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Review: Is the Citi Custom Cash card the best credit card for you?
There are lots of excellent cash-back credit cards on the market, and they all earn rewards in slightly different ways. Some cards earn a flat rate of cash back on all purchases or extra rewards in fixed categories, and others have rotating bonus categories that change every quarter.
The new
The categories that qualify include common expenses that should appeal to just about everyone: restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment.
For a card with no annual fee, the
The
If you’re in the market for a 5% cash back card, the closest competitors to the
However, with the
Comparison: Citi Custom Cash vs other Citi cards
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Annual fee |
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Rewards rate |
5% cash back on up to $500 spent in your top eligible spending category* each billing cycle (then 1%) 1% cash back on all other purchases |
1% cash back when you buy, plus 1% cash back when you pay your bill |
3x points on air travel, gas stations, restaurants, supermarkets, and hotels 1 point per dollar on everything else |
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Welcome bonus |
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N/A |
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Card benefits |
Access to Citi Entertainment |
Access to Citi Entertainment |
$100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) booked through thankyou.com once per calendar year Purchase protection Extended warranty Access to Citi Entertainment |
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Introductory 0% APR offer |
0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months (then a |
0% intro APR on balance transfers for the first 18 months, then |
N/A |
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Foreign transaction fee |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
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Review |
*eligible 5% cash back categories on the
Comparison: Citi Custom Cash vs other cash-back credit cards
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Annual fee |
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Rewards rate |
5% cash back on up to $500 spent in your top eligible spending category* each billing cycle (then 1%) 1% cash back on all other purchases |
5% cash back (5x points) on travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards 5% cash back (5x points) on up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter in rotating bonus categories when you activate 3% cash back (3x points) on dining and drugstore purchases 1% cash back (1x points) on everything else |
5% cash back in categories that rotate each quarter on up to $1,500 in combined spending when you activate (then 1%) 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases |
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Welcome bonus |
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None, but Discover will dollar for dollar match all the cash back you earned after the first 12 months |
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Card benefits |
Access to Citi Entertainment |
Car rental insurance (secondary in the US, primary otherwise) Trip cancellation/interruption insurance Purchase protection Extended warranty Travel and emergency assistance services Free credit score |
Free FICO score No late payment fee on your first late payment (then up to $40) |
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Introductory 0% APR offer |
0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months (then a |
0% APR on purchases for the first 15 months, then a |
0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 14 months, then a |
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Foreign transaction fee |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
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Review |
*eligible 5% cash back categories on the
How to use rewards from the Citi Custom Cash card
The
You can also earn Citi ThankYou points indirectly with the
Read more: How to earn, redeem, and maximize Citi ThankYou points
Citi ThankYou points are incredibly versatile. With any Citi ThankYou card, you can redeem your points at a rate of 1 cent apiece in a number of ways:
- Statement credits
- Cash back in the form of a direct deposit
- Airfare, hotels, car rentals, and more through the Citi ThankYou travel portal
- Gift cards
- Mortgage or student loan payments
- Charity donations
You can also cash in points for merchandise by using them to pay at checkout with Amazon or PayPal, but you’ll get a relatively poor rate of just 0.8 cents per point when you redeem this way. A better bet would be to use your
Things get more lucrative if you also have the
Transferring points to partners to book award flights can get you a much higher value from your Citi ThankYou points, depending on the transfer partner and flight or route you book.
Citi Custom Cash card benefits and features
As you might expect from a no-annual-fee card, the
5% cash back in your highest spending category
The
That’s a good deal if you tend to change your spending habits from month to month. For example, one month you might do a lot of driving and have high fuel expenses, but the next you may stay closer to home and spend more on groceries.
In travel, transit, and streaming services categories, only certain types of purchases or merchants are eligible, but most typical spending is included:
- Select travel includes airline, hotel, cruise line, and travel agency purchases – however, timeshares, boat leases and rentals, campgrounds and trailer parks, and real estate agencies are excluded
- Select transit includes categories you might normally lump in with travel – car rentals, ferries, commuter railways, subways, taxis/limousines/car services, passenger railways, bridge and road tolls, parking lots/garages, bus lines, and motor home and recreational vehicle rentals are all eligible (bike/scooter rentals, auto clubs and insurance companies are not)
- Select streaming services span all of the major players, including Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, Apple Music, CBS All Access, Disney+, AT&T TV NOW, ESPN+, fuboTV, HBO Max, NBA League Pass, Netflix, Pandora, Showtime, Sling TV, Spotify, Starz, SiriusXM, Vudu, YouTube Red, YouTube TV, and Tidal
If you don’t have any other cards that earn a bonus in any of these categories, using the
Read more: The best travel rewards credit cards
Introductory 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers
If you have some big purchases coming up that you need to pay for over time, or already have credit card debt you want to consolidate, the
As long as you’re able to pay off your balance before the introductory APR expires, using a 0% APR credit card can help you save money on interest or get out of debt faster.
Citi Custom Cash card fees and costs
The
Read more: The best credit cards with no foreign transaction fees
Like other cards, the
Jasmin Baron is an associate editor at Personal Finance Insider, where she helps readers maximize rewards and find the best credit cards to fit their lifestyles. She has covered credit cards, points and miles, and loyalty programs for over seven years, and she’s a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF).
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