Citi® Double Cash Card review: A first-class card for flat-rate cash back and balance transfers

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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. 

The Citi Double Cash is one of the best no-annual-fee cash back cards available, whether you’re looking for a standalone card or one you can combine with other cards to maximize your cash back on general purchases. It could also be a top choice if you need to pay off debt thanks to its exceptional intro APR on balance transfers and remarkable long-term value.

Rewards: Stellar flat cash back rate

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. You automatically earn 1 percent cash back when making a purchase, but you must pay off that purchase to receive the additional 1 percent back. If you’re new to rewards cards, this structure can help you avoid interest charges and the slippery slope into debt.

The Citi Double Cash is also a great option if you’re simply looking for a low-maintenance rewards card. You’ll earn the same unlimited rewards rate no matter how much you spend or what you buy, so you won’t have to track spending categories or juggle multiple cards to maximize rewards. 

Although the Double Cash is advertised as a cash back card, you actually earn ThankYou points, which you can redeem for cash back in the form of a statement credit, direct deposit or check. You can also use your rewards for gift cards, travel through Citi or Shop with Points on Amazon or PayPal. However, it’s important to note this card’s rewards are considered “basic” ThankYou points and can’t be transferred to a Citi travel partner without a premium Citi travel card.

To make the most of “basic” points, you can pool them with the points you earn from 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 Citi’s best travel transfer partners.

0% APR offer: Lengthy intro APR for balance transfers

The Citi Double Cash can also come in handy as a balance transfer credit card. The card’s 0 percent introductory APR on balance transfers lasts an impressive 18 months (then 19.24 percent to 29.24 percent variable) That’s one of the longest offers you’ll find on a no-annual-fee rewards card. In fact, this offer is on par with many of the offers you’ll find on traditional balance transfer cards.

It’s worth noting that the Double Cash charges a 3 percent introductory fee for balance transfers ($5 minimum; 5 percent for transfers made after the first four months). However, this is a lower fee than you’ll face with some balance transfer cards, since many charge a 5 percent fee right from the start. In fact, a lower balance transfer fee could save you more overall than a few extra months of 0 percent APR. 

For example, 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. You’d only owe a $60 balance transfer fee, which you could offset this via cash back — a perk that’s lacking on many balance transfer cards.

Rates and fees: No annual fee

As long as you pay off your balance in full each month, the Citi Double Cash should be a rewarding card since it doesn’t charge an annual fee. This means you won’t have to worry about earning enough in cash back to offset an the card’s cost each year. That said, there are a few other fees to be aware of, including 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 charges no foreign transaction fees. 

You’ll also have to watch out for a high penalty APR and a fee of up to $41 if you make a late payment. The penalty APR can also last indefinitely, which makes the Double Cash card’s terms much harsher than some rival cards. Several competitors don’t charge a penalty APR or only keep it in place for 6 to 12 months if you make consistent on-time payments.

Although the Citi Double Cash is a top-tier option among flat-rate cards, no intro APR on purchases, no sign-up bonus rewards and basic features may disappoint some applicants looking for more perks and first-year value.

APR: No introductory offer on purchases

Unlike many balance transfer cards — and competing rewards cards — the Citi Double Cash doesn’t offer an intro APR on purchases. If paying off debt is your goal, you should avoid saddling the card with too many purchases while paying off your transferred balance. Since the card doesn’t carry an intro APR offer on purchases, carrying your purchases month to month will accrue interest. And that interest will keep racking up until you pay off your entire balance — including your balance transfer.

If you need time to pay off upcoming purchases and want ongoing value after you’ve paid off your card, the Double Cash may not be the best option. However, finding another rewards card with intro APRs on par with balance transfer cards’ offers is a challenge. Many other cards may require you have to choose between lengthy intro APR periods or rewards.

The Double Cash is still one of the best cash back cards for balance transfers, but the Discover it® Balance Transfer may be worth considering if you don’t mind rotating rewards in exchange for a modest intro APR on purchases. However, if you can manage with a slightly shorter payoff window, many no-annual-fee rewards cards also carry an intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. Otherwise, you may need to lean toward a balance transfer card like the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card for matching, lengthy intro APRs.

Learn more: Should you get a longer balance transfer offer or a shorter offer with rewards?

Welcome offer: No sign-up bonus

The Citi Double Cash does not currently offer a sign-up bonus, which is disappointing since many no-annual-fee cash back cards usually offer at least a $200 intro bonus. In fact, 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 $500 in your first three months.

While a sign-up bonus shouldn’t be the main factor when weighing card options, it’s important to remember the considerable value these bonuses can offer. After all, you’d normally need to spend $10,000 to earn $200 cash back with the Citi Double Cash.

Learn more: Best cash rewards credit card welcome offers

Perks: Limited benefits for a rewards card

The Citi Double Cash is light on additional card benefits, but there are a few conveniences that could come in handy. 

In addition to a solid flat-rate rewards structure and lengthy introductory APR offer, the Citi Double Cash comes with plenty of security and fraud protections to cardholders. It also offers $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.

Like all Citi credit and debit cards, the Double Cash card comes with Citi Entertainment access. Citi Entertainment opens the door 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.

That said, a few popular cash back cards offer even better benefits. For example, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® card provides largely the same features, plus trip cancellation and interruption insurance and partner perks with several delivery and rideshare services. The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express even offers an annual credit for eligible streaming service purchases.

Our credit card expert, Nouri Zarrugh, uses the Double Cash card to maximize rewards on purchases that don’t typically earn boosted rewards.

I love the card’s simplicity. It has come in handy for big but easy-to-forget expenses like insurance bills or car repairs, which typically only earn 1 percent back on other cards. Even though I carry several cards, I have plenty of purchases pop up for which the Double Cash offers the best return on spending.

— Nouri Zarrugh— Senior Editor, Credit Cards

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.

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. However, any card that earns more than 2 percent back in your key spending categories can pair well with the Double Cash.

The Double Cash could be an excellent partner if your spending habits or goals align with these cardholder profiles:

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.

Dig deeper: Is the Citi Double Cash Card worth it?

We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.

Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest).

We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review: