Citi Custom Cash℠ Card review

The Citi Custom Cash Card lets cardholders maximize rewards in key eligible categories by customizing the highest cash back rate to their highest spend category. Although it offers minimal flat-rate rewards on every purchase, it offers some of the best cash back rates available in everyday categories.

If you’re looking for a low-maintenance way to maximize rewards and fill gaps in your rewards strategy, the Citi Custom Cash is a great option. It’s especially good for cardholders who have or plan to get a higher-tier Citi travel card and want to transfer points to Citi’s travel partners. Plus, it features a decent balance transfer offer.

Why you might want the Citi Custom Cash Card

This cash back card from Citi carries an impressive rewards rate in popular categories like groceries, dining and gas, but streamlines earning rewards by automatically giving you cash back in whichever category you’ve spent the most in each billing cycle. Since the card adapts to your spending habits, there’s no need to enroll in rotating categories or commit to a bonus spending category year-round. However, you may want to plan ahead to do the majority of your spending in a single category each billing cycle.

See related: How do cash back credit cards work?

Generous rewards rate and great variety

You’ll automatically earn 5% back on purchases in your top spending category each billing cycle (on up to $500 in spending per billing cycle, then 1%). Eligible categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment. You’ll also earn unlimited 1% back on all other purchases.

A year-round, 5% cash back rate in any category is very generous for a no-annual-fee card, but the Citi Custom Cash card’s rewards rate really shines in the grocery, dining and gas categories. It’s one of the highest rewards rates you can get in these popular and practical categories on a card with no annual fee.

There are a few caveats to keep in mind, however. The 5% back is limited to a $500 billing cycle spend limit and, per the card’s terms, the restaurant category excludes “third party dining delivery services” like Uber Eats. Also, as is the case with most grocery rewards cards, the Citi Custom Cash card’s grocery category excludes “discount superstores [and] wholesale/warehouse clubs,” so this isn’t the best choice for people who want to use the card at Walmart, Costco or other stores like these.

Customize your cash back

Since the card’s cash back program automatically adjusts to your top spending category, you also have the flexibility to plan which category you want to maximize each billing cycle. For example, groceries may be your top spending category most billing cycles, but you could plan to pay for a yearlong gym membership or larger home improvement store purchases in a single cycle to reap maximum rewards. This flexibility makes the card a great fit if you enjoy strategizing to maximize rewards in less-common categories or prefer to earn consistent rewards in one of your largest spending categories, like groceries.

Citi’s user interface also makes it easy to keep track of which category you’re earning the most in during a billing cycle. Your account lists all the eligible 5% categories and the total you’ve spent so far in each, as well as how much you’re spending outside these categories. This could be a big help not only when you’re trying to make the most of your bonus category, but also to give you a sense of any secondary categories in which you’re missing out on boosted rewards.

A good fit for modest spenders

If you’re able to max out your 5% cash back category each billing cycle, your Citi Custom Cash Card earnings could exceed some of the best flat-rate cash back cards’ earnings. This includes the Citi® Double Cash Card, which offers up to 2% back on all purchases (1% when you buy and 1% when you pay off those purchases).

The following breakdown assumes you’ve maxed out your 5% cash back category each billing cycle with the Citi Custom Cash and spent a total of $15,900 with the card in a year.

Although you’ll have less flexibility with your purchases each quarter, if you plan your purchases well you can maximize rewards for moderate spending. While this limits the amount you may earn back in rewards on large purchases, it’s an ideal program for those who only spend $500 or less each billing cycle.

Great options for travel points

Though it’s marketed primarily as a cash back card, the Citi Custom Cash Card technically earns Citi ThankYou points. While the value of Citi ThankYou points varies based on which Citi cards you have and which redemption method you choose, redemption values are straightforward with the Citi Custom Cash Card.

Each point is worth 1 cent toward cash back, gift cards and Citi travel bookings. You can redeem your cash back in any amount as a statement credit or direct deposit, or opt for a check when you’ve earned at least $5 worth of cash back (a marked improvement over the Double Cash card’s $25 minimum cash back redemption).

You may be able to stretch the value of your points further if you pair the Citi Custom Cash Card with a higher-tier Citi rewards card like the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card* to make the Citi card trifecta. As with the Chase trifecta, combining cards for everyday spending and travel rewards allows you to pool and transfer your points to one of Citi’s travel partners at a potentially higher value.

