Citibank Korea’s PremierMiles Visa Signature Card

Citibank Korea's Citi PremierMiles Visa Signature Card

In 2008, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines both mended their frequent flyer programs (SKYPASS and Asiana Club) in a bad way, that every mile one earns will have a validity period of five years, and any mile not redeemed within five years will vanish. Many Koreans who had an airline credit card have turned to point-rewarding credit cards, since a point reward system gives much easier and convenient ways to redeem the points.

Citibank Korea’s Citi PremierMiles Visa Signature Card is a good and maybe the only alternative for those who still want to gain miles by using credit cards but are worried that they may not be travelling within next couple of years so their miles will expire.

Citi Premier Miles Visa Signature Card gives back 1 PremierMile for every KRW 1,000 spent. The PremierMile has no validity period and will not expire. So, where to use PremierMiles? The answer to this is the most important feature of Citi PremierMiles Visa Signature Card: you can whenever convert your non-expiring PremierMiles to various ffp miles, not only Korean Air SKYPASS and Asiana Airlines Asiana Club but also Singapore Airlines KrysFlyer, Northwest Airlines WorldPerks, Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. The conversion rates for 1 PremierMile are: 1.35 Asiana Club miles, 1 SKYPASS mile, 1.2 KrysFlyer miles, 1.2 WorldPerks miles, 1.2 Royal Orchid Plus miles, 0.48 Asia Mile. You can also redeem your PremierMiles in cash. One PremierMile worths KRW 12 in this case.

The annual fee is KRW 120,000, which includes a full Priority Pass membership with unlimited number of visits to airport lounges a year. There are no extra annual fees for additional cards for your family members.

It is unclear why, but there are two distinct PremierMiles cards, Citi PremierMiles SKYPASS Card and Citi PremierMiles Asiana Club Card, and the PremierMiles accrued with each card are not convertible to the other ffp’s miles. For example, your PremierMiles earned with Citi PremierMiles SKYPASS Card are only convertible to SKYPASS miles and not to Asiana Club miles, and vice versa. Yet, you can have both PremierMiles cards if you are willing to pay double the usual annual fee.

For the first year, 5,000 PremierMiles are awarded as a welcome bonus for there is no first-year annual fee waiver. 5,000 to 50,000 PremierMiles are rewarded as the yearly bonus depending on the annual total spending: 5,000 PremierMiles for KRW 20,000,000 to KRW 40,000,000; 8,000 PremierMiles for KRW 40,000,000 to KRW 100,000,000; 50,000 PremierMiles for KRW 100,000,000 or more.

Hyundai Diners Club Cards

Shinhyup (Credit Union) Hyundai Diners M Card

Hyundai Card is the sole issuer of Diner Club cards in Korea. There are now a total of four different card products that come under the name of Hyundai Diners Card, namely Hyundai Diners SKYPASS Card, Hyundai Diners Asiana Club Card, Hyundai Diners M Card and Shinhyup (Credit Union) Hyundai Diners M Card.

The annual fees are KRW 50,000 for SKYPASS and Asiana Club cards, KRW 30,000 for Hyundai Diners M Card and KRW 25,000 for Shinhyup (Credit Union) Hyundai Diners M Card. The latter two have no difference in their rewarding system and services, but the one cobranded with Shinhyup (Credit Union) will embed a Shinhyup (Credit Union) logo on the card plate.

All Hyundai Diners Cards are a Platinum class Hyundai Card. This means that you are eligible for the Hyundai Card’s Premium service. For example, you can eligibly use Hyundai Card’s Club services offered at hotels, restaurants, gyms, hairdressers etc. and get a 10 per cent discount for airline ticket purchases through Hyundai Privia.

Hyundai Diners SKYPASS Card and Asiana Club Card both give 1.2 miles, but per KRW 1,500 and KRW 1,000 respectively and these are flat rates. Hyundai Diners M Card and Shinhyup Hyundai Diners M Card gives back 0.5 % to 3.0 % in M Point except at GS Caltex gas stations where 50 points are rewarded per litre. Each M Point has a validity period of 60 months and any point not redeemed within this period will vanish.

