The Citi Custom Cash Card is an excellent choice if you want to concentrate spending in a flexible high-spending category each billing cycle for maximum rewards. Plus, you can earn a welcome bonus with a reasonable return on the amount you're required to spend. It also has a solid intro APR period for both purchases and balance transfers.
You can also double your point value on earnings, giving you even more reason to use this card for everyday expenses like groceries or gas.
Welcome offer: Lengthy timeframe to earn bonus
New cardholders can earn $200 cash back after spending $1,500 in purchases in the first six months, which comes in the form of 20,000 ThankYou points.
Although the Citi Custom Cash card’s spending requirement may be difficult for some spenders, an offer worth $200 is on par with the sign-up bonuses on the most popular cash back cards and you get quite a bit of time to meet the spend requirement.
However, the current $1,500 spending requirement is double the card’s previous offer and higher than competing no-annual-fee cash back cards.
Here’s how the Citi Custom Cash card’s bonus stacks up with competing rewards cards based on return on spend:
Chase Freedom Flex® |
Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening |
First 3 months |
40% |
Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card |
Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening |
First 3 months |
40% |
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card |
$200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening. |
First 90 days |
20% |
U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card |
$200 bonus after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening. |
First 120 days |
20% |
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. |
First 6 months |
13.33% |
While the return on spend is on the lower end, you do get a considerable period of time to earn the bonus which can deter overspending.
Intro APR: Save on interest for the long run
Like many no-annual-fee cash back cards, the Citi Custom Cash offers a solid intro APR on new purchases and balance transfers — making it a great option if you need to transfer your balance to Citi.
Besides being an effective balance transfer card, the Citi Custom Cash doubles as a somewhat low-interest credit card thanks to its 19.24 percent to 29.24 percent variable ongoing APR. This interest rate is reasonable for a rewards card, with its low-end APR slightly below the current average interest rate.
Rewards: Earn elevated cash back within a wide variety of categories
The Citi Custom Cash earns 5 percent cash back on up to $500 (then 1 percent back) of purchases in your top eligible spending category each billing cycle, plus unlimited 1 percent on all other purchases. The 10 eligible categories that earn you 5 percent rewards are:
A pro tip to maximize your rewards is to pay for all your subscriptions or big expenses in a given category in a single billing cycle. For example, paying for all of your fitness club memberships in full in January, renewing your annual transit passes in February and booking all of your summer travel in March means you could earn more cash back on a wider variety of purchases across the year’s billing cycles. Additionally, through 6/30/2025 you can earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal.
Redemption options: The unique chance to almost double your point value
The Citi Custom Cash offers well-rounded redemption options. You can redeem ThankYou points for cash back in the form of a direct deposit, check or statement credit, but your points must equal at least $5 in cash back to redeem for a check. Alternatively, you can redeem your points for gift cards, booking travel through Citi or eligible purchases on Amazon via Shop with Points.
Since you earn ThankYou points instead of automatic cash back, your point value varies depending on the redemption choice. The Custom Cash card’s cash back redemption options will get you a value of 1 cent per point. You’ll also get 1 cent per point for gift card redemptions and travel bookings through Citi.
But if you pool points with other Citi cards, Bankrate’s latest point valuation estimates that your points may be worth around 1.6 cents each on average through certain Citi airline or hotel transfer partners. This estimation means transferring your 20,000-point sign-up bonus to the right transfer partner could increase its value to about $320.
Rates and fees: No annual fee means no yearly cost
While the rates and fees on this card are typical, there's no cost to carrying this card since there's no annual fee. With no yearly cost, an annual fee won't eat into any rewards you might earn either.