So, if you’re looking for a card that can help you earn rewards on your everyday purchases, the Citi Custom Cash Card is a great choice.
In this review post, we’ll take a look at some of the benefits and drawbacks to the Citi Custom Cash Card that you should be aware of before you apply. This way, you can make an informed decision on whether or not this card is the right choice for your wallet.
What’s Ahead
- Key Highlight
- Pros and Cons
- Benefits of Citi Custom Cash Card
- Drawbacks and alternatives to consider
- What sets the Citi Custom Cash Card apart from other cards?
- Who is this card for?
First, here’s a key Highlight of the Citi Custom cash Credit Card.
- You’ll get a $200 bonus if you spend $750 within three months when you open an account.
- Earn 5% back on up to $500 in your top qualifying category each billing cycle, followed by 1% back. Restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement retailers, fitness gyms
- Get 1% back on purchases other than the top qualifying category.
- No annual fee
- It comes with a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, followed by a 13.99 percent to 23.99 percent variable rate.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- For a no-annual-fee card, you get a generous welcome bonus.
- You may earn 5% back up to specific limits with no sign-up necessary.
- No annual fee
- Purchases and balance transfers made in the first 15 months are eligible for a 0% financing offer.
Cons
- A 5% cashback bonus is not available after your first $500 purchases each billing cycle.
- Outside of the 5% bonus category, you’ll get just 1% cashback.
- There are no big cardholder benefits.
- A foreign transaction fee of 3% is applied.
- High balance transfer fee
Introduction
You can get a Citi Custom Cash Card. If you go to concerts, make home improvements, or have too many fitness club memberships or streaming service subscriptions, then this card might help you earn good rewards in categories that most cashback cards avoid. For its 5% cashback on the first $500 each month in an eligible top-earning category, this card may be one of the most useful.
In addition, you won’t have to do anything every 3 months, which is good. You can use the card for these things: restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores,…etc.
This card is good for people who don’t want to spend time looking for the best deal. The Citi Custom Cash Credit Card is great if you like to go shopping and don’t like spending too much time finding the best deals. With this card, you can get 5% cashback on your first $500 in bigger spend categories, like restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores. But it only works up to $500 each month! So if you spend more than $500 in a month on those things, you might not get the best deal.
However, if you’re someone who doesn’t want to fuss around with different cards and just wants one card that will give them a good return each month, this is the card for you! Just make sure that your spending falls within the categories that offer 5% back – otherwise, another card may be more beneficial for you.
Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits and drawbacks of this card.
Benefits of Citi Custom Cash Card ( Why you might want the Citi Custom Cash Card)
In this section, we’ll look at some of the benefits of the Citi Custom Cash Card.
1. Eligible for 5% cashback on the first $500 spent each month in select categories.
One of the main benefits of this card is that you can earn 5% cashback on your first $500 spent each month in select categories. This can be a great way to rack up rewards quickly, especially if you tend to spend a lot in certain categories.
For example, if you frequently go out to Fitness clubs or frequent the grocery store, you could earn a good amount of cashback each month with this card.
Here are the 10 fixed bonus categories for this card (they’re the same every month):
- Grocery stores.
- Restaurants.
- Gas stations.
- Streaming services.
- Drugstores.
- Home improvement stores.
- Fitness clubs.
- Select travel.
- Select transit.
- Live entertainment.
The Citi Custom Cash Card’s ability to earn lucrative ongoing rewards in broad and useful everyday spending categories makes it especially appealing, especially when considering the zero-annual fee.
Some comparable cards on the market offer 5% cashback in rotating bonus categories, but they typically don’t include as many categories as this card does. So if you’re looking for a good all-around card that will give you rewards for your everyday spending, the Citi Custom Cash Card may be a great option.
2.No annual fee.
Another benefit of this card is that it has no annual fee. This can be great for people looking to earn rewards on their spending without worrying about paying an annual fee every year.
3. Sign-up bonus.
This card also comes with a sign-up bonus, which can be a great way to earn extra rewards quickly. You can get $200 in cashback after spending $750 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. The $200 cashback is given in the form of ThankYou® Points, and you will get 20000 which can be redeemed for $200.
However, other cards on the market offer a higher sign-up bonus. For example, The Chase Freedom Unlimited card offers a $200 cash back bonus after you spend $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. So if you’re looking for a higher cashback bonus, that card may be a better option for you.
4.1% cashback on all other Spends.
The Citi Custom Cash Card offers 1% cashback on all other purchases. So if you’re someone who doesn’t like to spend too much time worrying about which card to use for which purchase, this can be a great option.
However, there are a lot of other cards that offer higher cashback rates on everyday purchases.
For example, the Citi Double Cash Card offers 2% cashback on all purchases – it doesn’t have rotating categories to worry about, either. So if you don’t want to worry about which card to use or if your spending falls outside one of the 10 fixed bonus categories for this card, you might want to consider taking a look at those other options as well.
5. 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers and purchases.
Another great benefit of this card is that it comes with a 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers and purchases. After that, the APR will be 13.99% – 23.99% (Variable). This can be a great way to save money on interest if you need to make a large purchase or transfer a balance from another card.
For instance, if you need to make a large purchase, you could transfer the balance to this card and pay it off over 15 months at 0% interest without having to worry about paying any interest on your purchases.
