Card benefits change often, and this page may be out of date by the time you read it. Always check the bank’s page and your card’s guide to benefits for the current terms before you rely on a benefit.
The Double Cash is Citi’s no-fee catch-all card: 2% back on every purchase (1% when you buy and 1% as you pay), 5% on hotels, cars and attractions booked through Citi Travel, and an 18-month intro APR on balance transfers.
The cash back is actually paid as ThankYou points, which is what makes it interesting: on its own the points are basically cash, but combined with a Strata Premier or Strata Elite they become fully transferable airline miles. Below is how that works, the catches, and my verdict.
Citi Double Cash at a glance
- Annual fee: $0
- Current public offer: $200 cash back (20,000 ThankYou points) after $1,500 in purchases in the first 6 months (as of October 14, 2026, per Doctor of Credit)
- Is it the best ever?: As far as I know, yes: $200 is the highest it has offered, and it often has no bonus at all (per Doctor of Credit).
- Foreign transaction fee: 3% of each purchase
- Best for: Anyone who wants one simple 2% card for everything that doesn’t earn a bonus elsewhere, and especially Strata Premier or Elite holders, who can turn its 2% into 2x transferable points.
- Skip it if: You’ll use it abroad (3% foreign transaction fee), or you want travel insurance or purchase protection on your everyday card.
- Bank’s page: Citi Double Cash on citi.com
Jump to: Highlights · Earning · Perks · Protections · Transfers · Application rules · My take · The catch · Keep it? · Offer history · Quick Answers
The highlights
- 2% on everything: 1% when you buy and 1% as you pay; 5% on hotels, cars and attractions booked through Citi Travel
- Cash back is paid as ThankYou points: 10,000 points = $100 as a statement credit, direct deposit or check
- Points transfer to Citi’s airline partners at full ratios only when combined with a Strata Premier or Strata Elite; alone, only a few partners at reduced ratios
- 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months (balance transfers earn nothing)
- No annual fee; extended warranty; no travel insurance; 3% foreign transaction fee
How it earns
| Category | Rate | Caps and fine print |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels, car rentals and attractions through Citi Travel | 5% | No end date stated on Citi’s page |
| Everything else | 2% | 1% when you buy, 1% when you pay it off. You must pay at least the minimum on time. Balance transfers and cash-like transactions don’t earn. |
Each billing cycle you get 1 ThankYou point per $1 spent and another per $1 paid on purchases. Redeem them as a statement credit or direct deposit with no minimum, or a check ($5 minimum), at 1 cent each.
Other perks
- 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months from account opening, with an intro balance transfer fee (3% per Citi’s pricing terms, $5 minimum).
- Citi Entertainment presales, Citi Merchant Offers, Citi Flex Pay, a free FICO score, Citi Quick Lock and Mastercard ID Theft Protection.
- No lounge access, no travel credits.
Insurance and protections
| Benefit | What the bank says |
|---|---|
| Extended warranty | Secondary coverage through an AIG company, subject to limits |
| Trip delay, cancellation, baggage, rental car coverage | None listed |
| $0 liability on unauthorized charges | Yes |
This is a cash back card, not a travel card: book trips with a card that carries travel insurance.
For how this compares with other cards, see my card travel benefits comparison.
Transfer partners
Why does a cash back card transfer? Because the cash back is earned as ThankYou points. On their own, Double Cash points only transfer to a handful of partners at reduced ratios (JetBlue and Wyndham at 1:0.7 and Choice at 1:1.4 since July 2025, per AwardWallet).
If you also have a Strata Premier or Strata Elite, you can combine your ThankYou accounts, and the Double Cash points then transfer at the premium card’s ratios, most of them 1:1, including American Airlines. That’s the whole trick: the Double Cash becomes a 2x-everywhere card for airline miles. Citi no longer lets you share points with other people, even household members, so both cards have to be yours (per Frequent Miler). Ratios for every partner are in my transfer partners guide.
Application rules for this card
- The bonus isn’t available if you’ve received a Double Cash bonus in the last 48 months, or converted another Citi card that earned a bonus in the last 48 months into a Double Cash.
- Citi’s velocity rules apply: generally 1 Citi application every 8 days and no more than 2 in 65 days (Citi rules).
The full rules for every bank are in my credit card application rules guide.
My take
2% back on everything with no fee is the standard catch-all, and there’s no fee to justify, so the real fee is $0. It’s fine, boring and effective, in my eyes.
The reason I like it more than other 2% cards is the pairing: with a Strata Premier, that 2% becomes 2 transferable ThankYou points per dollar, which can move to American Airlines, Turkish or Flying Blue. Without a Strata card, treat it as plain 2% cash back.
The catch
A 3% foreign transaction fee, so leave it at home abroad, and no travel insurance or purchase protection to speak of. The second 1% only comes when you pay, so it rewards paying in full.
Alone, its points barely transfer (three partners at reduced ratios), so the transfer value depends on also paying for a Strata card. If you close the card, points earned on it expire 60 days later (per Frequent Miler), so move or redeem them first.
Keep it after year one?
There’s no fee, so the math is easy: keep it. It’s a good card to keep open for your credit history and a good place to land if you ever downgrade from a Citi card with a fee.
Offer history
Past offers on this card have been small: Doctor of Credit has seen $100 and $150 before, and most of the time it has no bonus at all, so $200 is a good time to apply.
Quick Answers
No. It has no annual fee as of October 2026, but it does charge a 3% foreign transaction fee.
As of October 14, 2026 the offer is $200 cash back (20,000 ThankYou points) after $1,500 in purchases in the first 6 months.
Only to a few partners at reduced ratios on their own. Combine them with a Strata Premier or Strata Elite account and they transfer at that card’s ratios, most at 1:1, including American Airlines.
No. Balance transfers don’t earn cash back; only purchases earn 1% when you buy and 1% when you pay them off.
Last checked: October 14, 2026. Card terms change often, so confirm on the bank’s page before you apply. There are no affiliate or referral links on this site, ever; links go to the bank’s own page.