Priority Banking In Singapore: How Does It Help To Grow Your Wealth?

If you have six figures worth of assets and want a relatively risk-free way to grow your wealth, investing in a priority banking account will be your next smart move. 

Priority banking offers many financial and lifestyle perks; from having your own relationship manager to help manage your wealth, to VIP access to airport lounges, to preferential rates for loans. 

However, the bigger question is: will parking your money in a priority banking account help to build your wealth? 

In this article, we’ll lay out the benefits from three priority banking services in Singapore: Citigold, DBS Treasures, and HSBC Premier, to help you decide whether a priority banking account can serve your investment goals. 

What are the requirements of a priority banking account? 

In general, you would need to have a minimum of S$200,000 to $350,000 of assets under management (AUM) to qualify for a priority banking account. What this means is that, it doesn’t have to be in cash deposits only and can be a mix of cash, insurance products, and investments (REITs, stocks, mutual funds, etc.).

As mentioned, there are a few perks of having a priority banking account. In addition to lifestyle and travel benefits, priority banking also offers these perks:

• Your own relationship manager to help you with investment advice, recommendations, ideas, or strategies. What’s more, your relationship manager can also help you with the administrative processes 
• Preferable interest rates, including for fixed deposit accounts
• You’ll also enjoy lower interest rates for loans
• Personalised service where you can contact someone directly instead of getting directed to call centres, saving you time

With that, let’s take a look at three priority banking services in Singapore: Citigold, DBS Treasures, and HSBC Premier, and the benefits they provide.

Citigold

To be a priority banking customer with Citigold, a minimum of S$250,000 worth of AUM is required to open a Citi Wealth First account. 

The main highlight of this account is that you get to enjoy a bonus interest of up to 7.51% p.a. on your savings, upon meeting  these requirements:

Minimum requirement	Interest rate (p.a.)
Base interest	0.01%
Spend a minimum of S$250 on eligible retail transactions on your Citibank Debit Mastercard	1.5%
Purchase a single lump sum investment of at least S$50,000 in a calendar month (bonds, unit trusts, structured notes)	1.5%
Buy a single premium insurance policy worth at least S$50,000 in a calendar month (CPF savings and SRS are excluded)	1.5%
Take a home loan worth S$500,000 or more	1.5%
Increase your average savings from the previous month by at least S$3,000	1.5%
Total interest earned	7.51%

The Citi Wealth First Account offer very attractive rates, though it requires you to jump through hoops. If you take a home loan, invest in an eligible investment product and spend at least S$250 on your Citibank Debit Mastercard, you'll easily earn 4.51% p.a. just like that!

As a Citigold or Citigold Private Client, you'll be able to earn the bonus interest on deposits of up to S$250,000 and S$500,000 respectively. You’ll also be able to enjoy preferential rates for home loans, car loans, and brokerage fees. 

Citigold members also have access to the Citigold priority hotline, lifetime fee annual waiver on a Citibank credit card of your choice, and your own dedicated wealth management team. 

For global banking, you’ll enjoy better foreign exchange rates when converting to local or foreign currencies abroad, toll-free access to your home Citigold customer service hotline, and emergency cash withdrawals of up to US$10,000 while overseas. 

Aside from that, you won’t be charged for foreign exchange conversion fees and administrative charges when you withdraw from a foreign Citibank ATM, fee-free fund transfers between your local and foreign Citibank accounts, and enjoy priority banking privileges at any Citigold centre around the world.  

HSBC Premier

Unlike most banks, HSBC offers more options when it comes to qualifying for an HSBC Premier account; you can meet any one of the following conditions:

• Option 1: have a minimum of S$200,000 in AUMs
• Option 2: have a monthly salary of at least S$15,000 and credited into your HSBC account
• Option 3: take an HSBC home loan of at least S$1,000,000 for a Singapore property, or A$200,000 for an Australian property
• Option 4: qualify as an international HSBC Premier customer

What makes HSBC Premier distinct from the rest is that HSBC Premier status is also extended to your family members, including your spouse and up to three children aged 18 to 30. 

What this means is that your family members will also get to enjoy the same banking privileges and benefits as you, including financial advice and wealth management from your dedicated relationship manager. 

Your children will also have overseas education support, so if you’re planning on sending your children for overseas studies, they’ll have access to international banking, their debit card, supplementary credit card, cheque book, and will also be assigned a relationship manager for support when they’re abroad.

What’s more, your children can access US$2,000 worth of emergency funds at any international HSBC branch and receive complimentary consultations from partner universities.

HSBC Premier members are eligible for the HSBC Premier Mastercard, which gives 5% cashback on dining, petrol, groceries, or transport expenses (capped at S$150 per month or up to S$1,800 per year). Every dollar spent also earns you one reward point, which can be used to redeem shopping and dining vouchers, or to offset your expenditures.

As an HSBC card holder, you can earn an additional 1% cashback (capped at S$800) on eligible HSBC credit cards or HSBC Everyday Global Debit Card spending with the HSBC Everyday+ programme.

Via the programme, you'll also get 1% cashback on eligible GIRO payments and earn 1% p.a. bonus interest on your incremental SGD average daily balances. You'll also receive a one-time cash reward of up to S$300 if you're new to the HSBC Everyday+ Programme.

Premier members who open an HSBC Everyday Global Account will have access to 11 different currencies (Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Euro, Japanese yen, New Zealand dollar, British Pound, Swiss franc, US dollar, Hong Kong dollar and Chinese renminbi), with no fees charged on retail spends or withdrawals for 10 currencies (Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Euro, Japanese yen, New Zealand dollar, British Pound, Swiss franc, US dollar, Hong Kong dollar and Chinese renminbi).

You’ll also enjoy fee-free global transfers with HSBC Global Money Transfers, zero ATM or transaction fees at HSBC ATMs anywhere in the world, get preferential foreign exchange rates, and earn cashback on spending.  

Aside from that, you’ll also enjoy these perks:

• Premier banking privileges at any HSBC branch
• Access to HSBC’s digital securities, unit trust trading, and wealth management platforms 
• Exclusive offers when you invest with HSBC
• Preferential savings, mortgage, personal loan, and foreign exchange rates
• Exclusive offers when you invest with HSBC
• Preferential time deposit rates of up to 3% p.a. You’ll also enjoy preferential rates for foreign currency time deposits of up to 4% p.a.

DBS Treasures

DBS Treasures has one of the highest requirements for priority banking: you need to have a minimum AUM of S$350,000 and be an Accredited Investor, which, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), means meeting at least one of these requirements:

• Have personal assets worth least S$2 million;
• Have an income of at least S$300,000 in the last 12 months; or
• A corporation with assets worth more than S$10 million

Like other priority banking programmes, you’ll enjoy perks such as access to DBS’ wealth management account for your investing activities and your own dedicated relationship manager. On top of that, you’ll also enjoy additional benefits when it comes to investments, insurance, savings, and loans. 

Like other priority banking services, you get to enjoy various lifestyle privileges and experiences, including limousine transfers, preferential hotel room rates at partner hotels (Marriott International, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, and boutique hotels), airport lounge access, and more. 

However, note that a service fee of S$50 will be charged if your account balance at the end of each month falls below S$200,000.

Conclusion

If you're a new investor, priority banking offers many investment opportunities to grow your wealth; you have your own dedicated relationship manager to help you with your financial goals and members-only access to proprietary wealth tools for financial and investing insights. 

On top of that, you’ll also enjoy better rates for savings and loans. You also get better cashback on spending and won’t be charged a transaction fee for overseas ATM withdrawals.

For savvy investors, a priority banking service will help to enhance your investment portfolio with access to private markets and structured assets.