The Citi Cash Back product page advertises an AED 300 statement credit for eligible new Citi card customers who apply directly and meet the spending requirement. That is not the same test as keeping the card fee-free after year one. If you budget for the bonus and ignore the renewal fee, you can get the cost of holding the card wrong.
This first UAE Card Change Log records the terms we found on 4 November 2026. It is a baseline for future checks, not a report of a new Citi change.
What Citi publishes for each decision
| Decision | What Citi publishes |
|---|---|
| Apply for the standard direct welcome offer | AED 300 statement credit after AED 6,000 of qualifying spend in 60 days, subject to the offer terms. Citi excludes applications arriving via search adverts or third-party links from this offer. |
| Hold the card in year one | No annual fee. |
| Keep the card from year two | The annual fee is waived if you meet the AED 9,000 annual spend requirement. If you do not, the charge is AED 315 including VAT. |
Citi’s welcome-offer terms say a designated Citi landing page carries the offer stated on that page. That does not establish that a referral link carries the standard direct offer, or what any specific referral route pays. Check the terms for the route you intend to use. The issuer links here document the terms; they are not application links.
A worked example: the bonus does not waive renewal
Suppose you meet the welcome offer’s spend requirement during the opening window and qualify for the credit. In a later card year, suppose you spend AED 600 a month that counts towards the waiver. That is AED 7,200 over the year, below the AED 9,000 threshold. Under the terms checked, the later year would carry the AED 315 fee. The introductory credit does not repeat to offset it.
The product page states the fee as AED 300 before VAT. Its terms add 5% to that fee: AED 300 × 1.05 = AED 315. We use the VAT-inclusive amount when comparing card costs. This example isolates the annual fee; it does not estimate cashback earned, other charges or approval.
Next step: Read the Citi Cash Back review to decide whether the ongoing rewards are worth the fee in a year when you miss the waiver. Then confirm the current terms with Citi before applying.
