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Your Citi Double Cash® Card (Rates & Fees) rewards don't have to be redeemed as cash back. When paired with an eligible Citi card, the Citi ThankYou® Points earned on your Citi Double Cash can be transferred to airline and hotel loyalty programs at the best transfer ratios, potentially increasing their value.
Here's what to know about combining rewards between Citi accounts so you can redeem them for maximum value.
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 $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
Plus, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel. - Balance Transfer Only Offer: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 18.24% - 28.49%, based on your creditworthiness.
- Balance Transfers do not earn cash back. Intro APR does not apply to purchases.
- If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance (including balance transfers) by the due date each month.
- There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
Plus, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel.
What You Need To Unlock Citi Transfer Partners
Most of Citi's credit cards — including its cash back offerings — have access to Citi's 15 airline partners and five hotel partners. Although it's advertised as a cash back card, the rewards earned on your Citi Double Cash are actually deposited in the form of Citi ThankYou Points.
However, no-annual-fee Citi cards transfer to partners at reduced transfer ratios. For instance, if you wanted to convert your ThankYou Points into American Airlines AAdvantage miles, you'd transfer at a 1:0.7 ratio from the Citi Double Cash instead of a 1:1 ratio with a premium Citi card. That means you only get 700 AAdvantage miles instead of 1,000 miles per 1,000 points transferred.
But you aren't stuck with this lower rate if you have the Citi Double Cash. That's because you can combine your ThankYou Points across accounts.
There are two Citi cards open to new applicants that transfer at the highest ratios: the Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees) and Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees). You'll need one of these cards to access the higher transfer rates.
$95Rates & Fees
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
$595Rates & Fees
- 12X – Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time.
- 1.5X – Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
How To Link Your Citi Accounts
To combine rewards earned across your eligible Citi cards, first log in to your Citi account and open the ThankYou Rewards portal. You can access it by clicking on the “View/Redeem” option next to your “Total ThankYou® Points” summary. Next, select the “More Redemption Options” link.
You can also get there by visiting ThankYou.com. Navigate to your profile icon in the top right corner and select “My Citi Accounts” from the dropdown menu.
Here is where you should see your eligible accounts. If you don't, make sure to verify that your personal information matches exactly across each card account. Even small differences, such as a missing middle initial or an outdated phone number, can prevent your accounts from being linked.
If you run into this issue, you may need to contact Citi ThankYou Rewards at 1-800-842-6596 for assistance.
Once your accounts are linked, Citi pools your ThankYou Points into a shared balance. You can then access that balance through any eligible card account. The redemption options available depend on which card account you're using. For example, accessing your points through your Citi Strata Elite account unlocks the prime transfer ratios, even if many of those points were originally earned on your Citi Double Cash.
How to Earn 2X ThankYou Points per Dollar on Non-Bonus Spending
Pairing the Citi Double Cash with an eligible premium Citi card can significantly increase the value of your rewards.
The card effectively earns 2 ThankYou Points per dollar spent on purchases — 1 point when you make a purchase and 1 point when you pay for it. On their own, those rewards can be redeemed for cash back, other fixed-value options through Citi ThankYou Rewards, or by transferring to partners at reduced ratios.
However, when paired with an eligible premium Citi card, those same points can be transferred to Citi's partners at prime transfer ratios. This added flexibility makes the Citi Double Cash one of the strongest options for everyday, non-bonus spending.
For example, 2,000 ThankYou Points earned from $1,000 in spending could be redeemed for $20 in cash back. Alternatively, those same points could be transferred to a Citi airline partner, where strategic redemptions can provide significantly greater value — particularly for premium-cabin award travel.
Related: How To Earn Citi ThankYou Points: Cards, Categories, and Strategies
How To Transfer Citi Double Cash Rewards to Travel Partners
1. Open your Citi Double Cash dashboard
In the image below, you'll notice that all three of my Citi accounts display the same point balance. Unfortunately, that's not because each account contains 217,362 points. Instead, once your accounts are linked, Citi displays your combined ThankYou Points balance across each eligible account.
