Card Review: Citi Double Cash Card

Nowadays, credit cards offer rewards in every imaginable category. From dining and travel multipliers to fast-food and streaming services, if you have the right card, you can earn points, miles, or cashback in almost every purchase. However, you may not want to go through your wallet and think about which card yields the most net profit every time you shop. If that is you or if you want a simple catch-all card that earns transferrable currency, the Citi Double Cash Card may deserve a spot in your wallet.

My Citi Double Cash card earns 2% back on everything, and it’s a great workhorse card.

Multipliers & Signup Bonus

Unfortunately, the Citi Double Cash Card doesn’t offer a sign-up bonus. I think Citi can benefit from offering a $100 sign-up bonus to compete against the Chase Freedom Flex Card, but Citi probably doesn’t need to lure customers since the card’s earning rate is amazing. The Citi Double Cash Card earns 1% when you make a purchase and then earns another 1% when you pay the balance, allowing card members to earn 2% back on any purchase. The beauty of the card is that its earning structure is simple. This means whether you dine out or get a rental car, as long as you pay the bill, you are meaning 2% back on all purchases. Also, I think it’s great that it incentivizes cardholders to pay the balance in full (as you should) every month to take advantage of the 2% return rate.

Whenever I visit my doctor’s office, I use my Citi Double Cash Card to earn 2% back on all healthcare costs.

Annual Fee & Benefits

There is no annual fee with the Citi Double Cash Card. Unlike Chase’s Freedom Flex Card, which is a World Elite Mastercard, the Double Cash Card is a basic Mastercard. Other than standard benefits like ID theft protection and contactless payments, it doesn’t offer unique benefits. However, the card is equipped with free ShopRunner membership and will grant cardholders access to Citi Entertainment. Lastly, you will have access to the Citi Concierge. I personally don’t have any experience using the service, but if they are comparable to the AMEX Platinum concierge service, this would be a great benefit for a no-annual fee card.

Why It Deserves a Spot in Your Wallet: ThankYou Points

You may be wondering why I recommend the Citi Double Cash Card when it doesn’t offer a sign-up bonus and lacks notable benefits. The card has traditionally been a cashback card, and you’d need to have a minimum cashback balance of $25 to redeem, which meant you’d have to spend $1,250 to cash out $25.

Cash will hold its value better than miles and points, but when used correctly, ThankYou points will yield higher redemption values.

However, in late 2019, Citi announced that the Double Cash Card will now earn ThankYou points. Cardholders would need to convert their cashback balances to ThankYou points using the conversion rate of 100 ThankYou points per $1. For instance, a $10 cashback balance could become 1,000 ThankYou points. The revamp transformed the card because ThankYou points can be transferred to 16 airline partners, and they are:

• Aeromexico

• Air France

• Avianca

• Cathay Pacific

• Emirates

• Etihad

• EVA Air

• Jet Airways

• JetBlue

• Malaysia Airlines

• Qantas

• Qatar Airways

• Singapore Airlines

• Thai Royal

• Turkish Airlines

• Virgin Atlantic

Transfer your ThankYou points to Singapore Airlines and visit Singapore!

Transfer partners open up so many opportunities, but here is the catch: you’d need to hold either the Citi Premier Card or the Citi Prestige Card to gain full access to the transfer partners. If you only have the Double Cash Card, you are limited to JetBlue and Sears, and they don’t yield good redemption rates.

If the Double Cash Card is the only card on your Citi account, your transfer partners are extremely limited. Photo credit: www.thankyou.com

Citi’s intention is clear; Citi wants you to carry other Citi credit cards and build the Citi ecosystem. The common Citi trifecta includes the Citi Premier Card for dining, groceries, and gas, the Citi Prestige Card for travel, and the Citi Double Cash Card for everything else. This trifecta is actually a great setup for those who are already invested with Citi credit cards. Because I personally value one Citi ThankYou point at 1.7 cents, if you were to carry other premium Citi credit cards, the 2% return rate from the Citi Double Cash Card can yield up to 3.4% in return, which is great for everyday purchases.

Summary

The Citi Double Cash Card is a great tier 2, catch-all card; It can simplify your wallet while earning 2% back on any purchase. While the card doesn’t offer a sign-up bonus and lacks benefits worth mentioning, it earns versatile Citi ThankYou points that can open up many doors for future travel needs. Be aware that you need to hold either the Citi Premier Card or the Citi Prestige Card to have access to all 16 airline transfer partners. If you are willing to invest in Citi’s lineup of credit cards, the Citi Double Cash Card is a great introduction to its ecosystem.