Citi Double Cash review: One of the best cash-back cards has no annual fee, and more redemption options than you might realize

• The popular Citi® Double Cash Card lets you earn a flat 2% back on everything you buy - 1% when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay it off.
• This card also comes with no annual fee, making it a long-term "keeper card" for most people. Throw in the intro APR offer for balance transfers, and it's easy to see why people sign up.
• Citi recently announced that Citi Double Cash customers can convert their points to Citi ThankYou points. This opens up a whole new world of redemption possibilities for Citi Double Cash customers.
• See Business Insider's list of the best cash-back cards »

While there are many cash-back credit cards that give you 1.5% back on your spending without an annual fee, few surpass that earning threshold. That's why the Citi Double Cash card is so exceptional. This card gives you a flat 2% back on everything you buy - 1% when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay it off. This card doesn't charge an annual fee, either, so you can keep it for the long haul without paying for the privilege.

If getting 2% back without an annual fee sounds enticing, that's because it is. Still, there are more details to consider with this card outside of its earning rate. This review will break down the pros and the cons of this card as well as how it compares to other, similar offers.

Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which will far outweigh the value of any points or miles. It's important to practice financial discipline when using credit cards by paying your balances in full each month, making payments on time, and only spending what you can afford to pay back.

Citi Double Cash details

Annual fee: $0

Sign-up bonus: None

Rewards: Earn 2% back on everything you buy - 1% when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay it off

Intro APR: 0% APR on balance transfers for 18 months, followed by a variable APR of 15.49% to 25.49%
Redeem rewards for statement credits or convert to Citi ThankYou points

Citi Double Cash earning rate

As we mentioned already, the Citi Double Cash card offers an enticing earning rate for a cash-back card without an annual fee. This card gives you 2% back on everything you buy - 1% when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay it off. This rate will help you earn considerably more rewards over time when compared to other cash-back credit cards that give you just 1% or 1.5% back for each dollar you spend.

Citi Double Cash redemption options

The rewards you earn with the Citi Double Cash card can be used in more ways than you might think.

For starters, you can redeem rewards for a check, a statement credit, or a credit to your linked account once you have at least $25 in rewards in your account. But you can also convert your cash rewards points into Citi ThankYou points, which can be redeemed for travel, gift cards, merchandise, and more.

In an interesting twist, the Citi Double Cash card now lets you transfer converted Citi ThankYou points to one airline partner, JetBlue, at a reduced transfer ratio. If you also hold the Citi Prestige® Card or the Citi Premier℠ Card, however, you can combine your points and transfer them to all Citi's airline transfer partners, including Air France/Flying Blue, Aeromexico, and Etihad Guest.

Click here to learn more about the Citi Double Cash card »

Cardholder benefits

One potential downside of the Citi Double Cash card is the fact it's pretty light on cardholder benefits. In that respect, the introductory balance transfer offer is all this card has going for it.

Once you sign up, you'll qualify for 0% APR on balance transfers for a full 18 months, followed by a variable rate of 15.49% to 25.49%. A 3% balance transfer fee applies with a minimum charge of $5.

Read more: The best balance transfer cards for paying off debt

Citi Double Cash costs and fees

While the Citi Double Cash card doesn't charge an annual fee, there are plenty of fees to be aware of.

For example, you'll pay a 3% foreign transaction fee on all purchases you make outside the United States. If you're heading abroad, use a card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees instead.

You'll also pay a minimum interest charge of $0.50 whenever you carry a balance, and a 5% fee will apply (minimum $10) any time you use your credit card for a cash advance.

Also, consider the balance transfer fee we already mentioned, which is 3% (minimum $5) of each balance you transfer over.

How the Citi Double Cash compares to other cash-back cards

The Citi Double Cash card lets you earn generous rewards for every dollar you spend, but it may not be the perfect card for everyone. Let's see how it stacks up to a few comparable cash-back credit cards.

First up is the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which earns 1.5% cash back on every purchase, with no annual fee. That's a lower cash-back rate than the Citi Double Cash, but if you also have a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, you can transfer rewards over from the Freedom Unlimited and use them to book travel with Chase's partners. Unlike the Citi Double Cash, the Freedom Unlimited card offers a sign-up bonus. New cardholders can earn $150 after they spend $500 in the first three months.

Click here to learn more about the Chase Freedom Unlimited »

Another option is the Capital One® Savor® Rewards Credit Card, which has a $95 annual fee that's waived the first year. Unlike the Citi Double Cash and the Freedom Unlimited, this card offers bonus cash back on select spending categories. You'll earn 4% back on dining and entertainment, 2% back at grocery stores, and 1% back on everything else. You can redeem your earnings for cash back in any amount, and new cardholders can earn a $300 bonus after spending $3,000 within the first three months.

Click here to learn more about the Capital One Savor card »

You'll notice one big disadvantage with the Citi Double Cash Card: there's no sign-up bonus. With no initial bonus in the first few months, and that means you'll need to spend more on your card to earn the same amount of cash back over time.

Also note that, while the Citi Double Cash does give you 2% back, it doesn't have any specific bonus categories you could potentially maximize. If you spend a lot in certain categories like dining, groceries, or gas, you may want to consider pairing the Citi Double Cash with another card that helps you leverage the categories where you spend the most.

Consider pairing it with another Citi credit card

If you're also considering the Citi Premier or the Citi Prestige, it could be a smart move to have one of those cards along with the Citi Double Cash. This would make it possible to extract maximum value from your points, because pairing these cards opens the door to transfers to Citi airline partners, which can help you secure plenty of value when you go to book airfare.

If you travel often and want to leverage airline transfer partners as much as you can, this is an important factor to consider. But before applying, you should check out Citi's transfer partners to make sure they work for your travel plans. The following partners and transfer ratios (points to miles) apply:

Aeromexico (1:1)
Asia Miles (1:1)
Avianca (1:1)
Etihad Guest (1:1)
EVA Air (1:1)
Air France/Flying Blue (1:1)
JetBlue (1:1)
Jet Privilege (1:1)
Malaysia Airlines (1:1)
Qantas (1:1)
Qatar Airways (1:1)
Singapore Airlines (1:1)
Thai Airways (1:1)
Turkish Airlines (1:1)
Virgin Atlantic (1:1)

The bottom line

Now that Citi Double Cash cardholders can convert cash back to Citi ThankYou points, the card is considerably more valuable. The Citi ThankYou program lets you redeem your rewards for gift cards, merchandise, and even travel through the Citi ThankYou portal. If you don't like those options, however, you can also cash in your rewards for statement credits to spend however you want.

But no matter how you choose to redeem your rewards, it's hard to beat 2% back with no annual fee.

Click here to learn more about the Citi Double Cash card »

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Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.