With most Taiwanese using cash-back cards as their primary credit card, Citibank Taiwan Ltd (台灣花旗) yesterday introduced a new credit card with up to 3 percent cash back for new customers.
Citibank Taiwan, which began operations in the nation 55 years ago and has offered credit cards for 30 years, said it launched the Citi Cash Back Plus Card to beef up its offerings amid fierce competition in the domestic market.
Although the bank has offered similar cards for more than 15 years, providing up to 1.5 percent cash back, the latest credit card offers up to 3 percent to attract new clients, it said.
Photo: Kao Shih-ching, Taipei Times
“So far, cash-back rebate is one of the most popular credit card reward pillars for Taiwanese consumers,” Citibank Taiwan consumer business manager Dennis Hussey said.
A survey of 600 credit-card users aged 25 to 55 found that 85.7 percent have cash-back cards, the highest among all types of credit cards, followed by reward-point credit cards at 67.5 percent and other types at 37.5 percent.
The survey found that 72.7 percent of cardholders use cash-back cards as their primary credit card, he added.
While many local banks offer a cash-rebate program, Citibank Taiwan said it is confident that it offers better rewards, as it has higher rebates for everyday spending categories, lifelong rewards points and no minimum spending requirements.
New cardholders can earn NT$3 in cash rebates for every NT$100 they spend at restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations, Citibank Taiwan senior vice president Walkings Lee (李吉彬) said.
They can also earn cash when “autoloading” their EasyCards, which is rarely offered by other banks, as Citibank aims to deliver a superior experience for new cardholders, he said, referring to a process that automatically charges a user’s credit card to add value to an EasyCard.
Cardholders can redeem cash rewards when paying their monthly bills or exchange them to pay for parking at a better rate, Lee said.
Citibank Taiwan said that it pioneered the cash-back reward system and issued the nation’s first cash-back platinum card, which has been immensely popular in the market and set a good example for the industry.
Due to changes in the credit-card market, Citibank Taiwan said that it has once again increased its cash-back reward benefits.
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