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The Citi® Double Cash Card is possibly the most valuable no-annual-fee consumer card you can add to your wallet. One of the top features is that the card offers easy-to-understand rewards: Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
Plus, Citi recently unveiled an awesome new feature for the Citi Double Cash. The cashback earnings on the Citi Double Cash are now earned as ThankYou points. That unlocks even more redemption possibilities — while still giving you the option to cash out points at 1 cent each.
Even better, pair the Citi Double Cash with a ThankYou Rewards earning card that charges an annual fee. That way you'll earn 2x ThankYou points per dollar that can be transferred to any of 18 ThankYou transfer partners.
Citi Double Cash Sign-Up Bonus
The Citi Double Cash doesn't currently offer a signup bonus in the traditional sense. Instead, new cardmembers can take advantage of an extended intro 0% APR on balance transfers for 18 months (then a (Variable) rate of 19.24% - 29.24%).
If you're looking to pay down debt or finance a larger purchase, this card also comes with one of the best available introductory APR offers on balance transfers.
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
- 2% cash back on every purchase - 1% when you buy + 1% when you pay
- 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. After that, the (Variable) APR will be 19.24% - 29.24% based on your creditworthiness
- Intro fee 3% of each transfer ($5 min) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, 5% of each transfer ($5 min).
- No annual fee
The combination of no annual fee and the ability to earn either 2% cashback on every purchase — or 2x ThankYou points for every dollar spent — makes the Citi Double Cash the best no-annual-fee card you can get for everyday, non-bonus spending. Other no-annual-fee cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠ can receive 5% cashback, but only on select categories that rotate every quarter.
Here’s the link to apply for the Citi® Double Cash Card offer, or read on for our full review.
Earn 2% Cash Back With the Citi® Double Cash Card
Very few rewards cards make earning rewards this simple. With the Citi Double Cash, you don't have to keep track of bonus categories. Plus, you don’t need to hold any other cards or transfer points to get the full cashback value.
Simply swipe your card for any purchase, in any category, and earn 2% cashback on your purchase. You receive 1% back when you make the purchase, and another 1% back when you pay. There are no limits on the amount of cash back you can earn. However, it’s important to note that your rewards will expire if you don’t earn any cash back on purchases or payments for at least 12 months.
Earn 2x ThankYou Rewards Points Per Dollar
Citi implemented some big changes to the Citi Double Cash. Now cardholders technically earn 2x ThankYou points on every purchase — eliminating the need to transfer cashback into ThankYou points. Every $1 of cashback rewards previously in Citi Double Cash accounts is now 100 ThankYou points.
Don't worry cashback lovers. You can still redeem these ThankYou points for cashback at the same rate as before.
However, if you also hold either a Citi Premier® Card, Citi Prestige® Card, or Citi Chairman® Card, you can then combine your points into a single account to make them even more valuable. After combining them, points can then be transferred to any of Citi's 15 airline travel partners — including Avianca LifeMiles, Etihad Guest, Singapore KrisFlyer, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
This capacity to earn 2x ThankYou points on all purchases has catapulted the Citi Double Cash into the top spot as the most lucrative no-annual-fee card for everyday spending.
Redeeming Citi® Double Cash Card Rewards
You can convert your cash rewards to airline miles with as little as $10 (1,000 points) in your account. Or you can redeem them for cash back via statement credit, direct deposit, or even a check in the mail. Redemption minimums are a thing of the past. You can now redeem as few as 1 point for a statement credit of $0.01!
Gift cards are also an option for a wide variety of retail locations and restaurants. However, unless you plan on giving the gift cards to a friend or family member as a gift, why lock yourself into one retailer when you can get straight cashback?
There is no complicated redemption process, no special portals, and no special requirements. Just go to your online account and select “Redeem Rewards” to get your cash back.
Citi® Double Cash Card redemption options include:
- Get a statement credit on your card account
- Direct deposit into your bank account (Citi or another bank)
- Shop with points at Amazon
- Gift cards from a variety of retailers
- Receive a check in the mail
Downsides to the Citi® Double Cash Card
While the Citi Double Cash is a high-earning rewards card without an annual fee, there are a couple of downsides that may impact your decision to apply.
First, the card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, meaning it’s not good for purchases overseas. Also, the Citi Double Cash no longer offers travel and purchase protections.
Final Thoughts
The Citi Double Cash is one of the most profitable no-annual-fee rewards cards available for everyday spending. You'll earn a base 2% back on every purchase — setting an excellent benchmark for the rest of your rewards card portfolio. When you can get a minimum 2% back on any purchase, every day of the week, there is no reason ever to swipe a card that returns less than 2%. And you don't have to pay an annual fee to get this high earning rate.
If you like to keep your rewards game casual and enjoy working a simple cash back strategy, the Citi Double Cash is a stellar option to add to your wallet.
The Citi Double Cash even makes sense for seasoned points and miles fans. For those comfortable transferring rewards to airlines and hotel programs to maximize the value of your points, this card becomes your fallback card. The card you pull out when there are no bonus categories to be had.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Excelent! I will start this card as my principal after reading this article. Thanks a lot!
do you have to have an annual fee card to accumulate/use TYP for award travel? I am thinking of downgrading my premier card to this double cash card
In order to get access to the full suite of TYP transfer partners, you’ll need to have an annual-fee-charging card (like the Premier). The Double Cash alone only transfers to a handful of airline and hotel partners. However, you could downgrade to the Double Cash, accumulate points, and then upgrade back to the Premier when you’re ready to use them.
This was a great card to use when plastiq had lower fees to pay my house mortgage
I have had this card for several years, absolutely love it. Customer service has been great. I recently discovered a fraudulent charge, they immediately gave me credit for this and then FedEx’ed a new card.
AbsolutelyTerrible good luck with the dispute process this company has horrible customer service that talks to you like you’re a piece of trash they do not defend the customer the process for a dispute is easily a full-time job I had a receipt from the merchant hand written and an email showing exactly how much money they owed and they still failed the dispute and gave it to the merchant which is more than enough evidence than any average person would have horrible company that forwards calls overseas to rude people in other countries I will never use them again American Express and Visa here I come all over again I would never deal with city and if that’s mastercards process I would never deal with them either Not worth the hassle for the 2% better off sticking with a 1.5% card and not having to deal with them
I’m not positive you can do it with citi, but when you call, ask if you’re speaking with someone in the U.S. and if they say no, ask them to transfer you to someone in the U.S.
The 2% on Citi’s card is nice, but customer service is pretty weak. Well, insulting. When you have a question that the automaton can’t find an answer to in the script binder, they suggest a manager call you back within 48 hours. I’m not joking. You see, all of the customer service managers are in meeting each time you call. Fancy that. So very busy. They’ll perhaps ring you if available on their own timeline, say, in about two days.