How I Use Citi Double Cash To Maximize My Cash-Back Earnings – Forbes Advisor – Technologist

The Citi Double Cash® Card is a great starter card for anyone interested in earning cash back or travel rewards. Since I won’t get the full 2% cash back until I’ve paid for my purchases, the rewards structure on the Citi Double Cash encourages me to pay off my balances so I can maximize my cash-back earnings as quickly as possible.

When you earn cash back with the Citi Double Cash you are technically earning Citi ThankYou® points. Those Citi ThankYou Points earned from the Citi Double Cash are valued at one cent per point when redeemed for cash-back rewards.

If I make $250 in purchases, I will earn the initial 1% cash back at the end of the billing cycle. This will be earned in the form of 250 Citi ThankYou® points which can be redeemed for $2.50 in cash-back rewards. If I pay the full statement balance at the end of the next billing cycle, I will double my rewards and earn another 1% cash back (another 250 ThankYou points). You must make at least the minimum payment by the payment due date to earn rewards.

I use my Citi Double Cash® Card when I cannot earn a category bonus with another one of my credit cards. You won’t see me pulling out my Citi Double Cash® Card at a supermarket. I’d rather get 3 points per dollar using my Citi Strata Premier℠ Card. But I will use my Citi Double Cash when I shop at the farmer’s market since those merchants usually are not categorized to earn any bonus points on my other cards. Since both cards earn ThankYou points, I can pool those earnings together into one rewards balance.

I also like to use my Citi Double Cash® Card for department store shopping or unexpected vet visits since none of my current credit cards offer a category bonus for those purchases. One major benefit of the Double Cash is that there are no caps or category restrictions. Most of my other credit cards have limits to the number of bonus points I can earn in certain categories.

Limited-Time Offer for Citi Travel Bookings

For a limited time, the Citi Double Cash earns 5% total cash back on select purchases made through Citi Travel. Through December 31, 2024, the Citi Double Cash® Card will earn an additional 3% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through the Citi Travel portal on top of the total 2% you’ll already earn using the card (after purchases are paid off). Unfortunately, flights are not included in this bonus.

Although I enjoy the simplicity of a basic double cash-back credit card without worrying about special category bonuses, I won’t pass up on 5% cash back when it makes sense to use Citi Travel. I generally like to compare Citi Travel’s rates with other sites and direct bookings to make sure the price is right. I also won’t use it for car rentals since the Citi Double Cash® Card does not offer any car rental insurance benefits.

There are a few different ways to use Citi ThankYou points with the Citi Double Cash card for cash-back rewards. My favorite option is to redeem my rewards as a direct deposit. You can redeem as little as 1 Citi ThankYou® point for a $0.01 direct deposit into an eligible checking or savings account. To redeem your Citi ThankYou® points for cash back, go to www.thankyou.com or call the ThankYou Service Center at 1-800-THANKYOU.

Another option is to redeem for a statement credit. You can redeem any denomination of Citi ThankYou® points as a statement credit applied to your account. The last cash redemption option is to redeem for a check by mail. This requires a minimum redemption of 5,000 Citi ThankYou® points for a $5 check payable to you.

There are other redemption options with the Citi Double Cash® Card.

“Shop with Points” allows you to redeem your points at select retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, PayPal, and a few others. Some of these retailers let you redeem your points for your purchases in-store, while others are only available online.

For example, you can redeem 1,250 Citi ThankYou points at CVS for $10 of eligible purchases. Note that this devalues your points since you could just as easily redeem 1,000 Citi ThankYou points for $10 cash back.

You can also redeem your points for gift cards from over 100 retailers and the value is generally comparable to redeeming for cash back. For example, you can redeem 2,500 points for a $25 gift card from retailers like Airbnb and GameStop, or 1,000 points for a $10 gift card from Target or Roblox.

Many retailers regularly offer 10% off their gift card redemptions. When a brand like Apple or DoorDash offers this sale, you can redeem 2,250 points for a $25 gift card. That’s a better value than cash-back redemptions.

Another option for redeeming Citi ThankYou® points earned with the Citi Double Cash® Card is to donate them to charity.

The Citi ThankYou network lists eight different charitable organizations, including UNICEF USA and World Central Kitchen where you can redeem as little as 1,000 points for a $10 charitable contribution. You will receive a written charitable contribution letter that you can use during tax time.

It’s possible to transfer your Citi ThankYou® points earned with the Citi Double Cash® Card to a few Citi transfer partners. However, the transfer partner options are limited and the transfer rates are poor compared to the 1:1 transfer rates of other cards.

With the Citi Double Cash® Card, you can transfer your Citi ThankYou points to JetBlue TrueBlue at a 1:0.8 ratio, Choice Privilege Rewards at a 1:1.5 ratio, and Wyndham Rewards at 1:0.8 ratio. These rates are inferior compared to other ThankYou point-earning cards like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card.

Since I also own the Citi Strata Premier, the ThankYou points I earn with my Citi Double Cash® Card can be pooled with it. This opens the door to accessing a greater number of transfer partners and a much better transfer rate for my ThankYou points.

I love the simplicity of a 2% credit card to use at retailers that don’t fall under typical bonus categories. The Citi Double Cash, specifically, also encourages me to use my credit card responsibly by doubling the rewards after making payments for my purchases.

I like the easy-to-attain welcome offer on this card, plus the limited-time bonus categories on select travel categories made on the Citi Travel portal. The cash redemption options are straightforward and accessible, with at least one option not requiring a minimum redemption.

I avoid Pay with Points, but I would consider redeeming my points for gift cards when there is a sale. I especially like that I can combine my points with other Citi ThankYou® accounts like the Citi Strata Premier to expand and enhance my points transfer options. Overall, I think the Citi Double Cash® Card is a solid cash-back card that I’m happy to have in my wallet.