Citi PremierMiles Card review: Citi Miles that never expire

The Citi PremierMiles Card used to be in the spotlight for the longest time: It was considered one of the most popular Citibank credit cards, and once upon a time, some even regarded it as the best miles credit card in Singapore. It was an accessible, entry level card, has decent earn rates, and most importantly, came with one of the best sign-up bonuses in town of 45,000 miles.

Earning miles on an air miles credit card takes a painfully long time, and one way to work around that is to get a credit card with a big sign-up bonus so you can get a sizeable bump in your miles. But with the days of a 45,000 miles present behind us, is the Citi PremierMiles Card still worth getting? Let’s find out.

 1. Citi PremierMiles Card: Essential information

The Citi PremierMiles Card is a good entry level miles card for the casual miles chaser. The earn rates are competitive, and we love that Citi Miles never expire. That means that you can take your time to accumulate them, and the card works for you even if you aren’t a very frequent flyer.

Here’s a quick overview of the fees and rates of the Citi PremierMiles Card:

2. Citi PremierMiles Card: Eligibility

The Citi PremierMiles card is about as accessible as miles card gets. Here are its eligibility conditions and income requirements:

• Minimum income for Singaporeans: $30,000
• Minimum income for non-Singaporeans: $42,000
• Minimum age: 21 years

So if you’re a Singaporean adult (even if just barely one), you can apply for this card as long as you earn $2,500 a month.

3. Citi PremierMiles Card: Earn rates

The Citi PremierMiles card earns you 1.2 Citi Miles per $1 local spend and 2 Citi Miles per $1 foreign currency spend. That’s pretty much the base rate for entry level miles cards — the Standard Chartered Journey Credit Card and DBS Altitude Visa Signature Card have the exact same earn rates for these spend types.

Some entry level cards edge past the Citi PremierMiles Card. The UOB PRVI MASTERCARD Miles Card, for example, earns you 1.4 miles per $1 local spend (UNI$3.5 per $5 spend) and 2.4 miles per $1 overseas spend (UNI$6 per $5 spend).

On top of the regular earn rates for general local and foreign spend, you’ll also earn extra for certain travel bookings:

• 7 Citi Miles per $1 overseas spend with Agoda
• 10 Citi Miles per $1 overseas spend with Kaligo

But the biggest draw of the Citi PremierMiles Card? You don’t get with many miles cards is the fact that Citi Miles have eternal life. Yup, that’s right—these miles never expire!

4. Citi PremierMiles Card: Sign-up promotion

The Citi PremierMiles Card comes with a pretty generous sign-up promotion if you apply via MoneySmart:

• Apple iPad 10.2′ 64GB, 9th Gen (worth S$503.65) OR
• ErgoTune Supreme V3 Ergonomic Chair (worth S$599) OR
• Apple HomePod 2nd Gen (worth S$429) OR
• S$300 Cash via PayNow

And the spending requirement to redeem the welcome gifts also isn’t too difficult to meet: spend $500 within 30 days of card approval.

ALSO READ: SCB Simply Cash Credit Card: Is simple really best?

5. Who should use the Citi PremierMiles Card?

The Citi PremierMiles Card is fantastic for making travel bookings and big purchases. Both the overseas and local earn rates lose to its biggest competitor the UOB PRVI Miles Card ($1 = 2.4 miles for foreign currency spend, and $1 = 1.4 miles for local spend, no minimum).

That said, you may get quite a bit of utility out of the Citi PremierMiles Card if you make most (if not all) your bookings via travel aggregators Agoda and Kaligo, thanks to the current travel promotions and bonus earn rates.

The Citi PremierMiles Card also comes with Priority Pass membership for the Principal cardmember only (on application basis, 2x airport lounge visits per year) and complimentary travel insurance coverage of up to $1,000,000.

6. Alternatives to the Citi PremierMiles Card

I mentioned earlier that the Citi PremierMiles has poorer earn rates than its main competitor, the UOB PRVI Miles Card. Let’s compare it against similar credit cards on the market:

UOB PRVI Miles Card: Better earn rates than the Citi PremierMiles, at $1 = 1.4 miles (local) and 2.4 miles (overseas), hence a better credit card for day-to-day use. It also has a competitive travel booking promotion with $1 = up to 6 miles (Agoda, Expedia, UOB Travel).

American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card: Poorer overall earn rates than the Citi PremierMiles Card, but has bonus accrual for Grab rides capped at $200 (3.2 KrisFlyer miles = $1). Its welcome offer is also less attainable: You’ll only get your 21,500 worth of KrisFlyer Miles after you spend at least $1,000 within the first month of card approval and pay the annual fee of $340.20.

Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card — With high bonus earn rates ($1 = 3.2 miles) on local dining, petrol and taxis, it’s hard to beat this one for getting miles on your daily expenses. There is a $300 minimum spend, which is reasonably low. Rewards are capped at 30,000 Treats points per month.

All in all, the Citi PremierMiles Visa Card has a decent, no-strings-attached welcome bonus, and is a decent entry level miles card. Its main spend category for bonus miles is travel booking sites, but even for those, you’re better off with the UOB PRIVI Miles card’s more attractive earn rates.

If you want to earn miles while swiping for day-to-day stuff like meals and transport instead, then the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature is a much, much better choice.

P.S. Here’s our MoneySmart credit card ranking rubric

In case you’re wondering, here’s how we decide on our credit card rankings.

This article was first published in MoneySmart.