Citi Rewards Platinum Card Points Offer

The Citi Rewards Platinum Card has become even more rewarding in a new format as the Citi Rewards Platinum Card Points Offer. You can take advantage of a spectacular and long-lasting points bonus, a more than acceptable ongoing points earning rate in the Citibank Rewards program, a suite of complimentary insurance policies, a free Linked Diners Club card and a stack of other platinum card benefits. There’s even a zero-interest balance transfer if you need it.

Potential for 120,000 Citi Rewards bonus points to welcome you aboard

If you don’t already have a Citi card, the bank will be so pleased to have you as a new customer they will shower you with valuable bonus points. All you have to do is spend at least $3,000 in the first 90 days after card approval in order to earn 80,000 bonus points. Then renew your card for a second year by paying the annual fee, and you’ll receive a further 40,000 bonus points

Those 120,000 points are worth around $575 in retail eVouchers, or could be exchanged for 48,000 Virgin Velocity points, or 40,000 Singapore Airlines or Emirates points.

They could also be exchanged for 90,225 flybuys, worth around $451 at the Coles checkout, but you’d get better value by exchanging them for $575 in Coles eVouchers.

Earn ongoing Citibank Rewards at a reasonable rate

Considering that this is a Visa card rather than an Amex card, the earning rate of 1.0 points 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, the cap is 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.

Could you make use of a free Diners Club card?

Here’s a painless way to earn an extra 10,000 Citi Rewards points: apply for a Linked Diners Club card at the same time as you make your Citi card application and then make at least one purchase using the Diners Club card in the first 90 days to receive 10,000 extra points.

There’s no additional annual fee to pay for the Diners Club card. You’ll be able to access both cards using the same PIN and online login, and pay both card balances with a single monthly payment. Plus, the Diners Club card’s earning rate of 2.0 Citi Rewards points per $1 spent (on all eligible transactions) is uncapped, and there are no foreign transaction fees to pay. Since the Citi card has a foreign transaction fee of 3.4%, you might decide to use the Citi card for local purchases and the Diners Club card for overseas purchases.

In fact, given the Diners Club card’s higher and uncapped earning rate, and the fact that it is accepted by many retailers including Coles, Woolworths and Bunnings, you may decide to give preference to using your Diners Club Card whenever you can find a merchant not imposing a transaction surcharge.

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 &ndash 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 Velocity points cost 2.5 Citi Rewards points each, while Emirates Skywards Miles and Singapore KrisFlyer Miles cost 3.0 Citi points.
• Convert your points into flybuys (to spend at Coles) at the rate 1.33 Citi Rewards points = 1.0 flybuys.
• 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 rewards 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.

15 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, and pay 0% p.a. interest for 15 months, with a 1% upfront fee. It could mean a new start, provided you make a realistic plan that will see the balance cleared in 15 months. The 22.24% p.a. revert rate promises some 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’ interest-free period on purchases. Any purchases would attract the ongoing 21.49% p.a. purchase rate from the transaction date until they were repaid, so you are unlikely to accumulate reward points or qualify for free insurance while you have an unpaid balance.

This also means that you would probably miss out on the 80,000 bonus points available in the first three months, but you would still qualify for the second lot of bonus points – 40,000 – which depend on paying the second year annual fee, not on card purchases.

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 promises 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.

You can convert repayments for selected card purchases into a Citi Instalment Plan, committing to fixed monthly repayments in order to access a lower interest rate on the balance.

You can use the card in conjunction with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Turn your phone or other mobile device into a digital wallet, and leave your card at home.

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 $149 p.a. annual fee is pretty much around the expected level. But there is another ‘welcome aboard’ special waiting for you. In the first year, the annual fee is significantly discounted to $49 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.

Check out the competition

Even if this card sounds just like what you are looking for, it’s always a good idea to make sure there isn’t a better deal available elsewhere.

If the bonus points are your main objective, you’ll want to check out the offers on the ’Sign up bonus’ page in our Features section. If you’re looking for a zero-interest balance transfer, visit our Balance Transfer page.

One of the best bonus points offers at this price

Bonus points offers of this magnitude are usually attached to far more expensive cards. They are great for the first 12 months, but after that, it can be more difficult to extract enough value to justify the annual fee. However, the Citi Rewards Platinum Card Points Offer delivers the best of both worlds – lots of bonus points, with not only a reduced first-year fee but a reasonable ongoing annual fee. If you use your Citi card and your bonus free Diners Club card for both your everyday purchases and your travel needs, you can watch the rewards and benefits roll in and finish up ahead in every year, not just the first.

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

• Citi