If you’re after a no-frills cashback card that covers daily essentials, the Citi SMRT Credit Card remains a practical choice — especially for younger cardholders and commuters. Once known primarily for transport rebates, it has since broadened to include groceries, online shopping, and food delivery, making it relevant for modern everyday spend.

Main highlights include:

• Cashback on essentials: Earn rebates across groceries, online shopping, transport, and food delivery — categories most Singaporeans spend heavily on.

• Food delivery coverage: Cashback applies to major platforms like GrabFood, Deliveroo, and foodpanda, ensuring consistent rewards on popular services.

• Auto-credit simplicity: Cashback is automatically credited as SMRT$, keeping things fuss-free with no manual redemptions required.

• Annual earnings cap: A limit of 600 SMRT$ per membership year applies, capping the maximum cashback you can earn.

• Transport rebates updated: Rebates are now tied to SimplyGo transactions, replacing the old EZ-Reload model.

• Everyday value: Spending around S$600 monthly on core categories can translate to about S$360 in annual cashback — enough for a short getaway or vouchers.

• Solid but no longer top-tier: While not the most powerful cashback card today, it still delivers steady value for commuters and those focused on essential spend.

The Citi SMRT Credit Card delivers strong value for everyday essentials, with 5% savings on groceries, transport, and online purchases making it especially appealing to students, young professionals, and commuters. However, the requirement to spend at least S$500 each month to unlock the full benefits, combined with the annual rebate cap of 600 SMRT$, limits its upside for heavier spenders. While it remains a solid fuss-free choice in the entry-level cashback space, alternatives like the UOB EVOL or DBS Live Fresh may offer more generous rewards or higher flexibility depending on your spending habits.

• Sign up by 31 Aug 2025 and make S$800 qualifying spend in retail transactions (by both main and supplementary card members) to qualify for a S$300 cashback welcome gift.

Rewards and perks

Fees

Eligibility

History and evolution

The Citi SMRT Card has been around for more than a decade, and in that time it’s gone through a few tweaks. Originally launched as the Citi SMRT Platinum Visa, the card was built to reward Singaporeans on everyday essentials like groceries, MRT rides, and taxis — long before SimplyGo even existed.

Over the years, categories have been updated to reflect changing habits, with online shopping and food delivery added to the mix. The biggest change, however, was the introduction of an annual rebate cap of 600 SMRT$, where previously earnings were uncapped.

Despite these adjustments, the fundamentals remain the same: it’s still positioned as a fuss-free cashback card for students, young adults, and commuters who want easy savings on daily spend.

• The primary card annual fee is S$196.20 (incl. GST), while supplementary cards are S$98.10 (incl. GST). Citi typically offers a waiver for the first two years, but subsequent years are chargeable unless waived under specific banking relationships (e.g. Citi Plus, Citi Priority).

• A minimum of S$500 in eligible retail spend per statement month is needed to unlock the 5% cashback rate (groceries, online shopping, SimplyGo, taxis/ride-hailing). If you fall short, all spend defaults to the base rate of 0.3% SMRT$.

• Total rebates are capped at 600 SMRT$ per membership year, starting from your card issuance or renewal date. This is the maximum you can earn in a 12-month cycle.

• Citi sometimes runs sign-up promotions (e.g. cash rebates, gadgets, or vouchers) tied to paying the first year’s annual fee and/or using the correct promo code. Always check the latest campaign terms, because missing the promo code at application could mean forfeiting the bonus reward.

• You can apply for multiple Citi cards (e.g. Citi SMRT + Citi PremierMiles), but new-to-bank sign-up offers only apply once. If you’ve already redeemed a welcome gift as a new Citi cardholder, you won’t qualify again by applying for the SMRT card alone.

• Rewards redemption: SMRT$ can be redeemed for SMRT Reward Vouchers (in S$10 blocks) or as instant statement credits, giving flexibility depending on your preference.

To apply for the Citi SMRT Credit Card, you’ll need to meet the minimum income requirement of S$30,000 a year if you’re a Singaporean or PR. For foreigners, the bar is set higher at S$42,000 a year.

Cashback rates at a glance

• Base cashback rate: 0.3%

• Bonus cashback: Additional 4.7% (total 5%)

Comparison to other cards

The Citi SMRT Card’s base rate of 0.3% lags well behind flat cashback cards like Citi Cash Back+, but its preferred categories can deliver up to 5% savings — strong value on everyday essentials like groceries, SimplyGo, and online shopping. Heavy reliance on these categories makes it competitive, though the annual cap limits its long-term upside.

Bonus opportunities

While the Citi SMRT Card doesn’t come with travel perks or bonus miles tie-ups, it does have a few extra ways to stretch your rewards:

• SMRT$ redemption flexibility: You can redeem SMRT$ not just for SMRT Reward Vouchers (in S$10 blocks), but also as instant statement credits — handy if you’d rather offset your bill directly.

• Seasonal sign-up promos: Citi often runs welcome campaigns (e.g. cash rebates, shopping vouchers, or gadgets) tied to the Citi SMRT Card. These usually require you to apply with the correct promo code and sometimes pay the first year’s annual fee.

