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Citi Double Cash Card Review: Simple 2% Citi Cashback Card

Is the Citi cashback card for you? Check out its pros, cons, rewards, and fees to decide.
Halina Grzeskiewicz
Author: 
Halina Grzeskiewicz
Kacper Kozicki
Editor: 
Kacper Kozicki
Lauren Bedford
Fact Checker: 
Lauren Bedford
17 mins
April 18th, 2024
Advertiser Disclosure
Citi Double Cash Card9.2Visitciti.com
$0
19.24% - 29.24% (Variable)
N/A
Excellent (690–850)

If you’re always on the go and value every minute of your packed schedule, the Citi Double Cash Card could definitely be your kind of thing.

Its straightforward 2% cashback on every single item can make your life a whole lot easier.

Go through its features with us, and see for yourself—

This article will show you:
  • What the Citi Double Cash card is all about.

  • Its pros, cons, benefits, and rewards.

  • A bunch of alternatives.

Read more:

Citi Double Cash Credit Card at a Glance

Full name: Citi Double Cash® Card

Best for: Straightforward rewards system

Issuer: Citi

Credit score needed: Excellent, good, fair

How Does Citi Double Cash Card Work?

The Citi Double Cash Card has a pretty unique cashback concept.

It’s all about rewarding you not just for buying stuff, but also for paying off those purchases.

Here’s how it works—

For every purchase you make, you get 1% cashback right off the bat. So if you buy a coffee for $5, that’s five cents in your pocket.

But the rewards don’t stop there.

When you pay off that coffee (or any other purchase on your card bill), you earn another 1% cashback on the amount you pay off. So if you pay off that $5 coffee, you get another five cents.

This means you’re earning double the cashback (1% when you buy and another 1% when you pay it off). That’s why it’s called the “Double Cash” card.

And the best part?

There’s no limit to how much cashback you can earn—and your cashback doesn’t expire as long as you keep the card open.

So whether you’re buying groceries, filling up gas, or shopping online, the Citi Double Cash Card can help you earn some cashback. (Just remember to keep paying off those purchases to get the full 2%.)

Citi Double Cash Credit Card: Overall Card Review

Category

Features

APR

19.24% - 29.24% (Variable)

Annual fee

$0

Rewards

Earn 1% per $1 spent

Earn 1% per $1 paid off

Intro offer

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.

Overall credit card rating

4.6/5

Learn more

Citi® Double Cash Card: Pros & Cons

  • No annual fee.
  • Straightforward cashback on everything.
  • Flexible redemption options.
  • Balance transfer offer at 0% for 18 months.
  • Access to Citi Entertainment.
  • Wallet protection and emergency card replacement.

Key Citi Double Cash Credit Card Fees & Rates

FEE

DETAIL

Annual fee

$0

APR

18.99%–28.99% (Variable)

Intro APR for balance transfers

0% 18 months

APR for cash advances

29.99% (Variable)

Balance transfer fee

Intro fee of 3% of each transfer ($5 minimum) made within the first 4 months of account opening; then 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum)

Cash advance fee

5% of each cash advance ($10 minimum)

Foreign transaction fee

3%

Late fee

Up to $41

Returned payment fee

Up to $41

Things to Know About the Citi Double Cash Card

With basics out of the way, let’s focus on rewards and benefits.

Citi cash back rewards

Like we said, Citi Double Cash card rewards are simple. The table below answers questions like:

  • Do Citi Double Cash rewards expire?

  • How can I redeem Citi ThankYou points?

  • Is there a limit to my spending?

CITI DOUBLE CASH CARD

Rewards rate

2%

Redemption

  • Direct deposit

  • Statement credit

  • Check by mail ($5 minimum)

Expiration

Points don’t expire unless you close the account

Cap

None

The redemption process is pretty flexible, too. You can get your cash back as a direct deposit, statement credit, or request a check by mail (as long as it’s at least $5).

The coolest bit? Your rewards never expire as long as your account stays open.

And with no capon the rewards you can earn, the potential to earn cash back is limitless.

That makes this card a great bet if you’re after a no-fuss, high-earning cashback credit card.

Citi Double Cash points explained

As you already know, Citi Double Cash keeps its points system as simple as can be.

