Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
November 18, 2024: Yesterday, Citi quietly added an extended warranty benefit to the Citi® Double Cash Card, making the card much more valuable.
The Citi Double Cash is the credit card that brought 2% cash back rewards into the mainstream. The card earns 1% cash back when you make any purchase, plus 1% additional cash back as you pay for your purchases. The Double Cash carries no annual fee.
The card is a great option to use as an “everywhere else” card and is an essential card if you’re collecting Citi ThankYou® Points. Here’s what you need to know about the Citi Double Cash® Card.
Citi® Double Cash Card sign-up bonus
Annual fee: annual_fees
Best sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full
This bonus is marketed as cash back, but earned as Citi ThankYou® Points.
In this article…
At a glance: Overview of the Citi® Double Cash Card
Annual fee: annual_fees
Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee
All information about the Citi Double Cash® Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
The Citi Double Cash® Card is the card you want to use “everywhere else” if you’re collecting ThankYou® Points. Unfortunately, the card is light on benefits—it offers no extended warranty or purchase protection benefits like many competing cards.
Sign-up bonus
Best sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full
This bonus is marketed as cash back, but earned as Citi ThankYou® Points.
Rewards
- 5% total cash back on hotel, car rental, and attractions booked through the Citi Travel portal.
- 2% cash back on every purchase
Earn 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay.
Rewards are earned as Citi ThankYou® Points.
Benefits
- Extended warranty
Also, before you apply for the card, read our article on what to know about applying for Citibank cards.
Our take: Excellent card since with the addition of the extended warranty.
We had soured on the Citi® Double Cash card when Citi removed the extended warranty benefit (along with all other substantive benefits) back in 2021. But as of November 17, 2024, the extended warranty benefit is back and we couldn’t be happier!
One of our biggest complaints about the current crop of 2% cash back credit cards is that they were noticeably lacking in consumer benefits like extended warranty and purchase protection.
But now that the Double Cash has extended warranty again, it becomes one of the best options for most people to use as an “everywhere else” credit card, especially if you are either invested in the ThankYou Rewards program or are a fan of cash back.
Citi® Double Cash Card rewards
The Citi® Double Cash Card offers an effective 2% cash back on all purchases, awarded as 1% when you buy, plus 1% when you pay. Here’s what the Double Cash earns:
- 5% total cash back on hotel, car rental, and attractions booked through the Citi Travel portal.
- 2% cash back on every purchase
Earn 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay.
The Double Cash earns its rewards as ThankYou® Points.
Redeeming points
Since the card earns its cash back rewards as ThankYou Points, you have the option to redeem your points a handful of ways. Here’s what offers good value and what we would avoid.
Redemption options we recommend
- Direct deposit. This is probably the best option to redeem your points for cash value at one cent per point since you’ll get the money from your redemption fast and you won’t have to deal with a paper check. You can redeem for a direct deposit into any U.S. checking account.
- Check by mail. You’ll also get one cent per point when you redeem your points for a check, but this might be more of a hassle than direct deposit.
Redemption options we’d avoid
- Statement credit. When you redeem for a statement credit, you’ll get fewer rewards since you won’t the “1% when you pay” part of the Double Cash’s rewards.
- Travel through Citi travel. You’ll miss out on points that you could be earning when booking through Citi Travel. We recommend booking through Citi Travel and redeeming your points for a statement credit.
- Gift cards. You can often find gift cards at a discount online, so we’d prefer to use points for cash back and buy gift cards elsewhere.
- Shop with Points. All of the Shop with Points options offer no greater than one cent per point of value, so you’re better off with a cash back redemption.
- Transfers to travel partners. Travel transfer partners can be a great use of Citi ThankYou® points, but you’ll want to have the Citi Strata Premier card to get access to the best transfer rates.
Other options that might be available
Citi Strata Premier Card. If you also hold a Citi Strata Premier Card and have combined your ThankYou Points accounts, you can transfer the points you earn to Citi’s travel transfer partners at the best rates.
Complimentary cards
Here are a few other cards we think you should strongly consider if you have the Citi Double Cash. These cards can increase the value you can get from your rewards.
- Citi Strata Premier. When you also hold a Citi Strata Premier card and combine your ThankYou® Rewards accounts, you can transfer your points to Citi’s travel transfer partners at the best rates.
- Citi Rewards+ Card. The Citi Rewards+ Card offers a 10% bonus on the ThankYou® Points you redeem, on up to 100,000 points of redemptions per year. You’ll also get this bonus on the points you redeem with your Citi Double Cash Card if you have combined your ThankYou Points accounts.
Double Cash Benefits
The Citi Double Cash is pretty light on substantive benefits. The card is issued as a World Mastercard, which means it comes a handful of benefits that provide minor discounts at partners. Learn more about Mastercard World Elite benefits at Mastercard’s website. Here’s what else the Double Cash offers:
- Extended warranty
Extended warranty: Doubles your warranty of 24 months or less.
Citi’s extended warranty doubles the time period of your manufacturer’s or store’s warranty of 24 months or less.
Essential terms:
- You must purchase the covered item entirely with your card or with the points from your card.
- The item must have an original manufacturer’s or store warranty for 24 months or less.
- Applies only to purchases made on or after November 17, 2024.
- $10,000 benefit limit per claim.
How to file a claim:
- Online: mycardbenefits.com
- Via phone: +1-833-251-6404
Some types of items are excluded. See the Guide to Protection Benefits for Mastercard® Cardholders that comes with the card. (You can access this guide on Citi.com if you are a current cardholder.)
More on the Citi Double Cash® from our YouTube channel
Frequently asked questions
Does the Citi® Double Cash Card offer an extended warranty benefit?
The Citi Double Cash no longer offers an extended warranty benefit. That benefit is available on the Citi Rewards+® Card, which carries no annual fee.
Does the Citi® Double Cash Card earn points or cash back?
The Double Cash is marketed as a cash back card. Behind the scenes, it earns ThankYou Points which can be redeemed for cash back at one cent each. The ThankYou Points you earn with the Citi® Double Cash Card can be combines with the ThankYou Points you earn from other Citi cards.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