I've hidden my account numbers in the image above, but you can still distinguish between accounts by looking at the last four digits displayed beneath the “Total ThankYou Points” heading.
This detail is important because you'll need to access an eligible Citi card account when transferring points to airline or hotel partners. In my case, that's my Citi Strata Elite account.
2. Transfer your points to airline or hotel partners
Because your points are now pooled together, you don't need to move points between accounts before redeeming them. Simply open the eligible Citi card account that provides the redemption option you want to use.
Note that Citi discontinued person-to-person ThankYou Points sharing in May 2026. However, this change does not affect your ability to combine eligible Citi cards under the same ThankYou account and access your points through a shared balance.
Other Cards That Earn 2x Points on Purchases
The ability to transfer the ThankYou Points earned on the Citi Double Cash to airline and hotel partners makes it one of the best cards for day-to-day purchases. Very few cards can match its combination of uncapped 2X earning on purchases and access to transferable rewards without charging an annual fee. But there are a few.
One notable competitor is the The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express. It charges a $0 annual fee (Rates & Fees), making it an affordable option. However, it's a business card, and the 2X earning rate is limited to the first $50,000 in eligible purchases each calendar year. After that, it earns just 1X. However, it does have one advantage — it doesn't require a companion card to access transfer partners. Cardholders earn fully transferable Membership Rewards points without needing to hold another card or pay an annual fee.
(Terms Apply)
- Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
- 0.0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, 16.74% - 28.49%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors at account opening. APR will not exceed 29.99%
- Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.
- You've got the power to spend above your credit limit* with Expanded Buying Power. *The amount you can spend above your credit limit is flexible, so it adapts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to us, and other factors. Just remember, the amount you can spend with Expanded Buying Power is not unlimited.
- No Annual Fee
- Terms Apply.
- Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.
The most obvious competitor for personal use is the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, which earns 2X Capital One miles on all purchases that can be transferred to Capital One's 22 transfer partners. That said, it charges a $95 annual fee.
- Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles on all other purchase
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (up to $120)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
How Does This Affect Your Credit Card Strategy?
For most people, a single everyday spending card is all that's necessary. So, is it worth shifting your non-bonus spending from Chase, American Express, or Capital One to Citi? The answer depends largely on the cards already in your wallet and how you value each rewards currency. Plus, each issuer has its own transfer partners.
To illustrate, let's assume you spend $25,000 per year on everyday purchases, $4,000 on dining, $3,000 on gas, and $5,000 on travel. Here's how those reward totals compare by issuer.
Citi Strata Premier® Card and Citi Double Cash® Card
- Nonbonus = 50,000 (2X on the Citi Double Cash)
- Dining = 12,000 (3X on the Citi Strata Premier)
- Gas = 9,000 (3X on the Citi Strata Premier)
- Travel = 14,000 ($4,000 @ 3X for air travel/other hotel purchases on the Citi Strata Premier + $1,000 @ 2X for other travel purchases on the Citi Double Cash)
- Total = 85,000 Citi ThankYou points = ~$2,000 @ 2.33¢ per point
$95Rates & Fees
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
Plus, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited®
- Nonbonus = 37,500 (1.5X on the Freedom Unlimited (Rates & Fees))
- Dining = 12,000 (3X on the Sapphire Preferred (Rates & Fees))
- Gas = 9,000 (3X on the Sapphire Preferred)
- Travel = 13,000 ($1,000 @ 5X for travel purchased through Chase and $4,000 @ 2X for other travel on the Sapphire Preferred)
- Total = 71,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points = ~$1,150 @ 2.04¢ per point
$95Rates & Fees
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on gas and EV charging
- 3X points on vacation homes at top brands like Airbnb, Vrbo and more
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
- Earn 5% on purchases through Chase Travel℠
- Earn 3% on dining at restaurants
- Earn 3% on drugstore purchases
- Earn 1.5% on all purchases
American Express® Gold Card and The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
- Nonbonus = 50,000 (2X on the Blue Business Plus)
- Dining = 16,000 (4X at restaurants worldwide on up to $50,000 in eligible purchases per year with the Amex Gold)
- Gas = 6,000 (2X on the Blue Business Plus)
- Travel = 12,500 ($2,500 @ 3X for airfare booked direct using the Amex Gold + $2,500 @ 2X on the Blue Business Plus)
- Total = 84,500 points = ~$1,700 @ 2.02¢ per point
$325Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (on up to $50,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com
- 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on cruises booked and paid through amextravel.com
- 1X on other eligible purchases
No annual feeRates & Fees
(Terms Apply)
- Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.