You get a friendly ThankYou Point in return for every dollar you spend. And each dollar you pay off on your card also earns you another ThankYou Point.

On top of that, converting your rewards into points is a piece of cake: one cent in rewards equals one ThankYou Point.

Let’s use some examples to see exactly how much you’d earn:

WHAT YOU SPEND

POINTS YOU EARN WHEN BUYING

POINTS YOU EARN WHEN PAYING OFF

TOTAL

CASH VALUE

$1,000

1,000

1,000

2,000

$20

$50,000

50,000

50,000

100,000

$1,000

$100,000

100,000

100,000

200,000

$2,000

Citi Double Cash benefits

Ok, so this part is going to be a bit underwhelming—

CATEGORIES

CITI DOUBLE CASH CARD

Travel

None

Dining

None

Protection

  • 24-hour fraud protection

  • $0 liability on unauthorized charges

  • ID Theft Protection program

Other

  • Citi Entertainment®

The Citi Double Cash Card won’t give you specific cash back rewards for travel or dining, but it does offer some decent protective features.

They include round-the-clock fraud protection and a $0 liability on unauthorized charges. That way, your account is safeguarded against any unauthorized activity.

Through its ID Theft Protection program, the card helps with additional security if it gets stolen.

On the non-protection side of things, the cardholders get exclusive access to presale tickets and VIP packages through Citi Entertainment® (perfect for live event lovers).

What’s the Citi Double Cash card credit limit?

The credit limit for the Citi Double Cash Card varies based on the individual cardholder's creditworthiness.

In other words, your credit score, income, and existing debts will all play a role in determining your credit limit.

That’s why we went to cardholders to see the Citi Double Cash credit limit in practice—

“Citibank gave me a limit of $9k on this card.”

“Was just approved for the card but only a 3,000 limit.”

“My limit just got increased to 35k.”

But then—

“My Citi double limit is $40k. Income is $80k.”

“From my experience, their limit increases can be submitted often with no hard pull to your credit.”

And—

“The good news is after 3–6 months, you can usually qualify for a soft pull increase. They tend to be modest bumps, though. If you want the limit to go up substantially, you’ll have to be either very patient and do lots of soft pull increases (which are only usually every six months) or do a hard pull increase where you can request a larger amount.”

How Does Citi Double Cash Card Compare to Other Credit Cards for Good or Excellent Credit?

Let’s see:

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

4.6

Citi Double Cash® Card

4.6

Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card

4.6

Annual Fee

$95

$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.

Annual fee

$0

Annual fee

$0

Rewards

1%–6%

6% cashback on supermarket purchases, 3% on gas, and 1% on everything else.

Rewards Rate

2%

Rewards

1%–10%

Earn 10% cashback on Uber and Uber Eats, 8% on Capital One Entertainment purchases, 5% on hotels and rental cars, 3% on dining and grocery stores.

Intro offer

Earn a $250 statement credit

Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.

Intro Offer

N/A

Intro offer

$200

Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months.

Learn more

Learn more

Learn more

Read more:

Double Cash Card Alternatives: Citi Cashback Cards

Citi Rewards+ Card

Citi Rewards+ Card offers 2x points at supermarkets and gas stations (up to $6,000 per year), 1x points on other purchases, and rounds up to the nearest ten points on every purchase. It’s great for daily expenses.

Citi Premier Card

With 3x points on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel, and hotels (and 1x on all other purchases), Citi Premier Card is perfect for travel and dining enthusiasts.

Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi

Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi is a good choice for Costco members, offering 4% cashback on eligible gas worldwide, 3% on restaurants and travel, 2% on all other Costco purchases, and 1% on everything else.

Remember

Although all the alternatives may be tempting, multiple credit inquiries in a short period of time might end up causing more bad than good.

Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard

Citi also offers the AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard.

Frequent flyers will appreciate 2x AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, gas stations, and restaurants (as well as 1x AAdvantage miles on other spending).

Citi Prestige Card

With 5x ThankYou Points on air travel and restaurants, 3x on hotels and cruise lines, and 1x on all other purchases, it’s ideal for high-spenders. Plus, this card offers multiple travel benefits.

