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The Citi Double Cash Card offers 2% cash back on every purchase with no spending limit — 1% back when you make the purchase and 1% back when it’s paid off. There’s also a fairly long balance transfer offer, giving you a chance to pay off a high-interest balance from another card.
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The Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer is, in our humble opinion, one of the best cash back credit cards. Period.
There’s no annual fee, and you get 2% cash back on every purchase you make — 1% when you swipe the card, and another 1% when that purchase is paid off (must pay at least the minimum due on time). That’s basically the best rate you’ll find with a flat-rate cash back rewards card.
You can redeem your rewards as cash back, or if travel’s your thing, you can convert them to ThankYou points and transfer them to Citi’s partner airlines to max out your return on spend.
The Double Cash card also features an exceptionally strong introductory balance transfer APR offer, with a 0% rate for 18 months on Balance Transfers (then 13.99% – 23.99% (Variable)).
That’s pretty much all there is to it. Like other Citi cards at this fee tier, its benefits aren’t too valuable, but that’s no problem. The card is fantastic as it is.
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We’re giving the Citi Double Cash 5 out of 5 stars. There’s really not much to complain about. It’s a simple card that serves its two primary purposes — flat-rate rewards and balance transfers — very well.
The Double Cash isn’t going to give you a crazy return on spend, no matter how you use it. But the fact that you can rely on a consistent 2% (at least) cash back rate for every single purchase, no matter the category, is a unique asset.
Convert your rewards to ThankYou points and redeem them with a transfer partner, and you may be able to get a better value — something like 2 cents per point, for a cash back equivalent of 4%. That’s a very strong rate for a card like this.
In terms of rewards, the Double Cash is likely best used as something of a safety net, a card you can use when there’s nothing else in your wallet that’ll give you a better rate.
Read more Best Cash Back Credit Cards of January 2021Spending Rewards |
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Compared to some cash back cards, the simplicity of the Double Cash’s rewards program might seem like a comfort. You’ll earn the same 2% rate on every purchase with no limit on the amount of cash back you can earn. That’s it.
You won’t get the entire 2% back at the same time, though. You’ll get 1% back after the transaction, and 1% back when you pay it off. With that said, we recommend you use the card responsibly by paying it off in full each month. That way, you should be getting the full 2% back within a few weeks of each purchase at most.
The main disadvantage when it comes to the card’s earning potential is that there’s no introductory bonus. That’s not a huge deal since there’s no annual fee to offset, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Certain cash back cards, for example, offer a slightly lower 1.5% flat reward rate, but also provide signup bonuses that can give you a lot of value a lot faster than the Double Cash can. We’ll talk about a few of these cards later.
Citi presents the Double Cash as a no-frills cash back card, and that’s mostly accurate, but there are actually a few ways to redeem your rewards balance.
You can:
Redeeming for statement credits or receiving your rewards via check or direct deposit are great choices. You just won’t get quite as much value as you would with a carefully planned point transfer (which we’ll talk more about in a second — it’s kind of complicated).
Still, a guaranteed earning rate of 2% per dollar is very good, and the simplicity of these methods probably makes up for the difference in monetary value for most cardholders.
Compared to the Double Cash’s typical redemption options, converting to ThankYou points offers a higher potential value. Unfortunately, this method isn’t as simple as settling for cash back.
The only transfer partners available to Double Cash cardholders are JetBlue TrueBlue and Shop Your Way, the Sears loyalty program. You can access a larger list of transfer partners by sending your points to another eligible Citi card, but they both charge annual fees. We’ll talk about that after discussing the Double Cash card’s own transfer partners.
If you transfer your points to JetBlue, you’ll get 800 points for every 1,000 ThankYou points transferred. Careful redemption can still give you a decent return on spend, but you have to plan meticulously, because your actual cash back equivalent from this method will usually depend on a bunch of factors, including when you book, where you’re traveling, and your flight class.
Transferring ThankYou points to Shop Your Way gives you 12 Shop Your Way points for every 1 ThankYou point transferred. Shop Your Way points are reportedly worth $0.001 each, so that’s a value of 1.2 cents per ThankYou point. Not a bad deal if you’ll actually be able to use them.
