The Citi Double Cash card keeps getting better! It started its life as a simple fee-free 2% cash back card (which confusingly was advertised as 1% + 1% back). At that time it was a fine choice for 2% back, but then it went on a roller coaster ride where it got worse, then better, and now even better…
Worse at first: One of the things that used to set the Double Cash card apart from the competition was Citi’s very strong purchase protections such as Extended Warranty, Price Rewind, and more. Sadly, Citi removed all of these benefits in September, 2019.
Then better: Shortly after dropping purchase protections in September 2019, Citi added the ability to transfer cash back to ThankYou points. Combined with certain other Citi cards, this made the Double Cash’s rewards more flexible and more rewarding for travel.
Then even better: More recently, Citi turned the Double Cash card into a full fledged ThankYou Rewards card. Instead of cash back, the card now directly earns ThankYou points which can be cashed out for a penny per point or, if combined with a premium card like the Citi Premier card, can be transferred to airline and hotel partners.
Here’s everything you need to know…
Overview
The Citi Double Cash card is a no-annual-fee powerhouse that offers two points per dollar for all purchases. Points can be simply cashed out so as to make this card a 2% cash back card. Alternatively, if you have a Citi Premier or Prestige card, you can transfer your points to airline and hotel programs for sometimes significantly greater value.
Citi Double Cash Disadvantages
The Citi Double Cash card isn’t perfect. Here are the key things I don’t like about the card:
Foreign Transaction Fees
Don’t use the card outside of the United States.
No Purchase Protections
This card used to have very strong purchase protections such as Extended Warranty, Price Rewind, and more. Sadly, Citi removed all of these benefits in September.
Perkless
This card doesn’t have any perks worth mentioning.
Rewards
Signup Bonus
This card doesn’t usually have a signup bonus, but if one is available it will appear here:
| Card Offer |
|---|
None This card does not currently feature an introductory bonus.No Annual Fee |
Spend
The best way to earn Citi Double Cash rewards is through credit card spend. Technically, this card earns 1 point per dollar (1%) when you make a purchase and 1 points per dollar (1%) when you pay your credit card bill. I find it simpler to say that this card earns 2X everywhere, or 2% cash back.
The Citi Double Cash card is particularly good for “non bonus” spend. For example, some cards earn bonuses at restaurants, some at grocery stores, some at gas stations, etc. The Double Cash is one of the most rewarding cards for all other (not bonused) spend.
Citi Double Cash Redeem Rewards
Cash Back
Double Cash cardholders can redeem their ThankYou points for cash back at a rate of 1 cent for each point.
Transfer Points to Airline Miles
The best use of ThankYou points, in my opinion, is to transfer points to airline partners in order to book high value awards. One example is the ability to book United flights to Hawaii for only 7,500 points each. Please check out our post which covers the best awards that can be booked with Citi ThankYou points:
>>>>> Citi ThankYou points sweet spots <<<<<
It is usually best to wait until you find a great flight award before transferring points. One exception: Citi often offers 25% or 30% transfer bonuses to certain programs (Air France Flying Blue and Avianca LifeMiles are two recent examples). If you’re confident that you’ll use the points for good value, it may make sense to transfer points when those bonuses are in effect.
The Double Cash card can directly transfer to a few airlines and hotel programs, but at poor transfer rates. A much better option is to combine your Double Cash ThankYou account with a Citi Premier account (or Citi Prestige if you got that card while it was still available). That way, you can get the full transfer power of Citi points to airline and hotel programs. See: Citi Transfer Partners.