Every time you apply for a new credit card, banks check your credit score. For this reason, simultaneous credit card applications will affect your credit standing, reducing your chances of getting approved. It’s best to wait at least six months before you apply for another credit card if you need more.
Simon Bacher, CEO and Co-founder, Ling App

To make things easy for you:

Citi Double Cash Card Reviews Found Online

Some folks say the “1% when you buy, 1% when you pay off” system isn’t always a good thing—

“The small quirk is the fact that you get 1% first and the other 1% when you pay. If you choose to redeem your cash back as a statement credit, then Citi doesn’t consider that a valid form of payment, so you won’t get the full secondary 1% if you do that.”

Others mention the not-so-fun changes Citi introduced over the years—

“The DC has also lost features over the last few years. Price rewind, return protection, damage protection, extended warranty, etc. Citi really gutted the card. The DC is a product change of my very first credit card I was approved for 18 years ago, so I’ll always keep it, but it’s a shadow of what it used to be.”

And the customer service seems to be less than great, too—

“I like the Citi Double Cashback, and it used to be my daily driver. But Citi’s customer service is horrendous when there’s a problem. So, it’s just not worth it to me.”

But then, some cardholders do praise Citi—

“One thing I didn’t see mentioned is Citibank is one of the easiest banks to request credit increases from, as there is just a button on the website you can hit whenever that gives you an instant answer and doesn’t do a hard pull.”

Although this doesn’t seem to apply to everyone—

“They do not give me credit limit increases, even though my credit score is over 750.”

Others recommend it as a good card for travelers when combined with the Citi Premier card—

“The advantage of Citi Double Cash over those other cards is related to travel. With Double Cash alone, you can transfer points to a few of Citi’s travel partners, but at a reduced rate compared to the Premier card. The best way to use Double Cash is to pair it with Citi Premier, so you get access to all of Citi's travel transfer partners at their best redemption rates.”

And finally—

“The greatest benefit of the Double Cash is that you can pair it with a Rewards+ to effectively turn this into a 2.2% cash back card. That beats most of the other competitors, except to the extent you get hit with a foreign transaction fee or the opportunity cost of not getting a sign-up bonus (but as others in this thread have suggested, you can get the bonus from another Citi card and then product change to Double Cash).

Then, as long as you’re getting Double Cash and Rewards+, you can add the Citi Custom Cash for (effectively) 5.5% in one category. That’s a pretty solid setup for relatively minimal effort.”

Is Citi Double Cash Card Good for Me?

Answer these questions to help you make up your mind:

  • Do you like to keep rewards simple?

The Citi Double Cash Card offers flat-rate cashback on all purchases. No need to monitor spending categories.

  • Do you pay off your balance each month?

This card rewards both purchasing and timely pay-offs. Beneficial if you keep your card balance under control.

  • Do you need a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers?

This card provides 0% APR for a set period post-account opening. Ideal if transferring high-interest debt.

  • Do you care about fraud protection and special offers?

If so, the card’s security features and access to the Citi Entertainment program can be appealing.

Remember

If you’re after the sign-up bonus and want to use your card internationally, you could find better alternatives.

FAQ

Is the Citi Double Cash Card good?
Does Citi Double Cash have foreign transaction fees?
Is Citi Double Cash Visa or Mastercard?
What type of card is Citi Double Cash?
What credit score do you need for Citi Double Cash?
Do Citi Double Cash rewards expire?
Is the Citi Double Cash Card hard to get?
Where can you use the Citi Double Cash card?

Sources

See all

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Contributors

Halina Grzeskiewicz
Halina is a content writer with nearly 5 years of experience. She has written about several topics, including human resources, technology, Forex, cryptocurrencies, and personal finance.
Kacper Kozicki
Kacper is an editor, writer, and multilingual translator with expertise in producing tailored content for global online brands.
Lauren Bedford
Fact Checker
Lauren Bedford
Lauren is a published content writer and journalist. In the last five years, she has written about a range of subjects, including business, technology, and finance. She was born in June 1994 in the UK, but relocated to Barcelona five years ago. Initially covering topics like business and technology, Lauren is now dedicated to her position as a personal finance journalist and is always keen to keep learning and evolve as a finance writer.
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