Start here: Citi Miles on the Citi PremierMiles Card in Singapore — earn, redeem and transfer

Step 1: What Citi Miles are and who they suit

You will learn: what Citi Miles are, what they can be redeemed for, and whose card earns them.

Citi Miles are the miles earned through usage of the Citi PremierMiles Card as specified in the Citi PremierMiles Cardmember's agreement, and they may be used to redeem Rewards [2]. The programme they sit under is the Citibank PremierMiles Program and Citi ThankYou Rewards [1]. A Reward is defined broadly: it can be miles on participating airline frequent flyer programmes, payment of annual cardmembership fees or a rebate, as the Bank determines in its reasonable discretion [1]. Unless the terms expressly state otherwise, Citi Miles are not transferable and are not exchangeable for cash or credit [1].

Citi ThankYou Points are a separate currency: the Citi ThankYou Rewards terms define Points as the Citi ThankYou Points earned on the other Citi cards listed in those terms, and define Miles separately as the Citi Miles earned on Citi PremierMiles Cards [2]. This course deals with the Miles side only, on the Singapore dollar card issued by Citibank Singapore Limited [1]. It suits a cardmember who already holds that card and wants to know how the miles are credited, what they can be exchanged for, and what happens to them when the account closes [1] [2].

Go deeper: Singapore card points programmes compared for how this currency sits beside the other Singapore reward programmes, and credit card points for the general glossary entry.

Step 2: How you join: the card, good standing and the primary cardmember

You will learn: how participation begins, whose spending is counted and who may redeem.

A cardmember whose card account is in good standing, as the Bank determines in its sole discretion, is entitled to participate in the programme from the date the programme commenced or the date the card was issued, whichever is earlier [1]. Holders of a Citi PremierMiles Visa or Mastercard are automatically enrolled in Citi ThankYou Rewards [3]. The programme terms describe no separate enrolment step for Citi Miles: participation follows from the card account [1].

Retail purchases charged by a supplementary cardmember are aggregated with the basic cardmember's for the purpose of calculating Citi Miles, but supplementary cardmembers do not earn or receive Citi Miles [1]. Only the primary cardmember is the sole authorised person who may perform a redemption [2]. Terminating a supplementary card does not disqualify the basic cardmember from participating [1]; if the basic cardmember's card account is terminated for any reason, both cardmembers are disqualified and all unused Citi Miles then accrued are cancelled [1].

Go deeper: authorized user for how supplementary cards are treated in general, and card selection framework for choosing which card to put spending on.

Step 3: How earning works

You will learn: the two earn rates, what is excluded, how rounding and refunds work, and how the renewal bonus is triggered.

Citi Miles are credited to the card account on a monthly basis at 1.2 Citi Miles for every S$1 incurred on local retail purchases and 2.2 Citi Miles for every S$1 incurred on overseas retail purchases, which means retail purchases denominated in a currency other than Singapore dollars [1]. The card page restates the same two rates for local spending and for foreign currency spending [4]. Miles are calculated on the amount of each retail purchase transaction and reflected on the statement rounded down to the nearest Citi Mile [1]. Refunded retail purchases are not accredited Citi Miles; where miles were already credited or used before the refund, the Bank debits the credited miles, and it may do so even if the debit leaves a negative Citi Miles balance [1].

Clause 3.3 of the programme terms removes a long list of transactions from earning: annual fees, interest and late payment charges, GST, cash advances, instalment and similar payment plans, balance transfers, quasi-cash transactions, fees and miscellaneous charges, funds transfers, bill payments, payments to educational institutions, government institutions and services, insurance companies, financial institutions and non-profit organisations, betting and gambling, top-ups and payments to payment service providers, prepaid cards and prepaid accounts, transit-related transactions, and transactions at merchants within an excluded Merchant Category or a merchant excluded by the Bank [1].

A cardmember also receives 10,000 Citi Miles, or such other number as the Bank may determine, on renewal of the annual membership provided retail purchases were charged to the account in that membership year [1]. The cardmember is not entitled to those miles if the Bank does not receive payment of the annual membership fee in cash, and where the annual membership fee is waived the 10,000 bonus miles credited are reversed [1] [4]. Miles on eligible new purchases appear in the rewards balance within 24 hours of being posted to the card account, while special bonus miles may take one to two additional billing cycles, approximately 30 to 60 days [3].