Current Transfer Bonuses
Transfer bonuses come and go over time. When transfer bonuses are in effect, details will automatically appear here (when viewed online):
| Transfer Bonus Details | End Date |
|---|---|
| 30% transfer bonus from Citi to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 2023/10/14 |
Transfer Partners
| Rewards Program | Best Uses |
|---|---|
| Accor Live Limitless | Use to pay hotel bill with value of 2 Euro cents per point. In some cases (such as hotel to airline transfer bonuses) it may make sense to convert Accor points to the following airline miles at a 1 to 1 ratio: Finnair, Iberia, Qantas, or Virgin Australia |
| Aer Lingus Avios | Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus (Avios.com) rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
| AeroMexico ClubPremier | AeroMexico is a SkyTeam partner. Club Premier points can be used to book flights on AeroMexico, SkyTeam alliance members (such as Delta or Korean Air), or on select partner airlines. Unfortunately many have reported that awards are extremely difficult to book through AeroMexico so we do not recommend transferring points to this program. If you want to fly AeroMexico, look to transfer points to another SkyTeam partner (such as Air France) and then book AeroMexico with that program. |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | Monthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel. |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Avianca LifeMiles can be great for Star Alliance awards. They offer reasonable award prices and no fuel surcharges on awards. They also offer shorthaul awards within the US (for flying United, for example) for as few as 7,500 miles one-way. Best of all, their mixed-cabin pricing can lead to fantastic first-class award prices. See this post for details. |
| British Airways Avios | While flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Cathay Pacific has a decent distance based award chart, but they no longer allow stopovers longer than 24 hours. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles can be a good option for booking American Airlines flights with a distance based award chart, especially if other OneWorld Alliance miles aren't available. For long distance flights, it is possible to reduce the cost of a premium cabin award by adding on a lower cabin segment. See this post for details. |
| Choice | Choice Privileges points seem to be randomly valuable within the US, but dependably valuable internationally in expensive locations such as Scandinavia and Japan. Points can sometimes offer great value when used towards participating Preferred Hotels of the World. |
| Emirates Skywards | The best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be steep. See: Emirates Sweet Spot Awards - First class from 30K miles round trip. |
| Etihad Guest | Etihad offers a distance based award chart for flying Etihad and another for its partners. Points may offer good value for expensive but short-distance flights. |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | If you want to fly one of the best business class products in the sky, the best way to snag EVA flights is with their own miles since they release more award space to their own members. One-way business class flights from the US to Taipei cost 75K to 80K miles. Fuel surcharges are very low on these routes. |
| Iberia Avios | Iberia offers very low award prices on their own flights and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
| Jet Airways Inter Miles | JetAirways JetPrivilege miles are useful only for a few very specific cases such as certain flights to Hawaii for as low as 15K (30K business) one-way, or to the Caribbean or Central America for as low as 10K (20K business) one-way. Details can be found here. |
| JetBlue | JetBlue points offer the most value when cheap ticket prices are available and when award taxes are high relative to the overall cost of the ticket (more details can be found here). The JetBlue Plus Card and the JetBlue Business Card offer a 10% rebate on awards, so you can get more value by holding one of these cards. |
| Malaysia Enrich | Given Malaysia's award chart devaluation in June 2017, I'm not aware of any good uses for these miles. |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | Best use is probably for flights on El Al with no fuel surcharges. Also useful for short AA flights. Qantas offers distance based award charts similar to Cathay Pacific. Both are OneWorld Alliance members. I recommend comparing award prices across both programs before transferring to either. Qantas offers round the world business class awards for only 280,000 points (but with many restrictions) |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | Qatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia) |
| Shop Your Way Rewards | Don't do it. Shop Your Way points can be redeemed for a variety of gift cards. That said, unless Shop Your Way starts offering discounted gift cards, there's no point in converting transferrable points to Shop Your Way. |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Use to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines). |
| Thai Airways International Royal Orchid Plus | I'm not aware of any good uses for these miles |
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | Miles & Smiles offers a number of awesome sweet-spot awards including 7.5K one-way anywhere within the US, even to Hawaii. Many awards cannot be booked online but can be booked via phone or email. See: Turkish Miles & Smiles Complete Guide and Turkish business class sweet spots from the US. |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Virgin Atlantic offers a few great sweet spot awards including US to Europe on Delta One business class for 50K points one-way. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight). |
| Wyndham | Wyndham often allows booking multi-room suites for the same price as a standard room. It's sometimes possible to get great value from points in that way. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees. Additionally, you can book Vacasa vacation rentals for only 15K points per room per night. Wyndham Earner cards offer automatic 10% discount on award stays. |
The Rewards+ Rebate
One way to make your rewards go farther is to get a Rewards+ card and combine it with your other accounts. The Rewards+ card offers a 10% rebate on redeemed points, up to 10,000 points rebated per year. By combining the Rewards+ ThankYou account with your Premier or Prestige ThankYou account, for example, you’ll get that rebate when you convert points to airline miles or when you book travel. See this post for more: Citi Rewards+ is a great companion to Premier or Prestige.
