Citi Double Cash Card

Rewards by category

Our take

The Citi Double Cash Card fits people whose spending refuses to sit in tidy categories: groceries one month, car repairs and vet bills the next. With a flat 2% base rate on every purchase and no annual fee, it works as a default card — the one you reach for whenever no bonus category applies. If keeping score on categories sounds like a chore, this is the structure you want.

The tradeoff is the ceiling. Outside Citi Travel — where hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through the portal earn 5% total — the case rests on that flat 2%, and if your spending concentrates heavily in one area, a specialist card can out-earn it there. New cardholders also get a $200 bonus after $1,500 in purchases in the first 6 months. What you get in exchange is clean math: rewards come as cash back, so a dollar earned is worth exactly a dollar, with no points valuation to second-guess. Leave it home on trips abroad, though: it carries a 3% foreign transaction fee.

In a two-card wallet, think of the Double Cash as the floor. Add one card that pays a higher rate where you actually spend the most, and route everything else here. That 2% figure is also your benchmark: any bonus card, annual fee, or points program has to clear it on your real spending before it deserves a slot next to this one.

The math

Run $250 a month of hotels through this card and you're earning about $150 a year at our conservative valuations. There's no annual fee to earn back — everything above the 2% base rate is pure upside.

Where it lands in our rankings: #5 for superstores · #5 for rent

Common questions

Does Citi Double Cash Card have an annual fee?

No — Citi Double Cash Card has no annual fee.

What does Citi Double Cash Card earn on hotels?

5% on hotels (book via citi travel).

What rewards does Citi Double Cash Card earn on everything else?

2% on all other purchases, in Cash Back.

Does the Citi Double Cash Card have a sign-up bonus?

Yes. Citi offers a $200 bonus after you spend $1,500 on purchases within the first 6 months of opening the account. It is modest by design — most of this card's value comes from the flat 2% rate on ongoing spending — so judge it on that: estimate what 2% of your normal yearly card spending amounts to, add the one-time $200, and compare the total against alternatives.

Is the Citi Double Cash a Visa or a Mastercard?

It is a Mastercard, issued by Citi. That matters mostly if a store you use restricts which networks it accepts, or if you already carry another Mastercard and want network diversity in your wallet. Before making any single card your everyday default, confirm your regular merchants take its network — carrying one backup card on a different network is a simple hedge.