If you’re a serious traveler who already holds either the Citi Premier® Card (Review) or the Citi Prestige® Card (Review), think about transferring converted ThankYou points to one of those cards. They both feature a much larger selection of transfer partners than the Double Cash, including renowned airlines from Air France to Virgin Atlantic and beyond.
Most transfers from these cards will give you a 1:1 rate. That includes JetBlue, so that’s a slight upgrade from what you’d get by transferring to TrueBlue from the Double Cash.
What’s more is that redeeming for airfare directly through Citi with the Premier card will give you a 25% bonus, upping your per-point value to 1.25 cents. You could get more with a transfer to an airline, but it’s a nice choice to have, as it requires a bit less work on your part.
The main obstacle here is that both the Premier and the Prestige have annual fees, so this probably isn’t the right redemption process for the casual cardholder.
Read more How Do Cash Back Credit Cards Work? Plus Our 9 FavoritesThe Double Cash card’s benefits don’t offer too much in the way of monetary value, but there are quite a few perks that you may find useful throughout your time as a cardholder.
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Purchase APR | Balance Transfer APR | Cash Advance APR |
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13.99% – 23.99% (Variable) | 0% for 18 months on Balance Transfers, then 13.99% – 23.99% (Variable) | 25.24% (Variable) |
Annual Fee | Foreign Transaction Fee |
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$0 | 3% |
Balance Transfer Fee | Cash Advance Fee |
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Balance transfer fee applies with this offer 3% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum | 5% of each cash advance; $10 minimum |
Penalty APR | Late Fee | Returned Payment Fee |
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Up to 29.99% (Variable) | Up to $40 | Up to $40 |
There are a few points of interest here.
The Double Cash flaunts an excellent balance transfer APR offer. It’s not the longest available, but it’s pretty darn close. You’ll have to pay a balance transfer fee, however, which is normal when the introductory period lasts this long.
There’s also a foreign transaction fee, and that means you’ll probably want to avoid using this card in another country unless it’s your last resort.
No worries, though — there are all sorts of reward cards that come standard with no foreign transaction fee, including many with bonus categories (travel, dining, etc.) that might be useful while you’re abroad.
There are a lot of cards out there that’ll reward you with high rates in very specific categories.
The Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer isn’t one of them. Instead, it’s pretty much the best card you’ll find to use on all those purchases that aren’t covered by other cards in your wallet.
Its cash back rewards program is very simple, and for the serious rewards junkie, the option to convert your cash back to ThankYou points provides great flexibility (plus an opportunity to ramp up your return on spend).
The card also has one of the longer introductory balance transfer APR offers you’ll currently find.
The two main downsides are the Double Cash’s lack of welcome bonus and its vanilla selection of benefits. When compared to the card’s huge long-term value, though, these little issues are easy to brush aside.
Click the “Apply Now” button below. You’ll be directed to the official Citi website, and you’ll have to submit an application form. Citi will then perform a hard credit inquiry to determine whether your creditworthiness measures up to its standards, and you’ll likely be approved or denied instantly. On the off chance that you aren’t, Citi might follow up to request more information.
The Citi Double Cash is intended for applicants with excellent credit. That means you’ll probably have higher approval odds with a FICO score of at least 740, and a VantageScore of at least 750.
But those scores won’t guarantee approval. Other factors, such as your monthly income, are also evaluated during the approval process. You might be denied with great credit, or approved with average scores.
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The Citi Double Cash has several great features (2% reward rate, long balance transfer offer), but it’s not quite perfect (signup bonuses are always nice). Whether it’s the right card for you depends on what you’re looking for.
To that end, here are a few alternatives that might be worth your consideration.
The Discover it® Cash Back (Review) is one of select few credit cards that have gained a lot of popularity for their rotating rewards systems.
The card provides 5% cash back (up to $1,500 in combined quarterly spending, then 1%) on select categories that change every three months, and features Discover’s renowned Cashback Match signup bonus. You’ll need to activate those categories each quarter before you start earning 5% back.
Its reward system is actually different enough that this could be a great card to use with the Double Cash, rather than in place of it.
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Here’s the 5% cash back calendar for 2021, plus the categories from 2020.
