Citibank Cashback Credit Card (India) Review

By | December 10, 2016
Citibank Cashback Credit Card

Citibank Cashback Credit Card in India

I value Citibank Cashback Credit Card a little above Citibank Rewards Credit Card which i reviewed recently. That’s because Cashback card gives 0.5% on any purchase which is more like ICICI Bank Platinum Chip Credit Card that gives similar reward rate as payback points. One advantage of the card is that you get 5% off on movie tickets and telephone bill payments. While that might sound good, i’m enjoying better offers on Bookmyshow and Paytm 😉

Citibank Cashback Credit Card Reward Rate:

  • 5% cash back on movie ticket purchases
  • 5% cash back on all your telephone bill payments
  • 0.5% Cash Back on all other spends.
  • Pay through Citibank Online Bill Pay and get 5% cash back on Utility Bill Payments

Note: Cash back in the Telephone / Movies / Utility category is capped at Rs.100 per month for each category.

5% Cashback looks good isn’t it? NO, Why would you choose this card to pay for movie while you can get tickets for free with Bookmyshow offers. I’m using Amex Bookmyshow Offer and SBI Signature Credit card bookmyshow offer to enjoy free movies every month.

Now, utility/Mobile bill payments are also taken care by frequent offers from Paytm and other related sites. So if you’re getting the card, only reason has to be that you get 0.5% Cash Back on all other spends which is not bad.

Features of Citibank Cashback Credit Card:

  • CardExpert Rating: 3/5 [yasr_overall_rating]
  • Reward rate: 0.5% – 5%
  • Foreign Exchange Markup fee: 3.5% + Service Tax

This is again a very beginner range credit card similar to Citibank Rewards Credit Card but is actually better than that. Major difference between rewards card and cashback card is that in cashback card, there is no concept of reward points and so you can’t redeem anywhere else except statement credit.

Looking for other similar cashback credit cards?
Checkout the latest list of Best Cashback Credit Cards in India.

Do you hold Citibank Cashback Credit Card? Please share your experience below.

62 thoughts on “Citibank Cashback Credit Card (India) Review

  1. P Rajasekhar Reddy

    Hi,

    Am using Citibank rewards credit cards, interest rates are tooooo high think twice before choosing citibank.

    Reply
    1. MURTAZA

      We all know interest rates of any citi services are too high as compared to others, but on the other hand services are far better than others. In simple words “BEST SERVICE OF ALL TIME”

      Reply
  2. Vedant Dadhich

    Which Is better Citi Cashback/Rewards or HDFC Moneyback?

    Reply
    1. Manhunt N

      Hdfc money-back. In citi card if u not spend min 30k in year annual fee applicable , and also even if your sales executive explains no charges, after getting card u have to bear. Be careful about citi card people, full bluff n cheaters

      Reply
  3. Riya

    can you elaborate more on choosing between Citi cashback and Hdfc moneyback?

    Reply
    1. Mickey

      HDFC moneyback definitely better because it also gives you free domestic lounge access 1 per quarter as of September 2018.

      Reply
    2. Pawan

      I would say citi cashback is better than hdfc moneyback in every way except lounge.

      Reply
  4. Sunny

    I currently own HDFC Moneyback and SBI SimplySave credit cards. My purchases vary from 10-15k a month, typically done for movie tickets, bill payments and online purchases. It also includes a dine out every once in a while.
    Since the MoneyBack card got devalued recently, I am thinking of changing my credit card habits.
    I have been offered an upgrade to the SBI Air India Signature card but don’t fly much.

    Is the Citi Cashbank credit card good for me or is it not worth the switch. I am also considering the AMEX Gold Card.

    Please suggest.

    Thanks!

    Reply
  5. Sai

    i am using it only for utility bill payments. every month 100/- getting added as part of 5% cash back and for every 5 months 500/- is getting credited to my card account. This is Good. 🙂

    Reply
  6. SILVIAN

    Hi Sid,

    If i pay my postpaid bills through Paytm and payment is given through citi bank cashback credit card , will it be considered as mobile payment category(5%cb) or others(0.5%cb).

    Also if i recharge my Paytm wallet through this card will it be considered as mobile payment category(5% cb).

    Thanks & regards,
    Silvian

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Tough question. You got to try it as Paytm is listed as Recharge category only sometimes.
      So try it and let us all know 🙂

      Reply
      1. vijay

        am not received any cash back for utility payments -(22/12/2018 BESCOM BILLDESKMUMBAIIN 1,994.00)
        see my transctions below

        22/12/2018 BESCOM BILLDESKMUMBAIIN 1,994.00
        25/12/2018 DOMINOS PIZZABANGALOREIN
        25/12/2018 STAR BAZAARBANGALOREIN 317.60
        26/12/2018 NATIONAL SERVICE STATIBANGALOREIN 272.70
        28/12/2018 NATIONAL SERVICE STATIBANGALOREIN 2.03 CR
        27/12/2018 AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMIBANGALOREIN 235.00
        27/12/2018 PAYTM.COM/PAYTMWALLETIN 200.00
        29/12/2018 STAR BAZAARBANGALOREIN 148.30
        30/12/2018 LAKME SALONBANGALOREIN 540.00
        30/12/2018 BASHEER AHMED KBANGALOREIN 100.00

        Reply
    2. Parash

      Any updates on the same??
      This is a great idea if it works.

