The Double Cash card is a top choice that rewards you for your purchases and when you pay them off.
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The Citi® Double Cash Card is a practical cash back credit card that makes it easy to earn rewards and practice financial responsibility without the fuss of tracking rotating categories. Its two biggest features are its flat-rate rewards, which outclass many other flat-rate cards, and a generous intro APR offer on balance transfers.
If you’re looking for an easy way to earn rewards on your purchases or have debt currently sitting on a high-interest card, the Double Cash card could be an appealing option. But compared to other rewards cards, it’s light on features, and the lack of a sign-up bonus or intro APR offer on purchases could be a letdown for some.
Here’s a breakdown of the Citi Double Cash’s card offerings, who it’s ideal for, the best cards to pair it with and more.
Generous flat cash back rate of 1 percent when you buy, 1 percent when you pay off purchases
This card does not charge an annual fee
Solid intro APR offer on balance transfers
Does not carry a sign-up bonus, making it harder to match the value offered by other 2 percent flat-rate cash back cards
A 3 percent foreign transaction fee makes this card a poor choice for taking abroad
No introductory APR on new purchases, a feature that’s readily available on the Double Cash card’s closest competitor
The potential 29.99 percent penalty APR makes this a pricey card to hold on to if you make a late payment.
The Citi Double Cash does not currently offer a sign-up bonus, a fact that keeps it from being the best flat-rate cash back card on the market. That’s because the card’s biggest competitor, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, earns 2 percent cash rewards on purchases and offers a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $1,000 in your first three months.
While a sign-up bonus shouldn’t be the only thing you consider when weighing card options, it’s important to remember the outsized value these bonuses can offer. After all, earning $200 in cash rewards on a 2 percent cash rewards card requires $10,000 in spending if it has no sign-up bonus.
Besides being one of the best flat-rate cash back cards on the market with its up to 2 percent cash back, the Citi Double Cash can help keep your spending habits in check with its earn-as-you-pay rewards structure.
To receive an additional 1 percent cash back for your purchases (on top of the automatic 1 percent cash back you earn), you must pay off the balance you owe. This makes the Double Cash card an excellent option for cardholders who are tempted by rewards but who also want to be responsible credit users.
The value you extract from the Citi Double Cash depends on how you use it. To get maximum value, you’ll have to pay your balance in full each month or else the cost of interest charges could outweigh the value of the rewards you earn.
There’s no cap on the amount of cash back rewards you can earn with the Citi Double Cash, so it’s the perfect card if you’re the type of cardholder who wants to put every purchase on one card.
Redemption options for your cash back rewards include statement credits, direct deposit, check and ThankYou points.
If you elect to redeem your rewards for points, a ThankYou account is created for you automatically. This allows you to redeem your points for gift cards, travel through Citi or Shop with Points on Amazon or PayPal. Remember that these are considered “basic” ThankYou points and can’t be transferred to a Citi travel partner without a premium Citi travel card.
You can redeem rewards by logging into your online account or calling Citi at 1-855-473-4583. Cash back rewards expire after 12 months of card inactivity, meaning you haven’t earned cash back on purchases or payments for one year.
Generally, you can expect cash back to be worth 1 cent per percentage point. In the case of the Citi Double Cash card, if you spend $500 a month with the card and pay off the full amount, you’ll earn $120 in cash back rewards by the end of 12 months.
The Citi Double Cash isn’t marketed as a ThankYou point-earning Citi credit card, considering you earn cash back, not points. However, you can easily convert your cash back to ThankYou points as a redemption option. However, ThankYou points earned from Citi’s no annual fee cards are considered “basic” and can’t be transferred to travel partner programs for a rate higher than Citi’s base 1 cent value. To make the most of “basic” points, you can pool them with one of Citi’s premium travel cards, like the Citi Premier® Card. Based on Bankrate’s latest point valuations, this could increase the value of your points to around 1.9 cents each on average when you take advantage of its best transfer partners.
The Citi Double Cash is light on additional card benefits, but there are a few conveniences that could come in handy.
In addition to being a cash back card, the Citi Double Cash functions as a balance transfer credit card. The 18-month 0 percent introductory APR offer on balance transfers (18.74 percent to 28.74 percent percent, variable, APR after) is one of the longest available balance transfer periods. If you take advantage of the offer, you’ll still pay the greater of $5 or a 3 percent intro balance transfer fee. This fee is only for transfers completed within the first four months. A balance transfer fee of 5 percent of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies if completed after four months of account opening.
For reference, if you had $2,000 in credit card debt and transferred it to the Citi Double Cash, you could pay just over $111 a month for 18 months and completely wipe out your debt — all without spending a dime on interest. Bear in mind, you’d also owe a $60 balance transfer fee.
In addition to a solid flat-rate rewards structure and lengthy introductory APR offer, the Citi Double Cash extends plenty of security and fraud protections to cardholders.