For example, you could transfer Citi ThankYou points at a 1:1 ratio to any of Citi’s travel transfer partners. Though ThankYou points are normally worth just 1 cent each when redeemed for travel, you may be able to increase their value by transferring them to an airline or hotel partner with a higher value. Based on Bankrate’s latest point valuations, ThankYou points could be worth an average of 1.9 cents each with the right transfer partner.

This makes the Citi Custom Cash Card a terrific choice for frequent travelers looking for a rewards card to supplement their earnings on a dedicated Citi travel card.

Decent sign-up bonus

Along with its generous ongoing cash back rewards, the Citi Custom Cash Card features a decent sign-up bonus: You can earn $200 cash back (20,000 ThankYou points that can be redeemed as cash back) after spending $1,500 in your first six months as a cardholder. Previously, this card’s bonus only required spending $750 in your first three months to earn $200. Although the higher spending requirement is a disappointment, you’ll just need to spend at the same rate ($250 per month) for twice as long to secure the offer.

If you already plan to maximize your 5% cash back by spending $500 in one of the card’s bonus categories each billing cycle, this should still be an easy threshold to reach. But if $250 per month in a single category sounds high, you may need to use the card for most of your everyday spending for the first six months to secure the bonus.

When you factor in the spending requirement, this bonus falls somewhere in the lower-middle among popular no-annual-fee cash back cards. The Chase Freedom Flex℠ card also offers a $200 bonus but only requires spending $500 in the first three months.

Citi also offers a useful bonus tracker tool, which shows you the progress you’ve made toward reaching the spending requirement, as well as the date by which you need to have spent $1,500 to secure the bonus, based on when you were approved for the card.

$0 annual fee and 0% intro APR

The Citi Custom Cash costs nothing to hold, so you won’t have to worry about maximizing your earnings to make up for an annual fee. Compare this with the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, which carries a slightly more competitive 6% cash back rate on U.S. supermarket purchases (up to $6,000 in purchases per year, then 1%), but also has a $95 annual fee ($0 introductory annual fee for the first year). While you could certainly offset these fees with cash back earnings, an annual fee inevitably introduces some level of risk, making the Custom Cash a lower-maintenance grocery rewards option.

The Citi Custom Cash card also comes with a generous introductory APR on both balance transfers and new purchases It’s one of only a handful of rewards cards that offer both types of intro APR. The Citi Double Cash, for example, offers an intro APR only on balance transfers.

Competitive perks and bonuses

Compared to other no-annual-fee cash back cards, the Citi Custom Cash offers a decent number of benefits, including useful Mastercard World Elite benefits like:

• Cellphone protection: You’ll get up to $800 per claim and up to $1,000 per year in cellphone insurance coverage against theft or damage if you pay your cell phone bill with the card (subject to a $50 deductible).
• Complimentary three-month DashPass subscription: You’ll receive a free DoorDash DashPass membership for three months and $5 off your first two orders each month as a DashPass member.
• Lyft credits: Each month you take at least three Lyft rides, you’ll earn a $5 Lyft credit toward your next ride.
• HelloFresh discounts: You’ll earn 5% back on every HelloFresh order, which can be used for future HelloFresh orders.
• Complimentary ShopRunner membership: ShopRunner gets you two-day shipping and free returns at more than 100 online retailers.

You’ll also enjoy select Citi card staples like $0 fraud liability, virtual account numbers, free access to your FICO credit score and Citi Entertainment, which gives you special access to ticket sales and exclusive experiences.

Why you might want a different card

The Citi Custom Cash card is a great choice for moderate spenders and those who spend consistently in one of the card’s bonus categories. However, it has its limitations to keep in mind. The Custom Cash card is only viable for cardholders who won’t spend well beyond its $500 cap each billing cycle in a single category.

Short intro APR offer and high balance transfer fee

While the Custom Cash card’s introductory APR on balance transfers and new purchases could be a big help if you need to chip away at existing card debt or pay off a larger purchase over time, the card carries a high balance transfer fee compared to many balance transfer cards.