This is also a great option to combine with the Double Cash card for cash back. By picking up a Rewards+ card and combining ThankYou accounts between the two cards, you can take advantage of the Rewards+ card’s 10% points rebate each year (on up to 100,000 redeemed points). Let’s say you spend $25,000 on the Double Cash card and therefore earn 50,000 points. You can then redeem those 50,000 points for $500 back. You’ll then get 5000 ThankYou points back (thanks to the Rewards+ card) which you can then redeem for $50. You’ll then get $5 in ThankYou points back. In total, your $25,000 spend results in $555 back. That’s a return of 2.22% on your spend!
Manage Rewards
Combine Rewards Across Cards
If you are the primary account holder with multiple credit cards that earn ThankYou Rewards, you can combine ThankYou Rewards accounts. When your points are combined, they can then automatically be redeemed at the same value as your best card. For example, if one of your cards is the Premier card, and you have combined ThankYou accounts, then you’ll be able to transfer points to airline and hotel programs at the best rates even if the points were earned on your Double Cash card.
There are disadvantages to combining points:
- You lose the ability to pick and choose which points are used when you redeem awards.
- You lose visibility into how many points remain with each card.
Overall, I think that these disadvantages are minor. The advantages of combining your Double Cash ThankYou account with your Premier or Prestige ThankYou account greatly outweigh to disadvantages.
Share Rewards Across Cardholders
If you don’t have a premium ThankYou card or you don’t want to combine it with your Double Cash ThankYou account, then you can opt to “share points” instead.
Citi allows people to transfer ThankYou points to anyone else, for free. The “anyone else” includes yourself if your accounts aren’t combined. There are two catches to this:
- Shared points expire after 90 days. Make sure you have a specific near-term use in mind before transferring points.
- 100K limit: Each member may share up to 100,000 points per calendar year. Each member may receive up to 100,000 points per calendar year.
Why this is valuable:
- A friend or family member with a Premier card can transfer points to airline or hotel programs with the best transfer rates.
- If a friend has airline elite status with one of Citi’s transfer partners with which you want to book an award, you may be better off transferring points to your friend who can then transfer the points to the airline partner and book the award for you (to get free award changes, for example).
- If you haven’t combined accounts, you can still use points from your Double Cash card effectively by sharing them with your Premier or Prestige account before redeeming the points.
