The Citi Double Cash® Card offers great value with its $0 annual fee, but you’ll need a plan to reap all the benefits.
- Earn the sign-up bonus
- Decide how to divide your spending
- Choose how to redeem your rewards
- Consider the 0% intro APR for managing existing debt
1. Earn the sign-up bonus
The simplest way to ensure you maximize value from the Citi Double Cash® Card is by making sure you earn the sign-up bonus.
Currently, the card offers the chance to earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months after your account opens. (You might have been offered a different bonus, depending on when and how you applied.)
To qualify, you’ll need to average $250 in spending each month before the bonus spending period expires.
2. Decide how to divide your spending
The Citi Double Cash® Card offers a straightforward 2% cash back on all purchases — 1% when you use the card, and another 1% when you pay your bill. (You’ll also earn 5% back when you book hotel stays, car rentals and attractions through the Citi Travel® portal.)
It’s possible you’ve already decided to simplify your spending and use your card for all purchases. But if you have other rewards cards, it’s worth considering when to use the Citi Double Cash® Card and when to use another option that earns a higher rate in certain categories.
For instance, if you have a card that earns 3% back at grocery stores, it’s likely not worth using Citi Double Cash® Card in those situations.
3. Choose how to redeem your rewards
Citi Double Cash® Card earns cash back, but your rewards are technically earned as Citi ThankYou® Points that can be redeemed in several ways.
If you want to stick with cash back, you can choose to redeem your points as a statement credit to your bill, a direct deposit into an eligible bank account, or as a check.
But you’re not limited to cash back — you can also redeem your points for gift cards, via the Shop with Points at Amazon program, or for travel. Just keep in mind that these options may offer a redemption rate below 1 cent per point.
4. Consider the 0% intro APR for managing existing debt
If you have existing debt, the Citi Double Cash® Card offers flexibility with a strong 0% intro APR on balance transfers.
You can receive a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months after the date your account opened — after that, the variable balance transfer APR rises to 17.74% - 27.74%. To receive the intro APR, you must transfer your balance within four months of opening your account. There’s an intro balance transfer fee of 3% ($5 minimum) of each transfer completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, it goes up to 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum).
While an intro balance transfer offer can be a great tool for managing debt, we recommend that cardholders don’t mix these debt repayments with new purchases. Juggling these different balances can be complicated, and you could end up in more debt than when you started. All your payments over the minimum will go towards paying off new purchases first, and you can even lose the intro APR offer if you make a late payment.
Next steps
Your Citi Double Cash® Card comes with other benefits, including access to Citi Entertainment offers and more, but these are the perks most likely to help you find value early in your card membership.
Once you start using your card more often, you might find it has some gaps you’d like to fill with another option. For example, if you’re looking for more travel perks, you may want to add another Citi card with more robust rewards rates and credits.