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Citi Double Cash Card — Full Review [2023]

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Jarrod West

Jarrod West

Senior Content Contributor

Countries Visited: 21U.S. States Visited: 24

Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in o...
Edited by: Juan Ruiz

Juan Ruiz

Compliance Editor & Content Contributor

Countries Visited: 40U.S. States Visited: 27

Juan has been involved in credit cards, loyalty, travel, and personal finance for more than 10 years. He has worked for several outlets including The Points Guy and Forbes and was previously Editor-in...
& Kellie Jez

Kellie Jez

Director of Operations & Compliance

Countries Visited: 10U.S. States Visited: 20

Kellie’s professional experience has led her to a deep passion for compliance, data reporting, and process improvement. Kellie’s learned the ins and outs of the points and miles world and leads UP’s c...

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Great Card If

  • You want a card with no annual fee
  • You prefer a card with a basic earning structure, so you don’t have to memorize bonus categories

Don’t Get If

  • You want a card that offers premium travel perks
  • You want a card that does not charge foreign transaction fees
  • You want a card that offers bonus categories for the things you spend the most on

Double Cash Card — Is It Worth It?

The Double Cash card is an excellent option for those who are looking for a no-annual-fee card that offers a simple but strong earning structure and flexible redemption options.

Since you earn an uncapped 2% back on all purchases (1% at time of purchase and 1% when you pay), without an annual fee, the Citi Double Cash is easily one of the best credit cards for monthly bills and other non-bonused purchases.

Double Cash Card Top Benefits

Introductory APR

Since the typical user of this card is not spending heavily in any given category, they may want to use this card as a way to float some cash.

There is absolutely no hassle as long as you pay the minimum fee each month (go to the Citibank login right away and set up autopay), allowing you to accrue some quick cash if you need it.

If you’re using the intro APR, just be sure you’ve got a plan to have the cash available by the end of the introductory offer; the APR will be retroactive for anything not paid off by that time.

Other Benefits of the Double Cash Card

While this card is a fairly simple, no-frills card, there are a few more benefits worth mentioning.

First, there is no maximum to the double rewards that you can earn. Whether you spend $1,000 or $100,000 a year, you’ll still earn a total of 2% on all purchases (1% at time of purchase and 1% when you pay).

Plus, your Citi ThankYou Points can be redeemed for cash-back, travel, gift cards, and more.

Double Cash cardholders can transfer their ThankYou Points to Choice Privileges at a 1:1.5 ratio and Wyndham Rewards and JetBlue TrueBlue at a 1:0.8 ratio. But, if you have a premium Citi ThankYou Rewards card like the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card, you can pool your points together between the cards and then transfer them to any of the full suite of Citi ThankYou transfer partners.

Best Ways To Earn and Redeem Your Citi Points

While you’ll rack up Citi ThankYou Points fast (which is earned as points), there are lots of other great options that help you earn more Citi ThankYou Points, as well.

When it comes time to redeem, the best option goes to those who also hold a premium ThankYou Rewards card like the Citi Premier card or the Citi Prestige card, as they can transfer the points earned from your Double Cash card and have access to the full list of Citi transfer partners.

This will unlock all of the best ways to redeem Citi ThankYou Points, which include using your points to book luxurious first and business class award tickets!

Alternative Card to the Double Cash Card

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

The Freedom Unlimited card is another compelling no annual fee card but earns 5% back on travel through the Chase travel portal, 3% back on dining and drugstore purchases, plus 1.5% cash-back on all other purchases instead of 2% (1% at time of purchase and 1% when you pay) offered with the Double Cash card. The Freedom Unlimited card can also earn Chase Ultimate Reward points when paired with a premium chase card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

Read more about how these 2 cards compare: Double Cash card vs. Freedom Unlimited card


We’ve compared the Double Cash card to other popular cards:

The information regarding the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information for the Citi Prestige® Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Chase Freedom Flex℠ was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Frequently Asked Questions

The card is a great beginner card for those looking to get started in the credit card points world. Thanks to its uncapped 2% ThankYou Points per $1 on all purchases, flexible redemptions, and no annual fee, it makes a great addition to your wallet.

$0 — there is no annual fee on this card.

The foreign transaction fee on the card is 3%.

There is no specific credit score required to apply for the Double Cash card, nor is there one that will guarantee your approval should you decide to apply. Citi will take your credit score into consideration, along with other factors like your stated income, years of credit history, and the average age of your credit accounts.

But generally speaking, you should feel good about your approval odds on the Double Cash card if your credit score is at least 700 and you have a few years of credit history.

Neither card is necessarily better than the other. But some will find one card to be much better suited for them based on their unique needs.

While neither card charges an annual fee, the Freedom Flex card earns 5% back on rotating quarterly categories, 5% back on travel purchased through the Chase travel portal, 3% back on dining and drugstores, and 1% back on all other purchases.

Meanwhile, the Double Cash card does not offer any bonus categories but earns an uncapped 2% back on all purchases.

So, if your spending patterns mainly fall within the bonus categories of the Freedom Flex card, then that would be a much better fit for you. If your spending habits are varied, or you don’t want to be bothered with memorizing different categories, then go with the Double Cash card.

The Double Cash card is a Mastercard and is accepted anywhere in the world that Mastercard is accepted.

If you do not also hold a premium ThankYou Point earning card like the Citi Prestige card or Citi Premier card, then your only transfer partner options will be Choice Privileges at a 1:1.5 ratio and Wyndham Rewards and JetBlue TrueBlue at a 1:0.8 ratio.

If you do pair your Double Cash card with a premium ThankYou Rewards card, you will have access to all of Citi’s transfer partners.

About Jarrod West

Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in outlets like The New York Times.

Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.

2 comments

Avinash Mahajan

March 14, 2018

I thought the Warranty is added by 2 Years. In fact, if you purchase an extended warranty from the shop then Citi’s warranty kicks off after extended warranty.

Connor

June 03, 2019

Absolutely Terrible. Good luck with the dispute process – this company has horrible customer service that talks to you like you’re a piece of trash. They do not defend the customer. The process for a dispute is easily a full-time job. I had a receipt from the merchant handwritten and an email showing exactly how much money they owed and they still failed the dispute and gave it to the merchant which is more than enough evidence than any average person would have.

Horrible company that forwards calls overseas to rude people in other countries. I will never use them again. American Express and Visa, here I come all over again. I will never deal with Citi again and if that’s MasterCard’s process I will never deal with them either. Not worth the hassle for the 2%… better off sticking with a 1.5% card and not having to deal with them.

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