Read More : How old do you have to be to get a credit card with a parent?
Drawbacks and alternatives to consider. ( Why you might not want this card)
Here, we’ll take a look at some of the drawbacks you should consider before applying for the Citi Custom Cash Card.
1. Lower spending Limit for 5% Cashback.
The Citi Custom Cash Card gives you 5% on up to $500 spent in your highest-spending category per billing cycle, after which 1% back on all other spendings.
The U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card offers a higher spending limit for its 5% cashback category. It gives you 5% back on the first $2,000 spent in your choice of two categories each quarter. However, you need to select two categories in advance, which can be a drawback if you don’t know what your spending will look like.
2. 3% Foreign Transaction Fee.
Another potential drawback of this card is that it charges a 3% foreign transaction fee when you make purchases outside the U.S. If you travel abroad regularly or spend money on things bought over the internet from other countries, this may not be the best card for you.
A better option might be something like the Barclaycard CashForward World MasterCard, which doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fees whatsoever.
3. You’re confined to one bonus category.
As we mentioned earlier, the Citi Custom Cash Card comes with 10 fixed bonus categories. However, the 5% cashback is available on the highest -spending category per billing cycle, after which you’ll earn 1% back on all other spendings.
If your spending falls outside one of the 10 fixed bonus categories, then this card may not be the best option for you.
However, you can pair this card with another cashback card like the Citi Double Cash card, which offers 2% cashback on all purchases.
4. You need to have excellent credit.
Unfortunately, because this card comes with a high earnings potential, it comes with high minimum credit requirements – you’ll need at least excellent credit to qualify for this card.
Read More : Credit Cards or Debit? Advantages of Credit Cards Over Debit Cards
What sets the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card apart from other cards?
The Citi Custom Cash Card offers a few unique features that set it apart from other cards on the market. First, it comes with a 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers and purchases. This can be a great way to save money on interest if you need to make a large purchase or transfer a balance from another card.
Second, it offers 5% cashback on your highest -spending category per billing cycle, up to $500. This can be a great way to earn extra cashback on your regular spending. And lastly, it comes with 10 fixed bonus categories which means you don’t have to worry about rotating categories like some other cards require. All in all, the Citi Custom Cash Card is a great option for anyone who wants to earn cashback rewards with a high earnings potential, especially if they spend most of their money in one or two categories.
However, there are some alternative cards to consider before applying.
Citi® Double Cash Card Vs. Citi® Custom Cash℠ Card: Which is the Better Deal?
The Citi Double Cash Card and the Citi Custom Cash Card are great options for anyone looking to earn cashback rewards. The Citi Double Cash Card offers 2% cashback on all purchases, whereas the Citi Custom Cash Card offers 5% cashback on your highest-spending category per billing cycle, up to $500.
Which car is the better deal ultimately depends on how you spend your money. If most of your spending falls within one or two categories, then the Citi Custom Cash Card would be a better option since you’ll earn more rewards in those categories. However, if you spread your spending out among many different categories, then the Citi Double Cash Card would be a better option because you’ll earn the same amount of cashback no matter where you spend.
Either way, both cards offer great rewards to help you save money on your everyday purchases.
Who is this card for?
If you are someone who spends most of your money on groceries, gas, or other common expenses, the Citi Custom Cash Card could be a great option for you. It offers 5% cashback on your highest-spending category per billing cycle, up to $500. This can be a great way to earn extra cashback on your regular spending. And lastly, it comes with 10 fixed bonus categories which means you don’t have to worry about rotating categories like some other cards require.
Apart from that, you can pair this credit card with a Citi Double cashback card to get 2% cashback on all your purchases, making it more rewarding.
How to Redeem Rewards for Cash Back
One of the major advantages of the Citi Custom Cash Card: Your cashback is extremely flexible and adaptable. All rewards are given in Citibank ThankYou points which can be redeemed for many options. Here are the Redemption options include:
- Cashback: Redeem your points for a statement credit, which will be deposited into your Citi account.
- Direct deposit: Have your rewards deposited straight into your checking or savings account.
- Gift cards: Choose from a wide variety of gift cards that can be used at popular retailers and restaurants.
- Charity donations: Donate your points to a charity of your choice. ($25 minimum).
- Student loan or mortgage payments: Pay your loan or mortgage with points.
- You can also use your points to buy items in the Citi ThankYou Rewards catalog, such as electronics, sporting goods, or apparel.
Verdict:
The Citi Custom Cash Card is a perfect card for people who want to earn cashback on their everyday purchases and don’t like tracking bonus categories.
Plus, it’s got no annual fee and 0% APR for 15 months – making this an easy-to-use credit card that can save you money!
This might be the right card for you if you’re looking for more flexibility with your rewards or are tired of trying to keep up with all those quarterly bonuses.
If you have any questions about our Citi Custom Cash Card, please let us know! We’re ready and waiting to answer.
FAQ
How to Apply for the Citi Custom Cash Card
Is it hard to get Citi custom cash card?
How does the Citi custom cash card work?
The Citi Custom Cash Card can track your spending with its category bonuses, for example, if you spend $200 at a grocery store in January, you’ll earn 5% cash back on the first $200 of that purchase – or another way to put it is that if are buying groceries worth $200 then this will be counted as your highest-spending category thus earning maximum cashback of $10.