Your spending habits will probably differ from the assumptions above, so running the numbers for your own situation can help identify the most rewarding card strategy.
Application Strategy and Restrictions
Your strategy for the Citi Double Cash® Card largely depends on whether you already hold an eligible premium Citi card. Pairing it with a premium ThankYou Rewards card is what unlocks access to Citi's transfer partners at the best ratios.
If you're considering adding a premium Citi card, pay close attention to Citi's welcome-bonus restrictions. Citi generally limits welcome-bonus eligibility on its ThankYou Rewards cards to once every 48 months per product. Before applying, review the current offer terms to confirm your eligibility.
Another way to acquire a Citi Double Cash® Card is to downgrade an existing Citi card. Citi has historically been one of the most flexible issuers when it comes to product changes, often allowing cardholders to convert even co-branded cards to general cards like the Citi Double Cash® Card. However, Citi might be tightening its product change rules, so you might need to contact a representative to review your options.
A product change lets you keep your existing credit line and avoids adding a new account to your credit report, which can be helpful if you're trying to limit new accounts for rules such as Chase's 5/24 policy or similar credit card application restrictions.
However, downgrading also means foregoing the welcome bonus available on a new Citi Double Cash® Card application. Since the card regularly features a welcome offer, you'll want to weigh the value of that bonus against the benefits of keeping your existing credit line and avoiding a new application.
Our Take
The Citi Double Cash® Card has long been one of our favorite cards for everyday spending, thanks to its simple earning structure and lack of an annual fee.
While the card is often viewed as a straightforward cash-back option, pairing it with an eligible premium Citi card unlocks airline and hotel transfer partners at ideal ratios, significantly expanding its value. For travelers who already participate in the Citi ThankYou Rewards ecosystem, that combination can make the Citi Double Cash® Card one of the most rewarding cards available for nonbonus spending.
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 $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
Plus, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel. - Balance Transfer Only Offer: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 18.24% - 28.49%, based on your creditworthiness.
- Balance Transfers do not earn cash back. Intro APR does not apply to purchases.
- If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance (including balance transfers) by the due date each month.
- There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
Plus, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel.
Page Contents
- What You Need To Unlock Citi Transfer Partners
- How To Link Your Citi Accounts
- How to Earn 2X ThankYou Points per Dollar on Non-Bonus Spending
- How To Transfer Citi Double Cash Rewards to Travel Partners
- Other Cards That Earn 2x Points on Purchases
- How Does This Affect Your Credit Card Strategy?
- Application Strategy and Restrictions
- Our Take
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Double Cash® Card (Rates & Fees), Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees), Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees), The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), Chase Freedom Unlimited® (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), and American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees)
![Citi Custom Cash® Card Review [2025]: Earn Up to 5% Cash Back and Pay No Annual Fee](https://awardwallet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/blake-wisz-credit-card-unsplash-featured.png)
This was my goto card for paying my mortgage using plastiq before plastiq rates went up
Citi Double Cash rewards card is cash no more in March. Received a letter that everything is being converted to points and no cash rewards moving forward (unless you redeem points for something cash-like ie statement credit)
Correct. They will be points but can still be redeemed at 1¢ each as statement credits. The advantage to this is that you won’t need another card to ‘unlock’ the earnings into points.
I had to call to get my TYP accounts for my Premier and Double Cash cards combined. Starting from either account online if I chose to combine accounts the other account was not listed as an account that could be combined. After a fairly painless phone call to the phone number listed in this post my accounts are combined and thankyou.com shows that I can transfer all of my points to any of their travel partners. As other noted before I combined accounts the Double Cash points could only transfer to JetBlue.
