Citi Rewards Credit Card – Balance Transfer Offer

Roland Bleyer

Credit Card Expert with over 15 years card experience and the founder of Creditcard.com.au. Ask Roland a Question about this card.

The Citi Rewards Credit Card Review (Balance Transfer)

• 0% p.a. for 30 months on balance transfers
• No balance transfer fee applies
• $49 annual fee for the first year
• Earn 1 Citi reward Point per $1 on Citi Card
• Earn 2 Citi reward Points per $1 on linked Diners Club Card
• Suite of complimentary insurances
• Free bottle of wine when dining at Citibank Dining Program partner restaurants. T&Cs apply.
• Exclusive perks from Mastercard Priceless Cities and Citi World Privileges
• Personal concierge service
• Compatibility with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay
• Annual Fee: $49 for the first year ($149 p.a. ongoing)
• Additional Cardholder Fee: $90
• Purchase Rate: 21.49% p.a.
• Cash Advance Rate: 22.24% p.a.

This Card: The Lowdown

Offering one of the longest balance transfers in the market, the Citi Rewards Credit Card is the card to apply for if you’re looking to pay down debt. How long is the offer exactly? As a new cardholder, you can benefit from 30 months – yes, that’s two and a half years – paying zero interest on your transferred balance, giving you the time you need to pay it down completely.

Want to save even more money? This card has you covered. As part of this very appealing introductory offer, you will a reduced annual fee in the first year. This not only lets you put more aside to pay off your transferred balance, it essentially lets you ‘test drive’ the card at a reduced rate for a whole year.

That means every single reward point you earn, and every perk you use, comes at zero cost to you. So, what’s the go with the perks then? Aside from being a rewards earner, the Citi Rewards Credit Card has a nice selection of perks on the table, providing access to a full suite of insurance covers, a personal concierge service, and a heap of Citi perks. Did somebody say free wine?

Obviously, the card will work best for cardholders who want to pay down an existing credit card balance, while still having the means to pay off new spending month by month. It is a rewards card after all. But, with a bit of organisation knowhow, this card could easily be a winner, providing the opportunity to save big on interest over a seriously long intro period.

Digging Deeper

With the basics covered, it’s time to dig a little deeper into what’s on offer with the Citi Rewards Credit Card, so you can decide whether this card is right for you.

Balance Transfer Offer

As one of the longest 0% balance transfer offers we can remember coming across, this certainly is one special intro offer. So, why would you want such a long offer?

• You have a significant balance you want to pay down: Whether you have one big balance or a number of smaller ones, it all adds up to one thing: you have a large lump of debt. Using this intro offer, you will have 30 long months to clear that debt, allowing you to get rid of it once and for all.
• You want to save on interest: Carrying a balance on a credit card means paying out interest, every single month. With a 0% offer such as this, you pay no interest on your transferred balance. So, as you pay less in interest, you pay off more of what you owe.
• You want to spring clean your finances: Want to streamline your wallet? With this offer, you can transfer the balances from your non-Citi cards, to then close them and focus your attentions on your Citi Rewards card.

Well then, what do you need to know about the offer to make it work for you? While you should always read the small print before you take advantage of any intro offer, here are some of the highlights that we deem essential reading.

Annual Fee Offer

Complementing the card’s 0% balance transfer offer, Citi has reduced the annual fee on the Citi Rewards Credit Card to $49 in the first year. This has a few major benefits.

• You are paying less in annual fees, so you can pay down more of your transferred balance.
• You can try the card on for size, while paying zero annual fees for the privilege.
• You can make the most of the extras on offer, allowing you to see whether they will work well for you.
• Your rewards earn offers significantly more value in the first year.
• You can decide if the card provides value long term, before the standard annual fee kicks in.

This Card: As a Rewards Card

Looking past the offer, let’s see how this card operates as a rewards earner.

Using the Citi Rewards Credit Card, you will earn points on Citibank’s own Citi Rewards program. As a fairly flexible option, the program provides a wide range of redemption options, while also allowing cardholders to transfer their points to partner programs such as Emirates Skywards, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and flybuys.

Earning Points

• Earn 1 Citi reward Point per $1 on all eligible transactions made overseas or online with a merchant that is based overseas
• Earn 1 Citi reward Point per $1 on all eligible transactions in Australia (up to $10,000 per statement period)
• Earn 1 Citi reward Point per $1 on all eligible transactions using Citi PayAll
• Earn 2 Citi reward Points per $1 on all eligible transactions made using the Linked Diners Club Card

As you can see from the above earn rate, points are capped at a monthly spend of $10,000 on spending within Australia. While this may not be ideal for bigger spenders, you may still be able to enjoy value by adding to your points total with overseas spending, and purchases made using your linked Diners Club Card.

Diners Club Card

How does the linked Diners Club Card work then?

