Posted by: John S Kiernan

Rating: 5 / 5

The Verdict:  As its commercials and name indicate, the Citi Double Cash Credit Card offers 1% cash back twice (once when you make a purchase and again when you pay your bill) and doesn’t detract from your earning potential with an annual fee. That might sound good, not great – especially when juxtaposed with offers for 5, 10, even 15 points or miles per dollar spent in certain categories – but it’s enough to make Double Cash the best cash back credit card on the market and one of the most rewarding cards overall, according to WalletHub research.

In other words, Citi (a WalletHub advertising partner) clearly has a blockbuster on its hands with this elegantly rewarding offer, which comes at no cost to qualified applicants and promotes responsible habits in an era of low financial literacy. So if you have excellent credit, don’t plan to carry a balance from month to month, and value everyday savings above travel rewards, make sure to vote Double Cash this year. It’s the best everyday rewards card that you can get, and your wallet will surely thank you!

The Highlights

• Clearly Lucrative Ongoing Rewards: The beauty of this offer is that while rewards are its calling card, there isn’t much explanation needed to convey the deal. Cardholders earn 1% cash back on what they spend and another 1% on what they pay. So if you charge $500 to your Citi Double Cash card in a given month and then pay off the entire balance by the due date, you will earn a total of $10 in cash back. If, on the other hand, you only pay half your balance by the due date, you’ll earn only $7.50.

  Again, these amounts don’t seem like much. But most people who have the credit standing needed to qualify for this card don’t spend just $500 per month. Someone who charges $3,000 to their card and pays their bill in full each month, for example, would accrue $720 in cash back over the course of a year. What’s more, in direct contrast to many points- and miles-based credit cards, cash back rewards cannot be devalued by issuers, and you won’t have to wait for a vacation that may be months away to benefit from redemption. Keep in mind, however, that you will not accrue earnings on interest payments – yet another reason to always pay in full!

• Lack Of Annual Fee Takes A Load Off Your Wallet (And Mind): Many of the best rewards credit cards require users to pay annual membership dues in return for their elevated earning rates. Citi’s Double Cash isn’t one of them. And that’s all you really need to know.

• Cash Back Redemption Flexibility: Cardholders may redeem cash back earnings in the following forms:
  • Check
  • Statement Credit
  • Gift Card
  • Direct Deposit to Citi Savings or Checking Account

The Lowlights

  There are three major fees to consider when reviewing any credit card offer, and Double Cash has eliminated the most important one. The other two fees, however, will inherently affect either the way in which you use this card or the amount it ultimately saves you.

• Where’s The Bonus? The Double Cash’s biggest weakness is its lack of a sign-up bonus. While many issuers front-load their offers to catch the eye of applicants in search of instant gratification, Citi appears to be interested in promoting long-term relationships with the new customers it acquires with this product. This is certainly something to take into account, considering how lucrative initial bonuses have become and their unclear staying power, but it’s also important to remember that an initial bonus’ value diminishes the longer you plan to keep your account open.

• Welcome Home To A Bill: Double Cash assesses a 3% surcharge on transactions processed internationally. While this is common among credit cards, it’s also a deal breaker if you regularly travel outside the U.S.  In such a case, both the Barclaycard Arrival Plus Card and the Capital One Venture Card would be good options.

• Redemption Is Not Without Restriction: Cash back earnings can only be redeemed once you’ve accrued at least $25.

Other Things To Consider

• Potential For A Very High Regular APR: If you get approved for the Citi Double Cash Card, you will be assigned a regular APR that could be as low as 13.99% or as high as 23.99%, depending on your creditworthiness. For context, the average credit card for people with the good credit needed to qualify for Double Cash charges 18.14%, according to our latest Credit Card Landscape Report, while the average card for people with fair credit charges 22%. That should underscore how important it is to always pay your monthly bill in full with a rewards card like Double Cash.

• Balance Transfer Fees Are Lurking: Don’t get tricked into using this card to reduce the cost of existing debt.  Despite offering 0% interest on transferred balances for the first 18 months, this card wasn’t built for finance-charge minimization. Its 3% balance transfer fee is proof of that and reason why you should opt for the Slate Card from Chase if you’re up to your neck in the red.

Compared To The Competition

We love Citi Double Cash because it offers the powerful duo of simplicity and great value. There are no bonus categories or annual fees to worry about. You just have to pay your bill in full every month, and you’ll receive a handsome reward for your trouble. That said, some people might be able to earn more with another card, particularly those who travel a lot. And Double Cash is unlikely to be the answer if you want to transfer a balance.

Keep that in mind as you consider the following breakdown of how Citi Double Cash compares to its most notable competitors, which just so happen to be the cream of the credit-card crop.

	Citi Double Cash	Capital One Quicksilver Credit Card	Chase Freedom Unlimited	Blue Cash Preferred	Barclaycard Arrival Plus	Citi Diamond Preferred	Chase Slate
Annual Fee	$0	$0	$0	$95	$89 ($0 the first year)	$0	$0
Initial Bonus	None	$100 for spending $500 in the first three months	$150 for spending $500 in the first three months	$150 for spending $1,000 within first 3 months	50,000 points for spending $3,000 in the first three months	None	None
Ongoing Rewards	1% back on purchases 1% back on corresponding monthly bill payments	1.5% back on all purchases	1.5% back on all purchases	6% back at supermarkets on up to $6,000 spent each year (then 1%) 3% back at gas stations 1% back on everything else	2 points per $1 spent on all purchases 5% travel-redemption bonus	None	None
2-Year Rewards*	$1,141	$956	$1,006	$965	$1,550	$0	$0
Intro Financing	0% on balance transfers for 18 months (3% transfer fee)	0% on purchases and balance transfers for 9 months (3% transfer fee)	0% on purchases & balance transfers for 15 months (5% transfer fee)	0% on purchases and transfers for 12 months	0% on balance transfers for 12 months (3% fee)	0% on purchases and balance transfers for 21 months (3% transfer fee)	0% on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months ($0 transfer fee for first 60 days; 5% after)
Regular APR	13.99% to 23.99%	13.49% to 23.49%	15.49% to 24.24%	13.49% to 23.49%	16.49% to 23.49%	12.49% to 22.49%	15.49% to 24.24%
Editors’ Rating	5 Stars	4.4 Stars	4.5 Stars	4.6 Stars	5 Stars	5 Stars	5 Stars
Winners	Cash Back                                Travel Rewards                                                       Citi Double Cash                 Barclaycard Arrival Plus				Balance Transfers      New-Purchase Financing                   Chase Slate             Citi Diamond Preferred

*Two-year rewards earnings are based on the $28,523 in annual expenses that the average consumer can pay for with a credit card, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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