We originally summarised this offer in an article last month. Hotel bookings made using a Citi PremierMiles card through the dedicated Agoda portal get an earning rate of “up to 9 miles per S$1”.
The promotion was due to end for bookings made after 15th May 2018. Happily though, it has now been extended for bookings made until 31st December 2018.
What has changed?
Firstly, the advertising tagline. Clearly, there has been some negative reaction to the “9 miles per dollar” lure that was touted in the original promotion, because they haven’t actually changed anything but now label it as “up to 7 miles per dollar”.
As we explained in the original article the bonus rate is made up of two components. Firstly the 7 miles per S$1 booking bonus plus the regular base earn rate applicable to your card for the transaction type. That means you’ll get:
- 8.2 miles per S$1 for a booking paid in SGD with the Citi PremierMiles Visa
- 8.3 miles per S$1 for a booking paid in SGD with the Citi PremierMiles Amex
- 9.0 miles per S$1 for a booking paid in foreign currency with either card
So the full 9 miles per S$1 rate is only valid for bookings that are paid in foreign currency as this attracts the PremierMiles usual 2 miles per S$1 foreign currency spend rate in addition to the 7 miles per S$1 Agoda bonus.
Arguably the new “7 Citi Miles for every SGD1 spent” tagline is less accurate and more confusing as you will always earn more than that.
Further Details
The bonus points will be credited within 2 months of checking out from the hotel (the base points will credit immediately). Only pre-paid rates are applicable, where the payment is made directly to Agoda, so this won’t work for rates where you pay directly at the hotel.
Taxes and service charges are included in the total cost assessed for the bonus but no other incidental room expenses will qualify.
The booking must be made before 31st December 2018 for stays completed by 30th June 2019.
The full terms and conditions can be found here.
How to Book
Bookings must be made via the dedicated landing page: www.agoda.com/bonusmiles
Payment must be made using your Citi PremierMiles Visa or Citi PremierMiles Amex card to qualify for the bonus points.
Check Kaligo First
Citi has an ongoing bonus miles relationship with hotel booking site Kaligo, offering 10 miles per S$1 spent as standard (instead of any base points and regardless of currency). That might work out better than this offer, depending on your choice of hotel and the rates available, so remember to check Kaligo first before committing to the Agoda deal.
We have been researching a number of upcoming hotel stays and so far this Agoda offer trumps the additional cost versus miles accrued on Kaligo, though we have found better deals using Kaligo in the past.
Always remember the golden rule – check the best available rate directly with the hotel of your choice and other online travel agents like Expedia, as you may find you are paying more to accrue miles with these other sites and the cost per mile must be justifiable.
Citi PremierMiles
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(Cover Photo: Anantara)