Cash back enthusiasts looking for a hassle-free rewards card may want to take a look at the Citi® Double Cash Card. It charges no annual fee and has a simple rewards structure that awards cardholders up to 2% cash back: 1% cash back on everything they buy and an additional 1% cash back as they pay off those purchases.
Earning rewards for paying your bill on time can help encourage good financial habits. That makes the Double Cash card a solid pick for people new to cash back rewards cards. The flat rate also makes it a great choice for people who prefer to use one credit card for all their purchases. But the lack of a sign-up bonus or 0% intro offer on purchases may be a dealbreaker for diehard cash back fans looking to combine a flat-rate card with their bonus category cards.
See related: Citi Double Cash video review
Why you might want the Citi Double Cash Card
The Citi Double Cash Card is one of the best cash back credit cards around thanks to its simple earning process and flexible redemption options. It doesn’t come with unique bonus categories or carry a ton of perks, but when it comes to flat-rate credit cards, less is more. Instead of tracking spending or enrolling in bonus categories, you can simply use the card for all your general spending and enjoy streamlined, consistent cash back. Here are some of the key reasons minimalist cardholders should consider the Citi Double Cash.
Unlimited flat rate on all of your spending
As long as you make on-time payments, you’ll earn the full 2% cash back on all of your purchases with no limits. Compared to credit cards that feature multiple bonus categories with different rewards rates, this is a stress-free option.
With flat-rate cards, you don’t have to think about merchant codes or which credit card will give you the most points for a purchase. There are no spending caps to track and no rotating categories that require activation or only earn bonus points during certain times of the year. If you want an easy, no-fuss way to earn rewards on your purchases, flat rate cards are the way to go.
| Tip: To get the most value out of the Citi Double Cash Card, be sure to pay your bill on time each month. Any month you don’t meet the due date, you will only earn 1 percent cash back for your purchases. |
Flexible redemption options
The Double Cash Card recently changed from earning cash back to earning Citi ThankYou points. You can still redeem your points for cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point (essentially no different than earning 2% cash back), but, you’ll no longer need to convert your rewards to ThankYou points to enjoy redemption options like gift cards and travel. You can get cash back as a direct deposit, statement credit or check, with no minimum redemption requirement.
| Tip: You can also set up a direct deposit into a non-Citi checking account, but you must have paid your Citi credit card bill from that account at least two times to qualify. |
Cardmembers can also use their points to:
- Pay for travel purchases, such as airline tickets, cruises, hotels and rental cars
- Pay for purchases at participating stores (enrollment required)
- Make charitable contributions with participating charities
- Make student loan or mortgage payments
The value of your points may vary if you choose to redeem for anything other than cash back. For example, one point is only worth 0.8 cents when redeeming to pay for Amazon purchases.
On the flip side, when it comes to travel, it may be possible to increase the value of your rewards. Travel enthusiasts looking to maximize their Citi rewards can pair the Citi Double Cash Card with the Citi Premier® Card. This is a travel rewards card packed with travel perks. Unlike the Double Cash Card, it has access to all of Citi’s 18 airline and hotel transfer partners. Depending on the partner, it’s possible to nearly double the value of your points, based on The Point’s Guy’s latest point valuations.
| Tip: Rewards earned on the Citi Double Cash Card can also expire if you haven’t earned any cash back in the last 12 months. So if you stop using your card, be sure to cash out to avoid losing your rewards. |
Long 0% intro APR offer on balance transfers
As an added perk, the Citi Double Cash Card comes with a lengthy balance transfer offer. Cardholders receive a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for the first 18 months of account opening (15.49 percent to 25.49 percent variable thereafter).
This is one of the longer balance transfer offers available, making the Citi Double Cash Card a great option for people who want to pay down credit card debt but still enjoy a great rewards rate once they’ve paid down their balance.
Just keep in mind that you’ll be charged an intro balance transfer fee of $5 or 3%, whichever is higher, on balance transfers completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer, or $5, whichever is higher.
See Related: How to transfer a balance to a Citi credit card
Why you might want a different card
There’s a lot to love about the Citi Double Cash Card, but it does lack a couple of perks often found on cash back credit cards. And Citi’s customer service may make some people think twice before applying.
No sign-up bonus
The biggest downside to the Citi Double Cash Card is its lack of a sign-up bonus. Other flat-rate cards have welcome offers worth more than $100 for meeting a certain spend threshold in the first few months of card ownership.
Sign-up bonuses let you earn large sums of cash back, points or miles at an accelerated rate. This can be a valuable feature, especially for card users who don’t have enough expenses that would earn sizable rewards on a regular basis.
If you want a flat-rate card that will put a generous amount of cash back into your pocket in the first year, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is a solid pick. It offers 2% cash rewards on purchases and has no annual fee. On top of that, it has a $200 cash rewards bonus offer after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months. With no sign-up bonus, you’d have to spend $10,000 with the Citi Double Cash card just to earn $200.
No 0% intro offer on purchases
While the Citi Double Cash boasts an impressive balance transfer offer, it doesn’t include an introductory APR for new purchases. This will disappoint anyone hoping to finance a larger purchase and avoid interest charges for a limited amount of time.
The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card once again stands out as the better choice. On top of the sign-up bonus, it has a long 0% introductory offer of 15 months from account opening for both purchases and qualifying balance transfers (followed by a variable rate of 16.49%, 21.49% or 26.49%).
Customer service
Cardholders may find Citi’s customer service lacking compared to other major issuers, such as American Express or Discover. In a recent customer satisfaction survey from J.D. Power, Citi ranked squarely in the middle of 11 other issuers with a satisfaction score of 805. On the plus side, Citi offers 24/7 customer service and an online chat feature that connects you to a live representative, helping you to get a quick response from customer service when you have a problem or question.