Related Cards
Here are all of the Citi cards that earn ThankYou points:
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
60K Points + 10X Select Travel 60K points after $4K spend in the first 3 months. Plus, earn 10x on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.$95 Annual Fee FM Mini Review: Very strong earnings for spend. Excellent bonus categories. Points transferable to select airlines. Recommend pairing this card with Citi Double Cash and Citi Rewards+. Sadly, this travel card doesn't provide any travel protections. Earning rate: 3X grocery ⚬ 3X dining ⚬ 3X gas stations ⚬ 3X flights, hotels, travel agencies Card Type: Mastercard World Elite Noteworthy perks: Transfer points to airline partners ⚬ $100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
25K points 25K points after $1.5K spend in 3 months No Annual Fee FM Mini Review: 10% points rebate (up to 10K rebate per year) make this a great choice to pool with ThankYou Premier, Prestige, and/or Double Cash Earning rate: 5x on travel booked through Citi Travel Portal through June 30 2024 (excludes air travel) ⚬ 2X at supermarkets and gas stations on up to $6,000 per year ⚬ Round up to nearest 10 TY points on all purchases Card Type: Mastercard World Noteworthy perks: Round up to the nearest 10 points on all purchases with no cap. ⚬ get 10% of your points back on the first 100K redeemed each year See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
20K Points 20K points after $1500 spend in the first 6 monthsNo Annual Fee Recent better offer: Expired 9/13/22 - 20,000 points after $750 spend in first 3 months FM Mini Review: This is a great card to have and hold for a single category where you spend no more than $500 per month as it represents an excellent return without rotating categories to track. Earning rate: 5x on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1x thereafter. Eligible categories: Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs and Live Entertainment. ⚬ 1x on all other purchases Base: 1X (1.45%) Travel: 5X (7.25%) Dine: 5X (7.25%) Gas: 5X (7.25%) Grocery: 5X (7.25%) Other: 5X (7.25%) Card Type: Mastercard See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
$100 statement credit $100 statement credit after $1K Spend in 3 MonthsNo Annual Fee FM Mini Review: This has a good gas station bonus for a no annual fee card, but there's not much else to make it a compelling card Earning rate: ⚬ 3 points per $1 at gas stations ⚬ 2 points per $1 oat grocery stores ⚬ 1 point per $1 on all other purchases Card Type: Mastercard Noteworthy perks: $20 statement credit every billing cycle you spend $1,000+ (for AT&T Wireless customers omly) See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
None This card does not currently feature an introductory bonus.No Annual Fee FM Mini Review: 2X rewards for all spend with no annual fee makes this card a winner. Earn 2X everywhere and redeem for the equivalent of 2% cash back or 2X ThankYou points. Pair with the Premier or Prestige card to make points transferrable to airlines. Earning rate: 2% cash back everywhere (1% cash back for each purchase + 1% when paying your credit card bill for that purchase) Base: 2X (2.9%) Card Type: Mastercard World Elite Noteworthy perks: 1X when you make a purchase + 1X when you pay for those purchases See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
None This card is no longer availableNo Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: 10% points rebate (up to 10K rebate per year) make this a great choice to pool with ThankYou Premier, Prestige, and/or Double Cash Earning rate: 2X at supermarkets and gas stations on up to $6,000 per year ⚬ Round up to nearest 10 TY points on all purchases Card Type: Mastercard World Noteworthy perks: Round up to the nearest 10 points on all purchases with no cap. ⚬ get 10% of your points back on the first 100K redeemed each year See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
None This card is no longer availableNo Annual Fee FM Mini Review: Downgrade from Prestige or Premier to this card in order to keep points alive Earning rate: 2X dining and entertainment Card Type: Mastercard World See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
None This card is no longer availableNo Annual Fee This card is available in-branch only and is not available online. The bonus may vary by region and can be as high as 40K. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Earning rate: 3x travel ⚬ office supply ⚬ professional services Card Type: Mastercard World Noteworthy perks: Anniversary bonus on base earnings each membership year. (1% in year 1, 2% in year 2 and 3% in year 3 and beyond.) See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
None This card is no longer availableNo Annual Fee FM Mini Review: This card may be worth it for a welcome bonus, but it would be worth considering a product change to the Double Cash down the road..Unforunately, it seems it is no longer possible to product change to the AT&T Access More card. Earning rate: ⚬ 2 points per $1 on products and services that are purchased directly from AT&T ⚬ 2 points per $1 on all purchases at online retail and travel sites ⚬ 1 point per $1 on all other purchases Card Type: Mastercard World See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
None This card is no longer available$95 Annual Fee This card is no longer available to new applicants. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Excellent choice for those who shop often online (thanks to 3X earnings) Earning rate: ⚬ 3 points per $1 on products and services that are purchased directly from AT&T ⚬ 3 points per $1 on all purchases at online retail and travel sites ⚬ 1 point per $1 on all other purchases Card Type: Mastercard World Elite Big spend bonus: 10,000 anniversary bonus points after $10,000 in annual spending See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
None This card is no longer available$495 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: The Prestige card's best in class 5X rewards for dining, airfare, and travel agencies is hard to beat. Sadly, this travel card doesn't provide any travel protections. Earning rate: 5X airfare, dining, and travel agencies ⚬ 3X hotels and cruise line ⚬ 1X everywhere else Card Type: Mastercard World Elite Noteworthy perks: $250 travel rebate per calendar year ⚬ Free lounge access: Citi Properietary Lounges; and Priority Pass Select with free guests ⚬ $100 Global Entry application fee credit ⚬ 4th night free hotel benefit See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
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Hi Greg – a note that I have combined Rewards+/Prestige/DoubleCash account with ThankYou and it’s been 1wk+ since I transferred cash rewards to TYP and they still haven’t shown up as points in my account. Citi’s phone reps have assured me that everything is fine but you know how little that can be worth sometimes. YMMV if you need these for an immediate redemption.
