Fees
Joining Fee
Renewal Fee
Best Suited For
Shopping |
Reward Type
Reward Points
Citibank India, or Citi India, is a subsidiary organisation of the US-based multinational financial conglomerate Citigroup. Citi India has been operational since 1902 and was one of the first banks in India to offer modern financial solutions, including ATMs, credit cards, internet banking, etc. Citibank forayed into the credit card industry in India between 1990 and 1995, becoming one of the first credit card issuers in the country. A few years ago, Citibank announced that it would be exiting the retail banking business in 13 countries, including India. In March 2023, Citibank’s Indian consumer business was acquired by Axis Bank. However, the bank assured that it would continue to serve its customers just as it had been.
Note- Only existing Citibank customers can apply for credit cards with the bank. No new Citibank credit card would be issued to customers of other banks.
As far as the credit card business is concerned, despite having a total of just eight credit cards in its portfolio, it used to be one of the most popular credit card issuers in India. As of September 2023, Citibank has over 1.7 lakh active credit cards in India. Here is a list of some of the popular Citibank Credit Cards that you may refer to if you are planning to apply for a Citibank credit card.
Shopping |
Reward Points
Shopping |
Reward Points
Fuel |
Reward Points
Travel |
Reward Points
Travel |
Reward Points
Shopping |
Reward Points
The Citi Rewards card is a Reward Points based shopping credit card. It earns you-
Citi Cashback credit card is one of the best cashback shopping credit cards in the market. You earn 5% cashback on telephone and utility bill payments and movie ticket purchases and a 0.5% cashback on all other spends. The cashback is automatically credited to the card’s statement balance in multiples of Rs. 500. You also get dining, travel and lifestyle benefits with this card.
The IndianOil Citi credit card is a fuel credit card by the bank. It earns you Reward Points as Turbo Points which can be redeemed for free fuel at authorized IndianOil outlets. You earn-
1% fuel surcharge
The Citibank PremierMiles credit card is one of the best credit cards launched in the Indian credit card market in the travel category. The card rewards you as AirMiles. You earn-
The AirMiles earned can be used to make travel bookings, can be transferred to other hotel/airline loyalty programs or redeemed against domestic airport lounge visits. Apart from the AirMiles, you also get an air accident insurance cover (worth Rs. 1 crore) and fuel surcharge wavier where 1% of the surcharge is waived off at all Indian Oil filling stations across India.
The Citi Prestige card is a super-premium card offering by the bank. From hotel benefits at ITC and Taj hotels to unlimited complimentary lounge access and priority check-in at domestic and international airports, you can enjoy a plethora of travel benefits along with this credit card. It is a Reward Points based card and earns you-
The First Citizen credit card by Citibank is another entry-level shopping credit card by the bank. You get Reward Points as First Citizen Reward Points which can be redeemed at Shoppers Stop stores. You earn-
Apart from these Reward Points benefits, you also earn a 15% discount and cashback on flight ticket bookings on travel websites including MameMyTrip, Booking.com, etc.
The following table summarises the Reward Points or Cashback benefits that you get with the aforementioned Citibank credit cards-
Credit Card | Reward Points / Cashback |
Citi Rewards Credit Card |
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Citi Cashback Credit Card |
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First Citizen Citi Credit Card |
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Citi Prestige Credit Card |
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Citibank PremierMiles Credit Card |
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IndianOil Citi Credit Card |
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The Reward Points earned on Citi Rewards Card can be redeemed for fuel at Indian Oil outlets, product catalog, Air Miles/InterMiles, and cashback at the following rate:
The cashback is credited to your card’s statement balance in multiples of Rs. 500.
The Miles earned can be redeemed across over 100+ airlines or can be transferred to airline partners and hotel loyalty programs. The transfer ratio of Miles to other partner airlines/hotel programs is 2:1, i.e. 1 PremierMile is equivalent to 0.5 partner airlines’ Mile. Partner airlines include Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Eva Air, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and Air India. Apart from these travel-related expenditures, the Miles can also be redeemed for purchasing gift vouchers from Citibank’s Rewards Catalogue, purchases from select retail outlets and for fuel purchases at select Indian Oil refill stations.
The IndianOil Citi Credit Card earns you reward points as Turbo Points which can be redeemed against fuel, in-store shopping at partner brands, online shopping, AirMiles/InterMiles, cashback, etc, at the following rate:
The complimentary airport lounge visits offered by the Citibank credit cards is summarised in the table below-
Credit Card | Complimentary Lounge Access |
Citi Rewards Credit Card | None |
Citi Cashback Credit Card | None |
First Citizen Citi Credit Card | None |
Citi Prestige Credit Card | Unlimited domestic and international lounge visits with Priority Pass (for primary and add-on cardholders) |
Citibank PremierMiles Credit Card |
6 domestic lounge access/quarter with MasterCard variant. 8 domestic lounge access/quarter with Visa Signature variant. |
IndianOil Citi Credit Card | None |
Citibank is the largest foreign credit card issuer in India. As mentioned above, the market share of Citibank in terms of credit card transactions is much larger than the market share of the bank in terms of the number of credit cards issued, which shows that Citibank credit cardholders spend a lot more than credit cardholders of other card issuers in the country. Some of the benefits of Citibank credit cards are-
Citibank offers credit cards in all spends categories. No single credit card can be termed as the best for everyone. You must decide which credit card suits your financial needs and spending habits the best.
Citibank Prestige Credit Card is a super-premium credit card best suited for HNIs (high net-worth individuals), whereas Citi Premier Miles Credit Card is best suited for someone who needs a credit card for their travel needs. Citi Rewards and Citi Cashback Credit Cards, being entry-level cards, are best suited for first-time cardholders who are new to credit as these credit cards not only have a lower annual membership fee but also do not have very strict eligibility criteria.
You are required to submit identity proof, address proof and proof of income to the bank for your credit card application to be processed.
Some of the documents accepted as identity proof, address proof, and proof of income are summarised in the table below-
Identity Proof | Address Proof | Proof of Income |
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If you have recently received a new Citibank Credit Card, you might be looking for different ways to activate your Citibank Credit Card. The card issuer provides you with various online as well as offline methods for credit card activation, which are as mentioned below:
Citibank, which was earlier the most significant foreign player in the Indian credit card space, has now been acquired by Axis Bank as of March 2023. That being said, Citi credit cardholders need not worry as the bank has assured that it will continue serving its customers just as it has been. Citibank has a total of 6 credit cards in its portfolio in India; in case you are planning to apply for a Citibank credit card, you may go through the features and benefits of the cards along with a detailed review on our website and apply for the card of your choice based on your financial needs and spending habit. However, it is best to remember that only existing Citibank can apply for a Citibank Credit Card.