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New Citi Custom Cash Card Launches [Earn 5% Back on Your Top Purchases]

BY 

Jarrod West

- UPDATED: August 18, 2021

1. News

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Citi has just launched a new credit card product, the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, that offers cardholders 5% cash-back on the purchases they spend the most on each month. Looking at the benefits, it appears that the Citi Custom Cash card was created to compete with the Chase Freedom Flex℠ Credit Card, and if so, Citi has really hit the mark.

For points and miles fans, there is a lot to love about the Citi Custom Cash card, so let’s dive in and see what the card has to offer.

Citi Custom Cash Card Details

CREDIT CARD

CARD INFO

Citi Custom Cash℠ Card Learn More (at Citi's secure site)

Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $750 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back. 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. After that, the variable APR will be 13.99% - 23.99%, based on your creditworthiness. Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. Also, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. No rotating bonus categories to sign up for – as your spending changes each billing cycle, your earn adjusts automatically when you spend in any of the eligible categories. Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-850) Annual Fee: $0

With the Citi Custom Cash card, you’re going to earn 5% cash-back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent — allowing you to earn up to $25 in cash-back each billing cycle at this rate.

In terms of eligible spending categories, Citi gives you 10 options, and they are as follows:

• Restaurants (excluding delivery services)
• Gas stations
• Grocery stores
• Select travel (includes airlines, hotels, cruise lines, and travel agencies)
• Select transit (includes taxis/rideshares, subways, car rentals, and more)
• Select streaming services (includes Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix, Spotify, and more)
• Drugstores
• Home improvement stores
• Fitness clubs
• Live entertainment

So, whichever category you happen to spend the most money on each billing cycle will earn 5% back, while the others will earn 1% back, plus 1% back on all purchases in your top category over $500.

Combine Points With a Premium Citi ThankYou Card

One of the best benefits of the Citi Custom Cash card is that since cash-back is earned in the form of Citi ThankYou Points, those who also hold a premium Citi ThankYou card like the Citi Premier℠ Card or the Citi Prestige® Card can pool their points together to then redeem with one of the Citi ThankYou travel transfer partners.

This means that the $500 cap on purchases for 5% rewards will actually come in the form of 2,500 ThankYou Points, so those that are able to hit this threshold each month on one of the 10 bonus categories can earn 30,000 ThankYou Points per year.

What can you do with 30,000 ThankYou Points? How does a round-trip business class flight to Hawaii bookable through Turkish Airlines (a Citi transfer partner) for just 25,000 points sound?

Hot Tip: Interested in more ways to redeem Citi ThankYou Points? Read through our guide covering some of the best value Citi ThankYou Point redemptions you can make!

Final Thoughts

Suffice to say, Citi has really outdone themselves with this new card. Whether you’re looking for an excellent cash-back card or a card that can help boost your ThankYou Point earnings, the no-annual-fee Citi Custom Cash card is really a fantastic option.