The Citi Double Cash earns 2% on every purchase, but not all at once. You get 1% when you buy and the other 1% when you pay the bill, so the card rewards people who pay what they charge. It has no annual fee, a $200 cash back bonus after $1,500 in purchases in the first six months, and 0% on balance transfers for 18 months.
I read every figure in this Citi Double Cash review on October 9, 2026: Citi's own card page, its pricing details, the card's ThankYou Rewards terms and the ThankYou transfer listing, plus Wells Fargo's page for the Active Cash. Below: how the 2% actually lands, the welcome offer and who can't get it, the fees and APRs, what the "cash back" really is (ThankYou points), how it compares with the Wells Fargo Active Cash, and who should skip it.
Quick Summary
Best For: People who pay their balance in full and want one card that earns the same rate everywhere.
Standout Benefit: 2% on all purchases with no categories to enroll in and no cap, plus 5% on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Citi Travel.
Biggest Drawback: A 3% fee on foreign purchases, and the 0% intro APR covers balance transfers only, not purchases.
Current Offer: $200 cash back after $1,500 in purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. Apply for the Citi Double Cash.
How the 2% Works
Citi splits the rate in two. At the end of each billing cycle you earn 1 ThankYou point per $1 of purchases. You earn another ThankYou point for every $1 you pay toward that purchase balance.
The second half runs through what Citi calls the Purchase Tracker, a running figure on your statement. Purchases add to it, and your eligible payments draw it down. You earn payment points only up to the balance in the tracker, and once it reaches $0, payments earn nothing until you make more purchases.
Two rules decide whether you see the full 2%. First, pay at least the minimum on time: Citi's terms say that if you miss a Minimum Payment Due by the first day of your next billing cycle, you don't earn points on that cycle's purchases unless you bring the account current.
Second, only purchases count. Balance transfers, cash advances, gift card loads, person-to-person payments, money orders, lottery tickets and fees all earn nothing.
Say you charge $1,000 in a month and pay it off. That's 1,000 points for the purchases and 1,000 more for the payment. The redemption rate below turns that into $20. There's no category to activate and Citi says there's no cap on what you can earn.
The 5% on Citi Travel
The card earns 3 more points per $1 on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel, at cititravel.com or by phone at 1-833-737-1288. Add the 1 point for the purchase and the 1 point for paying it, and Citi's total is 5 points per $1.
If you pay for a booking partly with points, only the part you charge to the card earns, and canceled bookings earn nothing.
The Welcome Offer
Citi's page shows $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. It's paid as bonus ThankYou points, and Citi says bonus points can take one to two extra billing cycles to post.
There's a 48-month rule. You can't get the bonus if you received a new account bonus on a Double Cash in the past 48 months, or if you converted another Citi card that earned a new account bonus in that window into a Double Cash. Citi also says the offer may not be available if you leave the page and may differ where else the card is offered, so check the figure on the page you apply from.
Fees and APRs
There's no annual fee and no authorized user fee. The rest comes from Citi's pricing details on October 9, 2026.
Purchases carry a variable APR of 18.49% to 28.74%, based on your creditworthiness. Balance transfers get 0% for 18 months from account opening if you complete them within 4 months of opening, then the same 18.49% to 28.74% variable APR. The balance transfer fee is 3% ($5 minimum) in those first 4 months and 5% ($5 minimum) after.
Cash advances carry a 29.99% variable APR and a fee of $10 or 5%, whichever is greater. A late or returned payment can trigger a penalty APR of up to 29.99%, and Citi's terms list a fee of up to $41 for each. Foreign purchases cost 3% of the U.S. dollar amount.
The balance transfer offer comes with a catch Citi spells out on the card page. The intro APR doesn't apply to purchases, and if you carry a transferred balance, you'll pay interest on new purchases unless you pay your entire balance, transfers included, by the due date each month.
So don't run a balance transfer and your daily spending on the same card. Say you move $5,000 in the first four months: the 3% fee is $150, and new purchases start accruing interest at the purchase APR unless you clear the whole balance each month. Keep the Double Cash for the transfer and put purchases on another card until it's paid off.
The Cash Back Is ThankYou Points
Citi pays the Double Cash's rewards as ThankYou points. Citi's example is 10,000 points for a $100 statement credit, a $100 direct deposit or a $100 check. There's no minimum for a statement credit or a direct deposit, and a check needs at least $5. Gift cards, travel and Shop with Points at Amazon are also options, though Citi says redemption values vary depending on how you redeem.