Go deeper: earning rate for how earn rates are expressed, eligible card spend for what counts as spend, merchant category code for how exclusions are applied, and KrisFlyer card earning for a parallel walk through another Singapore earning card.

Step 4: How to use Citi Miles: Pay with Miles, vouchers, cash rebate and Points Transfer

You will learn: which redemption options exist on this card and what each one requires.

Provided the card account is in good standing and holds sufficient Citi Miles, the cardmember may redeem Rewards through the redemption channels the Bank informs the cardmember of [1] [2]. Once a redemption has been submitted, it cannot be reversed, cancelled or changed [2]. The card page lists the options open to the card: Pay with Miles, vouchers, the Apple Rewards Store, Kris+, Points Transfer and Cash Rebate [4].

• Pay with Points Online redeems available Rewards through the Citi Mobile App for statement credits covering retail purchases made with the card within 60 days of the redemption date [2].
• Vouchers are delivered as a physical voucher in a minimum of 7 working days or an electronic voucher in a minimum of 5 working days, and are valid 3 months from the date of issue unless stated otherwise [2] [3].
• Cash Rebate is redeemed in blocks of $10 and up to $50 per redemption, with no limit on the number of times it can be redeemed, subject to the available Rewards balance [3].
• Points Transfer requires a valid membership account with the participating loyalty programme, matching first and last names on the Citi ThankYou Rewards account and the partner account, and an exchange in blocks of 10,000 points or miles issued under the partner programme [2]. An administrative fee of SGD27.25 inclusive of GST is charged for each Points Transfer and is waived only for Points Transfer from a Citi ULTIMA Card [2] [3]. Transferred miles are deducted from the balance immediately on completion and credited to the partner account within 14 working days, the request cannot be reversed, and the miles then follow the partner programme's terms [2].

The current participating travel loyalty programmes, and any minimum thresholds set by each of them, are shown in the Citi Mobile App under Travel, then Points Transfer [3].

Go deeper: pay with points for the statement-credit mechanic, card points statement credit for how credits land on the account, transfer partner for the partner side, and transfer points checklist for a routine to follow before submitting a transfer.

Step 5: Keeping Citi Miles: no expiry, no tiers, closure

You will learn: what protects the miles and what cancels them.

No status tiers are described in the programme terms, and there is no expiry date for Citi Miles [1] [4]. If the card account is terminated, whether by the cardmember or by the Bank, any unused Citi Miles are automatically cancelled [1]; the Citi ThankYou Rewards terms add that the unused balance is non-transferable to any card account and is forfeited immediately on termination [2].

The Bank may vary, modify or amend the programme terms with reasonable notice, and may terminate the programme or withdraw, cancel or invalidate Rewards and Citi Miles already issued [1]; the rewards terms also allow the programme to be suspended, cancelled or terminated and points or miles invalidated [2]. Abuse or fraud in respect of the issuance of Citi Miles or the redemption of Rewards may result in cancellation of accrued Citi Miles and of Rewards already issued [1] [2].

Go deeper: card points expiry for how expiry rules differ across programmes, and transferable points when closing a card for what to do before an account closes.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: a five-point check you can finish in one sitting, before you spend or transfer anything.

1. Confirm your card is a Citi PremierMiles card issued by Citibank Singapore Limited, and read the programme terms inside the Cardmember's Agreement [1].
2. Check your Citi Miles balance on the Citi Mobile App home page, where the balance is shown in a single glance once you log in [3].
3. Before a large purchase, check whether its category falls within the exclusions in clause 3.3, because those transactions earn no Citi Miles [1].
4. Before a Points Transfer, check the current partners and minimums in the Citi Mobile App, make sure your first and last names match on both accounts, and budget for the SGD27.25 fee [2] [3].
5. Redeem or transfer before closing the card, because unused Citi Miles are cancelled when the card account is terminated [1] [2].

When the checklist is done, go back to the rules and to the programme hub before you commit a redemption.

Next: the transfer points checklist to carry a Points Transfer from request to posting, and the Citi Miles (Singapore) programme hub for every page about this programme grouped by task.