Citi Double Cash review 2024: A top cash-back credit card
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“Verified by an expert” means that this article has been thoroughly reviewed and evaluated for accuracy.
BLUEPRINT
Updated 3:28 a.m. UTC June 4, 2024
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Earning a total of 2% cash back on purchases — 1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off, plus, for a limited time, 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24, the Citi Double Cash® Card * The information for the Citi Double Cash® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. is a great credit card for people who don’t want to track various spending categories. Plus, there’s a long introductory APR period on balance transfers. Our Citi Double Cash Card review will explain more.
Why trust our credit card experts
Our team of experts evaluates hundreds of credit cards and analyzes thousands of data points to help you find the best card for your situation. We use a data-driven methodology to determine each rating. Advertisers do not influence our editorial content. You can read more about our methodology below.
- 50+ cards analyzed.
- 8 data points considered.
- 5-step fact-checking process.
Citi Double Cash card basics
- Annual fee: $0.
- Welcome bonus: $200 cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening.
- Rewards: Earn 2% cash back on purchases — 1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off, plus, for a limited time, 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24.
- APR: 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. After that, the standard variable APR will be 19.24% to 29.24%. An intro balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3%, whichever is greater, applies to transfers completed in the first four months. After that, the fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
- Foreign transaction fees: 3%.
- Recommended credit score: Fair to excellent.
- Other perks and benefits: Issuer offers an online tool to check if you’re pre-selected for a Citi credit card.
Citi Double Cash Card review
The Citi Double Cash was the original 2% cash-back card, before there were a plethora of imitators. With this card, you’ll earn a net 2% cash back on purchases — 1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off, plus, for a limited time, 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24. There are no spending caps and no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn — and there’s no annual fee to carry the Double Cash.
The card’s simple reward structure makes it perfect for people who don’t like earning elevated rewards in some categories but subpar rates on other spending, as many cash-back cards do. And, the Double Cash doesn’t require you to keep track of rotating categories or spending caps.
In addition, anyone looking to pay off high-interest debt from a non-Citi credit card will appreciate the intro APR offer: 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. After that, the standard variable APR will be 19.24% to 29.24%. An intro balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3%, whichever is greater, applies to transfers completed in the first four months. After that, the fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
However, despite being a solid choice for consumers who want a flat-rate card, the Double Cash falls short in a few respects. For one thing, it just earns you 1% upfront and you’ll have to pay your bill in full to get the other 1%. The intro APR is also limited to balance transfers only and not purchases. Plus, it charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, so it’s not a good card to use when traveling outside the United States.
Still, the card has its benefits for those who typically pay their bill in full and on time, especially for those who carry another card that earns Citi ThankYou® points as the rewards from the Citi Double Cash can be combined with the points earned on another eligible Citi card.
Wondering what to do with a pile of points from your Citi card? Here are some of the best ways to use your ThankYou points
Pros
- Simple and unlimited rewards. With the Double Cash, there are no categories to track or earning limits in certain areas of spending, all purchases earn at the same rate.
- Multiple redemption options. Take your earnings as a statement credit, direct deposit or check. You can also redeem for gift cards or travel.
- There’s a balance transfer offer. If you’re looking to pay down some high-interest debt, an intro APR offer like on the Double Cash can help you make headway.
Cons
- No intro APR on purchases. Citi Double Cash doesn’t offer an intro APR on purchases, so if you’re going to use a balance transfer card, we’d advise you to pay off your transferred balance in full before making any purchases on the card.
- Lack of benefits. You won’t get perks such as cellphone protection, extended warranty protection or rental car insurance, which can be had on some other no-annual-fee credit cards.
- Other cards earn the 2% upfront. Many of the other cards that earn at the same rate as the Double Cash earn the 2% on every purchase, without splitting it like the Double Cash does.
Citi Double Cash Card rewards
The Citi Double Cash Card earns 2% cash back on purchases — 1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off, plus, for a limited time, 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24. If you prefer to earn the full rewards after each purchase, you may prefer a different 2% card.
Though the Double Cash is marketed as a cash-back credit card, rewards come in the form of Citi ThankYou® Points. Points can be redeemed for cash back to a linked bank account with no minimum redemption amount required. You can also redeem points as statement credits to your card or take them as a paper check in the mail.
Additional redemption options include gift cards, charitable donations and shopping with points at participating online and in-store partners. However, if shopping with points, beware that you may get subpar value compared to redeeming for cash back. For example, if you redeem points when checking out at Walmart, the redemption rate is 1,250 points for $10. That comes out to a value of 0.8 cents per point, compared with 1 cent per point redeemed to a checking account.
Points can also be transferred to a limited selection of Citi’s travel partners. But if you also hold a Citi Strata Premier℠ Card * The information for the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. or a Citi Prestige® Card (this card is not currently accepting new applicants), you can transfer to Citi’s full list of travel partners.