Thanks for reporting this. That’s so strange since all of my transfers to SYW have been nearly instant
[…] you can easily get a card with no annual fee that offers 2% back everywhere (and in the case of the Citi Double Cash, you could also have the option of 2 airline miles per dollar […]
[…] new way to use your Double Cash points to earn up to 2.4% back when redeeming them for gift cards (check out this post from Frequent Miler for the details.) You can get more value for your points if you have either a Citi Premier or Citi Prestige […]
Thanks for the insight! One technicality is that 2.4% for gift cards isn’t the same as 2.4% rebated as cash since redemption for gift cards have the opportunity cost from not earning rewards on that spend. So I’d say to get a true net value of the benefit you need to discount by the foregone benefit from paying with a gift card versus a rewards credit card.
That’s true. It’s also true of travel rewards where you have to book through the bank’s website to use points. For example, if you book a flight through the Citi travel portal and redeem points with your Premier card for 1.25 cents per point value, then you won’t earn rewards from the spend for that flight. I don’t have a good solution for this for the blog. I think it would be far too confusing to most casual readers for us to list a lower percentage than the amount you get towards rewards.
[…] Tokyo, Australia, New Zealand, and Niue on 40K points and even the ~$650 that I spent. Greg wrote yesterday about how the Citi Double Cash may now be the best starter rewards card and he makes a pretty good argument. But despite all that, today’s post isn’t a gushing […]
Greg, there’s a huge downside to using points for statement credit I had to learn the hard way. The 2% cash back is earned 1% when you purchase and 1% when you pay. Apparently using points as statement credit is not considered “when you pay” and you don’t earn the other 1% this way.
Oof, that’s good to know. Thanks for sharing.
I actually always avoid taking cash back as a statement credit with any issuer to avoid this potential issue. I usually just request a check.
– Regarding the 10% rebate when you redeem points, does that count when you transfer points to an airline as well or only for buying gift cards or using your points to book flights or hotel through their portal? I have 2 Double Cash cards right now, I did a product change to get another one with a higher credit line and will change the other into the Rewards plus.
Yep it works for all point redemptions except for moving points to another person.
In your first few paragraphs you state my exact scenario – I have the Prestige and was looking at PC’ing to the Double Cash for the 2%. I used to love the Prestige before they chopped the benefits and with travel (for me) down to zero, I have little use to pay for the card anymore. I’m up in November for the annual fee. I like that the DC is just a plain ol’ 2% card, with no nonsense of caps, categories, etc., etc.
I have about 25k TYP left and none of the travel partners are really exciting to me and don’t expect to travel any time soon. The unlimited 4th night free was AMAZING, not to mention the AA Lounges.. sadly, those are gone, and I doubt I’ll even be able to use a single 4th night free benefit any time soon and can’t justify the expense (even with the travel credits they offer).
I understand that if I PC to the DC, I will lose any SUB’s for 24 months. Is your advice still to get a Premier card for the SUB and then PC over to the DC?
Wasn’t sure if anything changed drastically for this scenario since your article was written.
Thanks!!