Shinhyup (Credit Union) Hyundai Diners M Card

Hyundai Diners Card now embeds Discover Network and Pulse logos on the back but the numbering has not changed from the usual Diners Club Internationl numbering scheme, i.e. 14 digits starting with 3. Now Discover Network owns the Diners Club Network and Hyundai Diners Card can be used at Diners Club member stores worldwide as well as Discover stores in the US and Canada. Accoding to Hyundai Card, Hyundai Diners Card will also be accepted at MasterCard member stores in the US and Canada, only until June 2010. Hyundai Diners Card cannot be used at Discover member stores in any other countries than the US and Cadana for now. No international transactions fees are charged for Hyundai Diners Cards. Any foreign Diners Club International cards can be used in Korea at Hyundai Card member stores, and starting from late 2009, the Discover cards issued in the US or Canada will also be accepted in Korea.

Shinhan Hi-Point Nano Card

Shinhan Hi-Point Nano JCB Card, Shinhan Hi-Point Nano LG Electronics Visa Card, Shinhan Hi-Point Nano PIFF MasterCard

BC Card’s Self-making Card is well known for its versatile and customizable reward and rebate system and has been a must-have among Korean credit card gurus. Now, Shinhan Card’s Hi-Point Nano Card is emerging to be one of the best customizable cards. It is based on the same company’s Hi-Point Card which is characterized with good reward rates going up to 5 per cent depending upon the previous month’s spending.

The annual fee varies with brand: domestic-only KRW 8,000; Visa, MasterCard or JCB KRW 10,000; Visa or MasterCard Platinum KRW 15,000.

Every point a card member earns with Hi-Point Nano Card is saved in his/her My Shinhan Point account. One My Shinhan Point worths KRW 1. Monthly reward from a Hi-Point Nano card cannot exceed 50,000 points.

A Hi-Point Nano card member is required to select one category (Choice ₅C₁) and three stores (Bonus ₅₀C₃) where, including the stores of Basic 3 category (Lotte Department Store, Hyundai Department Store, CJ O’Shopping) and overseas stores, the maximum reward rate is set to be 5 per cent. Elsewhere, the maximum reward rate is 2 per cent. The maximum reward rate is applicable only when the previous month’s total spending equals or exceeds KRW 1,500,000. The rate falls to 3.0 % and 1.5 % respectively for the previous month’s total spending equal to or greater than KRW 800,000; 2.0 % and 1.0 % respectively for KRW 500,000; 1.0 % and 0.5 % for KRW 200,000. The basic reward rate applicable when the previous month’s total spending is less than KRW 200,000, is 0.2 % for both the selected stores and elsewhere.

The list of stores of each Choice ₅C₁ category is as below:

• Online Stores: G Market, Auction, GS Home Shopping, Hyundai Home Shopping, Lotte Home Shopping, Interpark, Yes24, 11th Street, d&Shop.
• Educational Institutes and Hagwon: kindergarten, hagwon, language institutes.
• Hospitals, Clinics, Drugstores: hospitals, clinics, community health centres, veterinary hospitals, drugstores. (oriental clinics and dental clinics excluded)
• Hypermarkets: Lotte Mart, E-mart, Home Plus.
• Cellular Phone Bills: SK Telecom, KT, LG Telecom. (automatic transfers only)

The Bonus ₅₀C₃ set:

• Shopping: Galleria Department Store, AK Plaza Department Store, Newcore Department Store, I-Park Department Store, Daegu Department Store, Daewoo Department Store, Say Department Store, Yawoori Department Store, Grand Department Store, Nonghyup Hanaro Club, Kims Mart, Mega Mart, Top Mart, JDC Duty Free, Lotte Duty Free, Shilla Duty Free, AK Duty Free, W-Mall, Entersix, 2001 Outlet, Sejung Outlet, HiMart, LG Electoronics.
• On-line Stores and Home Shopping: G Market, Auction, Interpark, 11th Street, Yes24, GS Home Shopping, Hyundai Home Shopping, Lotte Home Shopping, NS Home Shopping. (none of these stores can be selected when the Online Stores category is chosen in Bonus ₅₀C₃)
• Bakehouses, Cafés, Coffeehouse: Paris Baguette, Tous Les Jours, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
• Transport: Jeju Air, Jin Air, bus, metro, KTX.
• Educational Institues and Hagwon: Woongjin ThinkBig, YBM Language Institute, Megastudy, Hansol Education, Kyowon Kumon.
• Bookstores: Bandi and Luni’s, Youngpoong Bookstore, Kyobo Book Centre.
• Miscellaneous: Shinhan Card Culture/Travel

KRW 60 rebate is given in My Shinhan Point for every litre bought at Hyundai Oilbank and S-Oil gas stations. LPG stations are not eligible for this.