• When you use your Diners card, you will benefit from an uncapped earn rate of 2 Citi reward Points per $1 on all eligible transactions.
• There are no international transaction fees, reducing your outgoings when spending online or in person at overseas retailers.
• While acceptance may not be across the board, your Diners Club Card will be accepted in more places than you may think, including Coles, Woolworths, Bunnings, and a wide range of other retailers both here in Australia and overseas (check out the Citi site for a full list).
• As the two cards are linked, all points earned are held within one balance, which can be managed online.

Redeeming Points

Time to redeem those points? You have a number of options open to you.
Pay with Points: When you Pay with Points, you decide which eligible purchases you have made that you want to cover using your points. This essentially allows you to redeem your points against almost anything.

Shop with Points: Allowing you to use your points to shop directly with participating retailers, this is another flexible option. Currently, you can shop direct at Kogan and Apple, with the option to use Points Plus Pay at Apple if you don’t have enough points to cover your purchase.

Travel: As travel starts to open up again, you can start planning your next adventure, using the Citi Travel Portal to redeem your Citi reward Points for flights, hotels, car hire and activities, or to create your own itinerary. You can make up the remaining balance with your card if you don’t have enough points to cover the cost of your booking.

Transfer: Providing even more flexibility, you have the option to transfer your Citi reward Points to Citi’s partner programs, which include Emirates Skywards, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, flybuys and more.

Transferring your points to another program obviously opens your options even further, giving you the opportunity to redeem your points for any of the rewards on offer within those programs. For example, transferring your points to flybuys could give you money off your Coles shop, helping to reduce your household expenses day to day.

This Card: Extras on Offer

Citi credit cards are well known for their perks. So, what can you expect in terms of extras on your Citi Rewards Credit Card?

Complimentary Insurances

Providing access to a full suite of complimentary insurances, the Citi Rewards Credit Card could offer some much-needed peace of mind on your purchases. Cover includes:

• International Travel Insurance: When you purchase your flights with your card, you and your family could benefit from International Travel Insurance when travelling overseas, with cover offered on medical expenses, loss or theft of personal items, unexpected trip cancellation and more.
• Transit Accident Insurance: Purchase your overseas travel tickets with your card, and you and your family may be covered for up to $500,000 for injuries sustained while travelling.
• Purchase Cover Insurance: Eligible items purchased on the card receive 90 days cover against loss, theft or accidental damage anywhere in the world.
• Extended Warranty Insurance: Eligible purchases will receive up to a maximum of 12 months from the manufacturer's warranty, to cover the cost of repairing or replacing the item.
• Guaranteed Pricing Scheme: Purchase an eligible item on the card, and get the best price if, within 60 days of the purchase, it’s available for a lower price from a store within 25km.

Citibank Dining Program

When you dine at any of the partner restaurants within the Citibank Dining Program and pay using your card, you will receive a free bottle of wine to enjoy with your meal.

Global Perks

With the Citi Rewards Credit Card, you will have access to Mastercard Priceless Cities and Citi World Privileges, where you can take advantage of exclusive offers and discounts at home in Australia, and overseas.

Personal Concierge

Ever wondered what it would be like to have a personal assistant? With access to a personal concierge service, you can have the next best thing. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, your personal concierge is on hand to help with everything from booking travel to gift buying, no matter where you happen to be in the world.

Compatibility

With the Citi Rewards Credit Card, you can make the most of your mobile wallet by syncing your card to Apple Pay or Samsung Pay to enjoy a faster checkout when shopping in person and online. Want contactless? No problem. With this option, you touch nothing but your device when you pay.

Security & Support

As you would expect from a provider with a global presence as large as Citi, the Citi Rewards Credit Card comes with all the service and support you could need. This includes emergency card replacement, round-the-clock customer service and fraud protection.

This Card: The Essentials

Time to get down to it. What will it cost to keep this card in your wallet? In terms of annual fees, you will pay nothing in the first year thanks to the intro offer. From there, it’s $149 per year ongoing. Additional cardholders come at a cost of $90 per year. Is it worth it? It really depends on the value of what you get back from the card in rewards and extras. Do some sums and work it out.

As for interest, the rates on this card are far from low. However, they are pretty standard for rewards cards with extras on the side. You can avoid worrying about interest by clearing your balance each month – to take advantage of up to 55 days interest free on purchases – but be aware this feature isn’t offered while there is a balance transfer on the account.

In terms of other notable numbers, the minimum credit limit is $6,000, while the maximum credit limit is $100,000, based on applicant circumstances. You will need to have a minimum annual income of $35,000 to apply. However, as with any rewards card, bigger spenders will tend to find more value, especially when the standard annual fee comes into play.

Decision Time

If you’re looking for a long 0% balance transfer offer, you would be hard pushed to find a better one than this. With 30 months at 0% p.a., you have two and a half years to put a serious dent in your debt, as you save big on interest. Paying $49 annual fee in the first year provides even more of an incentive to apply, as it essentially allows you to try out the card’s many extras, while earning rewards on a reduced annual fee first year.