Don’t product change to the DC since you lose the points that you have now. You’re better off doing the following:
What does this mean? “If you want to fly AeroMexico, look to transfer points to another SkyTeam partner such as Air France or Delta and then book AeroMexico with one of those programs.” Are you saying we can transfer Thank You Points to AeroMexico ClubPremier points and then from AeroMexico ClubPremier points into Delta Skymiles? Or are you saying we can transfer Thank You Points directly into the Delta Skymiles program? That doesn’t seem possible.
Good catch. That text was originally written for our Amex guide. I’ve updated it to remove the Delta reference.
[…] Citi’s Double Cash card is a no-brainer for most. It has no annual fee and earns 2% cash back for all spend. Even better, cash back can be converted to ThankYou points to make the rewards worth even more. See this post for complete details: Citi Double Cash Complete Guide. […]
Anybody know if you can transfer DC thank you points (TYP) to P2’s TYP account, upgrade your DC to a premier, then P2 transfers their TYP back to you so you can transfer to travel partners?
Hmm… I don’t know if that would work.
nice post see the value in non bonus spend, but don’t see anything about waiving foreign Tx fess like the Premier does. Are foreign tax fees waived?
No, this card does charge FX fees
Don’t have Citi credit cards but interested in the trifecta (Premier, Rewards+ and Double Cash). What are the ideally application steps to get the maximum TYPs sign up bonus? My thoughts: DC isn’t part of the TY family so, I should be able to apply for the Premier for the 60K sign up and DC. Apply for Rewards+ when ready to redeem points for the 10% rebate.
I am Chase 3/24 so I am still working on Chase cards; two more cards (one biz and one personal) and I will be done with Chase). Is it worth a 5/24 slot for DC if I want to start accumulating TYPs via Plastiq (Mortgage) as soon as possible?
If you’re sure you’re done with Chase after getting two more, then yes it would make sense to get the Double Cash now. But keep in mind that when you get those two more, you would still be at only 4/24 if you didn’t get the Double Cash since the biz card won’t add to your total. So the DC will prevent you from getting more Chase cards.
When you do a product change, do the existing points in your account expire after 90 days?
Yes. One exception: if you product change from a card in the same family, your points stay fully alive. For example, you can product change between Prestige, Premier, Preferred, and Rewards+ without causing your points to expire. Double Cash is not part of that family of cards.
Has anyone yet actually converted and transferred their “Double Cash” TY points to someone else’s Prestige or Premier card (not their own)? I’m just curious if it actually works for the Double Cash card..
I haven’t done exactly that but I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t work.
Hi Greg, I have this combo Citi Trifecta. If I combine or transfer ThankYou points from Double Cash and Reward+ to Premier. Do they have expiration date? Do I have to use those Double Cash and Reward+ in the Premier ThankYou account, after combine, by a certain date?
When you combine TY accounts, you don’t have to worry about the points expiring as long as you keep your cards open. Expiry is only an issue when you move points from one account to another.
Greg: Interesting diascussion on product changing from Premier to Double Cash and rseting your 24 month clock. My question: I product changed a Premier to another ThankYou card (Rewards+) last summer. Did that also reset my 24-month clock – or does a p/c between ThankYou cards not reset the clock?
If the card number stays the same, it should not reset your 24-month clock on the thank you cards.
As AlexL said, it depends on whether or not you kept the same account number. If they gave you a new number, then the clock reset.
With regards to sharing points 100K cap per yr, if you combine your own TY accounts (DC + Premier), does the cap still exist?
I had PC my Prestige to DC, with Premier in place to receive the points. now I am thinking about PC the Premier to Prestige in order to get 5X for airline miles (not booking) purchase & restaurant.
When you combine the accounts you don’t have to worry about the sharing points cap because they don’t treat that as sharing. Think of it as points pooling instead.
Excellent thanks!
Let’s say my credit line is 10,000. And I spend the entire 10,000. If I do not want my statement to close showing that I owe that much, if I pay that down beforehand, does that mean I only earn 1%? Or only 2% on what I leave unpaid prior to the statement close.
