For two months only, spend the minimum sum required to earn up to 4 mpd on select spend categories

Citibank has launched brand new year end promotion for the Citi PremierMiles Card, offering up to 4 miles per dollar spent on its card for spending up to 31 Dec 2020, a big bump up from the usual 1.2 mpd the card offers.

The offer

From now till 31 Dec 2020, registered Citi PremierMiles cardmembers can earn either 3 or 4 mpd on eligible transactions if they fulfill a minimum spend requirement during the period.

To get 3 mpd, cardmembers must spend at least $2,000 (called qualifying spend, more on this later) in each calendar month of November and December.

To get 4 mpd, the minimum spend each month is a heftier $5,000.

Note that the bonus miles (called additional Citi Miles in the illustrations above) will only be awarded on the following categories:

• All online spending (except those that in excluded categories)
• Dining (MCCs 5811, 5812, 5813, 5814)
• Department / Clothing stores (MCCs 5262, 5309, 5311, 5331, 5399, 5611, 5621, 5631, 5641, 5651, 5661, 5691, 5699)
• Computers / Electronics / Furniture (MCCs 5045, 5712, 5732)

The bonus miles are capped at S$10,000 eligible spend. Registration is capped at the first 25,000 eligible cardholders.

For both tiers, you must achieve the minimum spending each month, in both months, in order to receive the bonus mpds. If you fail to meet the minimum spending for either November or December, you will not qualify for the bonus.

For instance:

Nov spending	Dec spending	Bonus received
$5,000	$6,000	2.8 bonus mpd (4 mpd in total)
$2,700	$6,000	1.8 bonus mpd (3 mpd in total)
$6,000	$1,000	None (default 1.2 mpd)

So be careful and plan your expenses accordingly.

Note that the minimum spend is by calendar month, not by your statement cycle. The qualifying and eligible spending will be based on the time the transaction is posted to your account.

How to register?

To register, send an SMS in the following format to 72484:

PMSPEND<space>Last 4 digits of your Citi PremierMiles Card number

e.g. PMSPEND 9999

Note that you will have to be the first 25,000 cardmember to register.

If your registration is successful, you will get the following SMS:

The fine print

This is where it gets a bit complicated and a whole lot technical.

First, there are two terms here you need to understand: Qualifying spend and Eligible spend.

Qualifying spend is the minimum amount you need to spend on your PremierMiles card, with some exclusions (usually those spending associated with installment plans, cash advances, annual fees and other fees).

Qualifying spend what gets you into the 1.8/2.8 bonus mpd inner circle. You will need to fulfill this criteria first, before you enjoy the fruits of your labour, or in this case, the bonus miles for your eligible spend.

So if you have a recurring PayAll transaction, you can charge it to your PremierMiles card for the next two months and they will count towards your qualifying spend.

Eligible spend is what gets you the bonus miles. For the purpose of this promotion, this means spending in the following categories:

• All online spending (except those that in excluded categories)
• Dining (MCCs 5811, 5812, 5813, 5814)
• Department / Clothing stores (MCCs 5262, 5309, 5311, 5331, 5399, 5611, 5621, 5631, 5641, 5651, 5661, 5691, 5699)
• Computers / Electronics / Furniture (MCCs 5045, 5712, 5732)

The bonus 1.8 or 2.8 miles per dollar will only be credited latest two months after the end of the promotion period (i.e. 28 Feb 2021).

Final thoughts

For those who have some big ticket spending to do in the next two months, this is a great way to bump up your mileage bank if you plan it right.

Citi Miles are one of the most valuable bank loyalty currencies around, given its whooping portfolio of 12 transfer partners, including IHG Rewards Club. Apart from the usual suspects such as Singapore Airlines Krisflyer and Asia Miles, Citi Miles can also be transferred to more obscure programmes such as Thai Royal Orchid Plus, Etihad Guest and Air France KLM Flying Blue programme.

Citi Miles also don’t expire, so that means you can always keep them in the bank (literally) and transfer them only when you need it. This means that you can tap on this offer to keep the miles for a reward no matter how far down the road it takes for travel to recover.