Note, Citibank are currently offering 3.9% for the life of balances transferred.
It used to be that you could get a plain old credit card. Then someone decided they didn't want to be associated with all those plebeians and their colourless credit cards, so they invented the gold card. Gold, being the colour of wealth, was used to distinguish credit cards with higher credit limits and correspondingly-higher interest rates from the garden-variety credit card.
Then the gold card became too mainstream. Someone (and I'm not sure who, but I bet you they were American), decided they were too wealthy for gold. They needed a new class of card. But what was better than gold? And thus, the platinum card was born. I've heard that when platinum cards were first released, they came in a polished mahogany box. They were, and mostly continue to be, a status symbol.
But platinum's are becoming mainstream and I'm left wondering about their successor. Palladium credit cards? Rhodium credit cards? Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
The Citibank Platinum is one of the aforementioned mainstream platinum cards. It has a high interest rate (20.74% on purchases and 21.24% on cash) and a high annual fee ($250). However, it does offer all the benefits you'd expect from a platinum card. 55 days interest free on purchases, a personal concierge to provide you with information and assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, a personalised rewards program (points can be redeemed on, among other things, the Qantas Frequent Flyer program) and free international travel insurance (for the cardholder and their family).
You can also get 3.9% for the life of balances transferred, which makes the card a serious consideration for anyone shopping around for a good balance transfer deal.
Overall, the Citibank Platinum is a card that offers all the features you'd expect from a platinum card - and you pay for them. Worth it if you're after a balance transfer deal, or if you're one of those people who pay off their balance in full each month and never use the card for cash advances.
