One of the key benefits of the Citi Prestige Mastercard is one complimentary one-way transfer per calendar year up to a value of A$100. Previously, this was limited to airport transfers only.
However, the service was updated on 22 June 2020 to allow the luxury transfer service to be used for any destination within the eligible cities.
In this guide, we take a look at the details of how to use it, with a list of included cities, maps of the range of transfers permitted, how to book the service, and our tips for getting the best value.
What is the Citi Prestige luxury transfer service?
The luxury transfer service is a special perk for Citi Prestige Mastercard holders. You’re able to book a one-way or same-day return transfer to and from any location across eligible cities, up to the value of A$100. Unused amounts will be forfeited.
The important details
As of October 2020, the eligible cities are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra. Bookings should be made at least 48 hours in advance, and cancellations must be made no later than 24 hours before the scheduled booking.
If you cancel your booking within 24 hours, then you’ll still be charged the full amount of the transfer (including any amounts above the free A$100 threshold if applicable), and you won’t be able to utilise the benefit for the rest of the calendar year.
There are limits on the number of passengers and pieces of luggage allowed. Larger groups will require a bigger vehicle, and extra costs will then apply. Need to know more? Read the full terms and conditions on the Citi website.
How much does it cost?
For the latest figures, see the link to the terms and conditions page above. As an indicative figure, you should expect a sedan transfer of 11-20km to cost $70-$95, depending on the city. Brisbane and the Gold Coast have the cheapest transfer rates, while Perth is the most expensive.
Remember, the first A$100 is covered by the Citi Prestige card benefit. You’ll only need to pay any extra amount if you need a bigger car or travel further than 20km.
How do I book the Citi Prestige luxury transfer service?
You’ll need to first make a booking through the Citi Concierge — you can call them at 1800 782 948 between 8am to 8pm AEST, Monday to Friday.
On the day of travel, there should be a driver waiting for you with Citi signage and your name — from your booking, they will know where your destination is.
The cars on offer do vary, so if you have specific requirements for more than a couple of bags you should let them know at the time of booking to ensure you’ll be able to fit everything in.
The experiences we’ve seen first-hand or heard anecdotally range from a standard Holden Caprice to Mercedes C Class (which is fairly small) and up to a Mercedes R Class (a seven-seater) — that’s without requesting something larger, which is possible with an additional co-payment.
Summing up
The Citi Prestige limousine transfer benefit offers good value and is available in seven cities here in Australia. Unfortunately, the benefit is no longer available overseas since the relaunch of the Citi Prestige card in early 2020.
Just make sure to use familiarise yourself with the essential details above before making your booking, and referring to the terms and conditions for the nitty-gritty details, such as the price brackets.
This article was originally written by Matt Moffitt.
We got a people mover van, it may be 7-8 years old nothing different to an 8 seater taxi. But it was clean. You get a $100 credit and I had to pay another $100 from my pocket. This was from Melbourne Airport to my home.
The driver was well dressed, he helped us load and Unload the luggage.
He was on time(2-3 minutes before time), you will get a text when the driver starts with the map and distance from your home.
You get one $100 credit per calendar year, Luckily my trip was in December and return was in January, so I got to use both those credits.
Citi Concierge was okay they called me on my local number when I was overseas to book my return trip because you cannot book those two trips in the same year. They could have been more efficient.
Overall it was okay, but I did not feel that it was a great perk as the company charged $200 same trip in the same size van would cost $110.
Hey if you have a friend or family who can drop off at the Airport even better.
Very difficult to book,
Option 1: calling takings ages to connect, and takes ages to verify your identity, multiple transfers. (Quality of the call is low too, broken line, hard to hear)
Option 2: emailing, the promise of the email reply in 1-2 business days. However that did not happen. One person replied to ask more details, which I provided instantly, but then silence. After days, another person called and say will give me a quote within the day. But then didn’t happen.
Since then I’ve sent two follow up email also ends in silence…
Basically it’s more or less a useless perks not really worth the time for the $100 saving.
I did it more just to experience how the service is like.
If you are considering getting this card, please just consider if the other benefits suits you.
Using this service in Bali is not recommended.
I have (once) and all that turned up was the normal Toyota people mover (well equipped but a people mover nonetheless).
The value for this transfer (which I use very very often) is around AUD25 to Kuta/Seminyak out to AUD35 for Ubud.