Credit card or charge card?

Credit cards in Korea indeed are charge cards with an optional revolving credit. Credit card companies and banks usually set a month and a half as the billing period which is indepent of the cardholder’s credit. They charge their cardholders depending on his/her credit with varying interest rates for overdue payments, revolving payments and installments. Korean credit card holders who spend too much i.e. more than what they earn prefer not to use their revolving credit but rather will they use cash advances from different cards of more than one credit card company or bank.

BC Platinum Card

Woori Bank BC SKYPASS Platinum Visa Card (top) and Woori Bank BC Asiana Club Platinum MasterCard

BC Platinum Card is by far the best Platinum class credit card issued in Korea. Although BC Card now issues MasterCard Diamond and Visa Infinite class cards with higher annual fees, BC Platinum Card has long been treated as the most prestigious and luxurious since its first issue in May 1999.

In Visa Platinum or MasterCard Platinum classes, BC Platinum Card has many co-brands available: TOP, SKYPASS, Asiana Club, Nobles SKYPASS, Nobles Asiana Club, SK, BC Miles, CarPlus, NH Nonghyup Blessed Korea, Woori Bank E-Land, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea The Fine, Hana Bank Gold Club, etc.

These co-brands differ basically in their reward system:

• TOP card – 0.1 % to 0.3 % of monthly domestic spending in TOP points which can be redeemed in cash. This rate depends upon the monthly total spending. No additional annual fee.
• SKYPASS card - One SKYPASS mile for every KRW 1,500 spent. Additional annual fee KRW 10,000.
• Asiana Club card – One Asiana Club mile for every KRW 1,000 spent. Additional annual fee KRW 10,000.
• Nobles SKYPASS and Nobles Asiana Club cards – Reward rates are the same as above. Additional annual fee KRW 20,000.
• SK card – One SK point for every KRW 1,000 spent at SK gas stations (SK LPG stations included) along with KRW 25 rebate for every litre. SK points can be redeemed for various gifts or exchanged with Asiana Club miles.
• BC Miles card – One BC Mile for every KRW 1,000 spent. BC Miles are redeemed for use at BC Card travel service.
• CarPlus card – 0.8 % rebate in CarPlus point for both domestic and international spendings. CarPlus points are exchanged 1:1 with TOP points which then can be redeemed in cash. Additional annual fee KRW 10,000.
• NH Nonghyup Blessed Korea – 10 % rebate (up to KRW 10,000) for every largest spending made in five Korean national holidays: 1st March Sam-il Independence movement anninversary, 17th July Constitution Day, 15th August National Liberationa Day, 3rd October National Foundation Day, 9th October Hangul Day. 1 % reward points for spendings made in 63 Korean national anniversaries and holidays. No additional annual fee.
• Woori Bank E-land card – 5 % to 7 % discount at E-land retail stores (Newcore Outlet, NC Department store, 2001 Outlet, Kimsclub Mart, etc), 10 % discount at Ashley and Rimini restaurants. No additional annual fee.

Individual member banks are free to determine which of these co-brands to issue.

The annual fee for BC Platinum Card is KRW 120,000 and an extra fee of KRW 50,000 is charged for every additional cards.

A full Priority Pass membership card is issued with no charge for the main cardholder.

One-free-night’s-stay voucher usable with a paid stay of one or more nights at any of the designated 5-star hotels nationwide (Jeju Grand Hotel, Seorak Park Hotel Sokcho, Paradise Hotel Busan, Hilton Gyeongju Hotel, Intercontinental Coex Seoul, Seogwipo KAL Hotel) is given as a welcome gift. This voucher is also given at the times of renewal after each validity period of five years.

For every year, a BC Platinum Card member gets one free domestic airline ticket for his or her companion through BC Card’s own travel agency, BC Tour. For now, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are the only available airlines for this free ride. BC Platinum Card members also get the 24-hour free car rental service in Jeju-do through Hansung Rent-a-Car.

A maximum of $ 300 or € 200 rebate for the additional night following a paid stay of at least one night at an overseas hotel is given each year. The hotels subject to this offer is listed at BC Tour, http://bctour.bccard.com. Through BC Tour, BC Platinum Card members can get a maximum of 7 % discount for international airline tickets and package holidays.

