Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer vs. Citi Custom Cash

Cash back credit cards are incredibly popular, and for good reason. Cash back is like a bonus in your pocket every month, but not all cards give out their cash back rewards the same way. Here are two cash back card from Citi: Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer and the Citi Custom Cash card. We compare them so you can decide which card suits you better.

Welcome Bonus

Citi Custom Cash Card offers $200 when you spend $1,500 in the first 6 months. This is a nice bonus for a modest spend, and you get six months to achieve it.

Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer is not offering a signup bonus at this time. The Citi Custom Cash Card gets the edge here.

Cash Back Rewards

Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer is very straightforward: you earn an unlimited 1% cash back when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay the bill. No categories, no limits, and nothing to sign up for. Cash back rewards are distributed in the form of ThankYou points, which can be redeemed for a statement credit, direct deposit, or a mailed check.

Citi Custom Cash Card offers 5% cash back on whatever category you spend the most money each month. Many other cards offer 5% cash back on rotating categories, but with the Citi Custom Cash Card, there are no rotating categories. Citi simply gives you 5% cash back automatically on the category you spend the most on, up to $500 spent per billing cycle. That means you can earn up to $25 cash back each month. Eligible categories include:

restaurants
gas stations
grocery stores
select travel
select transit
select streaming services
drugstores
home improvement stores
fitness clubs
live entertainment

There’s nothing to figure out, making this a low-maintenance, easy-keeper card.

On the other hand, you are limited to the $500 spend each month, after which you’ll earn 1% cash back. Which card is best for you depends on your spending habits. You’ll need to crunch some numbers to figure out which card will allow you to redeem the most cash back.

Here are the details for each card:

Citi Custom Cash Card

Rewards:

5% cash back

Select Categories

Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter.

1% cash back

On all other purchases

Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer

Rewards:

2% cash back

All eligible purchases

Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.

Rates and Fees

Citi Custom Cash Card offers a 0% introductory rate on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months. After that, your rate will be 18.24% - 28.24% variable, depending on your creditworthiness.

Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer offers a 0% introductory rate on balance transfers only for the first 18 months. After that, your rate will be 18.24% - 28.24% variable, depending on creditworthiness.

Neither card has an annual fee, and they both have the same foreign transaction fee: 3% of each purchase transaction in US dollars. If you’re trying to get out of debt by transferring higher-interest credit card balances, then the Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer card gives you an extra three months to pay it off. If you’re planning a major purchase, then you can take advantage of the Citi Custom Cash Card 0% APR on purchases.

Who the Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer is Best For

This is a great card and one of our favorites at Allcards.com. You get unlimited 2% cash back on everything you purchase with no restrictions or caps. This is an especially great deal if you pay your balance every month. This card also has one of the longer balance transfer periods available, you can transfer that debt to this card and get the 0% APR for 18 months. This will help you get out of debt faster.

One quirk to this card is that if you take your cash back rewards as a statement credit, Citi doesn’t consider that a valid form of payment, so you won’t earn the second 1%. If you redeem your rewards in the form of a check or direct deposit, you can use that money to pay Citi and you will get the second 1%.

Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer was one of the first cards to offer 2% cash back, but now there are others. One to consider is the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card. This card also pays 2% cash back, there’s no annual fee, and you can earn $200 when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months.

Who the Citi Custom Cash Card Best For

This is also a great card that doesn’t require you to sign up for a particular category every quarter. That’s especially valuable if your spending habits change every month or are hard to predict. And you can take advantage of the 0% APR on purchases to make a large purchase. You could also transfer balances, but you only get 15 months to pay those off, so the Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer is a better option for transfers.

If you want another option for a 5% cash back card and don’t mind signing up for a category each quarter, the Chase Freedom Flex(SM) is a great choice. There’s no annual fee, but you do have to remember to choose a 5% category every quarter. You also get elevated cash back rewards for everyday purchases, like 3% cash back on dining and at drugstores.

Does It Make Sense to Get Both Cards?

Since neither card has an annual fee, you could easily use the Citi Custom Cash Card for a reward category you spend up to $500 in and then use the Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer for everything else. This would give you the best of both worlds, plus you get the welcome bonus from the Custom Cash. They complement each other very 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® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer

App Status	Date	Credit Score	Bureau	Credit Limit
Approved	08/15/2020	749	Equifax	$7,000
Approved	05/12/2021	690	Equifax	$6,100
Approved	07/25/2022	690	Not Provided	$2,400
Approved	08/26/2022	772	Equifax	$5,000
Approved	04/26/2020	752	Equifax	$13,800
Denied	09/02/2014	710	Experian	---
Denied	06/16/2017	752	Experian	---
Denied	09/06/2020	777	Equifax	---
Denied	06/13/2021	630	Equifax	---
Denied	04/06/2016	607	Equifax	---
Denied	09/17/2015	737	Experian	---

Citi Custom Cash Card

App Status	Date	Credit Score	Bureau	Credit Limit
Approved	06/10/2021	724	Experian	$7,800
Approved	06/10/2021	728	Equifax	$7,800
Approved	06/10/2021	792	Experian	$8,000
Approved	06/10/2021	813	TransUnion	$6,500
Approved	06/12/2021	809	Experian	$11,600
Approved	06/10/2021	809	Equifax	$6,500
Approved	06/10/2021	783	TransUnion	$3,400
Approved	06/14/2021	714	Experian	$3,500
Approved	06/13/2021	759	Experian	---
Denied	06/10/2021	810	Equifax	---

Since both cards are issued by the same bank, approval odds are pretty similar. It appears from our data that the Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer will consider lower credit scores, but lenders take a lot of different factors into account when extending credit.