The Citi Double Cash card was one of the first 2% cash back credit cards when it launched in 2014. At that time, most credit cards provided up to 1.5% cash back for everyday purchases.
A decade later, is the Citi Double Cash credit card still competitive with the arrival of more unlimited 2% cash back rewards cards?
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What is the Citi Double Cash Card
The Citi Double Cash Card is a Mastercard credit card that rewards card members with a high cash back percentage.
After a decade since its release, the Citi Double Cash remains a top choice for those seeking a 2% credit card for everyday use.
You get an unlimited 2% cash back rewards structure for all purchases with a $0 annual fee. There are no category restrictions or spending caps to worry about.
As other credit card issuers introduced their own 2% rewards cards to compete, Citi has kept the Double Cash competitive. In March 2022, Citi removed the $25 minimum redemption threshold for card members who preferred to redeem rewards as a statement credit or direct deposit.
Citi also currently has a welcome bonus of $200 when you spend $1,500 within the first 6 months of opening an account.
For a limited time until 12/31/2024, everyone will earn 5% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on the Citi Travel portal.
Citi Double Cash Fees and Rates
- Annual Fee: $0
- Purchase Interest Rate: 19.24% to 29.24% APR depending on creditworthiness
- Intro Balance Transfer Rates: 0% introductory APR for 18 months for transfers completed within 120 days of account opening
- Balance Transfer Fee: 3% for the first 120 days. Then 5%
- Cash Advance Interest Rate: 29.99%
- Foreign Transaction Fee: 3%
- Cash Advance Fee: $10 or 5% of cash advance, whichever is greater
- Late Payment Fee: Up to $41
- Returned Payment Fee: Up to $41
Citi Double Cash Pros and Cons
Pros
- Unlimited 2% cash back rewards
- No annual fee
- A $200 welcome bonus
- 0% APR balance transfers for 18 months
- 5% cash back for hotels and car rentals through 12/31/2024
- Free Mastercard ID theft protection
- Virtual credit card numbers
Cons
- Foreign transaction fee
- High APR
- No intro APR for purchases
Citi Double Cash Card Benefits
Here are all the reasons why you should have the Citi Double Cash card in your wallet when you go out.
Unrestricted 2% Cash Back
With the Citi Double Cash, you get the 2% cash back as ThankYou points rather than in dollars and cents.
You will earn one ThankYou point for every dollar you spend. As you pay off your purchases, you will receive one point for each dollar you repay. The bonus of getting your cash back rewards in this way is you are incentivized to pay off your credit card bill each month to earn your cash back rewards faster. Each point has a cash value of one cent.
When you redeem your ThankYou points as a statement credit, direct deposit, or paper check, you will receive $1 for every 100 points redeemed.
There is no limit to how much cash back you can earn each month or year. You will receive points for all purchases except for ineligible transactions such as refunds, returns, balance transfers, cash advances, fraudulent transactions, or gift card balance reloads. For the full list of transactions that will not earn points, you should refer to the card’s terms and conditions.
New Card Member $200 Welcome Bonus
Get 20,000 ThankYou points when you spend $1,500 on purchases within the first 6 months of account opening. This comes out to an easily achievable $250 a month during the promotional period.
The 20,000 in ThankYou points have a $200 cash back value.
This welcome offer is available to new Citi Double Cash card members. If you’ve previously received a new account bonus in the past 48 months for a Double Cash account, you won’t be eligible for the offer.
No Annual Fee
The Double Cash card has an annual fee of $0. Avoiding cards with an annual fee is a smart idea, especially for a cash back card. The higher the annual fee, the more you will have to spend in a year to earn enough rewards to come out ahead.
Credit cards without an annual fee are an excellent option for people looking to build their credit. One of the FICO scoring factors that makes up 15% of your score is the age of your credit history. The longer you have had credit, the better.
Low 0% Intro APR for Balance Transfers
Do you have a balance on a high-interest credit card that you want to pay off faster? The Double Cash card offers a 0% introductory interest rate for balance transfers for 18 months.
This is one of the longer interest-free periods available for balance transfer offers. The Wells Fargo Active Cash is a close competitor and only offers an intro period of 15 months in comparison.
To take advantage of this balance transfer offer, you have to make the transfer within four months of opening your account.
As an additional perk, you will pay a 3% balance transfer fee if the balance transfer is made within the first four months. The balance transfer fee increases to 5% after four months.
Once the 18-month promotional period is up, your variable APR will jump to 19.24% TO 29.24%. Thus, it is extra important that you focus on paying off your balance within the promotional period.
Read more: How to use a balance transfer to get out of debt faster
One major caveat when performing a balance transfer is there is no intro rate for purchases with the Citi Double Cash card. The terms state that if you transfer a balance, you will pay interest on purchases made on the card unless you pay off your entire balance including balance transfers by the due date each month. Put the card in a safe place and do not use the card until you’ve finished paying off your balance transfer to avoid paying interest on new purchases.