No, you’ll earn the full 2%
Bob
I know people who paid 3 days before the statement posts the FICO went up 20 points. It’s what u spend on CC’s not what posts I post ZERO ..
CHEERs
I have a double cash but no prestige of premier cards. I product changed from dividend. I am not eligible for a TY bonus for another several months. If I accumulate DC points over the next few months but get a Premier in the future can I simply convert my accumulated points then to airline miles? What I mean I guess is whether I need to have a premier or prestige while I accumulate the points.
Great question. Yes, you can accumulate ThankYou points without having any premium cards and then transfer to airline miles later when you get the Premier or Prestige card.
Even more stacking with rewards+ 10% rebate on typ redemptions (up to 10k rebate/yr).
Yep, there’s a section dedicated to that in this post.
Since this is a Mastercard and earns 2x is this card King for paying Mortgage through Plastique?
Sorry Plastiq not Plastique.
Absolutely
I’m sorry I’m a bit slow this morning but how is Plastiq a great value here? Assuming DCB earns straight 2% cashback for a moment, that’s less than 2.5% you have to Plastiq ! I’d rather pay mortgage with my own cash than pay 2.5% to use a credit card. So the only value here is if you don’t do DCB 2% back but transfer your CB to ThankYou points AND find some airline partners that would offer great redemption, is that it?
P.S. (re: last post) I understand that that’s disregarding Citi Premier/Prestige discounts, I’m just asking about Plastiq as a venue all things being equal.
It’s great for those who value ThankYou points more than 1.25 cents each. This would only really be relevant if you plan to transfer points to airline miles. If you use Double Cash for cash back then it’s not worthwhile to pay 2.5%
Doesn’t Plastiq often offer fee-free payments, or reduced-fee ones? Might be worth using it for something smaller for a few months in the hopes of getting targeted for those. With a DC/Premier combo, worst case (not targeted), it’s like buying TYP for 1.22cpp – I think it’s worth “buying” a few at that price to potentially unlock a better deal. Obviously a bit better still with the Rewards+.
Some great ideas, Greg! Could you please clarify one of those ideas? You wrote, “Combine the cards (Prestige and Premier) together within the ThankYou Rewards program.” What are the mechanics for doing this? Is this like pooling UR points within the Chase ecosystem?
When you have multiple ThankYou cards and click from your account to the ThankYou portal (click redeem rewards or click rewards summary), it will ask you if you want to combine accounts. Click yes. If your account details (phone number, etc) are identical on both accounts, the combining happens easily online. If not, you’ll probably have to call.
Fantastic article! How are you paying .01/point for CDB while paying your taxes using the card? Aren’t you earning .13 by paying your taxes?
You earn 2 points per dollar with the Double Cash. Lets say you have a $1000 tax payment:
Pay with Double Cash: $1000 + 1.87% fee ($18.70) = $1018.70
Points Earned = 1019 x 2 = 2038
Cost to earn points = $18.70
Cost per point = $18.70 / 2038 = .92 cents per point
Thank you for the detailed explanation. I see what you mean. My rationalization was by paying your taxes with the DCB, you received $20, which is the amount of money DCB would payout if you didn’t take the points. Subtract out the costs to pay your taxes, and you receive $1.30. By taking points instead of cash, you have the opportunity to use whatever multiplier you received for using the points. In essence, you made money by paying your taxes since if you didn’t take the points, you would earn $1.30, but you exceeded the $1.30 by taking points instead.
I already have the Citi Double Cash card, the Premier card, Thank You Preferred card, Dividend card and Expedia card. Is it possible to product change my rarely used Citi Expedia card into a second Citi Double Cash card or a Prestige Card?
Also, is there any way to convert cash back earned from Citi Dividend cards (with quarterly 5% categories) into Thank You points?
Yes, I expect that you can product change the Expedia into a second Double cash or Prestige. You should also consider the Rewards+.
No, sadly, you can’t convert Citi Dividend cash back to ThankYou points
@Greg What if you pool your Citi Dividend cashback with your DoubleCash cashback? Is it still not possible to transfer to thankyou points?