Rewards Upgrade: Top Up For Better Gifts With HSBC and Citi Card Promos

From 3rd May 2024 (5PM) to 30th June 2024, apply for an eligible Citi or HSBC credit card to enjoy attractive sign-up gifts. Want bigger, better rewards? You can opt to upgrade your gift by topping up!

Upgraded Rewards

For new cardholders, here are the lists of upgraded rewards you can choose from when you apply for either an eligible Citibank or HSBC credit card:

Citi Credit Cards	Retail Price	Top Up Amount
MacBook Air 13″ 256GB M3	S$1,599	S$999
iPhone 15 Pro 128GB	S$1,664	S$999
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 512GB	S$2,128	S$1,488

HSBC Credit Cards	Retail Price	Top Up Amount
MacBook Air 13″ 256GB M3	S$1,599	S$1,099
iPhone 15 Pro 128GB	S$1,664	S$1,099
Sony HT-AX7 Portable Theatre System	S$769	S$200
Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20	S$699	S$200

So if you don’t like the usual rewards given by the Citi/HSBC card promos, you can forgo them, pay a top-up amount, and receive one of the gifts above instead.

The steps:

1. Submit your email to start the application process (apply for Citi cards here and HSBC cards here)
2. Complete your application on the bank’s platform.
3. Fill up the redemption form (Gift upgrade options will be available at gift selection field)
4. Complete promo requirements
5. SingSaver will send email confirmation once ready for gift collection.
6. Make the payment at the allocated redemption center (ShortQ or Challenger)

Worth it? Some are not the best value

On paper, the upgrades seem to make sense. If you sign up for a Citi card, pay the top-up amount of S$999 for a S$1,664 iPhone 15 Pro 128GB, your sign-up reward seems to be S$665 which is a step up from the S$450 eCapitaVoucher of the normal Citi promo.

You have to consider, however, that the iPhone 15 Pro is a relatively old model at this point and is being discounted to S$1,450 or so even at major electronics retailers, so that brings your sign-up reward closer to S$450 instead for your Citibank card. It’s a pretty great reward provided if you want the iPhone.

For gadgets that don’t strictly follow their recommended retail price, you may find that the upgrade will not be as attractive. Take for instance the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra which can be bought at S$1,450 at some smaller handphone shops. That’s almost the top-up amount required leaving you with no sign-up reward!

Some are very worth it!

Some items like the MacBook Air does make sense. Apple’s latest Mac computers are rarely ever on sale or discount, especially when they are just launched. This means that the S$1,599 retail price here is relatively firm.

With a top-up amount of S$999, this means that your sign-up reward for your Citi card is about S$600! For HSBC, the top-up amount is S$1,088 which means that your sign-up reward is around S$511. These are great offers especially if you were interested in getting that particular MacBook Air in the first place.

The Sony HT-AX7 is another worth consideration. While S$769 – S$200 seems like you’re getting as much as $569 in sign-up rewards for the HSBC card, you could easily get this unit for S$649 online. That’s still a S$449 value you’re getting from your HSBC card sign up which is pretty great.

Essentially, you want to pick gifts that isn’t available elsewhere for significantly less than its recommended retail price if you want to maximise your gain from this promo.

Usual rewards

Now, you can always just skip the rewards upgrade and opt for one of the usual gifts which are already attractive on their own. Without top up, you can already get things like iPad 10th generation, Dyson gadgets, and as much as S$400 in eCapitaVouchers.

See the full list of Citi cards here and HSBC cards here.

What to spend on?

You need to meet the minimum spend to qualify for rewards. Do note that there are transactions which are excluded. Read the terms and conditions carefully when applying.

Generally, retail transactions like buying stuff or dining out are very safe. Things like bill payments, education expenses and CardUp or ipaymy become a lot iffier and depends on the bank your card is from.

Do check out this article on what you can spend on to meet the minimum spend:

Having more choices is great

While not all the upgrades are fantastic, there is still some options worth picking. Having more choice is certainly a welcomed thing when it comes to our sign-up gifts, and I hope more improvement to the reward choice is on the way. Stay subscribed for more great deals and updates!

Seth Wee was a licensed financial adviser representative from 2009 to 2025, with over 16 years of experience in Singapore’s financial advisory industry.

He started Sethisfy.com in 2019 to share practical insights on credit cards, banking products, and miles strategies, helping readers identify financial products that deliver the best value. Seth has been featured in CNA, Channel 8, Today, and a host of other publications. In 2025, he was also part of a panel at CPF’s Ready For Life festival.

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