Points you earn with the card don't expire, per the ThankYou terms. If you close the card yourself, the terms give you 90 days to use the points it earned, so redeem before you cancel.
Transfers to Airline Partners
Because the rewards are ThankYou points, the Double Cash can also move them to Citi's airline and hotel partners. The rate depends on which card you hold, and Citi prints both on the partner tiles. On October 9, 2026, the AAdvantage tile read 1,000 points to 700 AAdvantage miles for the Double Cash, and 1,000 to 1,000 for the Citi Strata Elite, Citi Strata Premier and Prestige. The Flying Blue tile showed the same 700 and 1,000.
That's the trade-off to know before you transfer: the same points that cash out at Citi's 10,000-for-$100 rate move to an airline at the lower rate on this card. If transfers are why you want ThankYou points, read our Citi ThankYou transfer partners guide and our Citi Strata Premier review before choosing.
Benefits Beyond the Earn Rate
The Double Cash is a Mastercard, and the benefits list is short. You get $0 liability on unauthorized charges, plus Citi Quick Lock in the app to block new charges if you misplace the card. Extended warranty is included, with secondary coverage from New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG company.
Citi also lists Citi Entertainment presale access, free FICO Score access and Mastercard ID Theft Protection, which you enroll in yourself. Citi Flex Pay splits eligible purchases of $75 or more into fixed monthly payments, and Citi's terms say you still earn points on the original purchase amount.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- 2% on all purchases with no categories, no enrollment and no cap.
- No annual fee, so there's no break-even to clear.
- 18 months at 0% on balance transfers made in the first 4 months.
- Rewards are ThankYou points, so cash, travel and partner transfers are all on the table.
Cons
- Half the 2% depends on paying, so a carried purchase balance earns at half speed while it accrues interest.
- 3% foreign purchase fee makes it a poor card to use abroad.
- No intro APR on purchases.
- AAdvantage and Flying Blue transfers run at 1,000 points to 700 miles, against 1,000 to 1,000 on the Strata Premier and Strata Elite.
How the Double Cash Compares
Wells Fargo Active Cash. Wells Fargo's page on October 9, 2026 showed the same unlimited 2% on purchases with no annual fee, and Wells Fargo pays it as cash rewards rather than points. Its welcome offer read $100 after $500 in purchases in the first 3 months, and its 0% intro APR covers purchases and qualifying balance transfers for 12 months.
It adds cell phone protection of up to $600 with a $25 deductible. It also charges 3% on foreign transactions.
The Active Cash fits if you want a purchase intro APR or phone coverage. The Double Cash fits if you want the longer 18-month balance transfer window, the bigger bonus, or a path to airline miles. Our Active Cash review has the detail.
Citi Strata Premier. It's one of the cards that transfers ThankYou points at the full rate. If you already hold one, the Double Cash is the everyday 2% card next to it; our Citi Trifecta guide covers how Citi's cards fit together.
For the wider field, see our flat-rate cash back cards compared and our no-annual-fee wallet strategy.
Who Should Get the Citi Double Cash
Great Fit For:
- People who pay in full every month and want one rate on everything that doesn't fit a bonus category.
- Anyone with a balance to move who can keep new purchases off the card until the transfer is paid.
- People who book hotels and rental cars through a portal anyway and would take 5 points per $1 on them.
Not Ideal For:
- Anyone who carries a purchase balance. You'd earn the 1% on purchases but pay interest on what you haven't paid.
- Travelers abroad, because of the 3% foreign purchase fee.
- Anyone who's had a Double Cash bonus in the past 48 months, since the $200 isn't available to you.
Final Verdict
If you pay your card in full and want 2% on everything with no fee, the Citi Double Cash does that job, and the $200 bonus after $1,500 in six months is worth taking. If you're moving a balance, it gives you 18 months at 0%, as long as you put your spending on another card meanwhile. If you'd rather have a 0% period on new purchases or cell phone coverage, the Wells Fargo Active Cash is the better fit.
If you're after airline miles first, start with the Citi Strata Premier or Strata Elite and add the Double Cash beside it. Check the offer on Citi's page and apply for the Citi Double Cash if it fits.
