I have reviewed the best credit cards in India and included 2 credit cards from Citibank in the list. I thought of writing a separate post on the best credit card offers by Citibank if you have already decided to apply for Citi cards.
Citi Cashback Card is best for shopping and Premier Miles Credit Card is best for travel. Apart from these, there are two more cards that you can consider depending on your requirements.
If you fill up fuel from Indian Oil regularly, then consider applying for Citibank IOC Card. If your requirements are getting a premium credit card then go for Prestige.
I am explaining all the benefits and offers on top Citibank credit cards in India.
#1. Citibank Cashback Credit Card Review
You will get direct cashback rather than rewards with Citibank Cashback credit card.
Note: Citibank Cashback credit card was my favorite a few years for paying bills. Now you get better offers from wallets (Paytm & Freecharge) for the payments of your bills.
Still, that is a good option to utilize the credit card in case you could not find a great deal on mobile wallets. If you dine out frequently then you can save up to 20% across 2000 restaurants all over India.
Citibank also offers easy EMI options at more than 2,000 consumer electronics and mobile phone outlets, leading retail chains and e-retailers.
5% Cashback Offers on Citibank Cashback Credit Card
- 5% Cashback on movie ticket purchases.
- 5% Cashback on all your telephone bill payments.
- 5% Cashback on all your utility bill payments made online through Citibank Online Bill Pay.
- 0.5% cashback on all other spending.
For movie tickets, you can also find deals online to save more than 50% on movies.
Redemption of Cashback
- You can do Cashback redemption only in multiples of Rs. 500
- Cashback points can be redeemed easily as statement credit.
- There is no hassle in getting the cashback, it gets automatically credited in the statement as soon as it become Rs. 500.
Limitations
Cashback on the Telephone / Movies / Utility category is capped at Rs.100 per month for each category.
Fee and Charges
- Annual Fee– Rs 500 (Citibank does not waive off the annual fees as per my knowledge)
My Views on Citibank Cashback Credit Card
I don’t like the capping limit of Citibank Cashback Credit Card, which is just 100 rupees per month. The card is good only for people who have 2000 monthly spend on Telephone, Movies and Utility bills.
There are high chances of approval if you are a salaried person and applying for the first time. Along with the standard benefits of credit cards, Citibank offers many deals and discounts on partner websites. It’s best to keep at least one credit card from Citibank.
Check out – 10 ways to pay Citibank credit card bill
#2. CitiBank IndianOil Credit card Review
If you are looking for a credit card to save money on fuel, you can go for Citibank IndianOil Citibank (IOC) credit card. IOC credit card offers 3.5% saving on your fuel expense.
Actually, it’s a marketing tactic. They are including the 1% surcharge waiver as part of cashback.
Let’s quickly see the calculations:
Citibank credit card reward points calculator
You can get 4 turbo points per Rs. 150 on fuel. One turbo point is equal to Rs. 1 fuel.
After a simple calculation, you can see (4/150) * 100 = 2.67%.
Citibank also waives 1% of surcharge on fuel and give you 2.67% cashback in the form of turbo points.
Citibank Indian Oil credit card reward points and redemption
- 4 Turbo Points on Rs.150 of fuel purchases at 1100 authorized citibank IndianOil Retail Outlets across the country.
- 2 Turbo Points per Rs.150 spends at grocery and supermarkets.
- 1 Turbo Point per Rs.150 spends elsewhere like Shopping, Dining and all other spends.
- You can save up to 20% across 2000 restaurants all over the india.
Note: There is one catch to receive the turbo points – You must use Indian Oil and swipe the card at Citibank machine.
Check out – Slice credit card review
How to redeem rewards points of Citibank Indian Oil Credit Card
- Redeem your reward points as fuel. The value of one turbo point is Rs. 1 fuel.
- Redeem your reward points for shopping online. In this case value of one turbo point will be Rs 0.30.
- Redeem your reward points for online traveling. In this case value of one turbo point will be Rs 0.25.
- Redeem your reward points as AirMiles. In this case, the value of one turbo point will be 0.75 miles.
- Redeem your reward points against your card outstandings. In this case, value of one turbo point will be Rs. 0.35.
Citibank Indian Oil credit card terms and conditions
In case of fuel expenditure, the turbo point would be capped to purchase amount of Rs. 10,000 ( 267 turbo points). On transactions exceeding Rs.10,000, you would not earn any points.
2 turbo points per Rs. 150 at grocery and supermarkets is capped to spends up to Rs. 5000 (67 points) per month. On transaction exceeding Rs. 5000 you would get 1 turbo point per Rs. 150.
Fee & Annual Fee Waiver
- Ist Year Annual Fee– Rs 1000
- From Second Year Annual Fee – Rs. 1000
Spend Rs. 30,000 in one year and your annual fee of Rs. 1,000 will be waived off. In that way this card becomes free.
Indian Oil Credit Card vs Standard Chartered Titanium Card
If you are an Indian Oil customer and spend regularly on fuel, then you should apply for Citibank credit card.
But standard chartered super value titanium card also offers 5% cashback on fuel filling and you can avail of this benefit on any petrol pump.
Also read – Best HDFC credit card review
#3. Citibank Premier Miles Credit Card Review
Citibank Premier Miles Credit Card is crafted for travelers. If you are a Frequent Flyer of any airline, you can get the double benefit on your travel spending. You will get regular Frequent Flyer miles from the airline and 10 miles per 100 rupees from Citibank.
You can transfer your miles on Cathay Pacific, Delta Airlines, British Airways, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Eva Air, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Air India. You will get 1 Frequent Flyer Air Mile for every 2 Miles you transfer.
