Citibank sees 25% growth in credit card business

US financial giant Citibank NA is seeing an expansion in its credit card business in the Philippines by up to 25 percent this year with the introduction of new products and the lowering of interest charges, a top bank official said.

Citibank vice president and card business director Bea T. Tan said aside from the drop in interest rates and introduction of new products, the bank has come up with more rewards and innovations for card holders.

“With the new card products and its rewards and relative low interest rates, it will be difficult not to apply for our new cards,” Tan said, adding that two more products will be launched within the next two months.

Its cards-in-force stood at 1.2 million or roughly a fifth of the total five million active cards in the country.

It likewise has a merchant reach of 5,000 including restaurants, department stores, hotels and malls.

Citibank has reduced its interest rates on credit cards, with the Gold card dropping from 3.5 percent to 3.25 percent, while Platinum card rates dropped from 3.5 percent to 2.75 percent.

Its latest addition to its basket of plastic money is the Citi PremierMiles, which also comes in Gold and Platinum classes. It is designed for frequent travelers looking for utmost flexibility in earning and redeeming frequent flyer miles.

PremierMiles does not expire and is applicable to all air carriers. The annual fee for a Gold card is P2,500, while a Platinum card carries a P5,000 annual fee.

Cardholders can choose from as many as five frequent flyer programs and two travel alliance programs. That gives them utmost flexibility when redeeming free trips, companion tickets or upgrades with Citi PremierMiles.

The five frequent flyer programs featured in Citi’s new card include Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles, Singapore Airline’s Kris Flyer, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay Miles, Thai Airway’s Royal Orchid Plus and Northwest Airlines’ WorldPerks.  With their participation in two travel alliance programs — One World and Star Alliance — these frequent flyer programs allows PremierMiles cardholders to earn miles as well as redeem them in more than 70 airlines.

Another feature of the new PremierMiles is that all cardholders are insured for as much as P10 million. Their travel accident coverage starts from point of departure until point of arrival.

Missed or delayed flights, delayed luggage or worse, lost luggage, are also protected with Citi PremierMiles.