Quarter | 2020 Categories | 2021 Categories |
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January – March |
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April – June |
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July – September |
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October – December |
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The Cashback Match signup bonus effectively ensures you’re getting at least a 2% cash back rate on every purchase throughout the first year, which is competitive with the Double Cash. But that’s only for a year.
After that, this card loses appeal as an alternative, per se, but remains a great option to use alongside the Double Cash thanks to its 5% categories.
Another prominent flat-rate rewards card, the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card (Review) offers a slightly lower cash back rate of 1.5%.
What gives the Quicksilver a leg up is that there’s a solid welcome bonus. You won’t get one at all with the Double Cash.
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Welcome Bonus Offer |
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The Quicksilver’s welcome bonus offers an excellent return on spend as it is.
Then, when you consider how the Double Cash offers no such bonus whatsoever, it becomes clear why you might prefer the Quicksilver — especially if you won’t be using the card all that much.
You’d have to spend a whole lot to finally reach a point where you’re getting more out of the Double Cash than you would the Quicksilver, including its welcome bonus.
Your decision will ultimately depend on whether you’re playing the long game or hoping to maximize your short-term rewards.
Note: Benefits depend on card tier.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® (Review) looks, at first, just like the Capital One Quicksilver. All of the welcome bonus details and calculations we discussed concerning the Quicksilver also apply here.
But the Freedom Unlimited offers something the Quicksilver doesn’t: the ability to transfer your rewards to a Chase Ultimate Rewards card where they could be more valuable.
There are three good options: the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Review) and Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Review) — two incredibly popular travel rewards cards — plus the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Review).
Once your rewards are moved to one of these cards, you’ll have several ways to max out your redemption value, including point transfers and redemption bonuses.
The key drawback to this method is that all three of those Ultimate Rewards cards feature annual fees.
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If you’re planning on boosting the value of these rewards by transferring to another Chase card, you’ll have a few options.
Redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, and you’ll get a 25% point bonus with the Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred cards, or a 50% bonus with the Sapphire Reserve.
Or, transfer your rewards to one of Chase’s many partner airline or hotel loyalty programs. You’ll sometimes be able to secure a much higher cash back equivalent than 1.5%, you just have to put some effort in to find the best deals.
Note: Benefits depend on card tier.
The PayPal Cashback Mastercard® (Review) is perhaps the closest direct competitor to the Citi Double Cash. You have to have a PayPal account in good standing if you’d like to apply, but aside from that, it’s very similar.
This cash back credit card features a flat 2% earning rate, and you can redeem that cash in a variety of ways, including for statement credits and as a contribution to your PayPal balance.
Like the Double Cash, the PayPal card lacks a signup bonus.
There are two clear ways the Double Cash gets the advantage.
One is that the redemption options aren’t as flexible with the PayPal card. You can’t convert your cash back into points, so it’s probably not going to be the first choice for travel rewards junkies.
The other is that the PayPal card doesn’t provide an introductory APR offer, as the Double Cash and the other alternatives listed above do. Again, this will only impact a specific subset of people, so if that’s something you’re looking for, you won’t find it here.
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This card is very simple. You get 2% back on everything, all at once — it doesn’t come 1% at a time like with the Double Cash.
*Purchases subject to credit approval. See Rewards Program Terms for details. To earn Cash Rewards, you must have an open PayPal Account in good standing to which your Card Account is linked. If your PayPal Account is closed for any reason, or if your Card Account is no longer linked to your PayPal Account, your Card Account will be closed and any Cash Rewards earned, but not redeemed, will be forfeited.
**See Rates and Fees for details.
^Important information on redeeming Cash Rewards to your PayPal balance: You need to have a PayPal Cash or PayPal Cash Plus account to have a balance. If you do not have one of those accounts, you can only transfer your Cash Rewards to your bank account or debit card linked to your PayPal account.
The PayPal Cashback Mastercard is issued by Synchrony Bank pursuant to a license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
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Sean Messier works to empower individuals with the knowledge required to use credit cards responsibly and to their advantage. His writing- and research-based background has granted him experience in an array of topics, from finance to business and beyond. Sean distills the knowledge accumulated over years of experience in the credit space into consistent, actionable articles, guides, and reviews.
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