Citi Custom Cash(SM) Card vs. Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card

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Many credit cards offer 5% cash back in select categories. Sometimes these categories rotate quarterly, but some cards just pay you 5% cash back in the category where you spend the most money. Two options for 5% cash back are the Citi Custom Cash® Card and Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card. We compare these cards so you can decide which one is right for you, or if you want to apply for both.

Welcome Offer

Citi Custom Cash® Card: Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back. Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card does not have a welcome offer at this time, so this is an easy win for Citi.

Cash Back Rewards

Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card offers 5% cash back on quarterly rotating categories. You do need to sign up and activate your category of choice, so if you’re not going to remember to activate anything, this might not be the card for you. The 5% cash back categories for October through December are Amazon.com and Target purchases. January through March of 2024 feature restaurants and drug stores.

Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card also offers a unique bonus: cash back match. You get a dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you earn through your first year of card membership. You are limited to $1,500 in purchases per quarter for the 5% category, so if you max out your 5% category every quarter, you can earn at least $300 cash back for the year. If you double that, for the cash back match, that’s at least $600 in cash back in your first year. That’s certainly a nice windfall.

Citi Custom Cash® Card may appeal more if you’re looking for a no-fuss card. You earn 5% on your top eligible spend category, and you don’t have to sign up or activate anything. Cash back is earned in the form of ThankYou points, which can be redeemed as a statement credit, direct deposit or a check. Categories you can earn cash back on in include: restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select streaming, select transit, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment.

Here are the details for each card:

Citi Custom Cash® Card 

Rewards:

Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card 

Rewards:

Rates and Fees

Both cards are offering 0% APR as an introductory rate. Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card offers 0% on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months months. After this, your rate will be 17.24% to 28.24% variable, depending on your creditworthiness.

Citi Custom Cash® Card also offers 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months. After that, your rate will be 19.24% - 29.24% variable, depending on your creditworthiness.

Neither card has an annual fee. Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card does not have a foreign transaction fee, whereas the Citi card does: 3%. If you’re traveling internationally, the Discover card is a better choice.

Who the Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card is Best For

Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card is a great card for anyone who wants 5% cash back for no annual fee. The only drawback is that you have to remember to activate the category each quarter. You also get the cash back match for the first year, so even though the card doesn’t have a signup bonus per se, you do get a nice bonus at the end of your first year of membership. And there are no foreign transaction fees, so this card is a great choice for international travel. This is also a great card if you need to make a big purchase or a balance transfer since there’s a 0% intro APR.

Who the Citi Custom Cash® Card is Best For

If you’re anything like me, you are going to forget to activate your preferred category each quarter. If you don’t want to fuss with activating a category every three months, the Citi Custom Cash® Card makes it very easy. You don’t have to do anything but reap your rewards. And you get a signup bonus as well, which is nice. It’s not the best choice for international travel because of the foreign transaction fees, but this is a great card for most consumers. It’s also a great choice if you need to make a big purchase or a balance transfer.

Does it make sense to get both cards?

Like peanut butter and jelly, the Citi Custom Cash® Card and the Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card cards are perfect together. You can sign up for your preferred category to earn 5% with the Discover it card, and use the Citi card to earn 5% on something else. You could use the Citi card for groceries most months, and then switch to Discover when groceries are a 5% earning category and use the Citi card for dining or gas or whatever else you want. Neither card has an annual fee, and these cards complement each other well.

Approval Odds

The credit score data provided for some of the cards listed below comes from publicly available information in several forums. The accuracy of the information cannot be verified. Keep in mind that credit card issuers consider more than an applicant’s credit score and that underwriting standards change over time.

Citi Custom Cash® Card

Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card

The Discover card has more approvals for scores in the 600s than the Citi card, so if you’re working on your credit, apply for the Discover card. But either card is a good choice, so if you have excellent credit, the choice is up to you.