The Citi Double Cash® Card has long been among the most rewarding cashback credit cards on the market, allowing cardholders to earn a total of 2% cash back on all purchases. But if cashback wasn't reason enough for you to give this no-annual-fee card a long, hard look, Citi is upping the ante with an exciting new sign-up bonus.
With the current offer, you can earn a $200 cashback bonus after spending $1,500 within the first six months of card membership.
But what makes this bonus even better is that it's actually awarded as 20,000 Citi ThankYou Points – the same transferrable points you earn from cards like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, the Citi Rewards+® Card, and more. If you've got one of those other Citi cards in your wallet, you can transfer your bonus to Citi's travel partners and get even greater value out of the points than cash alone.
But keep in mind: Credit cards are serious business. You should never charge more to a credit card than you can afford to pay off immediately, no matter how much cash back (or points) you might earn.
Beyond the initial bonus, you'll be earning really solid rewards for every purchase you make with the card. It works like this: You'll get 1% cash back when you make a purchase, and another 1% cash back after you pay your bill. To earn the additional 1% cash back when paying for your purchases, you must make at least the minimum payment due.
Again, even though the card is marketed as a cashback credit card, it technically earns ThankYou Points which means you have the flexibility to use them for cash back, gift cards, or even travel!
No matter how you plan to use your big bonus, this matches the best offer we've ever seen on the card – and it's one that deserves your attention. Here's why.
Related reading: 5 Great Ways to Use Citi ThankYou Points
Full Benefits of the Citi Double Cash® Card
- Welcome Offer: Earn a $200 cashback bonus after spending $1,500 within the first six months of card membership.
- Earn 2% cash back: Earn 1% when you buy and 1% as you pay for purchases, with no spending categories or caps to worry about.
- Earn 5% cash back: Through Dec. 31, 2024, you can earn an additional 3% cash back (5% total) on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through the Citi TravelSM portal.
- Annual Fee: None
Learn more about the Citi Double Cash® Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
Earning Rewards
You'll earn unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases. It works like this: You'll earn 1% cash back after making the purchase, and another 1% cash back after paying your bill.
Through Dec. 31, 2024, you can earn an additional 3% cash back (5% total) on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through the Citi TravelSM portal.
Since the cash back is earned in the form of ThankYou Points, you'll be getting a solid 2x points on all your purchases, and potentially an even better return if you use those ThankYou points for travel.
Read more: Cashback vs. Travel Rewards Credit Cards: Which Are Best?
No Annual Fee
The Citi Double Cash Card doesn't charge an annual fee, making it one of the most cost-effective ways to earn a bunch of Citi ThankYou points.
However, as is typical with many other no-annual-fee credit cards, it does charge foreign transaction fees. That means it's not a good option for travel abroad or any purchases made outside of the U.S.
Make sure to check out our post on the best credit cards that will waive foreign transaction fees.
How Good is This Bonus Offer?
Should you be earning cash back or travel rewards? It's a problem we've tried solving .. and the answer is going to be different for everyone. Thankfully, with the Citi Double Cash, you don't have to decide – you'll be earning cash back in the form of Citi ThankYou Points. It's the best of both worlds!
On the surface, it's easy to see this bonus offer as a quick $200 – and you wouldn't be wrong for looking at it like that. The card doesn't charge an annual fee and the $1,500 spending requirement can be spread out over six months, giving even the lightest of spenders enough time to earn the bonus. That's a pretty easy win for most people.
But if you're able to combine this card – and its bonus offer – with another ThankYou Points earning card like the Citi Premier, you can turn the 20,000 points into quite a bit of free travel.
While Citi doesn't have a domestic airline transfer partner like Amex and Chase does, the bank does have many other useful international airline partners – including some that you can use to book flights on major U.S. airlines like Delta, American, and United.
One of the most valuable sweet spots of all is transferring Citi ThankYou Point to Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles program to book cheap United flights.
How cheap? We're talking about 15,000 mile roundtrip flights to Hawaii cheap. With a few thousand more points, you'd have enough points for you and a friend to go to Hawaii with this welcome offer alone.
Alternatively, you could transfer your ThankYou Points to Virgin Atlantic to book roundtrip flights to Europe. By taking advantage of a transfer bonus, like this recent 30% bonus on transfers to Virgin, you'd have enough points from this sign-up bonus alone to book roundtrip flights all the way from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Amsterdam (AMS).
On this route, Virgin charges just 30,000 points, plus taxes and fees, for a roundtrip flight all the way from the U.S. to Europe. With a 30% transfer bonus, you'd need just over 23,000 Citi ThankYou Points in order to make your way across the pond. Just about the exact same amount you'd have by completing the new card spending requirement.
No matter if you're choosing cash back or using the points for travel (or something else altogether) this new offer is a really valuable one.
Are You Eligible to Apply for the Citi Double Cash Card?
Thinking about applying for the Citi Double Cash and earning this exciting new offer? Like most banks, Citi has a few different application rules that you'll need to keep in mind.
The Citi 8/65 Application Rule
You can only be approved for one Citi credit card in an eight-day period, and at most, two credit cards in a 65-day period. That means if you have already been approved for two Citi credit cards in a 65-day period, you'll need to wait if you plan on applying for the Double Cash card.
The Citi 48-Month Rule
It used to be that you had to wait a full 24 months from when you closed the Double Cash card in order to be eligible to apply and earn a bonus again, but that's no longer the case. The wait is longer now, and what really matters is that it's been at least 48 months since you last earned a bonus.
In fact, the terms specifically state that bonus ThankYou Points are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi Double Cash account in the prior 48 months.
The Citi 5-Day Rule
While it's far from confirmed, Frequent Miler recently reported that Citi has been auto-declining applications if you've had a hard pull done from any bank in the previous five days. In these cases, the stated decline reason is “too many inquiries” – but in reality, Citi is only taking inquiries from the prior five days into consideration.
Bottom Line
Citi is back with its best-ever bonus offer on the Citi Double Cash® Card. With the current offer, you can earn 20,000 Citi ThankYou points after spending $1,500 in the first six months of card membership. These 20,000 points can be redeemed for $200 cash back … or much more if you use them towards travel.
This is a truly great offer on one of our favorite no-annual fee cards – if it's been on your radar, now's the time to apply.
Learn more about the Citi Double Cash® Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
Would you clarify/provide details:
‘and a better return if you choose to use these ThankYou points towards travel.’
If I missed it, I apologize.
Hi Joey,
If you redeem them for cash back, they will always be worth one cent each. If you use them with the Citi ThankYou transfer partners, you can get much more value out of them.