You’ll pay a transfer fee of 5% (or $5, whichever is greater) with the Citi Custom Cash, which could prove costly if you need to transfer a large balance. This is only disappointing because dedicated balance transfer cards charge a balance transfer fee of just 3%. A balance transfer card, like the Discover it® Balance Transfer Card, could be a better option. It offers an intro APR period on balance transfers with a 3% intro balance transfer fee, up to 5% fee on future balance transfers (see terms).

That said, balance transfer cards often don’t have the same flexible cash back potential that you find on the Custom Cash card. Although you’ll pay a higher fee on the Custom Cash to transfer a balance for a shorter period, you can make up the difference with cash back on new purchases. Transferring a balance of $1,000 will cost you $50, but if you spend $1,000 on new purchases in your top eligible category split evenly between two billing cycles, you will earn $50 worth of cash back rewards. Although you can transfer that same $1,000 balance to the Discover it Balance Transfer Card for $30, you may not be able to offset it as easily because Discover uses a rotating calendar for its 5% bonus categories (earn 5% cash back when you activate on quarterly rotating categories up to $1,500, then 1%). Unless your spending aligns with Discover’s calendar, you may end up earning cash back at a slower rate than you would with the Custom Cash card.

Limited to a single bonus category each billing cycle

Though the Citi Custom Cash features a wide variety of bonus categories, you’ll only earn 5% back in your top spending category each billing cycle (on up to $500 in spending per month, then 1%), with other categories earning just 1% back.

Since a few of the card’s bonus categories make up a good portion of the average person’s budget, you’ll leave a lot of cash back on the table in your next two highest spending categories if you use the Citi Custom Cash as a standalone rewards card. While other rewards cards may carry a lower maximum rewards rate, they could also allow you to earn more than 1% back in multiple categories at once.

Given these limitations, the Citi Custom Cash Card may work best when supplemented by a flat-rate rewards card. Fitting your monthly spending habits into a limit of $500 may be difficult – even for moderate spenders. By positioning this card into a portfolio of other rewards cards, you can meet that $500 threshold in your top category and use a card like the Citi Double Cash card to earn 2% back instead of 1% on all purchases after $500.

The card’s $500 spending cap applied each billing cycle is also a bit more restrictive than the $1,500 quarterly cap you’ll find on most rotating bonus category cards, like the Discover it® Cash Back. By imposing a $500 cap on each billing cycle instead of a $1,500 cap each quarter, the Custom Cash has less flexibility to earn rewards on large purchases.

For example, because of the Citi Custom Cash card’s $500 cap each billing cycle, a single $1,500 purchase in an eligible bonus category would earn just $35 in cash back (5% back on the first $500 and 1% back on the next $1,000), versus $75 in cash back with the Discover it Cash Back.

Gated approval odds

The Citi Custom Cash Card is designed for cardholders with fair to excellent credit (a FICO score of 580 or higher), which means it likely won’t be an option if you have bad or limited credit history. However, it is rare to find a rewards card that is available for fair credit users. Unfortunately, Citi also does not currently offer preapproval for the Citi Custom Cash Card on its website, so be sure to check your credit score and see where you stand before you apply.

If you want to get a better sense of your approval odds before you apply, you can check the CreditCards.com CardMatch tool to see if you’re matched with the Citi Custom Cash Card based on your credit profile. This only requires a soft pull of your credit report and has no impact on your credit score until you submit a formal application.

Tip: The Citi Custom Cash gives you a chance to get instant approval, and you could even get access to a portion of your approved credit limit via an instant use card number.

How does the Citi Custom Cash Card compare to other cash back cards?

The Citi Custom Cash Card offers impressive rewards in your top spending category each billing cycle, but because all other categories earn just 1%, you’ll inevitably miss out on some rewards-earning opportunities without another rewards card to use for purchases in your second- or third-most common categories.

