Citi SMRT Credit Card Review (2023): Save 5% On Transport, Groceries & Online Shopping With No Monthly Cap

The Citi SMRT Card isn’t just great for public transport. You can enjoy savings of up to 5% on your online shopping spend and groceries, too.

Contrary to what its name may suggest, the Citi SMRT Credit Card is more than just a credit card designed for those who take public transport on a regular basis. Everyday Singaporeans can utilise the Citi SMRT Credit Card to their advantage as long as they play their cards right. 

As a matter of fact, maximising the amount of cashback you can earn on your everyday purchases isn’t exactly rocket science with the Citi SMRT Credit Card. All you have to do to earn 5% cashback (0.3% base cashback and 4.7% bonus cashback) in the form of flexible SMRT$ is spend a minimum of S$500 each statement month.

Table of contents

• Overview: Citi SMRT Credit Card
• Reasons to choose the Citi SMRT Credit Card
• Eligibility, fees & charges
• How to apply?
• Should you get the Citi SMRT Credit Card?

What the Citi SMRT Credit Card can do for you

Citi SMRT Credit Card product summary: 

• 5% savings on taxi & public transport rides, online and supermarket purchases
• 0.3% savings on all other qualifying retail spend
• Minimum S$500 spend per month required to earn 5% cashback on selected categories
• Annual income requirement: S$30,000 (Singaporeans/PR), S$42,000 (Foreigners)
• Minimum age: 21
• Annual fee: S$194.40 (First 2 years waived)

Why should you choose the Citi SMRT Credit Card?

#1: Earn up to 5% rebates on your public transport, Grab, Gojek and taxi rides

Find the cost of owning a car in Singapore too ridiculous to stomach? The Citi SMRT Credit Card can help you save on SimplyGo transactions, taxi and ride-hailing rides all year round. If you can hit the minimum spend of S$500 per statement month, expect to save 5% on all of the above-mentioned types of transactions. 

#2: Earn up to 5% rebates on online purchases

This cashback credit card lets you save up to 5% on your online purchases, excluding travel and mobile wallet transactions. Regardless of whether you tend to spend on Lazada, Shopee, Ezbuy, Amazon, Love Bonito, Zalora, Book Depository or any other e-commerce site, you can potentially save 5% on anything and everything you purchase online by charging them to your Citi SMRT Credit Card. 

#3: Earn up to 5% rebates at supermarket and grocery stores

Another stellar aspect of this credit card is that you can enjoy up to 5% savings when shopping for groceries no matter whether you favour going to Sheng Siong, Cold Storage, NTUC FairPrice or Giant. 

This versatility that the Citi SMRT Credit Card affords also translates into utmost convenience for cardmembers — you can earn rewards on your day-to-day grocery expenses wherever you may be without the need to shop at a particular supermarket chain or grocery store. 

Read more:
4 Reasons You Should Shop For Groceries Online Instead of Visiting Supermarkets
Which is the Cheapest Online Grocery in Singapore?

#4: No monthly cap on how many SMRT$ you can earn

While you need to hit the reasonable minimum spend of S$500 per statement month to earn 5% cashback on your groceries, public transport, private hire and online shopping transactions, it is nice to know Citi SMRT Credit Card does not limit the number of SMRT$ you can earn per month, unlike other rewards credit card on the market. 

Instead, your rebates are capped at 600 SMRT$ per year, starting from the date your card is issued.

This means you don’t need to shy away from using this card when making big-ticket purchases such as work-from-home essentials like Secretlab chairs and Omnidesks, or any other online purchase. Each 1 SMRT$ is equivalent to S$1 in cash value.

Following this, your accumulated SMRT$ can be redeemed in the following denominations:

So yes, you'll need at least SMRT$10 in your card account balance before you're allowed to redeem any rebate.

What fees and charges should you look out for?

• Annual fee: S$194.40 (First 2 years waived)
• Cash advance fee: S$15 or 8% of amount drawn, whichever is higher
• Late payment charge: S$100
• Minimum monthly payment: 1% of current balance, plus 1% of outstanding unbilled instalment amounts and relevant upfront service fees, plus all interest charges, plus late payment charges, or S$50 plus any overdue amounts
• Overlimit fee: S$40
• Interest on purchases: 27.9% p.a. 
• Interest on cash advance: 27.9% p.a.
  
  • Potential promo rate for prevailing interest rate and cash interest rate may be issued as 21.9% p.a. based on good conduct of account or 30.9% p.a. if account is past due in the month

Eligibility criteria

• At least 21 years of age
• Minimum annual income for Singapore Citizens and PRs: S$30,000
• Minimum annual income for Foreigners: S$42,000

How to apply?

Click on the ‘Apply Now’ button or 'Pick Your Citibank Card Here' button on this page and complete the application form on SingSaver site. You might need to prepare the following documents for the application process:

• Front and back of NRIC/Passport/Employment Pass
• Salaried employees: Past 12 months' CPF statement (Singaporean/PR) or latest Income Tax Notice of Assessment or latest original computerised payslip
• Self-employed: Last 2 years' Income Tax Notice of Assessment and last 3 months' bank statements
• Foreigners/PRs:
  • Copy of passport and work permit (min. 6 months validity)
  • Copy of utility/telephone bill or bank statement with name and address, and
  • Latest Income Tax Notice of Assessment and latest original computerised payslip

Should you get the Citi SMRT Credit Card?

All in all, the Citi SMRT Credit Card is a great rewards card option for those who commute around Singapore frequently – whether it's by public transport or by ride-hailing services. Furthermore, it earns rebates for online purchases and grocery runs, so that's a plus point too!

Young working adults and those who live alone will benefit greatly from the 5% SMRT$ rebate provided by this credit card.

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