It comes with $0 fraud liability, 24-hour fraud protection, Citi Identity Theft Solutions and Lost Wallet Service — meaning Citi will replace your lost card within 24 hours and provide you with emergency cash.
Citi Entertainment gets you access to presale tickets, events and more, whether it be a music festival, professional football game or high-end restaurant experience. For more information, read Citi Entertainment’s FAQ page.
The Citi Double Cash doesn’t charge an annual fee, meaning there’s no recurring yearly cost to offset. It offers a lengthy 0 percent introductory APR on balance transfers for 18 months with an 18.74 percent to 28.74 percent (variable) APR thereafter. That ongoing APR is below the average current interest rate and could help make this card a great choice for a low-interest card if you qualify for the low end.
If paying off debt is your goal, you should avoid using the card for purchases while taking advantage of the balance transfer offer. Since the card doesn’t carry an intro APR offer on purchases, any time you use the card, your purchases will get charged interest. And that interest will keep accruing until you pay off your entire balance — including your balance transfer.
Frequent travelers should know the Citi Double Cash charges a foreign transaction fee of 3 percent of each purchase. If you travel outside the U.S., be sure to bring along an additional credit card that offers no foreign transaction fees.
You’ll also have to watch out for the high penalty APR of 29.99 percent you could get hit with if you make a late payment. This penalty APR can last indefinitely, which goes further than other cards that don’t charge a penalty APR or only keep it in place for 6 to 12 months of consistent payments.
The Citi Double Cash card is a solid pick for a flat-rate card, but it doesn’t offer the highest flat rate. It also lacks top features offered by other cash back cards, like a sign-up bonus and intro APR offer. Here are a few solid flat-rate cash back cards to consider before deciding on the Citi Double Cash.
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The Double Cash Card is the way to go if you like easy rewards. But if you’re looking for top value for all your purchases, the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card is hard to beat. It offers a top-of-the-line flat rate of 2.5 percent cash back on all qualifying purchases, up to $10,000 each billing cycle, then 1.5 percent. That is a generous spending limit that beats most other rewards cards with spending caps, and the average spender likely won’t have to worry about hitting that limit in a month.
The main downside to the Alliant card is the effort it takes to earn and maintain that high flat rate. You’ll have to join the Alliant Credit Union and maintain an average daily balance of $1,000 in an eligible checking account to keep your 2.5 percent cash back rate. And it doesn’t have short-term benefits like a sign-up bonus or intro APR offer. But compared to other flat-rate cards that max out at 2 percent cash back or rewards cards that only offer 1 percent cash back on general purchases, the value you get out of the Alliant card could easily make up for its shortcomings.
The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card is often considered the best of all the flat-rate cards. Not only does it offer 2 percent cash rewards on purchases without having to pay your bill, but it also has great short-term value — offering a sign-up bonus and a long intro APR offer for both purchases and balance transfers.
If your main focus is on paying off debt, and you need close to two years to pay it off, the Double Cash Card’s longer intro offer on balance transfers is a better choice. But the Active Cash card’s intro offer for both purchases and balance transfers make it more versatile. And while the Active Cash card’s variable APR range is slightly higher than the Double Cash card, the Active Cash card won’t penalize you with a 29.99 percent penalty APR if you make a late payment.
When pairing credit cards, it’s best to choose a card that supplements and even makes up for what the initial card is lacking.
In the case of the Citi Double Cash, consider pairing it with a bonus category cash back card that can help you earn a higher rate of rewards in categories you tend to spend more in. Additionally, if you know you have a big purchase coming up, a low introductory APR on purchases may be helpful.
If you value the flexibility of earning a decent cash back rate on your most frequent spending category, you might consider the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, one of the best cards to partner with the Double Cash. It offers 5 percent cash back for one of your top 10 spending categories each billing cycle (up to $500 each billing cycle, then 1 percent). Plus, you can pool your Custom Cash and the Double Cash points with the Citi Premier Card. This will let you transfer points to Citi travel partners to potentially increase the value of your ThankYou reward points.
Overall, any card that earns a rate higher than 2 percent for purchases in named categories you frequently spend in can fit alongside the Citi Double Cash. This is primarily because the Double Cash Card is included in one of the best credit card combinations available.
The Citi Double Cash is a strong choice for those looking for an everyday credit card that earns a solid cash back rate on each purchase, with no rotating categories or cash back calendars to keep up with. Those in the market for a balance transfer credit card can also benefit from the Citi Double Cash thanks to its long introductory APR period on balance transfers. Plus, you can continue to use the card after your debt is paid off, thanks to its no-hassle rewards structure. The earn-as-you-pay caveat may even act as encouragement to stay out of debt.
That said, the Citi Double Cash is only worth it if you can pay back what you owe and avoid carrying a balance for an extended time; if you don’t pay them off, each purchase only earns 1 percent cash back. Should you have a history of skipping credit card payments or paying bills late, it might be best to consider a different cash back card.
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