Citi Double Cash® Card review: A first-class card for flat-rate cash back and balance transfers

The Double Cash Card is a great choice for easy rewards. But the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card is hard to beat if you want the top value for your purchases. It offers a flat rate of 2.5 percent cash back on all qualifying purchases, up to $10,000 each billing cycle, then 1.5 percent. This generous spending limit beats most other rewards cards with spending caps, and the average spender likely won’t have to worry about hitting that limit in a month.

The Alliant Cashback card is also easier on fees than Double Cash Card with late and returned payment fees are only up to $27.

The main downside to the Alliant card is the effort it takes to earn and maintain that high flat rate. You’ll have to join the Alliant Credit Union, opt into eStatements, receive one electronic deposit per month and maintain an average daily balance of $1,000 in an eligible checking account to keep your 2.5 percent cash back rate. It also doesn’t have short-term benefits like a sign-up bonus or an intro APR offer. But compared to other flat-rate cards that max out at 2 percent cash back, the value you get from the Alliant card could easily make up for its shortcomings.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card is often considered the best flat-rate card on the market. Unlike the Citi Double Cash, the Active Cash earns a full 2 percent cash rewards on purchases without requiring you to pay your bill first (the Double Cash only earns 1 percent until your balance is paid). 

The Active Cash also has great short-term value. It offers a welcome bonus and a long intro APR offer for purchases and qualifying balance transfers, letting you make interest-free payments on new purchases and any qualifying balance transfers for up to 12 months from account opening (then 19.49%, 24.49%, or 29.49% Variable APR thereafter).

If your main focus is paying off debt and you need more time to pay it off, the Double Cash Card’s longer intro offer on balance transfers is a better choice. But the Active Cash card’s intro offer for purchases and qualifying balance transfers makes it more versatile.

The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card can be an excellent source of additional cash back or travel rewards, depending on how you redeem your points. It earns 3X points in a great mix of everyday spending and travel categories, plus 10X points on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com. It also includes an annual $100 statement credit on eligible hotel stays of $500 or more through the Citi Travel portal (excluding taxes and fees). This perk alone can offset the card’s $95 annual fee.

Based on Bankrate’s latest point valuations, Citi ThankYou points are worth around 1.6 cents each on average when you transfer to a high-value travel partner from the Premier card. If you have both cards, each purchase with the Double Cash could earn roughly 3 cents in rewards value if you transfer your points to the right Citi travel partner (2 points per dollar at a redemption value of 1.6 cents per point). Together, the Citi Strata Premier and Double Cash form one of the best credit card combinations available. 

The Citi Double Cash is an excellent fit if you want a low-maintenance card that makes earning and redeeming rewards easy. 

This card’s unlimited flat rewards rate can make it a lucrative standalone option and a great starting point if you have a fair credit score and are ready to enter the world of rewards. You won’t have to worry about tracking categories or quarterly spending, and the Double Cash could pair well with almost any other rewards card you may get in the future.

Transferring debt to a card offering an intro APR on balance transfers can be wise if your interest is growing out of hand. However, many balance transfer cards offer limited long-term value after the intro APR period.

Fortunately, the Citi Double Cash offers an intro APR offer on balance transfers longer than many competing cards and provides plenty of long-term value with its excellent flat-rate rewards.

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Based on this data, we determine a “chargeable” spend (which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards). This includes the following spending by category:

• Groceries: $5,200
• Dining out: $3,000
• Entertainment: $2,500
• Gas: $2,100
• Apparel and services: $1,700

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 23 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance.

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards.

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value.

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee.

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score.

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners.

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less-than-standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits.
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges.
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection.
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs.
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

The Citi Double Cash Card is one of the best no-annual-fee cards that earn flat-rate cash back. If you want a straightforward card or spend in categories that don’t typically earn bonuses, the Citi Double Cash Card is more than worth it. However, if you need a card for other financial reasons, there are plenty of options to consider. 

For the best chance to qualify for the Citi Double Cash Card, you'll want a fair to excellent credit score (a 580 to 850 FICO score or a 601 to 850 VantageScore).

If you want to gauge your approval odds before applying, check out Bankrate’s CardMatch™ tool.

Most purchases earn cash back, but Citi notes that items you return for credit, balance transfers, cash advances, interest and account fees aren't eligible for cash back. You should read your credit card's terms carefully to be sure, but gambling purchases and convenience checks likely won’t earn rewards.

The Citi Double Cash Card was upgraded to a World Elite Mastercard in late 2020. That means you’ll receive the highest tier of Mastercard benefits, including luxury hotel perks and exclusive deals with subscription services like DoorDash and Lyft.