      Thanks

      Reply
  7. Kunal

    How do i get 5% cashback for the telephone bill payments? Whenever i pay from the site of Airtel/ BSNL, i am credited 0.5% cashback instead of 5%. Also, I am already utilizing Citi Bill pay for utility bills (with utilization of Rs. 100 cap each month) so that’s not an option.

    Reply
    1. Kunal

      Disclaimer for everyone … you will not be able to get 5% cashback for both utility and telecom bill payments. Citi is using a new loophole to deny cashback for telecom bill payments on partner websites. Those payments are categorized as utility by VISA (MCC) instead of telecom, which Citi uses to deny cashback. I have made payments online on Airtel and BSNL and none of them got me 5% cashback.

      Reply
  8. Shilpi

    Do you get benefits like airport lounge access too from this card?

    Reply
  9. Dr Narendra

    Right now i own hdfc money back cc with 1.5 lac limit axis myzone with 35k sbi prime with 65k
    I wanna apply for citi bank cc but am not from any of the cities where they use to issue cards. Please can someone throw light on how to get their card in this situation
    Thank you

    Reply
  10. Satish Agrawal

    I hold Citibank cc since 2007 and Cashback cc since last 5 years with cl 45K.

    @Shilpi
    No lounge access with Citi Cashback cc.

    @Dr Narendra
    AFAIK if you don’t reside in their list of city, they won’t issue cc. I got cc because 10 years back they issued little freely. As my city Lucknow is also not in list they are neither upgrading nor enhancing cl since last 6 years. Because of normal usage about 15-20 k pm and regular payment they are just continuing their business with customers like me. Hope it helps.

    Reply
  11. krishnarjun rao

    Citi bank says for move tickets, phone bills and utility bills you are going to get 5% cash back. That is Rs.100/- limit per month for each section. But user who pays using citi payment option for all these three services then it will be Rs.100/- is months cashback limit for all three segments including 🙁 Hidden jargon 🙂
    0.5% is very low. User will get 50 paisa for every Rs.100/- he is spending. I feel in todays online market and credit card usage this 50 np is very ridiculous and meaningless. It is time for a new credit card which gives better returns to its user.

    Reply
  12. Mickey

    Anyone know how to get LE on Citi cards?

    I called phone CC and they said you can’t ask, only Citi can offer it. Strange..

    Reply
  13. Mickey

    Anyone know? Been holding card since many years but Customer care saying you cannot apply for increase.

    But at the same time he was offering me loan on phone for 6 l. What a joke!

    Reply
    1. Prashant Gupta

      On citi bank u always get LE offer from them. I have very high limits with them on all my cards. I have noticed that if u do decent spends on them u will easily get a LE increase offer.

      Reply
  14. Mickey

    Prashant – I have in fact maxed out my card and paid instantly but never received LE offer. Maxing out Citi card is very easy on MakeMyTrip. I have done it 2-3 times in past 1 year.

    My card is LTF btw.

    Reply
    1. Prashant Gupta

      Its bad luck then……contact one of the branch if u happen to pass by….i was getting LE offers frequently earlier when i uses to use their cards. Since i dont use them now no offer, but the limits are alreasy very high.

      Reply
    2. Satish Kumar Agarwal

      @Mickey

      I hold Citibank Cashback cc since 2007 with initial limit 30K. Later it was increased to 45K in 2009 or so based upon the LE offer recd from them. After that didn’t receive any LE offer till 2018. Hence I wrote an email to their customer care team mentioning too low limit for my ITR. Got a reply to send income documents over email and within 10 days my credit limit was enhanced from 45K to 2 lacs.
      It worked for me that way. You may try this route if your limit is too low wrt ITR.

      Reply
  15. Captain Bishuddha Bharatiya

    My question is for Satish, Prashant, Mouli and every other Citibank card users. Question is very similar to Mickey’s. I hold Citibank Shopperstop credit card from last 2 months and I am using at least 50% of credit limit every month and I also bought a phone on EMI from Flipkart in the hope of getting LE. Current limit is rupees seventy five thousands ( 75,000 ) . Will I be getting automatic LE after 6 months or should I send ITR which has only Ra. 3.30 lakhs annual income.

    Reply
    1. Satish Kumar Agarwal

      Captain

      For me auto LE didn’t work even though spending varied every month between 10% to nearly 90% of earlier limit of 45K. Last time I got auto LE offer was way back in 2009-10.

      I had to send payslip n itr for LE after which I got reasonable jump.

      Reply
  16. Mahesh

    My initial limit was 62k, now got le to 93k (Premier Miles card). Got the card on Jan 18 spent 2 lakh till now. Now only got Limit enhancement.

    Reply
    1. Captain Bishuddha Bharatiya

      Congrats Mahesh.
      Did you provided income documents ?
      How much and where was your total spends ?

      Reply
  17. Himanshu

    Does anyone know what utilization percent would be a good criteria for getting auto LE offer from Citi? Does maxing out the limit help?

