Citi Custom Cash Card
Citi · Mastercard · No annual fee · Earns Citi ThankYou Points
5% on your top eligible spend category each billing cycle (auto).
Rates verified August 16, 2026 · Issuer source: citi.com
Rewards by category
| Category | Rate |
|---|---|
| Everything else | 1x |
Our take
The Citi Custom Cash Card is built for people whose spending leans hard on one category. Each billing cycle it pays 5% on your top eligible spend category, and the bonus applies automatically, with no activation step on your end. Rewards come as Citi ThankYou Points, it runs on the Mastercard network, and with no annual fee, holding it costs you nothing.
The fine print is mostly about what happens outside the bonus. The base rate is 1x, and SwipeCaddy's rankings value Citi ThankYou Points at a conservative 1 cent apiece, so the everyday floor here is ordinary. The bigger caveat: the card is closed to new applications. If it is already in your wallet, the question is keep versus cancel, and the $0 fee makes keeping it the easy default.
In a small wallet, treat it as a specialist. Let the Custom Cash cover your single heaviest category each billing cycle — the card picks it for you automatically — and route everything else to a flat-rate card that beats 1x. That split keeps the 5% doing real work without leaving the rest of your spending stuck at the base rate.
Common questions
- Does Citi Custom Cash Card have an annual fee?
- No — Citi Custom Cash Card has no annual fee.
- What rewards does Citi Custom Cash Card earn on everything else?
- 1x on all other purchases, in Citi ThankYou Points.
- Should I keep the Citi Custom Cash Card if I already have it?
- In most cases, yes. The card has no annual fee, so keeping it open costs nothing, and because Citi has closed it to new applications you could not simply reapply later if you cancel. As long as one spending category leads your month, the simplest move is to keep it open and let the automatic 5% do its job.
- Does the Citi Custom Cash 5% category require activation?
- No. The card applies 5% to your top eligible spend category automatically each billing cycle. There is nothing to enroll in and no box to check; the bonus follows wherever your spending actually goes that cycle. Your only job is to make sure the purchases you care about land on this card rather than a lower-earning one.
Rewards details verified recently; issuer terms can change — confirm on the issuer's site before applying. Card names, logos, and the pages we link to belong to their respective owners. SwipeCaddy is not an affiliate and earns no commission from card sign-ups.
Related reading
- The 5% fine print: spend caps on Citi Custom Cash, Freedom Flex, and friendsEvery 5% card caps its bonus: Citi Custom Cash at $500/month, Chase Freedom Flex and Discover it at $1,500/quarter (activation required), U.S. Bank Cash+ at $2,000/quarter, Blue Cash Preferred's 6% at $6,000/year. Do the math and each card's maximum edge over a flat 2% card is only $180–$240 a year — and after the cap, most drop to 1%, below the boring card you skipped.
- How we value points and miles (and why our numbers are lower than everyone else's)SwipeCaddy ranks cards by reward rate × a conservative cash value per point: 1¢ for cash back and transferable points (Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bilt), 1.1–1.3¢ for airline miles, 0.4–1.4¢ for hotel points, and 0.8–0.9¢ for store currencies. Optimistic transfer values are recorded for context but never ranked, because most people never achieve them.