Citibank Cashback: a personal review

Overview The only credit card that offers instant rewards in the form of cash rebates for any and all purchases you make.

Citibank Cash Back Card Get rebates of up to 2.5% of your purchases every month Keep on using your Cash Back Card and you can get from 0.5% to 2.5% cash back every month. The higher your Carried-Forward Balance (Outstanding Balance less Payments Made), the higher the cash back rebate you will receive. Automatic and hassle free redemption. Get rewards in cash credits automatically on your billing statement each month. Citibank World Privileges Enjoy preferential treatment, discounts and benefits by simply using your Citibank credit card in over 1,000 merchants in the Philippines and over 17,000 merchants in Asia and all over the world, all handpicked with you in mind. You can still enjoy the standard features of a Citibank Credit Card. Longer and lighter payments with Citibank PayLite Convenience of consolidating your Meralco, PLDT, Globe, Smart and other utility bills with Citibank One Bill 24-hour Customer Service How is Cash Back Earned? All New Purchases* for the month are eligible for the minimum 0.5% Cash Back rate. Cash Back cardholders have to use their Card every month in order to earn rebates; if there is NO spend for the month, cardholders will not earn any rebate. If cardholder decides not to pay all of his Outstanding Balance for the month ("revolves"), he will get an opportunity to earn higher cash back based on his Carried-Forward Balance: CARRIED-FORWARD BALANCE* CASH BACK RATE Less than P2,500.00 0.50% P2,500.00 - P14,999 1.00% P15,000.00 - P44,999 1.50% P50,000.00 and above 2.50% Your Carried-Forward Balance determines the Cash Back Rate for the month. Carried Forward Balance is computed as follows: Outstanding balance less Payments made. The cash back amount is computed by multiplying New Purchases for the current month with the Cash Back Rate. Your cash back redeemed will have an annual cap of P5,000.00 based on a 12-month rolling period beginning on account opening date. *New Purchases include the following: all Retail transactions, PayLite monthly installment due, One Bill/Utility payments due for the month,Cash Advance, Insurance Premium and Annual Fees.

source: citibank.com.ph

Personal Review
I gave Citibank Cashback a score of 6/10 in basis of the following:

Good

• online access and security - see your transactions anytime or send a message to any of their departments
  
• waived annual fees for principal and secondary account for the first year
  

Bad

• cashback terms - you will only get the 2.5% cashback if your carried forward balance (revolving) is P50,000 or more. Else, you'll only have 0.5 - 1.5%.
  
• annual fee - it is P600 more expensive than classic visa at P1800/year. In theory, if you'll use your cash card to spend without the intention to roll your balances, you'll be spending P120,000/year to break even the membership fee difference (0.5% of P120K is P600). So, if you deem yourself spending more than 10K a month via credit card, you may loot up to P5,000 (maximum cashback per year) with this card.
  
• On the bottom line, surely, this card is not a good choice for the masses middle class.