Citi Travel Portal Offer
For a limited time, you can earn 5 ThankYou points for every $1 spent on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through the Citi Travel Portal. This is equivalent to getting 5% cash back.
This offer is valid through 12/31/2024.
Air travel purchases are not included in this bonus offer.
Virtual Credit Card Numbers
Citi is one of the few issuers that allows you to generate a virtual credit card number for extra security. These sixteen-digit numbers along with CVV codes and expiration dates can be used in place of your real credit card number to prevent fraud if your credit card number is stolen.
You can generate virtual numbers restricted to a single merchant. These numbers can be used once and deactivated any time afterwards. When created with an expiration date valid for up to two years, a virtual number can also be used for recurring transactions for services such as subscriptions and memberships.
You can even place strict dollar limits for each virtual credit card number on the Citi account portal to restrict how much a merchant can bill you.
Flexible Redemption Options
The Citi Double Cash card is marketed as a cash back credit card. But you are earning Citi ThankYou points with a variety of redeemable options.
ThankYou points can be converted into cash at one penny a point and redeemed as a statement credit, bank account deposit, or paper check.
Besides redeeming for cash, ThankYou points can be used to redeem for gift cards at dozens of merchants. ThankYou points can be used on Amazon and at millions of merchants that accept PayPal. Or make in-store purchases at participating retailers such as Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Dollar General, and gas stations like BP and Shell.
Other options for redemptions include for travel when booking flights, hotels, and rental cars on the Citi Travel portal. Citi has partnerships where ThankYou points can be transferred to participating loyalty programs such as Wyndham Rewards, JetBlue TrueBlue, Choice Privileges hotels, Qantas, and many more.
You can even make charitable contributions using your ThankYou points.
Some may prefer to keep it simple and get cash back. Trading ThankYou points for gift cards and travel can sometimes net you more than the cash value of the points due to available promotions and discounts.
Citi Double Cash FAQs
What credit score is needed for the Citi Double Cash?
A fair or better credit score will increase your chances of being approved for the Citi Double Cash card. This means you should have a credit score of at least 580.
Most of the people who have been approved for the Double Cash card tend to have a good credit rating. The card was harder to get when it first came out, but Citi has lowered the approval criteria over time.
There have been some mentions by people about Citi being strict about approvals when there have been recent inquiries on one’s credit report. You may have better approval odds if at least 6 months have passed since your most recent hard credit inquiry.
Do ThankYou reward points ever expire?
According to Citi’s ThankYou Rewards terms, points that you earn from using the card and making eligible payments on your card do not expire.
However, points that you have earned may be lost or suspended. If you close your Citi Double Cash account or convert your Double Cash card to another card not in the ThankYou rewards program, you will have 90 days to use the points. You will also lose your points if Citi closes the Double Cash account for inactivity or converts the account to another card that does not participate in the ThankYou program and you do not use the points within 90 days.
If Citi closes your account for any other reason besides inactivity, you will immediately lose all your points.
When should you redeem your Double Cash cash back rewards?
You should redeem your ThankYou points as often as you can. This is also true for any credit card rewards program, no matter whether you are earning points, cash back, or miles.
Credit card rewards sitting in your account offer no benefits for you, but the credit card company can always change the terms and value of your rewards at any time. Even if ThankYou points do not expire for the Double Cash card, Citi has language in the terms stating they can change the value of the points at any time.
Usually cash back rewards are the most stable type of credit card reward because one dollar will always be worth a dollar. Since you are earning ThankYou points instead of dollars and cents, you are at risk if the reward program changes.
There is also the chance you may lose your points if your account is closed or you may not be able to redeem your rewards if you fall behind on your credit card payments.
What is the grace period for the Double Cash credit card?
According to Citi, the grace period for the Citi Double Cash card is at least 23 days after the close of each billing period.
As long as you pay the entire balance by the due date, Citi will not charge you any interest on your purchases.
Closing $ense
The Citi Double Cash card is the O.G. of 2% cash back credit cards. After all these years, it is still a good catch-all credit card for people who do not like to juggle multiple cards when they get to the checkout.
There are no hoops to jump through to be a card member. There are no annual fees. You do not have to open a bank account and make direct deposits or keep a minimum balance. The Double Cash isn’t limited to people living in certain states. There isn’t a membership club or subscription you need to sign up for.
However, the 1% cash back when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay it off is slightly more convoluted than other cash back cards.
There is also a small quirk where when you redeem for a statement credit, you are not actually paying off the purchase. Instead of getting the full 2%, you are getting approximately 1.98% cash back due to the redemption at the time. You can avoid this by redeeming for a deposit to your checking account.
A close competitor to the Citi Double Cash is the Wells Fargo Active Cash card. When deciding between the two, look to see which one is offering a better sign-up bonus. If you are a Costco member and don’t want the Costco Anywhere Visa, then consider the WF Active Cash since it is a Visa card and can also be used at Costco.