Citi Rewards Platinum Card Balance Transfer Offer

Citibank has created a unique combination of rewards plus one of the longest available zero-interest balance transfers, with the Citi Rewards Platinum Card Balance Transfer Offer. When the transferred balance has been cleared you can take advantage of a reasonable points earning rate in the Citibank Rewards program, a suite of complimentary insurance policies and a heap of other platinum card benefits.

• Twenty-six months to sort out your finances, almost pain-free*

This has to be a godsend for anyone who needs time to put their financial affairs back on track. Transfer your balance from an existing card where you are struggling with repayments, or even consolidate your debts from several cards. It could mean a new start, provided you make a realistic plan that will see the balance cleared in 26 months.

There is a little pain to be endured at the outset, in the form of a 1.5% balance transfer fee, and the 22.24% p.a. revert rate promises more discomfort at the end if you don’t clear the balance in full in the time allowed.

A further drawback is the fact that having an unpaid balance transfer means that you forfeit the normal 'Up to 55 days on purchases’ interest-free period on purchases. Any purchases would attract the ongoing 21.49% p.a. purchase rate from the transaction date until they are repaid, so you are unlikely to accumulate reward points or qualify for free insurance while you have an unpaid balance.

Earn Citibank Rewards at a reasonable rate

Considering that this is a Visa card rather than an AmEx card, the earning rate of 1 point per dollar spent, while not overly generous, is fairly typical.
There is a points cap on purchases made in Australia, but at 10,000 per statement period it’s quite high and will only trouble big spenders who would probably find either the Citi Signature or the Citi Prestige card more suitable for their needs. International purchases (both online and in person) are not subject to a cap. So you can earn up to 10,000 points each month on domestic purchases, and unlimited points on overseas purchases.

Redeeming Citibank Rewards

Most people like to get something for nothing, and with Citibank Rewards you can get free merchandise, retail and entertainment gift cards, travel and accommodation, and even a cash credit to your card account, just for putting your everyday spending through your credit card. Here are a few examples of the ways in which you can exchange your points:

• Buy merchandise in the Citi Rewards online catalogue. For example, a Bissell Powerforce vacuum cleaner or a Brother Compact laser printer
• Swap points for a gift card – retail, car hire, hotel accommodation, movies and more – available in various denominations from $20 to $500.
• Get a credit to your card account statement by effectively converting points to cash.
• Convert your points to frequent flyer points with a choice of three airlines: Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia. Virgin and Singapore points cost 2.5 Citi Rewards points each, while an Emirates Skywards Mile costs 3.0 Citi points.
• Book flights, cruises, hotel accommodation, car hire, or any other travel needs.

• Useful complimentary insurance policies*

The many travel options available are a great way to use frequent flyer points, and they are enhanced by two insurance policies – international travel and transit accident – included with the card. All cardholders – primary and supplementary – are covered, together with their families.

Shoppers are not forgotten. They can take advantage of extended warranty and loss, theft and damage cover on their purchases. And if an item turns up at a significantly lower price up to three weeks after the day they bought it, they can obtain a refund of the price difference through the guaranteed pricing scheme.

Wine and dine – the wine’s on Citibank

Use your Citibank card to pay for your meal at one of hundreds of partner restaurants in the Citibank Dining Program, and claim your free bottle of wine to accompany your meal. There’s a limit of one bottle of wine per visit, but no limit to the number of times you can take advantage of this great offer.

Visa Platinum benefits

Once approved for this card you can enjoy a host of platinum privileges, from a personal concierge – for assistance and information anywhere in the world that you happen to be – to reserved tickets for the hottest events. If you’re travelling overseas, you can access special offers and discounts through Citi World Privileges. The Citi Rewards Platinum Card lets you stand out from the crowd.

Convenient and versatile

You expect worldwide customer service 24/7 with your card, and Citibank promise that you’ll get it, as well as emergency card replacement if your card is lost, stolen or hacked.

The card comes equipped with Visa payWave, for fast contactless purchases under $100.

You can set up Citi alerts to tell you when you’re spending has reached a certain level, or when a payment is due, and payments can be automated to avoid the risk of paying interest if you miss the due date.

Download the Samsung Pay or Citi Pay app, to turn your smartphone into a mobile digital wallet.

Take advantage of the online budgeting tool to see where your money went, and plan your future spending.

It all comes at a cost, but it’s not unreasonable

For a card which has this many bells and whistles, the $199 p.a. annual fee is pretty much around the expected level. But there is a 'welcome aboard’ special waiting for you. In the first year, the annual fee is significantly discounted to $0 p.a.

Unfortunately, you will have to pay $90 p.a. per year for any supplementary card on the account. Some cards have no extra charge for additional cards, but this isn’t one of them.

Long zero-interest balance transfer for points collectors

If you believe that you deserve rewards points for your credit card spending, you might want to lock in this card so that you can look forward to collecting points once the balance transfer is cleared. You’ll need to plan to pay for your purchases in cash or with another card for a couple of years, temporarily foregoing the points and other benefits, because you’ll forfeit the interest-free days on purchases as a result of the unpaid balance transfer. After that, use your Citi card for both your everyday purchases and your travel needs, and watch the rewards and benefits roll in.

You can't balance transfer to the Citi Rewards Platinum Card Balance Transfer Offer at the promotional balance transfer rate from:

• Bank of Queensland
• Beyond Bank
• Citi
• Family First Credit Union
• FCCS Credit Union
• IMB
• MyState Financial
• Qantas Money
• Suncorp