How does the Citi Double Cash Card compare to other no-annual-fee cash back cards?
The Citi Double Cash Card is great because it’s simple to use and earn rewards. But strategic spenders might be able to get more value out of another cash back card. Here’s a quick look at a few popular alternatives that don’t charge annual fees.
|
|
 Chase Freedom Flex |
Rewards rate
|
Rewards rate
|
Rewards rate
|
| Welcome bonus
Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) – worth up to $300 cash back |
Welcome bonus
|
Welcome bonus
$200 if you spend $500 in the first 3 months |
| Annual fee
$0 |
Annual fee
$0 |
Annual fee
$0 |
Other things to know
|
Other things to know
|
Other things to know
|
Citi® Double Cash Card vs. Chase Freedom Unlimited
The general rewards rate on the Chase Freedom Unlimited is not quite as high as the Citi Double Cash Card – only 1.5 percent cash back on general purchases. But the Freedom Unlimited also comes with a sign-up offer and bonus categories to help maximize your rewards earnings. These bonus categories include 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards and 3% cash back on dining and drugstore purchases. Despite the lower flat rate of 1.5%, many people could end up earning more cash back with the Freedom Unlimited than the Double Cash, especially if their everyday spending lines up well with these bonus categories.
Citi® Double Cash Card vs. Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
Unlike the Citi Double Cash Card, the Blue Cash Everyday offers bonus categories rather than a flat cash back rate. With the Everyday card, users earn 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations and 1% on other purchases. These categories don’t change, so you won’t have to worry about rotating categories that need to be activated. But users have to keep track of the $6,000 annual spending limit on U.S. supermarket purchases because once they reach that cap, they only earn 1% cash back for the rest of the year.
When it comes to ease of use, the Double Cash card is the clear winner. And the Amex Everyday card’s bonus categories aren’t that impressive compared to the Double Cash card’s rate for all purchases. When all is said and done, even with the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card’s welcome offer of a $200 statement credit after spending $2,000 in purchases within the first six months, the Citi Double Cash Card may have the slight edge, especially for users whose spending habits vary across multiple categories.
Citi® Double Cash Card vs. Chase Freedom Flex℠
The Chase Freedom Flex takes more effort than the Citi Double Cash Card, but it does come with some great perks. The Freedom Flex has a sign-up bonus that is easier to qualify for than many other welcome offers. You can earn a $200 bonus after spending $500 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. It also comes with fixed and rotating cash back categories, making it easier for cardmembers to quickly earn maximum points.
You’ll have to enroll each quarter to receive the 5% cash back in rotating bonus categories (on up to $1,500 in purchases per quarter, then 1%). For cardholders who don’t want to put a lot of thought into their spending, this can be a big drawback. But if you are willing to do a little extra work, there is a significant amount of cash back that can be earned by anyone who can max out the spending cap on bonus categories each quarter.
Pairing the Citi Double Cash Card with other rewards cards
Since the Citi Double Cash Card earns a flat rate of cash back, it is an ideal choice for pairing with other rewards cards – especially those that offer generous bonus points on certain categories of spending. The ability to convert cash back to ThankYou points also makes pairing with another Citi rewards card, like the Citi Premier (which offers a great rewards rate on air travel, restaurants, hotels and cruise lines) a no-brainer.
If you’d rather stick to cash back, consider the rewards you could earn if you paired the Citi Double Cash with the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, which earns a whopping 6 percent cash back on U.S. supermarket purchases (up to $6,000 in purchases per year, then 1 percent). If you use the Blue Cash Preferred for all purchases that earn bonus points and the Citi Double Cash Card for general purchases, you can earn a top-tier rewards rate.
Potential rewards rate: Blue Cash Preferred + Citi Double Cash Card
| Combined earning categories | Average earning rate | Cash back earned ($15,900 spend) |
|
3.07% | $488 |
We estimate the overall rewards rate for this pairing at around 3.07 percent cash back, which brings in around $488 a year on a $15,900 spend.
| Tip: The Citi Double Cash Card also makes a great pair for cards that earn rewards on rotating bonus categories – like the Chase Freedom Flex. By staying on top of rotating categories and enrolling each quarter, you can earn a higher rate of cash back on certain purchases. Then, you can use the Citi Double Cash Card to boost your rewards rate on all other purchases. |
Approval odds
The Citi Double Cash Card is recommended for users with good to excellent credit so you’ll want to ensure you meet those requirements before you apply. Citi also allows applicants to see if they pre-qualify for any credit card offers without a hard pull on their credit.
How to use the Citi Double Cash Card:
- Be sure you pay your bill on time each month to earn the full rewards rate.
- Use the card at least once every 12 months to keep cash back from expiring.
- If you transfer a balance, make a plan to pay it down in the first 18 months to avoid interest charges.
- Pair the Citi Double Cash Card with another rewards card that earns bonus points or cash back in particular categories to maximize rewards.
Is the Citi Double Cash Card right for you?
The Citi Double Cash Card is a solid, no-hassle option. Fans of flat-rate credit cards may be tempted to look elsewhere since it doesn’t have a welcome offer or 0% intro APR offer on purchases. This is especially true of people who only want to carry one credit card and want to squeeze as much value as possible out of it. But even without those perks, it will get the job done for anyone looking for a simple way to earn rewards or to pair a card that pays a generous flat rate with a high-earning rewards card to help boost rewards even further.
Our reviews and best card recommendations are based on an objective rating process and are not driven by advertising dollars. However, we do receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Learn more about our advertising policy