Visa and MasterCard both offer their Platinum cardholders the concierge service, but BC Platinum cardholders are not elligible for this. BC Card offered somewhat restricted concierge service through a separate contract with International SOS for its Platinum card members but discontinued it by May 2009. So no concierge service at all for now.

Two complimentary tickets (as many as 28 tickets per year) for KBS Symphony Orchestra’s subscription concerts held at Seoul Arts Centre are provided upon request. At movie theatres for at most four times a month, KRW 4,000 is rebated for an on-line or off-line purchase that equals or exceeds KRW 10,000 and KRW 2,000 is rebated for anything lower. At Outback Steakhouse, TGI Friday’s and Marche, 20% discount is given once a month. A discount of 30 to 50 % for the Daily Passes at famous amusement parks including Lotte World, Everland, Caribbean Bay, Seoul Land are given monthly. These offers are subject to the requirement that the preceeding three months’ total spending to be equal or greater than KRW 300,000.

The BC monthly magazine is sent to selected BC Platinum cardholders whose total spending (including cash advances) for the last six months exceeds KRW 1,800,000. The BC contains various articles about travel, culture, fashion, golf, etc as well as news on the card and its services.

Korea Exchange Bank Visa Signature Cards

Korea Exchange Bank Asiana Club Visa Signature Card

Korea Exchange Bank’s Visa Signature Cards come with three different rewarding options: Yes Point, Korean Air SKYPASS, Asiana Airlines Asiana Club. Yes Point Signature Card gives back 10 Yes Points for KRW 1,000 spent. One Yes Point worths KRW 1, and the points can be redeemed in the form of cash once 10,000 Yes Points are accrued. With SKYPASS Signature Card one can earn for every KRW 1,500 spent; 3 miles for international purchase, 2 miles at duty free shops, 1 mile elsewhere. Asiana Club Signature Card gives 2 miles for every KRW1,000 spent at duty free shops or for international purchase; 1 mile elsewhere.

The annual fee is KRW 150,000. An extra fee of KRW 20,000 is charged for each additional cards.

KEB Signature Card members are to choose for every year, one free domestic airline ticket for his/her companion or one KRW 150,000 Shilla Duty Free gift voucher usable at any offline Shilla Duty Free shops.

A full and free Priority Pass membership comes along with the card. This is not applicable for additional card members.

Other notable services apart from the Visa Signatures services include: 50 Yes Points per liter, 3 SKYPASS miles per KRW 1,500, 2 Asiana Club miles per KRW 1,000 respectively at any gas stations; 5% discount at any clinics, hospitals, dentist’s, oriental clinics, veterinary hospitals, and other medical places except ophtalmic clinics; KRW 10,000 rebate for HiPass purchases exceeding KRW 30,000 every month; KRW 1,500 to 3,000 rebate at movie theatres. Many of these services require a minimum total of KRW 500,000 spendings made in the previous month.

Credit cards with free Priority Pass membership

This is a list of credit cards (basically charge cards in Korea, with instalment and/or revolving payment options) with free Priority Pass membership:

BC ( http://www.bccard.com/card/html/vip/introduce/introduce.jsp ) :

• BC Platinum TOP MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• BC Platinum SK MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• BC Platinum Asiana Club Econmy MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• BC Platinum SKYPASS MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 130,000
• BC Platinum Asiana Club MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 130,000
• BC Platinum CarPlus MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 130,000
• BC Platinum BC Miles MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 130,000
• BC Platinum Nobles SKYPASS MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 140,000
• BC Platinum Nobles Asiana Club MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 140,000
• BC Diamond TOP MasterCard – KRW 300,000
• BC Diamond SKYPASS MasterCard – KRW 300,000
• BC Diamond Asiana Club MasterCard – KRW 300,000
• BC Diamond Golf-Yard MasterCard – KRW 300,000
• * BC Infinite TOP Visa Card – KRW 1,000,000
• * BC Infinite SKYPASS Visa Card – KRW 1,000,000
• * BC Infinite Asiana Club Visa Card – KRW 1,000,000

Woori Bank ( http://www.wooricard.com )  :

• * Woori Bank BC Diamond TOP MasterCard – KRW 300,000
• * Woori Bank BC Diamond SKYPASS MasterCard – KRW 300,000
• * Woori Bank BC Diamond Asiana Club MasterCard – KRW 300,000
• * Woori Bank BC TOP Signature Visa Card – KRW 300,000
• * Woori Bank BC SKYPASS Signature Visa Card – KRW 300,000
• * Woori Bank BC Asiana Club Signature Visa Card – KRW 300,000
• * Woori Bank BC Golf-Yard Signature Visa Card – KRW 300,000
• Woori Bank BC E-land Platinum Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• Woori Bank BC Platinum Check MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 80,000

