahead of the StanChart Journey Card and on par with the DBS Altitude Card, though the Altitude still wins on local earn rates.

I’m hoping we’ll see a similar enhancement for the Citi Prestige (and heck, the Citi ULTIMA while we’re at it), though there’s no word at the moment.

(HT: @applefreak123)