Citi Double Cash Card rewards potential
Using government data and other publicly available information, we estimate that a household in the U.S. that would be in the market for this card has $29,525 in expenses they are likely to be able to charge to a credit card. We’ll use those numbers to determine what you might be able to earn in rewards using this card.
| SPENDING CATEGORY | SPENDING AMOUNT | CASH-BACK RATE | CASH-BACK EARNED |
|---|---|---|---|
All
| $29,525
| 2% (1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off)
| $590.50
|
TOTAL
| $29,525
| $590.50
|
Cardholders earn 2% cash back on purchases — 1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off, plus, for a limited time, 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24. With $29,525 in annual spending, that’s $590.50 per year in cash-back rewards.
Of course, if you make use of the temporary elevated earning rate on eligible travel booked through Citi’s portal, you could earn even more.
How the Citi Double Cash Card compares to other cash-back cards
Citi Double Cash vs. Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
The no-annual-fee Wells Fargo Active Cash Card earns 2% cash rewards on purchases. It also offers a welcome bonus: a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first three months of account opening.
There’s also an intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers: 0% intro APR for the first 15 months on purchases and qualifying balance transfers, then a 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% variable APR applies thereafter. Balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate and fee of 3%. After that a fee of up to 5%, with a minimum of $5 applies. You can get cellphone protection against damage or theft of up to $600 per claim (subject to a $25 deductible, up to two claims per 12-month period) when you pay your monthly phone bill with the Wells Fargo Active Cash.
Similar to the Double Cash, you can’t transfer earnings to a travel partner, unless you also hold an eligible Wells Fargo card that does allow it — like the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card or the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card * The information for the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. . The better pick between these two cards depends on how important it is to get your rewards upfront or after you pay your bill.
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Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
Citi Double Cash vs. Citi Custom Cash® Card * The information for the Citi Custom Cash® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The Citi Custom Cash charges no annual fee and comes with a unique rewards program. You can earn 5% cash back on purchases in a top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent each month and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Plus, an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/25.
Categories eligible for the elevated rewards rate include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment. Exclusions apply.
There’s also a welcome bonus: $200 cash back, in the form of 20,000 ThankYou® points, after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening. The Custom Cash is marketed as a cash-back card, but like the Double Cash, rewards are earned in the form of Citi ThankYou Points, which means that if you also hold another eligible Citi Card you can combine your points between the two.
The card comes with a 0% intro APR for the first 15 months on purchases and from the date of the first transfer for balance transfers within the first four months. After that, the variable APR will be 19.24% to 29.24%. There is a balance transfer fee of 5% of each balance transfer with a $5 minimum.
Citi Double Cash vs. Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card * The information for the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The no-annual-fee Capital One Quicksilver earns 1.5% cash back on purchases and 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Its earning rate may be less impressive than that of a 2% cash-back card, but it comes with a couple advantages.
The Quicksilver offers a welcome bonus of a $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. It also comes with a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, then a 19.99% to 29.99% variable APR. There is a 3% fee on each balance transfer in the first 15 months but no fee for amounts transferred at the purchase APR after the first 15 months. Additionally, it charges no foreign transaction fees, making it a good choice for travel. However, if you’re looking for the best rewards potential, it falls short of the Citi Double Cash’s rewards rate.
The Citi Double Cash is right for you if:
- You’re looking for a cash-back credit card with a simple earning structure.
- You want to do a balance transfer from a non-Citi card and want a card with value after the intro APR offer expires.
- You’re not planning on using it abroad. There are plenty of cards that don’t charge foreign transaction fees, making them a better choice for international spending than this one.
Methodology
Our credit card team has spent hours analyzing hundreds of credit cards. We took a deep dive into the details of each product and that analysis, combined with our years of experience covering credit cards, informed us as we developed these credit card rankings.
Some of the factors evaluated in selecting the best rewards credit cards included:
- Rewards potential and redemption options.
- Welcome bonuses.
- Travel and shopping benefits.
- Intro APRs.
- Annual fees.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Yes, the Citi Double Cash is a good credit card. Its rewards rate is one of the best you’ll find when it comes to cash-back cards without specific bonus categories or spending caps. Plus, it charges no annual fee and comes with an intro APR on balance transfers.
That said, some may prefer applying for a different credit card due to the Citi Double Cash Card’s 3% foreign transaction fee.
One potential drawback of the Citi Double Cash card is that you won’t get the full cash back upfront when you make a purchase. Instead the card earns it as: 2% cash back on purchases — 1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off, plus, for a limited time, 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24.
The Citi Double Cash Card is aimed at those with fair or better credit. According to the FICO scoring system, a fair score ranges between 580 and 669.* However, keep in mind that there’s no one credit score that guarantees approval for a card as issuers consider a range of factors when reviewing your application including income and other debt obligations.
There’s no average credit limit for the Citi Double Cash as every cardholder has a different credit profile and thus will be granted a different credit limit.
There’s no set pattern for when the issuer will, if at all, increase your credit limit. If you’ve held the card for several months and maintained good payment behavior, you can try calling Citi and asking them to increase your limit.
*Blueprint uses credit ranges derived from FICO® Score 8, which is one of many different types of credit scores. If you apply for a credit card, the lender may use a different credit score when considering your application for credit.
Editor’s note: This article contains updated information from a previously published story.
*The information for the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card, Citi Custom Cash® Card, Citi Double Cash® Card, Citi Strata Premier℠ Card and Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
