The Citi Cash Back is a no-frills cashback Mastercard: flat, uncapped rates with no minimum spend, credited automatically to your card.
- Annual fee
- AED 300 + 5% VAT
- Min salary
- AED 8,000/mo
- Top earn rate
- 3% International
Pros
- Simple, uncapped cashback — 1% on everything, 2% on groceries, 3% on non-AED — with no minimum spend
- No annual fee in year one, waived from year two at a low AED 9,000 annual spend
- Cashback is credited automatically — nothing to track or redeem
- 8 airport lounge visits a year via Mastercard Travel Pass
- Small everyday extras — a Careem airport ride and monthly Talabat discount
Cons
- The 3% non-AED cashback is largely offset by Citi's 2.99% foreign-currency fee — close to a wash abroad
- 1% base rate is modest for everyday local spend
- Lounge access only unlocks with non-AED spend
- AED 8,000 minimum income
- 42% APR — only worth holding if you clear the balance in full
Cashback
Cashback is uncapped (up to your credit limit) with no minimum spend:
- Groceries
- 2%
- International spend
- 3%
- Everything else
- 1%
Fee summary
Fees are quoted excluding VAT: the AED 300 annual fee is AED 315 with 5% VAT, and it’s free in year one and waived from year two if you spend at least AED 9,000 in the year. The fixed APR is 42% — relevant only if you carry a balance.
Welcome offer breakdown
New Citi credit-card customers earn an AED 150 joining-bonus statement credit on AED 6,000 of spend within 60 days. It applies only to applications made directly via the Citi website — leads arriving through a search advert or third-party link don’t qualify.
What you get — per-benefit value
Uncapped cashback on domestic spend
1% everywhere plus 2% on groceries, no minimum spend. At AED 5,000/month of general spend (AED 50) and AED 2,500/month of groceries (AED 50): Value to me: AED 1,200/year. Scale it linearly to your own spend — there are no caps up to your credit limit.
3% on non-AED spend
Net of Citi’s 2.99% foreign-currency fee, the margin is roughly 0.01%. Value to me: ~AED 0/year — genuinely. Don’t route overseas spend here for the headline.
8 lounge visits (Mastercard Travel Pass)
Unlocked by a non-AED purchase. At the AED 200 walk-in equivalent: Value to me: AED 800/year on four flown trips, AED 1,600/year at the full ration.
Careem ride and Talabat discount
One Careem airport ride a year (up to AED 84) and 20% off one Talabat order a month (up to AED 14) — AED 84 + AED 168 at full utilisation. Value to me: AED 0–252/year. Small numbers, honestly stated.
AED 150 welcome credit
Statement credit on AED 6,000 of spend within 60 days, direct applications only. Value to me: AED 150, one-time.
Total package: ~AED 1,200 of cashback on the worked spend plus ~AED 800 of four-trip lounge value and up to AED 252 of ride-and-delivery perks — roughly AED 2,000–2,250 a year against an AED 315 year-two fee (AED 300 + VAT) that waives at just AED 9,000 of annual spend. For anyone actually using the card, treat the fee as AED 0.
Key conditions to know
- No minimum spend
- Cashback is earned from the first dirham, with no caps up to your credit limit — unusually simple for a UAE cashback card.
- Excluded spend
- No cashback on amounts above your credit limit in a cycle, or on utility-bill payments through Citi online, mobile or phone channels.
- Lounge access
- 8 visits a year to 1,200+ lounges via Mastercard Travel Pass, conditional on non-AED spend; further visits are charged.
- Everyday extras
- One complimentary Careem airport ride a year (up to AED 84) and 20% off Talabat (up to AED 14) once a month.
- Eligibility
- Minimum income AED 8,000/month; age 21 or older; UAE resident.
Watch out for
- The international-cashback mirage. 3% on non-AED minus a 2.99% FX fee ≈ nothing — don’t pick this card for overseas spend on the strength of the 3% headline.
- Modest base rate. 1% on general local spend trails category cards like ADIB’s 4% or HSBC Live+‘s 6% dining — but those carry caps and conditions Citi doesn’t.
- Lounge gating. You need a non-AED purchase to unlock the lounge visits.
- Utility exclusion. Paying DEWA/etc. through Citi’s channels earns no cashback.
Is it worth it?
For someone who wants cashback without rules — no minimum spend, no caps, nothing to redeem — the Citi Cash Back is among the most straightforward cards in the UAE. The 1% everywhere / 2% groceries domestic earn is reliable, the fee is easily waived, and the lounge access and small perks round it out at a reasonable AED 8,000 salary bar.
Just calibrate expectations on the 3% non-AED rate: after the 2.99% FX fee it’s close to break-even, so this is a domestic-cashback card, not a travel one. Heavy category spenders will out-earn it with a capped category card; set-and-forget spenders will appreciate that it just works.
Bottom line
A clean, uncapped, no-minimum cashback card that’s easy to live with. Apply if you value simplicity and steady 1–2% domestic cashback. Skip if you’re chasing the 3% abroad — the FX fee cancels it — or want the highest headline category rates.