Citi Double Cash Review: 2% on Everything Is Tough to Beat
Citi Double Cash Review
Citi Double Cash Review: 2% on Everything Is Tough to Beat The Citi® Double Cash Card is a solid credit card. It’s great for users who desire flat-rate cash back on all charges. It’s reliable but lacks flair. It’s a Honda Accord in a Lamborghini-filled credit card market.
The card pays 2% cash back on every transaction—1% when you make it and 1% when you pay it off. Unlimited rewards, $0 yearly charge
The Citi® Double Cash Card stands on its own, but it’s also a great partner to a bonus-category card for people who adopt a two-card strategy to maximize cash back. You can transfer prizes to partners to maximize their value.
The card has no 0% intro APR or options to earn more than its base rewards rate.
This card should be considered if you want good, reliable benefits with little effort (or cost).
Citi® Double Cash Card: Basics
2% cash back in two phases on purchases:
1% back for every dollar spent.
1% back for every dollar paid off.
Technically, Citi® Double Cash Card incentives appear in a cardholder’s account as Citi Thank You points, but that won’t influence cash back earnings. You get 1 point for every $1 spent and $1 repaid. You’ll gain 2% cash back on purchases when redeeming points at 1 cent each. Here’s more.
Statement credit, bank deposit, or check Transfer your points to JetBlue, Wyndham, and more.
Read: Carter’s Credit Card Login, Payment And Customer Service
18-month 0% initial APR on balance transfers, then 17.74–27.74% variable APR.
3% of the amount transferred or $5 (whichever is greater) for the first four months following account opening; 5% or $5 after that.
3% FX charge.
Benefits of the Citi® Double Cash Card
High Reward Rate
Once upon a time, cash back was 1%. Citi® Double Cash Card pays 1% back on purchases and 1% after paying the bill, as its name implies. Paying off your balance faster earns you the second half of the prizes. That’s a great incentive to pay off your credit card every month, which we encourage to minimize interest.
When you redeem cash back for a statement credit, you lose 1%. You’re not paying off the money; it’s deducted from your bill. Minor point. If you redeem $1,000 per year as a statement credit, you’ll lose $10 in points. Assuming you pay your payment in full every month, that’s close to a 2% return.
Simplicity
Many cash-back cards offer permanent and monthly bonus categories. Gas stations, restaurants, and home improvement stores are featured expenditure categories. They’re difficult to track. Some limit extra benefits, and overspending receives 1% cash back.
With the Citi® Double Cash Card, you can be a lazy optimizer and use the same card without considering bonus spending categories.
Flexibility
Despite its name, the Citi® Double Cash Card earns Citi Thank You points rather than cash back. These points can be turned into cash at a penny each, but they’re more beneficial for travel.
The card features JetBlue, Wyndham, and Choice Privileges as travel partners. Depending on how you use your credit card and where you want to travel, this flexibility could make your rewards more valuable.
You can combine points from several Citi cards. Other Citi products, such as the Citi Premier® Card and Citi Prestige® Card, include more than a dozen transfer partners.
Citi’s ThankYou rewards program isn’t as straightforward as others and requires some know-how to navigate. The Citi® Double Cash Card transfer ratios aren’t great: JetBlue and Wyndham provide 800 points for 1,000 ThankYou points.
Drawbacks to Consider
No Bonus Categories
Double cash on all purchases is wonderful, but it’s less than rewards at restaurants, supermarkets, or gas stations.
Some cards provide 5% back on quarterly bonus categories. Gas stations, restaurants, supermarkets, Amazon.com, and PayPal were prior categories. Chase Freedom FlexSM and Discover It® Cash Back are examples.
Both give 5% cash back on activated categories, up to $1,500 every quarter (equivalent to $75), and 1% on all other spending.
Others have fixed bonus categories. Example: American Express Blue Cash Everyday® Card.
The card earns 3% cash back on up to $6,000 each year in supermarkets, gas stations, and online retail. 1% cashback on other spending Notes: (See rates and fees.) It’s $0.
Optimizers choose both. Use a bonus-category card for specific purchases and the Citi® Double Cash Card for everything else. That’s worth the extra work.
Some cards offer a good flat rate, a sign-up incentive, and bonus categories. Chase Freedom Unlimited®.
3% cash back on eating and pharmacy purchases and 5% on Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel.
Bonuses: Earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases (up to $20,000 in the first year), up to $300.
No Enter APR On Purchases
0% initial APR on balance transfers for 18 months, then 17.74–27.74% variable APR.
Purchases lack an introductory APR. What’s the significance? After a balance transfer, future purchases will accrue interest instantly. Even if you pay off new items in full, there’s no grace period. The grace period is only restored if the balance transfer is paid in full. Many cards provide an intro APR for balance transfers and purchases for the same number of months.
No Sign-Up Bonuses
In the first few years, a sign-up incentive can boost a card’s worth. Consider a card with a new-cardholder bonus.
This card offers 2% cash back and a $200 sign-up bonus. It offers 0% APR with a $0 yearly charge.
Balance Transfer Fee
Long no-interest times on balance transfers are competitive, and the introductory 3% charge with a $5 minimum is standard. It’s still painful. It costs $300 to transfer $10,000. Balance transfer fees are 5%, or $5, after four months.
Foreign Transaction Fee
This card’s 3% foreign transaction fee makes it unsuitable for travel. This fee is more common on cash-back cards than travel cards.
Reward Expiration
Citi says cash rewards balances “expire” after 12 months without purchases or payments. If you stop using the card, redeem rewards or make a small transaction to reset the expiration date.
Is It Right For You?
The Citi® Double Cash Card is a low-hassle, flat-rate rewards card with no spending limits. Using a bonus-category card can improve your return rate.