Citi Bank ( http://www.citibank.co.kr/kor/card/prd/kcp_index.jsp )  :

• Citi SKYPASS Platinum MasterCard – KRW 40,000
• Citi SKYPASS Platinum Visa Card – KRW 30,000
• Citi Revolving Platinum Visa Card – KRW 20,000
• Citi PremierMiles SKYPASS / Asiana Club Visa Signature Card – KRW 120,000

Korea Exchange Bank ( http://www.yescard.co.kr )  :

• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 700 Visa Card - KRW 70,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 700 Hyundai Motors Visa Card - KRW 70,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 700 The One Visa Card - KRW 70,000
•  Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 700 Daejeon Citizen The One Visa Card - KRW 70,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 700 The Mall The One Visa Card - KRW 70,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 700 The One Free Design Visa Card - KRW 70,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 700 My Canvas Visa Card - KRW 70,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 700 SKYPASS Visa Card - KRW 80,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 700 Asiana Club Visa Card - KRW 80,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 700 New SKYPASS Visa Card - KRW 90,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 1200 Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 1200 Hyundai Motors Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 1200 The One Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 1200 Daejeon Citizen The One Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 1200 The Mall The One Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 1200 The One Free Design Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 1200 My Canvas Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 1200 SKYPASS Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 1200 Asiana Club Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Platinum 1200 New SKYPASS Visa Card – KRW 130,000
• ** Korea Exchange Bank Signature Visa Card – KRW 150,000
• Korea Exchange Bank SKYPASS Signature Visa Card – KRW 150,000
• Korea Exchange Bank Asiana Club Signature Visa Card – KRW 150,000
• Korea Exchange Bank Expat Platinum Visa Card – KRW 120,000

Shinhan Card ( http://www.shinhancard.com/conts/person/card/card_info/credit_card/best/best_list.jsp ) :

• Shinhan Platinum Classic MasterCard / Visa Card - KRW 120,000
• Shinhan Platinum Classic SKYPASS MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 130,000
• Shinhan Platinum Classic Asiana Club MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 130,000
• Shinhan Premier SKYPASS Visa Infinite Card – KRW 1,000,000
• Shinhan Premier Asiana Club Visa Infinite Card – KRW 1,000,000

Samsung Card ( http://www.samsungcard.co.kr/ )  :

• Samsung Classic Platinum MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• Samsung SKYPASS Platinum MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 140,000
• Samsung S-Mile Platinum Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• Samsung KORAIL Membership Platinum Visa Card – KRW 120,000
• Samsung KORAIL Membership S-Mile Platinum Visa Card – KRW 120,000

Hana Bank ( http://www.hanabank.com/contents/ccd/pvcrd/brf/index.jsp ) :

• Hana Bank BC Diamond Club SKYPASS Diamond MasterCard – KRW 300,000
• Hana Bank BC Diamond Club Asiana Club Diamond MasterCard – KRW 300,000
• Hana Bank BC Diamond Club Golf Mileage Diamond MasterCard – KRW 300,000
• * Hana Bank Royal Platinum Mileage Visa Card – KRW 100,000
• * Hana Bank Royal Platinum 3-month Installment Visa Card – KRW 100,000
• * Hana Bank Royal Platinum SKYPASS Visa Card – KRW 100,000
• * Hana Bank Royal Platinum Asiana Club Visa Card – KRW 100,000
• Hana Bank BC Gold Club Members Platinum Visa Card – KRW ?

Standard Chartered First Bank Korea ( http://www.scfirstbank.com ) :

• Standard Chartered First Bank Korea BC The Mileage Diamond MasterCard – KRW 200,000
• Standard Chartered First Bank Korea BC First Signature Visa Card – KRW 120,000

Industrial Bank of Korea ( http://www.ibk.co.kr )  :

• Industrial Bank of Korea BC The fine Platinum MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 130,000
• Industrial Bank of Korea BC Prosperous Woman’s Platinum Visa Card – KRW 200,000
• Industrial Bank of Korea BC I-biz Platinum MasterCard – KRW 130,000

Nonghyup (National Agricultural Cooperatives Federation) Bank ( http://card.nonghyup.com )  :