Consider these alternatives, which carry more flexible cash back limits, impressive rates in several of the Citi Custom Cash Card’s eligible bonus categories or a higher flat rewards rate:

Citi® Double Cash Card	Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express	Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Rewards rate 1% cash back on general purchases 1% additional cash back as you pay off those purchases	Rewards rate 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 in purchases per year, then 1%) 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on transit 1% cash back on general purchases	Rewards rate 3% cash back on category of your choice (gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drugstores or home improvements and furnishings) 2% cash back on grocery store and wholesale club purchases $2,500 combined limit on 2% and 3% categories each quarter 1% cash back on other purchases
Introductory bonus No current offer	Introductory bonus Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card within the first six months Terms apply	Introductory bonus $200 online cash rewards if you spend $1,000 in first 90 days
Annual fee $0	Annual fee $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 (see rates and fees)	Annual fee $0
Other things to know No category restrictions (same cash back rate on all purchases) Redeem cash back as a check, statement credit, gift card or deposit You can convert cash back to Citi ThankYou points for maximum value.	Other things to know One of the highest estimated earning rates among popular cash back cards Redeem cash back as a statement credit, gift card or merchandise ($25 minimum for statement credits and gift cards)	Other things to know No rewards options besides cash back Change your choice category once per calendar month View spending snapshot each month to help choose a bonus category Redeem cash back as a deposit, statement credit and more

Citi Custom Cash card vs. Citi Double Cash Card

Offering one of the best flat cash back rates available, the Citi Double Cash Card is a great no-frills, all-purpose rewards card. You earn 2% cash back on all purchases (1% when you buy and an additional 1% as you pay off those purchases) with no spending caps or select categories, unlike the Citi Custom Cash Card, which limits you with a $500 spending cap in a single category each billing cycle.

If you’re wary of the idea of actively working to maximize your rewards earnings and would rather not worry about tracking spending or going over a limit in a single billing cycle, the Citi Double Cash is a solid low-maintenance option. It will also enable you to earn more cash back for purchases outside your biggest spending category each month. This can potentially result in more cash back overall for the year.

Citi Custom Cash card vs. Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express

The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express comes with one of the best rewards rates for purchases at U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations available. It offers 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 in purchases per year, then 1%), 6% back on select streaming services and 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations. Though the card carries an ongoing $95 annual fee ($0 intro annual fee for the first year), you can offset this fee easily if groceries and gas make up a big chunk of your budget. Since the card earns bonus rewards in multiple categories at once, it could make for a better all-purpose option than the Custom Cash.

Citi Custom Cash card vs. Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card

A popular choose-your-bonus-category rewards card, the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card offers 3% cash back in a category of your choice and 2% cash back on grocery store and wholesale club purchases (on up to $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter on 2% and 3% categories). While this rate is lower than the maximum rate available on the Citi Custom Cash Card, you can cover more categories thanks to its additional year-round 2% bonus category. This card’s cash back variety could make it a great addition to your wallet if you spend heavily in its bonus categories and want to cover more purchases with higher cash back rates than you’d get with the Custom Cash Card.

How to use the Citi Custom Cash Card:

• Be strategic with your purchases to maximize your 5% rewards each billing cycle. For example, consider paying a year’s worth of streaming services or gym membership dues during a single billing cycle.
• Pair the Citi Custom Cash Card with a tiered-bonus category card that rewards your second- and third-highest spending categories.
• Pair the Citi Custom Cash Card with a flat-rate card to maximize purchases outside your top spending category.

Is the Citi Custom Cash Card right for you?

Used strategically, the Citi Custom Cash Card is absolutely worth having. This card could easily become one of the most valuable rewards cards in your wallet if you take full advantage of its impressive cash back rate for your top spending category. This is especially true if you have another  card you can use to earn rewards in other categories.

Not only is the Citi Custom Cash Card a good fit for low-maintenance cardholders who want to maximize rewards in their highest spending categories, but it’s also ideal for card experts looking to round out their rewards strategy – especially travel lovers who have or would consider a premium Citi rewards card.

That said, if you already have cards that earn rewards at a solid rate in some of the Citi Custom Cash card’s more popular categories, novelty categories like fitness clubs and live entertainment likely won’t make up enough of your spending to warrant a new card application. If instead, you use the Citi Custom Cash Card as your primary rewards card, the $500 cap each billing cycle and flat 1% cash back rate on all purchases outside your top spending category could leave you missing out on rewards on some of your purchases. To use the Custom Cash strategically and not fall victim to its biggest shortcoming, be sure to round out any spending each billing cycle that exceeds $500 with a rewards card that earns more than 1% in the categories not covered by the Custom Cash.

*Information about the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by CreditCards.com. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.