If you need a cashback card that suits your lifestyle, Citi Custom Cash℠ Card may be what you are looking for.
This card offers cashback that is adjusted based on how you spend from month to month, rewarding you with 5% cashback on your spend category up to $500 each month. Rewards are earned in the form of Citi ThankYou points and can be redeemed for cash, statements, gift cards and travel.
If you value flexibility, you may like the flexible reward structure of Citi Custom Cash. This Citi Custom Cash Card guide takes a detailed look at how cashback works. This can help you decide if you want to add the card to your wallet.
Benefits of Citi Custom Cash
Compensation Structure
The Citi Individual Payment Card refunds 5% of the highest spend category in each billing cycle, up to $500 on purchases. After that, the card returns 1 percent.
Eligible categories of expenses include:
- Restaurants
- gas stations
- Grocery stores
- Choose your trip (including flights and hotels)
- Choose public transport (including car rentals)
- Select streaming services
- Pharmacies
- Home Stores
- Fitness clubs
- Live Entertainment
Once you reach the $500 limit to earn 5 percent back on your spending category, you will continue to receive 1% on those purchases in that same category until a new billing cycle begins.
Meanwhile, you will also receive an unlimited 1 percent refund on all other purchases. This means that you can receive cashback almost anywhere. Whether you shop at warehouse clubs, Amazon, Target, Walmart, or pet supply stores, you can get 1 percent cash back on those purchases.
With the flexibility of Citi Custom Cash’s reward structure, this card is great for day-to-day spending. However, for any reward credit card, half the ball game is redemption options, so all the work you put into earning rewards doesn’t go to waste.
Flexible repayment options
You can use your Citi ThankYou points in a variety of ways. Choice includes:
- Loan Application
- Direct transfer to a bank account
- Check
- Gift cards
- Make purchases for points in partner stores
- Travel booked through the ThankYou Rewards Center
When you redeem a loan statement or direct deposit, there is no minimum. Points are worth an average of 1 cent each, so 10,000 ThankYou Points can be redeemed for a $100 credit statement, a $100 check, or a $100 direct deposit.
If you would like to redeem your rewards for rides, you must book your ride through the Citi ThankYou Portal. Keep in mind that while Citi Custom Cash earns Thank You Points, they are technically considered Basic Thank You Points. This basically means that you cannot transfer your points to any of Citi’s transfer partners. This privilege is reserved for cardholders Citi Premier® Card and a Citi Prestige®* card.
0% introductory annual
Citi Custom Cash not only works as a great cash back card, but also as a balance transfer card. If you have a small credit card debt or plan to make a major purchase soon (like a new sofa, dishwasher, wardrobe upgrade, or textbooks), you can evaluate this card’s APR starter offer. For the first 15 months, 0% APR will apply to all new purchases and balance transfers made within the first four months of account opening. After that, your regular annual interest rate will rise to 18.74 percent to 28.74 percent.
For all balance transfers, Citi charges you a balance transfer fee of $5 or 5 percent of each transfer, whichever is greater.
$0 liability
Citi Custom Cash Card provides zero liability protection. This means that you will not be liable for unauthorized charges to your account, online or otherwise, if your card is lost or stolen. This is a good benefit if you’re worried about someone gaining access to your account and using it to make fraudulent purchases.
Free FICO Assessment
As a Citi account holder, you also get free access to a FICO credit score. You can view your Equifax-provided FICO Bankcard Score 8 online or through the Citi mobile app.
FICO scores are updated monthly, so you can easily track score changes over time. You can also see at a glance which factors are positively or negatively impacting your outcome.
City Quick Castle
Losing your card can be a problem, but you don’t have to worry about someone misusing it thanks to Citi Quick Lock. This feature allows you to block a card and block new payments until you find it or receive a replacement.
You also have built-in early fraud detection. This feature monitors suspicious activity on your account and then notifies you via text message or email. Thus, you can block your account or take other actions as needed.
Mastercard ID Theft Protection
With the growing threat of identity theft, it’s helpful to have security features designed to protect your information. The Citi Custom Cash Card includes Mastercard ID Theft Protection that tracks suspicious activity on your accounts. Registration is free and monitoring starts as soon as you register.
Maximize your rewards and Citi Custom Cash benefits
Getting the most out of your Citi Custom Cash rewards starts by hitting the $500 limit in the highest spending category in each billing cycle. Remember that Citi selects your highest category and automatically applies your rewards based on your monthly expenses. To ensure you receive a 5% cashback on the category you choose, such as groceries, you must use your Citi Custom Cash at the grocery store first and not elsewhere.
This advance planning will allow you to earn the maximum amount of cashback each month: $25. In a year, you will receive $300 in cash.
Another important aspect of maximizing rewards is their redemption. Citi ThankYou Points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for flights or gift cards. You may receive a lower score when exchanging for a credit statement or online shopping. You must carefully consider how you want to use the rewards you earn in order to get the most out of them.
Bottom line
The Citi Custom Cash Card may be suitable, depending on how you spend each month. You may prefer the 5% Citi Custom Cash back and the $500 spending cap if you’re a modest spender. If you easily reach this limit within the first week of your billing cycle, you may be better off with a flat-rate cashback card. In any case, it’s worth taking a look at your last 6-12 months of purchases to better understand your shopping habits and see if Citi Custom Cash is right for you.
*Citi Prestige Card information has been independently collected by CreditCards.com. The issuer did not provide details and is not responsible for their accuracy.
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The editorial content on this page is based solely on the objective judgment of our contributors and is not based on advertising. It was not provided or ordered by credit card issuers. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to our partners’ products.
