Link: Apply now for the Citi Double Cash® Card
There are all kinds of different strategies you can take with maximizing your credit card rewards. Some people like to earn cash back, while others like to earn travel rewards. In most situations, you’ll want to decide what kind of rewards you want to earn before applying for a card, so that you can be rewarded as efficiently as possible.
That’s something that’s pretty remarkable about the Citi Double Cash® Card (review) — the card offers an exceptional return on spending, whether you’re looking to earn cash back or travel rewards. Given the changes that we’ve seen to the Citi card ecosystem in recent times, I’d argue this card is more compelling than ever before.
Why the Citi Double Cash is so valuable
The Citi Double Cash is possibly the most versatile no annual fee credit card out there. It’s one of the credit cards that I use most for my everyday, non-bonused spending, and it’s one I recommend, regardless of whether you want to earn cash back or travel rewards. Below are four reasons that the Citi Double Cash should be in your wallet.
Bonus of 20,000 ThankYou points ($200)
The Citi Double Cash has a welcome bonus of 20,000 ThankYou points after spending $1,500 within the first six months. Okay, that might not sound like the most exciting bonus on earth, but this is a card you get because of the long term value that it offers.
For what it’s worth, back in the day the card didn’t have any sort of a bonus, so this is as good as it gets. If the bonus isn’t big enough to get you excited, keep in mind that you can also pick up this card through a product change or downgrade, from an existing Citi ThankYou card.
No annual fee
Okay, I kind of hinted at this above — the Citi Double Cash has no annual fee, so it doesn’t get better than that. Need I say more?
Earn cash back at a rewarding rate
The Citi Double Cash has a phenomenal rewards structure if you’re looking to earn cash back. Cash is king, as they say, and it’s hard to beat the rewards structure of this card. The Citi Double Cash offers:
- 1% cash back when you make a purchase
- 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase
The cash back is earned in the form of ThankYou points — 1x ThankYou points when you make a purchase, and 1x ThankYou points when you pay for that purchase. Each ThankYou point earned with the card can be redeemed for one cent cash back. There are no minimum redemption amounts, and you can be rewarded in the form of a statement credit or direct deposit.
By the time you’ve paid for your purchase, you’ll get two cents back on every dollar spent. This is more rewarding than a vast majority of cash back credit cards, and is in line with the best cash back return you’ll find on a credit card.
There’s not a single card I can think of that offers a return of better than 2% cash back without any major strings attached. For example, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card (review) offers an unparalleled 2.625% return on spending, but only in conjunction with having $100K with Bank of America through the Preferred Rewards program.
Flexibility to turn cash back into travel rewards
This is why the Citi Double Cash gives you the best of both worlds. Not only can you earn the equivalent of two cents on the dollar, but those points can also efficiently be converted into travel rewards points:
What really makes this so awesome is that you can earn rewards on the Citi Double Cash even without having the Citi Strata Premier or Citi Strata Elite. Then in the future, you can decide to apply for one of those cards, and then all rewards earned on the card can be pooled with your other ThankYou points and transferred to partners.
This means for every dollar you spend (and subsequently pay the bill for), you’re getting your choice of either two cents or two transferable points, which can be converted into airline miles. For American flyers, earning two AAdvantage miles per dollar spent after paying your bill is pretty amazing (assuming you have the right card combo).
How I’ve maximized rewards with the Citi Double Cash
I’ve had the Citi Double Cash for many years now, so how am I using this card? Essentially it’s one of the main cards that I use for my personal spending within the United States, when there’s not otherwise a bonus category. For example, I’ve even used the card to pay my income taxes for a fee of under 2%.
When you consider that the right card combo now lets you transfer these points to American AAdvantage, it’s pretty awesome to rack up AAdvantage miles at such a great rate. For domestic purchases that don’t otherwise qualify for a bonus category, this is pretty tough to beat.
Amazing combo: Citi Strata Premier + Citi Double Cash
If you’re looking to earn travel rewards in the long term, I think it’s specifically worth talking about the value of having the Citi Double Cash in conjunction with the $95 annual fee Citi Strata Premier Card, which is one of the best card combos out there:
To me, this is a valuable and straightforward approach to take in order to maximize credit card rewards, as you’ll earn 2-3x points on all purchases.
Alternatively, if you can make the math work on the premium perks the $595 annual fee Citi Strata Elite Card can be a great complement to the Citi Double Cash as well. The card offers credits and lounge access that can go a long way to offsetting the annual fee, and many people may come out ahead with that card instead.
Bottom line
The Citi Double Cash is one of the cards that I spend the most on, and get a lot of value from. Personally, I use the card for the ability to earn ThankYou points that can be transferred to airline and hotel partners.
The flexibility this card offers is unrivaled. The no annual fee card can earn you the equivalent of two cents or two transferable points for every dollar you spend (after paying the bill). Being able to efficiently earn either cash back or travel rewards is the kind of flexibility that consumers should be looking for nowadays, and there’s no other card as well rounded as this.
Furthermore, when you combine the Citi Double Cash with the Citi Strata Premier Card, you’re looking at one of the best card combos out there with one low annual fee. Or if you value premium perks, complementing it with the Citi Strata Elite Card is a great option.
Anyone else find the Citi Double Cash to be super valuable?
