Citi Custom Cash vs. Other 5% Cash-Back Credit Cards

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Cash back credit cards are an easy way to make extra cash on all of your purchases. A number of premium credit cards can give you a generous 5% return on purchases.

These cash back cards usually use changing categories for what you get 5% back for. Credit card issuers publish a calendar of spending categories for each quarter. The cardholder must activate the bonus categories each quarter, which is done online or via the card issuer’s mobile app.

Citi Custom Cash Card

The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card is unique in this regard – it automatically determines your top spending category for the billing cycle and applies 5% cashback on purchases in that category up to $ 500. Unlike most other 5% cashback cards that require you to manually activate the categories and change your spending behavior every quarter to maximize your cashback, you can spend as normal and 5% cashback will be applied to the category you choose use most spend.

After you hit the $ 500 spend cap for the billing cycle, you will receive 1% cashback on purchases in this category. You also get 1% cashback on all other expenses. That means you can earn up to $ 25 cashback from your top spending category every month, in addition to 1% cashback on your other purchases.

The advantage of 5% cash back cards is that they often come with no annual fee and no welcome offer. The Citi Custom Cash card comes with $ 200 cashback if you spend $ 750 on purchases within the first three months and has no annual fee. It also comes with an introductory offer for 15 months of 0% APR on credit transfers and purchases (thereafter variable APR from 13.99% to 23.99%).

Citi Custom Cash℠ card

• reward

  5% cashback on purchases in the highest Eligible Spend category per billing cycle, up to $ 500 first spent (then 1%); unlimited 1% cashback on all other purchases

• Welcome bonus

  Earn $ 200 cashback after spending $ 750 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account. The bonus offer is fulfilled in the form of 20,000 ThankYou® points that can be redeemed for $ 200 cashback.

• annual fee

• Introduction of APR A

  0% APR on balance transfers and purchases for the first 15 months

• Regular annual interest

  13.99% to 23.99% variable

• Transfer fee for the credit

  5% of any credit transfer (minimum $ 5)

• Foreign transaction fee

• Credit needed

advantages

• No annual fee
• 5% cashback in eligible spending categories such as restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transportation, select streaming services, drug stores, hardware stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment
• $ 200 cashback welcome bonus when the spending threshold is reached
• Introductory offer 0% APR for the first 15 months

disadvantage

• 5% cashback is limited to the top spending category, up to the first $ 500,500 spent
• 3% foreign transaction fee when traveling outside of the US

Citi Custom Cash Card versus other 5% cashback cards

But how does the Custom Cash Card compare to other 5% cash back cards on the market? Select compares three other popular 5% cashback cards to the Citi Custom Cash Card to help you determine which card is best for you: Discover it® Cash Back, Chase Freedom Flex®, and US Bank Cash + ™ Visa Signature® .

The US Bank Cash + Visa Signature Card is unique in that it allows you to earn 5% cashback on two expense categories of your choice for up to $ 2,000 per quarter. There are many 5% categories to choose from, such as: B. Fast food, department stores, ground transportation and select clothing stores. In addition, you can choose one of three categories such as grocery stores, gas stations and restaurants where you get 2% cashback with no spending cap. You get 1% on all other purchases.

You can earn up to $ 100 each quarter in two selected 5% categories, in addition to 2% for your everyday categories and 1% for other purchases. In addition, this card comes with a solid welcome offer. If you spend $ 500 within the first 90 days, get $ 200 back. If you’re looking for a card with a similar welcome bonus, you might also consider the Chase Freedom Flex credit card.

US Bank Cash + ™ Visa Signature® card

Information about the US Bank Cash + ™ Visa Signature® Card was independently collected by Select and was not verified or provided by the card issuer prior to publication.