Citibank Premier Miles Card Benefits and 10x Miles
- Get 10,000 miles on joining after you spend Rs 1,000 within 60 days of card issuance.
- Get 3,000 reward miles on the renewal of the card.
- 10 Miles per Rs.100 spent on all airline transactions.
- 10 Miles per Rs. 100 spent on exclusive website Premiermiles
- 4 Miles for every Rs 100 spent on all other transactions.
- Flat Rs 1000 instant savings on domestic flight bookings through MakeMyTrip offer till 28 Jan, 2020.
Citibank Premier Miles rewards redemption
You will earn 10 miles per Rs. 100 spent on the card and each mile is worth 45 paise, which means that you will get 4.5% worth of value when you redeem miles at Citibank’s preferred partners.
You can redeem miles across over 100 domestic and international airlines along with hotel bookings. The miles never expire so that you can collecting miles and redeem whenever you need them.
Simple Calculations: If you spend Rs. 300,000 in one year using Citibank Miles card then you will earn 30,000 miles that you can redeem for 13,500 Rs.
Lesser known benefits of Citibank Premier Miles credit card
- Provides air accident insurance cover up to Rs.1 crore.
- You get lost card liability cover insurance up to a limit of 2 lakhs.
- 6 Complimentary lounge access to participating airport lounges in India.
Citibank Premiermiles card lounge access
Citibank offers two variants of Premier Miles credit card. There is no difference in perks and rewards except the access to free lounge access in India.
Citi PremierMiles MasterCard World cardmembers Complimentary access to the Following Lounges
- Chennai – TFS Lounge, First Floor, Near Gate No 11, International Departures
- New Delhi – Plaza Premium Lounge, Domestic Departures ( T3)
- Hyderabad – Plaza Premium Lounge near Gate 32A, International Departures
- Bangalore – Above Ground Level Lounge, International Departures T3
- Mumbai – Clipper Lounge International Terminal
- Free lounge access to primary cardmembers only – Limited to 6 complimentary visits per calendar quarter.
Citi PremierMiles Visa Signature cardmembers Complimentary access to the Following Lounges
- Chennai – Travels Club Domestic Terminal
- Chennai – Travels Club International Terminal
- Delhi – Plaza Premium Lounge Domestic Departures (T3)
- Delhi – Plaza Premium Lounge International Departures (T3)
- Mumbai – Mumbai Airport Lounge Domestic Departures T2
- Mumbai – Clipper Lounge International Departures (T2)
- Hyderabad – Plaza Premium Lounge International Departures
- Hyderabad – Plaza Premium Lounge Domestic Departures
- Bangalore – Plaza Premium Lounge Domestic Departures
- Bangalore – Plaza Premium Lounge International Departures
- Free lounge access for primary cardmembers – Limited to 8 visits per calendar quarter per card.
Annual Fee and Waiver Conditions
- First year annual fee – Rs 3000
- Second year onwards – Rs. 3000
First year fees waiver is available only to people who have Citibank priority account.
Also like to read – top Amex credit card review
#4. Citibank Prestige Credit Card Review
Looking for a super-premium credit card?
Inspire yourself to experience unmatched luxury and premium services with the Citi Prestige Credit Card.
This card entitles you to enjoy the highest levels of service, opens door to a world of exclusive benefits and experiences like luxury travel updates and access to premium lifestyle privileges.
But to get such prestigious status, you have to pay an annual fee of INR 20,000.
Every year you have to pay INR 20,000 as an annual fee. In return, you get 10,000 air miles and a gift voucher worth INR 10,000. If you are smart enough to redeem air miles at INR 1, then the total worth of welcome gifts become INR 20,000 (10,000 miles 10,000 voucher) which is equal to your annual fee.
In this way, your effective cost will be Zero.
Welcome Gift
- Get 10,000 air miles on the first transaction in every membership year.
- Get a gift voucher/card worth INR 10,000 from the Taj group of ITC hotels.
- You will get both welcome gifts in every membership year.
One Interesting Thing, You can’t apply for Prestige card online. You will either have to get an invitation or you have to call their number 1-800-419-1050. Generally, Citibank asks PremierMiles card holder to upgrade his/her card to Prestige Card.
Reward Points With Citibank Prestige Credit Card
- Earn 1 reward point for every INR 100 spent domestically.
- Get 2 reward point for every INR 100 spent overseas.
- Earn up to 30% bonus points up and above your regular earn, basis spends on the Citi Prestige credit card, if you are an existing Citigold or Citigold Private Client.
Redeem your rewards for something special
Redeem your reward points for air miles. Get 4 Frequent Flyer Air miles for every Citi Prestige reward point you transfer to airlines.
You can also transfer reward points to luxury hotel partners. Here is the list
Complimentary Benefits With Citibank Prestige Credit Card
- Complimentary unlimited priority pass lounge access at over 800 airports.
- Indulge in the one-night complimentary stay, on the minimum booking of 4 nights at any hotels across the world.
- Get overseas medical insurance of USD 50,000.
- A complimentary air accident insurance up to INR 5 crore.
- Get Lost card liability insurance of INR 3 lakh.
- 4 complimentary golf rounds and golf lessons every year at 15 leading cities in India.
Don’t forget to read – Best SBI credit card in India
Conclusion
You have to pay an annual fee of INR 20,000 to get the Citibank Prestige card. How much you get benefit through this card is totally depends on your spending and how well you can utilize their offers.
Before upgrading your credit card to Citibank Prestige card, make a cost-benefit analysis. You will be able to make an informed decision. Otherwise, you can select any from the rest of the 3 cards.
