Pay for Grab Rides with Citi Miles and Points - NO THANKS

When I got an email today notifying me that I am now able to enjoy 'complimentary rides with Citi points', I was interested - I knew it was going to be bad but I clicked on it anyway to find out how bad exactly could it be. If you have been reading all those articles I have written about earning miles, then you should know that it is not difficult to get S$50-100 worth of value from 1,000 Miles. This limited time promotion (until 07 November 2016) allows you to offset your Grab ride with a fixed redemption rate by utilising some of your precious miles and points. 

Pay for Grab Rides with Citi Miles and Points | Photo Credit: Citibank

I did pick up a nifty little trick from this EDM though - I did not know you could easily check on your existing points or miles balance by doing the following: 

Send an SMS to 72484:
Enter "RWDSBAL<space>Last 4 Digits Of Your Cardnumber"
e.g. RWDSBAL 1234

Anyhow, the more important and interesting bit about The Grab Pay with Points Promotion is this: 

The rate of conversion of Points/Miles is as follows:
every 360 Points = S$1.00
every 120 Miles = S$1.00

Pay for Grab Rides with Citi Miles and Points | Photo Credit: Citibank

Apparently, after you charge a Grab ride to an eligible Citibank card, you will be given the option to offset the amount using the above conversion rates (via SMS). Let's put things into perspective - 360 Points will equate to 144 Miles and therefore if you REALLY have to do this, you are better off using your Citi Miles since it will cost you less. With that being said, taking the best case scenario, you are only getting S$8.33 value with every 1,000 Miles with this promotion (as compared to getting S$50 to S$100 value). 

Do yourself a favour and stay clear from this promotion, and hey, you might as well do the following now:

To stop* receiving the Grab pay with points redemption message:
Send an SMS to 72484:
Enter "RWPWP<space>Last 4 Digits Of Your Cardnumber<space>GRABSTOP"
e.g. RWPWP 1234 GRABSTOP
*Please note that this is applicable only to the Grab pay with points/miles promotion ending on 7 November 2016. It will only apply to the card account submitted.