Priority Banking 2023 – Which Bank Offers the Best Welcome Rewards?

Priority banking programmes dangle attractive welcome rewards to convince the wealthy to deposit their funds. Here are five of the best on offer.

Being made for the wealthy, priority banking programmes unsurprisingly have high eligibility criteria. To qualify requires at least several hundred thousands, and these must be fresh deposits to boot.

To convince high-net-worth clients to deposit their funds, banks are dangling attractive sign-up promotions that promise to make it worthwhile.

Here are five of the best priority banking welcome rewards currently on offer.

Related to this topic: Priority Banking In Singapore: How Does It Help To Grow Your Wealth?

How to qualify for priority banking welcome rewards

The priority banking welcome rewards highlighted in this article are generally only for new customers.

This means you do not have a prior priority banking relationship with the bank for typically six months to a year.

Also, while there are some eye-popping welcome rewards being dangled out there, getting the entire advertised sum will take some effort.

This may range from making multiple deposits across different banking products and services to fulfilling criteria such as referring friends and family, crediting your salary, and satisfying spending or investment thresholds.

While it may be tempting to “get ‘em all”, you should also consider the opportunity cost of making the required deposits just to qualify for the full welcome reward.

5 Priority Banking programmes with attractive welcome rewards

CIMB Preferred

To qualify: S$250,000

CIMB Preferred is offering up to S$12,119 in welcome rewards, but most of that is actually the interest you’ll earn on your deposits.

There are two tiers to this welcome reward, which simply requires you to deposit fresh funds:

You can also earn additional rewards for referring new customers, and when they complete certain actions:

• For every Premier customer referred: S$1,000
• For each family member who maintains S$5,000 balance in their StarSaver account: S$150

Related to this topic: Priority Banking vs Private Banking: What You Enjoy When You Cross The Last Hurdle

Citigold

To qualify: S$350,000

For Citigold, there is a total of S$6,716 in welcome rewards.

To be eligible for the entire sum, here’s what you need to do:

You can also enjoy a promotional interest rate of 3.88% per annum on a 3-month SGD Time Deposit.  

DBS Treasures

To qualify: S$350,000

DBS Treasures offers the highest welcome rewards of up to S$17,700. This is composed of several rewards, as follows:

In effect, you’d have to spend S$1 million and borrow another S$1.5 million in home loans to receive S$17,700 in rewards.

But that doesn’t mean you’d have to be a millionaire to qualify for DBS Treasures. Instead, you need only deposit fresh funds of at least S$350,000 (and fulfil a few other requirements) to join the programme.

At this entry point, you’ll be entitled to a S$3,150 cash reward instead.

Standard Chartered Priority

To qualify: S$500,000

You can get up to S$16,500 welcome rewards if you sign up as a Standard Chartered Priority customer.

This is through a series of cash rewards that grow in tandem with how much you deposit and/or invest, as follows:

The total amount of cash rewards each customer can receive from the above methods is S$9,000.

You will also receive bonus interest of 3% p.a on your deposits (capped at S$500,000) for an additional S$7,500.

This, combined with the cash reward you get for depositing and investing your funds, gives you a maximum welcome reward of S$16,500.

Note that this is a special promotion that the bank is currently offering. You can actually sign up as a priority banking customer with a deposit of just S$200,000, but you won’t be entitled to the cash rewards.

HSBC Premier

To qualify: S$200,000

Next up, we have HSBC Premier, which promises a total welcome package of S$15,310. However, this is one of those times when the number of hoops you have to jump through is just “too damn high” (is that meme still a thing?).

In order to receive the entire sum, you’ll have to fulfil the eligibility requirement of no less than five different promotions which are:

Yeah, the numbers don’t add up, but this is as much information I could glean from the website, so you’ll have to ask your Relationship Manager about the missing S$1,460 in rewards (if you’re planning on joining and maxing out on all five promotions, that is).

Related to this topic: Have Enough Money To Jet Off to Space? 5 Signs You’re Ready For Priority Banking

Should you sign up for priority banking?

Yes – but not simply because of the welcome rewards.

You should consider if the priority banking programme is a close match for your financial goals and objectives, and if the platform will help you in a concrete manner.

At a very basic level, all priority banking programmes have similar offerings, such as  

• Dedicated service managers or teams
• Preferential interest rates
• Fees that are lower or waived
• Premium credit cards
• VIP or elevated treatment
• Lifestyle perks and exclusive invites

However, while these privileges are nice to have, the main purpose of priority banking is to accelerate the growth of your wealth – or at least, to have it properly managed by experienced professionals.

The extent to which each priority banking programme can do this for you will pretty much depend on what banking products and services are offered, as well as the type of opportunities and markets that you can access as a customer.

Hence, you should carefully evaluate the platforms you’re interested in to see how each one could potentially help you, both in the short and long term.

In any case, you can – and should – arrange a call or meeting to find out exactly how a priority banking programme can help you achieve your financial goals before signing up for an account.

Read these next:

Best Ways to Grow Your Wealth Through Priority Banking

A Full Guide To Priority Banking In Singapore (2023)

Citigold Review (2023): An Abundance Of Wealth Solutions For The Well-Heeled

Privilege Banking: What’s In It For You and Your Money