Citi Custom Cash® Card Review: Get 5% Cash Back In Your Top Spending Category

Credit cards offering both 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers, plus no annual fee aren’t typically known for their generous cash back rewards. That’s simply because most credit card companies see the ability to save on interest payments as rewarding enough.

Citi has never taken this view, as showcased by their unique and rewarding Citi Custom Cash® Card. With the Citi Custom Cash® Card you’ll get a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers, a $200 welcome bonus after spending $1,500 within six months of account opening, and a whopping 5% cash back on your top spending category each billing cycle.

To top things off, you’ll get unlimited 1% cash back on everything else, making the Citi Custom Cash® Card a highly compelling choice for anyone who wants to earn hefty cash back rewards without accumulating interest on old or new debt. 

Citi Custom Cash® Card

All information about Citi Custom Cash Card has been independently collected by MoneyUnder30.com. Content has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer

Welcome Offer

Spend $1,500 on purchases within the first six months of opening an account and you’ll receive 20,000 ThankYou Points, worth $200 in cash back.

Rewards

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) - there are no category enrollments to worry about or no need to juggle reward tiers. Eligible 5% categories include: restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, fitness clubs, live entertainment, drugstores, and home improvement stores. You’ll get 1% cash back on everything else you purchase.

Annual Fee

$0

Our Thoughts

Earn bonus 5% cash-back on the category of purchases you make most, up to $500 spent per billing cycle.

Offer details accurate as of 9/6/23

Key facts/overview

• Best for – Balance transfers and cash back. 
• Signup bonus – Earn $200 cash back (20,000 ThankYou® Points) after spending $1,500 within your first six months of account opening.
• Cash back – 5% cash back on up to $500 worth of purchases in your top spending category (travel, groceries, etc.) each billing cycle (28-33 days), plus unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Intro APR – 0% for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers (balance transfers must be initiated within four months of account opening).
• Other unique features – Digital Wallets, Citi® Quick Lock, Citi Entertainment®.

In-depth analysis of the Citi Custom Cash® Card

Let’s break down what makes the Citi Custom Cash Card so unique and compelling, starting with its clever take on the traditional 5% rewards structure. 

Rewards

Ever since the first “rewards card” emerged in 1986, credit card companies have been locked in an arms race to offer the best cash back rewards. 35 years later, the current “superpowers” are offering customers a whopping 5% cash back – but only in certain, predetermined categories. 

This caveat is where Citi saw a competitive advantage, swooping in with the next evolution of credit card rewards. 

5% in the category you spend in most

With the Citi Custom Cash Card, you now get 5% cash back in whatever category you’re spending the most in. No more having to “activate” your next three months of rewards, or worse, discovering the new 5% categories are in things you never spend money in (Gas? I drive a Tesla!).

The Citi Custom Cash Card simply calculates what you already spent the most money in the last billing cycle (28 to 33 days) and gives you 5% cash back in that. 

There are limits to this cash back

There are caveats to this new system – you can only earn 5% cash back on up to $500 worth of spending each billing cycle (amounting to $25 or roughly $300 annually), and it’s worth pointing out that your 5% rewards are only coming from one category. Your spendiest category, granted, but just one nonetheless. 

In addition to that 5% cash back structure, you’ll also get unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases, which is a nice touch that could end up equally as rewarding as your 5%.

Bonuses

The Citi Custom Cash Card offers a nice welcome bonus: $200 as soon as you spend $1,500 within the first six months of account opening (note: you will qualify for the bonus offer only if you have not received a bonus offer for opening a new Citi Custom Cash Card in the past 48 months). 

Your bonus will come in the form of ThankYou® Points, which are redeemable at ThankYou.com (still impressed they got that domain). Anyhow, one caveat to ThankYou® Points that you should know about is they’re only redeemable for cash in multiples of $25.

If you’re the type of person who cashes out your bonus points constantly and even factors them into your monthly budget, you may find these redemption limitations frustrating. 

APR

Here’s a quick breakdown of the Citi Custom Cash Card’s generous APR structure: 

• APR for purchases – 0% for 15 months on purchases from date of account opening. After that a variable APR applies depending on creditworthiness. 
• APR for balance transfers – 0% for 15 months on balance transfers from date of first transfer when transfers are completed within four months from date of account opening. After that a variable APR applies depending on creditworthiness. 

0% APR on both old and new purchases isn’t common among rewards credit cards, especially among those with rewards this high. 

It’s a bit disappointing that Citi charges such a high fee for balance transfers with the Citi Custom Cash Card. The fee is the greater of $5 or 5%. That’s 2% higher than most other balance transfer cards and even Citi’s other balance transfer cards.

Granted, your welcome bonus will more than cover it, but the Citi Custom Cash Card’s high balance transfer fee is still worth keeping in mind. 

Annual fee

The Citi Custom Cash Card charges no annual fee. This puts it in line with similar, competing cards. 

Other fees

You can view the Citi Custom Cash Card’s latest fee structure in the Terms & Conditions listed under Fees, but here’s a breakdown of the essentials:

• Annual fee: $0.
• Transaction fees:  
  • Balance Transfer fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
  • Cash Advance fee: 5% of each cash advance; $10 minimum
  • Foreign Transaction fee: 3% of each purchase transaction in U.S. dollars.
• Penalty Fees: 
  • Late Payment: Up to $41.
  • Returned Payment: Up to $41.

All in all, there aren’t really any hidden “gotchas” in the Citi Custom Cash Card’s fee structure. The only two times I raised my eyebrow were at the balance transfer fee, which I’ve already covered, and the 3% foreign transaction fee. 

The foreign transaction fee serves as a gentle reminder that the Citi Custom Cash Card isn’t a great travel rewards card. Sure, you can get up to 5% cash back on travel-related expenses each billing cycle, but the rewards cap out at $500 worth of spending – so you won’t get $100 back on your $2,000 cruise booking, just $25. Plus, unlike most dedicated travel rewards cards, the Citi Custom Cash Card doesn’t include travel insurance, nor its points carry a value multiplier when redeemed for travel. 

So while it can’t exactly compete among true travel cards, it’s still a serious contender among general rewards credit cards – especially those offering 0% APR. 

Other unique benefits

The Citi Custom Cash Card includes three other perks worth mentioning. 

• Digital Wallets – Citi’s Digital Wallets let you securely store your payment info so you can speed through checkout with millions of online merchants.
• Citi® Quick Lock – Citi® Quick Lock will instantly block all new charges on your Citi Custom Cash Card without blocking recurring charges, so you won’t have to worry about suspending your Netflix account.
• Citi Entertainment® – Citi Entertainment® gives you and other Citi cardholders exclusive access to live event ticket presales and special experiences. 

How much can you earn with the Citi Custom Cash® Card? 

The Citi Custom Cash Card has the ability to generate some serious cash back rewards – if you use it right. 

To illustrate its potential, let’s look at two scenarios. The first will be someone a bit more budget-minded, trying to keep their credit card spending at or below $1,000 within each 28 to 33-day billing per. The second will be someone a bit more flexible with their budget, spending double that. 

Budget spender

Let’s look at how much the “budget spender” can earn using their Citi Custom Cash Card: 

Premium spender

Let’s look at what a “premium spender” with a $2,000 budget per billing cycle can expect to earn from using the Citi Custom Cash Card.