    Reply
  18. Mickey

    I have maxed out my Citi Rewards but got no LE.

    So that does not work.

    I’ve been using it recently on Paytm for groceries and getting 10x rewards by the way, for all Citi users

    Reply
    1. Sujit Kumar Hota

      i have been using citi since 2013 but have never received a LE on it.

      Reply
  19. Manoj

    Hi,Please suggest: I don’t see much benefit happening with my citi cashback card. Is it worth to upgrade to premier miles. I don’t do air travel frequently. Just once or twice a year

    Reply
    1. Captain Bishuddha Bharatiya

      I am using citi credit card from last 6 months and I have spend more than 2.50 lakhs. I also bought a phone from flipkart in 6 months EMI which got completed just now. But cutomer care says that there is no automatic limit enhancement offer. Don’t know what to do. Any suggestions guys ?

      Reply
      1. Nihar

        Whichever Citi card you might be using pls wait for a yr for limit enhancements in the first yr. I have a Citi card for last 6 yrs and enhancement comes easy with enhancement offers from them every year. Only once have I provided them updated salary slip for enhancement.

        Reply
  20. Satish Kumar Agarwal

    @Manoj
    As Citi Cashback card is mostly issued LTF you better keep it than upgrading to Citi pm. Annual fee of PM card can’t be waived off easily at 3K+GST & you have to put some real efforts to gain out of it. Though joining fee is well compensated still renewal fee compensation is not good and if not frequent traveller you will end up taking a premium card but unable to benefit from it.

    Reply
    1. GTMAX

      Hi Satish,

      Is Citi cashback card actually issued as LTF? Can you guide on how I can get one as LTF?

      Reply
      1. Satish Kumar Agarwal

        @GTMAX

        Can’t comment whether they are issuing it LTF now or not, but I got mine Citi Cashback card about 10 years back which is LTF. I have confirmed from Citi customer care.
        Even if you can’t get it LTF, just spend 30K in a year to waive off the annual fee which is too easy to achieve.

        Reply
          1. Satish Kumar Agarwal

            Dear AshishR

            Earlier renewal fee waiver on 30K spend was there. Now I think they have removed this benefit.

  21. Prashant Gupta

    Got limit increase offer on my wifes card from Rs.6L to Rs.9L. We dont use the card much. Its the highest limit now i have apart from that on dcb.

    Looks like the longer one holds card with citi the more limit offers they get.

    Reply
    1. Amit G

      Citibank always offers 50% LE over existing limit. This happened with my Wife’s card three times (normally 6 -8) months.

      Reply
      1. Satish Kumar Agarwal

        My experience is same. Citi card limit enhanced from 30K to 45K. Then from 2 lacs to 3 lacs.

        Reply
    2. sujit kumar hota

      6 years
      No usage
      Not a single limit enhancement offer 😑

      All i get on my citi card is loan offers

      Reply
      1. Shivi

        If you are not using the card at all, why would the issuer send you LE offers in the first place?! Start using the card on a monthly basis and the LE offer might just pop up!

        Reply
  22. Satish Kumar Agarwal

    @Sujit
    Just ask them on email for LE and they will do the needful. Even my Citicard limit was not enhanced for almost 9-10 years. 1 call to cs worked for me. They guided for further action.
    Limit was enhanced almost 4.5X on submission of payslip copy.

    Reply
    1. SUJIT KUMAR HOTA

      Tried that too. My ITR is 10lac. They said my 2lac limit was proportionate to my income..!

      Reply
  23. Satish Kumar Agarwal

    Citibank card limit again increased by 50% today. Last LE was done 8 months ago.

    Reply
  24. Captain Bishuddha Bharatiya

    Congrats bro. How much was your spends in the last 8 months ?

    Reply
  25. Justin

    Citibank has revised the policy on its Cashback card for utility and bill payments from this month. Earlier it was a 5% cashback capped at Rs. 100 in each category. Now its flat Rs. 100 cashback on a minimum bill payment of Rs. 5000. This is major factor killing the card’s usefulness as I can get much better offers on Amazon. Any thoughts whether it makes sense maintaining this card or does it make more sense to move my spends to the Amazon Pay ICICI card which is a lifetime free card?

    Reply
    1. Mahesh Bisht

      This is incorrect. This might be another offer. The only change is in cash back on telephone payments. Now telecom payment also need to be done from Citibank online or mobile app, to be eligible for cash back. Hope this clarifies

      Reply
      1. Justin

        Hi Mahesh,

        I combed through the offers mailer they send out every month and tallied it with my utility bill payments, and this is correct. They have significantly diluted the 5% cashback as I have mentioned above. I suggest you have a closer look at the offer mailers too in case we’ve missed something. It seems like the 5% cashback which was the only sweet thing about this card is not there anymore.
        Maybe Siddharth or others could also check and verify.
        Cheers!

        Reply
  26. Sameertez

    Been using this cashback credit card since 3years. No offer for LE or auto Limit increase. But getting jumbo personal loan of 5x times of my existing card limit on and above credit card since 3months much affordable interest rate of 11% p.a upto tenure of 5years

    Reply

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