Citi Rewards Card Review – Shopaholics Delightful Treats

citi rewards review

The Citi Rewards Card is a shopper’s delightful treat, offering 3x points when you use it to shop, dine, or book a ticket via Cebu Pacific Airlines. You earn (1) point for every P30 you spend.

Citi Rewards also offers a generous Welcome e-gift for new cardholders, which you redeem once you meet the minimum spending requirement during the promo period.

As of this writing, if you apply for a Citi Rewards card from now until June 30, 2019, you’ll receive P5,000 worth of Welcome e-gift, which you can redeem from the participating merchants, either at Uniqlo, Nike, TGIFridays, or Travelbook.

You need to spend at least P20,000 on your new card within 60 days from receiving it.

But wait, there’s more! Setting aside this enticing promo, the Citi Rewards card can also unlock other perks and freebies.

Let’s explore what this card has to offer…

Citi Rewards Card Terms and Conditions

Annual Fee
  • Waived for the first year
  • P2,500 for the principal cardholder
  • P1,500 for a supplementary cardholder
  • You can use rewards points to waive the fee
Minimum Annual Income
  • P250,000 if you have no credit card
  • P180,000 if you already have a credit card for at least 6 months
Monthly Interest Rate
  • 3.5%
Cash Advance Fee
  • P500 per withdrawal or 3% of the cash advance amount
Late Payment Fee
  • P850
Overlimit Fee
  • P750 if you exceed credit card limit (effective June 1, 2019)
Card Replacement Fee
  • P400
Card Network
  • Visa

How does Citi Rewards credit card work?

Citi Rewards card key features are the 3x times reward points you can earn when you use it for shopping in participating merchants locally and overseas. You get 1 point for every P30 you spend and you can even pay with 10 points for every P1.

Aside from shopping, you can also use this for other spending categories like travel, fuel, and groceries. You still earn points when booking flights and refuelling your tank, but you can also check the latest promos and participating partners to make sure you can double or triple the points for your next purchases.

There’s no cap on points earning, and these points don’t expire. And if you feel like redeeming them, feel free to use the Citi Rewards online banking site to claim them, either as an annual fee waiver or cash credits.

You get 10% off on Fridays when you shop from 12 NN to 2 PM on Lazada with a minimum purchase of P1,000 with code, CITIFRIYAY valid from now until August 31, 2019.

You can use your Citi Rewards card with the #Love2Click promotions for online deals. Enjoy special discounts at Zalora, Agoda, Booking.com, Winery Philippines and among others.

What can you redeem from Citi Rewards credit card?

If you feel like collecting more points since they don’t expire, you can redeem air miles and shop merchandise from apparel to electronics to toys, and also on Amazon, Apple, and other popular brands.

Below are some of the rewards you get and the equivalent amount in pesos.

Reward Points to Redeem Amount Spend or Value of the Product/Service
Cash Credit (Denomination, P100, P200, P500, P1,000, P1,500, P2,000, P2,500, and P5,000) P1 = 10 points

  • 10,000 points
  • 15,000 points
  • P1,000
  • P1,500
Apple EarPods with Lightning Connector 17,900 Points P1,790 +
Annual Fee 25,000 points P2,500
Rayban Original Wayfarer Classic Tortoise 107,000 points P10,700+
Samsonite Star Wars Ultimate Spinner 4-wheel, 56cm 146,500 points P14,650+
Bose Sound Link Around-Ear Wireless Headphone II 152,500 points P15,250+
iPhone XS 64GB 710,122 points P71,012 +

 

The info above is based on the Citi Rewards redeem points website at the time of writing this article.

In a nutshell, with such a large number of points required, it’ll probably take a while (perhaps years) before you can get that pair of wireless headphones. And by the time you have accumulated more than 700,000 points, there’s a new Apple iPhone device in the market. However, it’s all down to your spending habits.

Spending more using this card can provide you with these perks, but it would be more practical to use and redeem your points for waived annual fees and cash credits. This way you won’t be forcing yourself to spend more than your budget.

Other options to Citi Rewards

If the Citi Rewards redeeming system isn’t really “rewarding” for you, you can explore other options that match your spending categories and habits.

For the reward points, you may want to look at what the minimum spend in pesos is for you to earn one (1) point. Other cards can give you 1 point valued at P25 or P20 every spend, compared to Citi Rewards where you earn 1 reward point for every P30 spend.

You may also look at the points multiplier to see how much you need to earn to redeem vouchers and cash credits or merchandise.

Security Bank Classic Rewards Mastercard (10 points = P1)

You earn 1 point for every P20 spent with this rewards card. Similarly, the points don’t expire, allowing you to redeem them in exchange for vouchers, gift certificates or convert them into air miles and other goods from participating merchants and establishments such as restaurants, coffee shops, etc..

You can refer to the Rewards Catalogue for the full list of rewards associated with this card.

AUB Classic Mastercard (10 points = P1)

This card offers a free annual fee and you earn 1 point for every P20 spend. Again, the points don’t expire and you can choose from any of the participating merchants and establishments to redeem vouchers and e-gifts from shopping to dining and electronics.

You can refer to the Rewards Catalogue for the full list of rewards associated with this card.

Still interested to apply for a Citi Rewards card? If you apply from now and get approved, you’ll receive P5,000 worth of Welcome e-gift subject to their terms and conditions.

What’s your favourite Rewards card in the Philippines? Let us know in the comments section below.