• reward

  5% cashback on two categories you select quarterly (on your first $ 2,000 of combined qualifying net purchases per quarter, then 1%); 2% cashback on an everyday category; 1% cashback on everything else

• Welcome bonus

  $ 200 after spending $ 500 within the first 90 days of opening an account

• annual fee

• Introduction of APR A

  0% effective annual interest rate for the first 12 billing cycles for balance transfers

• Regular annual interest

  13.99% to 23.99% variable *

• Transfer fee for the credit

• Foreign transaction fee

• Credit needed

advantages

• No annual fee
• High 5% cashback on select entertainment purchases when you activate bonus categories
• Little expenditure required to get a good welcome bonus

disadvantage

• 5% cashback is capped at $ 2,000 on combined purchases per quarter
• Activation is required to earn 5% cashback
• 2% to 3% foreign transaction fee

• Estimated Rewards Earned After 1 Year: $ 478
• Estimated Rewards Earned After 5 Years: $ 1,790

The total number of rewards includes the points you earned with the welcome bonus

The Chase Freedom Flex offers cardholders $ 200 cashback when they spend $ 500 on purchases within the first three months. The card gives 5% cashback every quarter in certain categories on purchases up to USD 1,500 (after 1%). The categories rotate quarterly and must be activated. Some of the most recent categories as of 2021 include gas stations and hardware stores and grocery stores (excluding Target and Walmart), as well as select streaming services.

The card also gives 3% cashback in restaurants and drug stores and 1% cashback on other purchases. You can earn up to $ 75 each quarter in the 5% cashback categories, in addition to the 3% and 1% cashback on other purchases. This card also offers perks such as 5% cashback on all Lyft trips through March 2022 and a free 3-month DoorDash subscription.

Chase Freedom Flex℠

• reward

  Earn 5% cashback for combined purchases in bonus categories (then 1%), 5% cashback for trips booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% cashback for restaurants and drugstores, 1% cashback on all others in every quarter you activate purchases

• Welcome bonus

  $ 200 cashback after spending $ 500 on purchases in the first three months of opening your account

• annual fee

• Introduction of APR A

  0% for the first 15 months on purchases

• Regular annual interest

  14.99% to 23.74% variable

• Transfer fee for the credit

  Either $ 5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater

• Foreign transaction fee

• Credit needed

advantages

• No annual fee
• Generous welcome bonus
• Opportunity to earn up to 5% cashback in selected categories when activated
• Rewards can be transferred to a Chase Ultimate Rewards card

disadvantage

• Bonus categories must be activated every quarter
• 3% fee for international transactions

• Estimated Rewards Earned After 1 Year: $ 814
• Estimated Rewards Earned After 5 Years: $ 2,647

The rewards totals include the cashback earned through the welcome bonus

There are four Discover cards that offer 5% cashback in different categories: Discover it® Cash Back, NHL® Discover it®, Discover it® Balance Transfer and Discover it® Student Cash Back. With Discover it Cash Back, cardholders have to activate the categories every quarter. The card offers 5% cashback for purchases in these categories up to USD 1500 (down from 1%) per quarter and 1% cashback for other purchases. This means you can earn up to $ 75 each quarter in addition to 1% cashback on your other purchases. The rotating categories for 2021 are Grocery, Walgreens, and CVS; Gas stations, wholesale clubs and selected streaming services; Restaurants and PayPal; and Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Target.com.

The card does not cost an annual fee and comes with a unique welcome bonus – Discover is equivalent to the cashback that cardholders earn in the first year. So, if by the end of your first year you earned $ 350 in cashback using the card, Discover would adjust that and add another $ 350 to your rewards account.

Bottom line

The Citi Custom Cash card takes a lot of effort and time to manage a 5% cash back card with changing categories. With the Custom Cash Card, you don’t have to worry about activating the categories each quarter or changing your spending habits to get the most out of your Cash Back card. However, the Custom Cash Card only offers 5% cashback on purchases up to $ 500 for each billing cycle. The US Bank Cash + Visa Signature may be a better option for you if you’re ready to activate the categories each quarter as it offers 5% cashback on purchases up to $ 2000.

Information about NHL® Discover it® and Discover it® Balance Transfer has been independently collected by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer prior to publication.

For Discover it® Cash Back prices and fees, click here.

For prices and fees of the Discover it® Student Cash Back, click here.

Note to editors: Opinions, analysis, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are solely those of the Select editors and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by third parties.

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/citi-custom-cash-vs-other-5-cash-back-credit-cards/