The miles and points expert in Singapore will certainly not be foreign to this card that I would like to share about! This is Citibank publicly available most prestigious card. Of course the Ultima is higher level than the Prestige but that is subjected to invitation and the requirement would also be out of reach for the most of us. I would just like to briefly share my thoughts on what I perceive to be the Best Credit Card for Travelling in Singapore! I managed to save so much using this credit card on my travels recently and if you are a travel fanatic like me, this is one card that you should definitely have in your wallet. Read on to see how did I manage to save $1539.01 on hotels in just 2 months!
Citi Prestige Credit Card Singapore
The Citi Prestige Card can be said as one of the 120K annual income credit card in Singapore. It belongs to one of the highest tier in Singapore, with the exception of ultra exclusive invitation card where you got to be making millions or spending millions. I consider this to be the most relevant category for the miles and points travellers. If you are making millions you probably won’t be putting in that much effort to save on your travelling cost. The Citi Prestige requires a 120,000 Annual Income requirement as well as a non-waivable 535 dollars annual fee. If not you can also get it as a secured card.
If you are not willing to pay credit card annual fee you can forget about it already! It do comes with 62,500 points or 25,000 miles every year. It is both a welcome and a renewal gift. You also have the option to get other form of gifts when you first sign up, such as a Dyson or a ipad. I will just use the miles seeing how that is all it matters to me. To me, 25,000 miles is worth around 384 SGD. Spending on the Citi Prestige Card earns you 1.3 MPD for local spend and 2 MPD for overseas spend. Depending on your banking relationship and history with Citibank you qualify for a relationship bonus ranging from 5% to 30%. Let me share further what I consists to be the most beneficial benefits on this card.
4th Night Free Hotel Benefits
The ability to get a free 4th night off every 4 night hotel stay is the main reason why I love this card so much and why I am willing to pay that hefty annual fee. It works in a way where if you make a 4 night hotel booking, the cost of the 4th night will be credited back to you. Do note that only the room rate is complimentary. The taxes are not. Here is a simple example. Let’s say the average nightly rate is 100 SGD. Singapore have a 7% tax. You total cost of the 4 night stay will be 100 X 4 + 7% tax – 100 = 328 SGD.
You can definitely save more than what you paid for the annual fee if you travel frequently. To put it plainly, you just have to stay at a 535 SGD a night hotel once and you literally earn back your annual fee and even get the 25,000 miles for free. During my most recently trip, I used it 8 times and save more than 1300 SGD. It is particularly rewarding when you are staying at chain hotels such as Hilton or Marriott as you earn points or rewards based on the full cost of your stay but your out of pocket expenses is the cost after credit! I have included a little breakdown below to illustrate it!
| Hotel | Stay Cost (SGD) | 4th Night Free Benefit Credit (SGD) | Cost After Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Bonn | 835.26 | 177.34 | 657.92 |
| Hilton Antwerp Old Town | 752.77 | 177.12 | 575.65 |
| Hilton Milan | 768.66 | 172.23 | 596.43 |
| Hilton Budapest | 861.24 | 193 | 668.24 |
| Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Lisbon – Fontana Park | 699.07 | 164.11 | 534.96 |
| Hilton Porto Gaia | 854.01 | 206 | 648.01 |
| Hotel Ercilla de Bilbao Autograph Collection | 596.96 | 131.34 | 465.62 |
| Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona | 697.24 | 167.87 | 537.45 |
| Total | 6065.21 | 1389.01 | 4684.28 |
Priority Pass
The card comes with a Priority Pass that gives you unlimited access to airport lounges. You can also bring one guest with you. This can be rather useful when you are not flying in premium cabins or just doing a short haul flight in budget. I use it all the time for weekend getaways and some lounge are actually pretty good. It allows you to save up on overpriced food and drinks at airports.
Travel Insurance Citi Prestige & World Elite Mastercard
Being a Principal or Supplementary card holder of the Citi Prestige Card, you are able to use the travel insurance under both Citi Prestige itself as well as from World Elite Mastercard. The coverage are pretty good and even covers COVID-19. I did took advantage of the travel insurance once and managed to claim 500 USD for a flight delay using the World Elite Mastercard policy. The insurance from World Elite Mastercard is especially useful since they have stuff like Purchase Protection and E Commerce Protection as well. Below you can find the link to the respective policy for more details.
Airport Transfers in Singapore
You are able to enjoy 2 limo rides per quarter if you spend 12,000 SGD or more within the quarter. This can be to Changi Airport or from Changi Airport. You can also take the ride first while you qualify for the spending requirement later on. For example, you use the limo ride on 1 Jan but only spend 12,000 SGD by 20 March.
On and Off Special Benefits
On and off there are also special promotions from Citibank such as 1 for 1 fine dining and even during this COVID period there are plenty of staycations offers from time to time. I have recently stayed at Grand Hyatt where they allows you to save 150 Dollars on a staycation. The concierge is a handy on to have as well although the service depends on who is helping you. Hafiz is pretty good. I mainly use it for hotel bookings as well as making international calls.
Conclusion
One of the best and most rewarding card ever! Yes, it might come with a pricy annual fee and perhaps the only card where I pay an annual fee in Singapore but I use it mainly for my travel and I travel a lot. You can see how much I have already save on this card. If you do at least 2 hotel bookings in a year, you are bound to make up the annual fee paid. You can just take it as getting free points on your hotels and the bonus 25,000 miles every year. Definitely worth a slot in your wallet.
Seeing The World In Steps 
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