• Automatic earning: Once you hit the minimum spend of S$500/month, bonus cashback in the preferred categories is applied automatically — no registration or tracking needed, unlike some cards that require opting in each month.

In short, while it lacks glamorous travel discounts, the “bonus” here lies in its simplicity and redemption options, making it easy for cardholders to convert rewards into immediate savings.

SMRT$ features

• Expiry: You have a 12-month window (starting from your card’s issue or renewal date) to accumulate SMRT$. At the end of that period, all the SMRT$ you’ve earned stay valid for an additional 3-month grace period, during which you must redeem them. After this 15-month cycle ends, any unused SMRT$ will expire.

• Pooling: SMRT$ are unique to the Citi SMRT Card — they cannot be pooled with Citi ThankYou Points, Citi Miles, or other Citi rewards currencies.

• Cancellation impact: If you cancel your Citi SMRT Card, any unused SMRT$ will be forfeited. Always redeem before closing the account.

SMRT$ redemption options

• Vouchers: Redeem in multiples of SMRT$10 for SMRT Reward Vouchers, usable at selected merchants.

• Cash rebates: Alternatively, convert SMRT$ into instant statement credits via the Citi Mobile® App or Online Banking.

• Flexibility: SMRT$ are strictly cashback/voucher-based — they cannot be transferred to airline partners.

Excluded transaction categories

SMRT$ are not earned on certain spend types, including (as per Citi’s official exclusions list):

• Education payments

• Government services and tax payments

• Insurance premiums

• Hospitals and healthcare bills

• Utilities

• Prepaid account top-ups (e.g. GrabPay, YouTrip)

• Charitable donations

How SMRT$ are credited

You must hit S$500 monthly eligible spend to unlock the 5% bonus earn rate — otherwise all transactions default to 0.3%.

SMRT$ expiry

You have a 12-month window (starting from your card’s issue or renewal date) to accumulate SMRT$. At the end of that period, all the SMRT$ you’ve earned stay valid for an additional 3-month grace period, during which you must redeem them. After this 15-month cycle ends, any unused SMRT$ will expire.

Other important details

• When redeeming, SMRT$ closest to expiry are deducted first, ensuring older balances are used up before newer ones.

• Besides SMRT Reward Vouchers, you can also redeem cash rebates directly to your statement via the Citi Mobile® App or Online Banking.

• Only principal cardholders with accounts that are open, valid, and in good standing are eligible to redeem SMRT$. Supplementary cardholders cannot redeem points on their own.

Income tax payment facility

Citi SMRT Cardholders can use Citi PayAll to charge their annual income tax (as well as rent, condo fees, and other big-ticket expenses) to their card. However, PayAll transactions are explicitly excluded from earning SMRT$. This means you won’t receive the 5% bonus rate, nor even the base 0.3% cashback. In practice, the facility is purely a cashflow management tool, helping you spread out large bills, rather than a way to maximise rewards.

Citi World Privileges

Citi SMRT Cardholders enjoy access to Citi World Privileges, a global network of dining, shopping, and travel deals. From everyday dining discounts in Singapore to seasonal shopping promotions and hotel offers abroad, these perks are automatically available when you pay with your Citi card. The offers rotate regularly, so it’s best to check the Citi World Privileges site or app for the latest deals.

Citi Quick Cash

The Citi SMRT Card also comes with Citi Quick Cash, which lets you convert part of your available credit limit into instant cash, deposited straight into your bank account. This can be useful for emergencies or big-ticket expenses, with fixed monthly repayments for easier budgeting. While it shouldn’t replace longer-term financing options, Quick Cash adds flexibility when you need funds in a pinch.

Ongoing promotions for the Citi SMRT Card are typically linked to daily essentials rather than travel or luxury. Cardholders may encounter deals like additional rebates at partner supermarkets, bonus SMRT$ on food delivery platforms, or extra cashback when shopping online with selected merchants. From time to time, Citi also partners with payment platforms or e-commerce sites to offer limited-time top-up rebates.

As with most entry-level cashback cards, these promotions are not evergreen and are updated regularly. To maximise value, cardholders should monitor Citi’s promotions page and ensure they apply the correct promo code during campaigns, especially for sign-up gifts.

Overseas spending promotions

While there are no evergreen, high-profile category bonuses (unlike travel cards), Citi occasionally runs targeted deals for SMRT Card users, such as:

• Extra SMRT$ when you spend at partner supermarkets or delivery platforms.

• Time-limited discounts with online retailers via Citi’s platform.

Because these offers change frequently, the best strategy is to regularly check Citi’s promotions page and apply any relevant promo codes to get the most value.

All in all, the Citi SMRT Credit Card remains a practical option for commuters and everyday spenders who want fuss-free cashback on essentials. The 5% rebate on transport, ride-hailing, groceries, and online shopping makes it easy to save on day-to-day living, provided you hit the S$500 monthly spend requirement.

That said, the annual cap of 600 SMRT$ limits how much you can earn, so it’s best suited for young professionals, students, or lighter spenders whose budgets sit comfortably within that range. If your monthly expenses are higher, cards like the UOB EVOL or DBS Live Fresh may offer more upside.

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