• Nonghyup BC Blessed Korea Platinum MasterCard – KRW 120,000

Kwang Ju Bank ( http://www.kjbank.com/banking/homepage/visa_card/personal/ware/platinum/per_prd1_101.jsp ) :

• Kwang Ju Bank Platinum Visa Card – KRW 110,000
• Kwang Ju Bank Platinum Asiana Club Visa Card – KRW 120,000

Daegu Bank ( http://www.daegubank.co.kr ) :

• Daegu Bank Donga Dept Store Platinum MasterCard / Visa Card – KRW 120,000

* Each additional card members of these cards (with an asterisk) also gets a free Priority Pass membership. Extra annual fees are charged for every additional cards.

** The number of free visits to airport lounges allowed by Priority Pass membership issued with a Korea Exchange Bank Platinum Card will be limited to 10 visits per year, starting from 10th April, 2010. Currently, no Prioriy Pass membership limits the number of free visits.

BC TOP Card

 

BC TOP Cards issued by Hana Bank (MasterCard), Citibank Korea, KB Kookmin Bank (VISA gold), Woori Bank (JCB), Shinhan Bank and IBK Industrial Bank of Korea respectively from the top left to the bottom right.

BC TOP Cards are issued by all member banks of BC Card. Cons are low reward rates and absence of cobrand services; pros are wide range of selectible brands and classes. Available brands for BC TOP Cards are: Visa, MasterCard, JCB or BC (BC is for domestic use only). Annual fees vary from as low as KRW 2,000 for domestic-only Silver class cards to as high as KRW 1,000,000 for Visa Infinite cards. Some of the BC Card member banks have their own conditions for the annual fee to be waived. Reward rates vary from 0.1 % to 0.3 % according to the monthly payment made. BC TOP Cards can embed Seoul Transportation card.

Citi Shinsegae Asiana Airlines Platinum Card

Citi Shinsegae Asiana Airlines Platinum Card

Citibank Korea’s Citi Shinsegae Asiana Airlines Platinum Card is known for its generous reward rate (1 Asiana mile for every KRW 1,000) with an unconditionally waived annual fee. Since May 2008, KRW 10,000 is charged as the first year’s annual fee but no annual fee is charged for the second year and on. 1 Asiana reward mile is given for every KRW 1,000 only if the month’s spending exceeds KRW 200,000, otherwise the rate falls to 1 mile per KRW 2,000. Citi Sinsegae Asiana Airlines Platinum Card comes as a Visa Platinum card, so its cardholders are eligible for the Visa Platinum benefits worldwide. Some of the notable benefits of Visa Platinum in Korea are the free valet parking service at many 5- and 4-star hotels nationwide; 5 to 15 % discount at Lotte, AK, Dongwha, Walkerhill, Paradise duty free shops; Airfare discounts, etc. As the card is co-branded with Shinsegae Department Store, Shinsegae membership service is also provided: 3-5 % discount coupons and free parking coupons given every month; 2 to 3 months installments with no fees, etc. The card comes with a Shinsegae Department Store KRW 5,000 gift voucher which can be exchanged with a KRW 5,000 gift certificate after a KRW 30,000 or more purchase at any Shinsegae Department Store, a KRW 5,000 discount coupon usable at Outback Steakhouse, Sizzlers, Dominos with payments equal to or higher than KRW 20,000.

BC Gift Card

BC Gift Cards

BC Gift Cards are prepaid cards with five year validity period issued by BC member banks. BC Gift Cards are issued with KRW 50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 300,000, 400,000 and 500,000 face values. Some retailers that do not take BC Gift Cards are: department stores including Hyundai, Shinsegae, Lotte who has their own credit cards; on-flight purchases and railway ticket purchases which do not require instant approval. Most retailers who take BC Cards will also take BC Gift Cards. Recharging of a BC Gift Card is allowed for as many as three times, each time within the face value. BC Gift Cards bought at Citi Bank (HanMi Bank) are not rechargeable.

BC member banks that sell and issue or recharge BC Gift Card take cash or BC card payments (in a lump sum or in 2- or 3-month instalments). Woori Bank and Citibank won’t take BC cards issued by other member banks but their own. Shinhan Bank and Kookmin Bank do not issue BC Gift Cards.

BC Gift Cards co-branded with China Union Pay are also being sold since 2008. CUP co-branded BC Gift Cards can be used at retailers worldwide where CUP credit cards are taken.