HSBC Premier has a slightly lower barrier to entry, but Citigold has a richer selection of privileges. Which of these priority banking programmes should you choose?
HSBC Premier and Citigold are priority banking programmes catered to wealthy individuals seeking to grow and manage their wealth and assets.
At heart, both of these platforms are quite similar, but there are some slight differences that may make one more attractive over the other.
How does HSBC Premier compare against Citigold? Let’s find out.
SingSaver Exclusive Offer: Receive an Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max 256GB (worth S$1,999) or S$1,500 Cash when you apply for Citigold and deposit a minimum of S$250,000 within 3 months of account opening and maintain the funds for a total of 3 months. Valid till 5 November 2023. T&Cs apply.
Plus, get up to S$800 Cash Reward when you hold a valid primary Citibank credit card and apply for a Citibank Mortgage loan with a minimum loan size of S$800,000 within 3 months of account opening.
Also, receive an additional S$200 GrabGift voucher when you start a Citigold relationship, make a S$250,000 deposit and hold the funds until the point of reward fulfilment. Valid till 30 September 2023. T&Cs apply.
At-a-glance: HSBC Premier vs Citigold
HSBC Premier |
Citigold |
Signing up: - Deposit fresh funds of at least S$200,000 or - Deposit your monthly salary of S$15,000 and above or - Take an HSBC Singapore property loan of at least S$800,000 You'll also be eligible for a fixed deposit rate of up to 2.8% with min. S$30,000 deposit for 12 months; up to 2.5% for 7 months |
Signing up: - Deposit fresh funds of at least S$250,000
|
Wealth management tools and services: - All-in-one wealth tracking via Wealth Dashboard - Preferential rates for savings, loans and mortgages - Online unit trust and securities investment - Construct your own investment portfolio with research and wealth advisory from HSBC’s research team |
Wealth management tools and services: - Personalised wealth management via Total Wealth Advisor - Preferential mortgage interest rates and instalment offsets - Full suite of wealth solutions, ranging from forex to unit trusts and insurance solutions - Bonus interest of up to 7.51% p.a. with Citi Wealth First Account |
Membership privileges: - Global banking privileges, including fee-free ATM cash withdrawals - Overseas education support for children - Relationship Manager assigned to you |
Membership privileges: - Access Citigold centres and free emergency cash withdrawals worldwide - Dining, travel, hotel, spa, health and other lifestyle privileges - Relationship Manager assigned to you |
Sign-up reward: - Receive up to S$13,771 welcome gift - Bonuses for incremental deposits, investments and referrals |
Sign-up rewards: - Receive up to S$16,855 welcome gift - Bonuses for incremental deposits, investments and referrals |
How these two products are the same
Both Citigold and HSBC Premier are premium banking programmes from HSBC and Citi respectively. They are targeted at affluent individuals who earn a high annual income (at least S$180,000) or have otherwise a substantial amount of wealth investments and assets.
Signing up for HSBC Premier or Citigold is largely similar – you’ll need to make deposits into your account equal to or exceeding the minimum qualifying sum, while making investments and/or buying insurance plans to access bonus cash rewards.
The overarching goal of both HSBC Premier and Citigold is to help their members grow their wealth further. To that end, both programmes offer personalised wealth planning and advisory services through a variety of tools and services.
These include digital dashboards and online wealth platforms that you can use to oversee your financial portfolio, as well as research insights and market reports. Another feature that may be useful is global banking facilities, such as free worldwide funds transfers, ATM withdrawals, and preferential forex rates.
Another commonality between the two is the inclusion of privileges and rewards, mostly revolving around lifestyle, partnerships and services. And also, you won’t be going at it alone (although you can, if you choose to) – you’ll be assigned the services of a Relationship Manager, who will assist you in growing your wealth by understanding your needs and partnering with you to manage your wealth portfolio.
HSBC EGA (Premier) Welcome Gift: Get up to S$12,000 wealth rewards when you invest in eligible HSBC wealth products, T&Cs apply, and enjoy 3.45% p.a. on 4-month SGD Time Deposits. T&Cs apply.
Additionally, manage your wealth and invest with HSBC. Stand a chance to win your share of up to 3,000,000 KrisFlyer miles in the HSBC Wealth Mega Air Miles Lucky Draw. Valid till 31 December 2023. T&Cs apply.
How they are different
Sign-up criteria
To sign up for Citigold, you’ll need to make a deposit of fresh funds totalling S$250,000. While not explicitly stated, there may be other ways through which you can also qualify for a membership. Check directly with Citi if you’d like to explore other ways to qualify.
For HSBC Premier, there are three options for you to qualify. One is by making a fresh funds deposit of at least S$200,000, another is by crediting your salary of at least $15,000 per month, and thirdly, by taking up a Singapore property mortgage worth at least S$800,000.
Sign-up rewards
At the time of writing, both Citigold and HSBC Premier are offering sign-up rewards worth several thousands of dollars.
Citigold promises S$16,855 in cash bonuses, while HSBC Premier is dangling up to S$13,771. While such sums certainly make for attention-grabbing marketing campaigns, the devil, as they say, are in the details.
In order to collect the full bonus reward, you’ll need to complete a whole list of tasks, such as making investments, buying insurance plans, maintaining your account for a minimum period, and such.
Also, part of the cash rewards come from referral bonuses, which you only receive if you manage to persuade your friends, acquaintances or family members to sign up.
It might be prudent to ignore the big flashy numbers, as realistically speaking, you’ll likely only receive part of the cash bonuses if you only want to sign up for basic services.
Membership privileges
One of the membership privileges that HSBC Premier offers is overseas education support for your children.
This perk helps to smoothen the transition for your children studying in another country through the provision of HSBC banking and payment facilities. As you’d imagine, this is really only useful if you have children and are planning to send them for overseas study.
In contrast, Citigold seems to offer a more general suite of membership privileges anchored by lifestyle, dining, travel and spa offers. Of course, it is likely that HSBC also has some of these, but details aren’t readily available, so you’ll have to ask them directly.
HSBC Everyday Global Account Welcome Gift: Enjoy up to S$2,030 in rewards when you sign up for an HSBC Everyday Global Account and complete offer bundles with HSBC credit card, investment, and life insurance products. T&Cs apply.
Conclusion: HSBC Premier or Citigold – Which one is right for you?
What’s more important is whether these programmes serve your long-term financial goals, which pretty much boils down to whether you can find investment products and opportunities that suit your needs and preferences.
The membership perks and privileges are secondary considerations that are good to have, and certainly should not form the basis of your decision.
But also, there’s no need to choose only one of these (or indeed, any other) priority banking programmes. If you have the funds, go ahead and sign up for both the programmes to see which one suits you best. You can always make adjustments as you go along.
But just to cover all your bases, make sure to check for early closure penalties, fixed-deposit rules.
Read these next:
Best Citibank Credit Cards Singapore
Best HSBC Credit Cards in Singapore
Similar articles
Priority Banking 2023 – Which Bank Offers the Best Welcome Rewards?
Standard Chartered Priority vs UOB Privilege Banking: Which is Better For You?
Simplify Your Life with the HSBC Advance Account
CIMB Preferred Banking Review (2023): Flexible and Customisable Wealth Management
HSBC Premier Banking Review (2023): What’s In It For You?
6 Things Your Priority Banking Relationship Manager Can Do for You
Standard Chartered Priority Banking Review (2023): Well-rounded Financial Services Suite with Nifty Online Tools
A Full Guide To Priority Banking In Singapore (2023)