Priority Banking 2024 – Which Bank Offers the Best Welcome Rewards?

Priority banking programmes dangle attractive welcome rewards to convince the wealthy to deposit their funds. Here are five of the best on offer.

Being made for the wealthy, priority banking programmes unsurprisingly have high eligibility criteria. To qualify requires at least several hundred thousands, and these must be fresh deposits to boot.

To convince high-net-worth clients to deposit their funds, banks are dangling attractive sign-up promotions that promise to make it worthwhile.

Here are five of the best priority banking welcome rewards currently on offer.

Related to this topic: Priority Banking In Singapore: How Does It Help To Grow Your Wealth?

How to qualify for priority banking welcome rewards

The priority banking welcome rewards highlighted in this article are generally only for new customers.

This means you do not have a prior priority banking relationship with the bank for typically six months to a year.

Also, while there are some eye-popping welcome rewards being dangled out there, getting the entire advertised sum will take some effort.

This may range from making multiple deposits across different banking products and services to fulfilling criteria such as referring friends and family, crediting your salary, and satisfying spending or investment thresholds.

While it may be tempting to “get ‘em all”, you should also consider the opportunity cost of making the required deposits just to qualify for the full welcome reward.

5 Priority Banking programmes with attractive welcome rewards

CIMB Preferred

To qualify: S$250,000

CIMB Preferred is offering up to S$3,000 in welcome rewards when you open a CIMB Savings/Current Account and deposit a minimum of S$250,000 in fresh funds. You'll also earn an interest rate of up to 3.50% p.a. with no multiple conditions. However, note that this promo isn't stackable with SingSaver's. 

Here's the interest rate you can earn when you open a CIMB StarSaver Account:

And this is the interest you can earn when you open a CIMB FastSaver Account:

Related to this topic: Priority Banking vs Private Banking: What You Enjoy When You Cross The Last Hurdle

Citigold

To qualify: S$250,000

For Citigold, there is a total of up to S$11,400 in welcome rewards. T&Cs apply.

To be eligible for the rewards, here’s what you need to do:

For illustration, you can get up to S$11,400 rewards when you:

• Place S$500,000 in a 6-month Time Deposit, you get S$8,000
• Deposit fresh funds of S$800,000, you get a S$1,700 reward
• Invest and/or insure S$300,000 before the end of the Qualifying Period, you get S$1,500
• Maintain a valid Investment Risk Profile and complete the Fact Find Report by end of the Welcome Period, you get S$100
• Hold an eligible primary Citi Credit Card, you get S$100

You can also enjoy a promotional interest rate of up to 3.35% p.a. on a 3-month SGD Time Deposit.

However, note that the above rewards will not be applicable in conjunction with the SingSaver exclusive offer.

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DBS Treasures

To qualify: S$350,000

DBS Treasures offers the highest welcome rewards of up to S$17,200. This is composed of several rewards, as follows:

In effect, you’d need to sink in at least S$1 million with the bank and jump through a few hoops to receive S$17,700 in rewards.

But that doesn’t mean you’d have to be a millionaire to qualify for DBS Treasures. In fact, you can get rewarded with up to S$8,000 cash when you deposit a minimum of S$350,000 to your account and declare Accredited Investor with DBS Treasures.

Plus, you'll get an additional S$1,000 if you opt-in as an Accredited Investor. 

Standard Chartered Priority

To qualify: S$200,000

You can get up to S$13,000 welcome cash rewards when you sign up as a Standard Chartered Priority customer.  

You'll also receive additional cash rewards of S$200 for every S$100,000 (or equivalent in foreign currencies) investment products with the bank (eligible unit trusts, bonds, and structured products) in a single day, capped at S$6,000. 

Additionally, you can enjoy an interest rate of up to 5.00% p.a. on your Wealth $aver Account, and up to 3.30% p.a. on time deposits (for six months). 

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HSBC Premier

To qualify: S$200,000

Next up, we have HSBC Premier, which promises a total welcome package of S$28,800. 

Note that you need to have a minimum of S$300,000 in TRB to qualify for the cash credit rewards. 

Related to this topic: Have Enough Money To Jet Off to Space? 5 Signs You’re Ready For Priority Banking

Should you sign up for priority banking?

Yes – but not simply because of the welcome rewards.

You should consider if the priority banking programme is a close match for your financial goals and objectives, and if the platform will help you in a concrete manner.

At a very basic level, all priority banking programmes have similar offerings, such as  

• Dedicated service managers or teams
• Preferential interest rates
• Fees that are lower or waived
• Premium credit cards
• VIP or elevated treatment
• Lifestyle perks and exclusive invites

However, while these privileges are nice to have, the main purpose of priority banking is to accelerate the growth of your wealth – or at least, to have it properly managed by experienced professionals.

The extent to which each priority banking programme can do this for you will pretty much depend on what banking products and services are offered, as well as the type of opportunities and markets that you can access as a customer.

Hence, you should carefully evaluate the platforms you’re interested in to see how each one could potentially help you, both in the short and long term.

In any case, you can – and should – arrange a call or meeting to find out exactly how a priority banking programme can help you achieve your financial goals before signing up for an account.

Read these next:
Best Ways to Grow Your Wealth Through Priority Banking
A Full Guide To Priority Banking In Singapore 
Citigold Review (2023): An Abundance Of Wealth Solutions For The Well-Heeled
Privilege Banking: What’s In It For You and Your Money