Citi Custom Cash® Card Review
The Citi Custom Cash® is a cash back card that actually earns valuable ThankYou Points. These points can then be cashed out at one cent per point, but if you also have a Citi Premier® or Citi Prestige® card, you can transfer the points earned to Citi's many transfer partners which increases their value. In our Citi Custom Cash® review, we will take a look at the welcome offer, card perks, earning structure and share our overall thoughts.
Current Welcome Offer
The Citi Custom Cash® has the following welcome offer:
- Quidget_CustomCash_Bonus
- The card does not have an annual fee.
Citi Application Rules
Citi has a few application rules to keep in mind. Citi will not approve you for more than one card every eight days, and two cards every 65 days. You are not eligible for the welcome offer on the Citi Custom Cash® if you have earned a welcome offer on the card over the previous 48 months. This is a little different from the ThankYou family rule that is attached to the other ThankYou point earning cards.
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card Review: Earning Structure
The Citi Custom Cash® has the following earning structure:
- Earn 5% / 5x on the first $500 spent in your ToP eligible category each billing cycle. The eligible categories are as follows:
- Restaurants
- Gas Stations
- Grocery Stores
- Select Travel & Transit
- Select Streaming Services
- Drugstores
- Home Improvement Stores
- Fitness Clubs
- Live Entertainment
- Earn 1% / 1x on everything else
Citi Custom Cash Card Benefits
Like some other no annual fee cards, the Citi Custom Cash® does not offer any major benefits or perks. This card is all about rewarding cardholders for their spend, but it does come with a couple of features:
- Access to free FICO score
- Access to Citi Entertainment features
ToP Analysis
The Citi Custom Cash® is an easy card through which to earn 2,500 Citi ThankYou Points per month by just spending $500 per billing cycle. Those 2,500 can add up to 30,000 ThankYou points for the year. If you have a premium Citi ThankYou point earning card, like the Citi Premier, that return gets even better. That is because you can marry your ThankYou accounts and then the points from the Custom Cash become transferable. You need to call to merger your ThankYou accounts. Call the 1-800 number on the back of your card and ask for the ThankYou Points department.
I really like how this automatically activates the bonus earning depending by which area you spent the most in. That differs from the competition and is the easier option. Plus, there is no need to activate the category each quarter and you are not restricted to certain categories for 3 months at a time. If you love the gas or grocery quarter with your other 5% back cards, guess what? You can get that every single month!
The current welcome offer is a good deal for the little amount of spend it requires. It is also nice that it plays outside the rules of the ThankYou card family. If you just got a Citi Premier for example, you are still eligible for the Custom Cash. You can also product change to the Custom Cash from other Citi cards (though product changing would not earn the welcome offer).
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card Review: ToP Thoughts
The Citi Custom Cash® offers an easy way to boost your stash of Citi ThankYou Points by earning 5% / 5x on select categories. Fans of ThankYou Points should look into the Custom Cash as another great way to earn ThankYou Points on top of the Citi Premier and the Citi® Double Cash Card cards. We love the fact that you get to choose which category you want to use each month by the swipes of your card. It doesn't get any easier than that.
What do you think of the Citi Custom Cash®? Come join the discussion in our Facebook group!