Looking into one of the other citi cards now.
I want to experience Singapore Suites on the A380!
Great article – Lots of useful information. Thanks.
I would much rather have the benefits the Double Cash card just eliminated than the ability to have Thank You points or more Thank You points. I wonder what others think? What people think about this may likely affect what they ultimately do.
I have not considered Citi double cash until now
Citi points are vastly underrated in the miles universe. Transfer options such as Avianca, Turkish, Asia miles are great. Since i save AMEX MR for mostly ANA, all my Avianca and Turkish miles come from Citi TY awards! And Citi has transfer bonuses a lot!
This is happening AFTER the Citi Double Cash card discontinued most of its customer-friendly benefits like PriceRewind, Purchase Protection, etc w.e.f. Sept 22 2019
Love the Thank You Rewards program!
I like amex bbp better. don’t need a second card to do transfers!
Wow, many options, and I never heard of the thank you points, thanks for informing ?
I love the simplicity of this card, the 2% cashback process works flawlessly with very little effort on my part, adding thank you points capability
sounds great but it also sounds complicated and something I most likely won’t do, for me it, really depends how simple the program is to utilize.
No doubt, cashback will almost always be simpler than point programs, primarily because you mostly don’t have to make redemption decisions or watch offers. But, as you probably know, that doesn’t mean cashback has the most value.
2% and now this – every little bit helps
I am looking at the Citi Double Cash Back card. Their partners to transfer to are not tempting to me, however, the 2% cash back is.
I love my Chase cards and Amex MR therefore will stay with them. 2% is SO tempting! argh!
I selected to get the TYPs on my 2 DC cards the other day. I was surprised to see a separate TYP number for each of them, showing my Premier & Sears under the oldest number with my TYP balance and a separate line for each DC with a separate number. Called to get the 2 DC cards under the 1st number, Philippines was of no help, India was of no help, asked for an American TYP person and WALA!!!
Now all of the points will go into the same TYP bucket. I figured its better to link them now than try to transfer or combine later.
Great news. Finally something good at Citi.
Thank you. It’s a way for me to use the less than $25 redemption threshold rewards I have since I switched to using the Bank of America cash reward and Premium Rewards cards for higher cash rewards when you have Platinum Honors.
great info. thanks
I think you mean this card shot up to one of the best travel cards when this was announced but then went back down when all the travel protections were done away with.
Very cool. Now it makes me want to get a Double Cash card again. I had one that they cancelled a couple months ago while I was out of the country. I just private messaged Citi and asked if they could transfer the points I had left on the double cash card to Thank You points. Sadly they said no. I’ll try calling and seeing what they can do.
good news for combing points!!! thankyou.
I have been using my CSR for every day spend. I may now get the CITI Double Cash for every day spend.
This is an enhancement that actually benefits customers! Makes getting citi cards much more compelling.
This is great news for the Citi afficionados but I think I would be spreading myself too thin if I tried to add this to my Chase and Amex trifectas. Good to know the options.
I like to use this card strictly as a 2% cash back card. Adding thank you points capability is fine, but I hope they don’t loss the 2% cash back in the upcoming future.
This is insane.
2 miles per dollar on every purchase that doesn’t belong to a bonus category on the ThankYou cards is surreal.
yes its pretty good
Great idea if you’re ready to spend those membership Rewards!
Great news, but I’d be more excited if Citi had better transfer partners.
Same here. I know you can book partner stuff but having some better carriers is a must.
And these TY points earned through the CDC card have no restrictions, correct? That is to say, these TY point are then transferable to travel partners? I read somewhere speculation partner transfers might be restricted.
Provided you hold a Citi Premier, Citi Prestige, or Citi Chairman card, you can transfer points to all partners once combined. You can convert Double Cash Rewards to TYP without a premium TYP card, but you can only transfer to Sears and JetBlue (at a reduced transfer ratio) unless you hold one of the cards mentioned previously.
That’s the beautiful of being a big spender 🙂