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- Citi® Double Cash Review
Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer Review: Best-In-Class Cash Back
By: Lyle Daly
We are committed to full transparency in our mission to make the world smarter, happier, & richer. Offers on The Ascent may be from our partners - it's how we make money - and we have not reviewed all available products and offers. That transparency to you is core to our editorial integrity, which isn’t influenced by compensation.
Citi, an advertising partner with The Ascent, offers the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer, which boasts rewards at some of the highest flat rates you'll find on the market, plus a long 0% intro APR period. This review will take a detailed look at the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer to help you determine if it is worthy of your wallet.
Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer
Apply Now
On Citi's Secure Website.
Great for: Cash back and balance transfers Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer
Rating image, 5.0 out of 5 stars.
5.0 stars
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Rewards
2% cash back: 1% when you buy plus 1% as you pay
Annual Fee
$0
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: 0%, 18 months
Ongoing APR
13.99% – 23.99%, variable
Bonus
N/A
Highlights
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
- To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
- Balance Transfer Offer: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 13.99% – 23.99%, based on your creditworthiness.
- Balance Transfers do not earn cash back.
- If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance (including balance transfers) by the due date each month.
- There is a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
- The standard variable APR for Citi Flex Plan is 13.99% – 23.99% based on your creditworthiness. Citi Flex Plan offers are made available at Citi's discretion.
Top perks
Unlimited 2% cash back: Among personal credit cards, the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer has the highest potential flat rate for cash back. “Potential" is the operative word here, because you receive 1% cash back when you make a purchase, then receive the other 1% when you pay the bill by its due date (you just need to make the minimum payment). If you pay late, you lose the second half of your cash back. It's an interesting quirk that obviously can be annoying if you slip up, but it does motivate you to pay your bill on time.
0% intro APR on balance transfers: As you might've guessed from the name, the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer has a 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers. That's among the longest intro offers available, even compared to the very best balance transfer credit cards, and it makes this card perfect for consolidating debt. There is a 3% ($5 minimum) balance transfer fee, and you won't earn cash back on balance transfers.
No annual fee: Many cash back cards have no annual fee, so this isn't a big advantage for this card. But it's still nice for your budget when you don't have to pay anything for your credit card.
Convert cash back to ThankYou points: If you also have an eligible Citi travel card, such as the Citi Premier® Card or the Citi Prestige® Card, you can convert all the cash back you earn to Citi ThankYou points. You can then use those points for travel redemptions, including transfers to Citi's many travel partners.
This option makes the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer a fantastic complement to a Citi travel rewards card. You can use the travel card for any purchases where it will earn you bonus points. For all your non-bonus spending, you can take advantage of the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer and essentially earn 2 ThankYou points per $1 spent. It's a simple, effective way to maximize your credit card rewards.
What could be improved
No sign-up bonus: Sign-up bonuses have become commonplace, even for cash back cards. The fact that the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer doesn't have one is a handicap.
$25 cash back redemption minimum: You can only redeem cash back when you have $25 or more. That can be frustrating, especially since so many rewards credit cards have no redemption minimum. To be fair, Citi allows you to convert as little as $1 in cash back to ThankYou points, but that also makes you wonder why it also doesn't lower the minimum for cash back redemptions.
No 0% intro APR on purchases: Purchases aren't eligible for that intro APR offer, making other cards a better choice if you need to finance anything.
3% foreign transaction fee: The card certainly isn't alone in charging a 3% foreign transaction fee, but that will increase your travel expenses if you go out of the country and don't have another card to use.
Suggested credit score
We recommend getting your FICO® Score in the 700-750 range before applying for the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer. Citi might approve you with a lower score, as that's not the only criteria the issuer uses when assessing your application. But a score over 700 will be a big help.
Alternatives to consider
- If you want to earn extra cash back in rotating categories: The Discover it® Cash Back has one of the highest cash back rates for a no annual fee card. It earns 5% back on rotating quarterly bonus categories you activate, and this bonus rate is capped at $1,500 per quarter. To make it even better, Discover doubles all the cash back you earn in the first year.
- If you want a big sign-up bonus: You'll get $200 back after spending at least $1,000 in the first 90 days after opening the Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card. This no annual fee card also lets you choose a category where you'll earn bonus cash back.
As of Sep. 01, 2020
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| Discover it® Cash Back |
Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card |
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Rating image, 5.0 out of 5 stars.
5.0 stars
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. |
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5 stars
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. |
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Apply Now
On Discover's Secure Website. |
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| Read Full Review | |
| Rates & Fees | |
| Bonus: Double cash back after the first year for new cardholders | Bonus: $200 after spending $1,000 within 90 days |
| Rewards Program: Earn 5% cash back in rotating quarterly categories you activate ($1,500 quarterly spending cap), 1% back on all else | Rewards Program: 3% cash back on gas or in your choice category, 2% at grocery stores & wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 in combined bonus category quarterly purchases), 1% on all else. |
| Intro APR: Purchases: 0%, 14 months Balance Transfers: 0%, 14 months | Intro APR: Purchases: 0%, 12 billing cycles Balance Transfers: 0%, 12 billing cycles on transfers made within first 60 days |
| Regular APR: 11.99% - 22.99% Variable | Regular APR: 13.99% - 23.99%, variable |
| Annual Fee: $0 | Annual Fee: $0 |
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Highlights:
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Highlights:
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Apply Now
On Discover's Secure Website. |
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This credit card is right for you if:
The Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer is the card to choose when you want your finances to be as uncomplicated as possible. It doesn't have much in the way of benefits, but the benefits it does have are very good and make it a standout among Citi credit cards. You should consider it if you're looking for any of the following in a cash back card:
- An unlimited flat rate of up to 2% cash back
- No annual fee
- A generous 0% intro APR period of 18 months for balance transfers
About the Author
Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.
