Updated April 1, 2026.

The Facts

• Annual Fee: none

• Signup Bonus: $200. Historical best bonus of the card: $200 several times in past years; $150 in 2019; $100 in 2018.

• Application landing page

• Rewards: a total of 2% cashback: unlimited 1% cash back for all purchases, and an additional 1% cash back for the payments made, as long as you at least pay minimum amount due each month. You also earn 5% on select travel (hotels, car rentals, attractions) booked through Citi Travel. Even though it is advertised as a cashback card, it actually earn ThankYou points - you earn 2x points from general spending.

• Best Use of ThankYou points: (1) ThankYou (TY) Rewards is Citi's rewards program and the points can be redeemed for cash, merchandise, gift cards, and travel, returning up to 1 cent per point (note: cash rewards have 1 cent value for this card instead of 0.75 cents on other TY cards). (2) You may transfer TY points to miles/points of multiple frequent traveler programs mostly at a 1:0.7 ratio. However, when you have a premium TY card such as Citi Strata Premier ($95) or Citi Strata Elite ($595), you might combine all your TY points together and unlock the premium 1:1 transfer ratio. In this way, you increase TY points earned from Double Cash substantially; based on our current valuation of 1.5 cents per TY point using this feature, Double Cash returns 3% flexible travel rewards instead of 2% cashback. The caveat is that you will need to know how to leverage the frequent traveler miles/points transfer feature, which can be both rewarding and challenging at the same time. Please see our featured review Marriott vs. MR vs. UR vs. TY vs. C1 vs. CR for the programs that allow points transfer to frequent traveler accounts.

• Other Benefits: (1) It comes with an embedded EMV chip. However, the foreign transaction fees are not waived. (2) Citi Entertainment - special access to entertainment, sports, dining, and virtual events, in terms of presale and preferred tickets, exclusive offers, etc.

• Other Fact: This card is issued as a regular MasterCard, a World MasterCard, or a World Elite MasterCard.

• History: Citi introduced Double Cash MasterCard in August 2014 to challenge the best cashback card at that time - FIA Fidelity Amex which also returned 2% cashback but required a Fidelity account. Due to the payment network advantage, we have considered Double Cash as the benchmark of cashback cards ever since. In September 2019, Citi started to allow cashback earned from Double Cash to be transferred to ThankYou points, thus offering a higher rewards potential if you also have a premium ThankYou card. In March 2022, Citi further increased the flexibility by making this card earn ThankYou points directly which can be redeemed for cash at 1 cent per point value.

The Math
Since introduction in 2014, Double Cash has been a straightforward 2% cashback card without an annual fee or spending cap. Starting September 2019, when you pair it with a premium ThankYou card such as Strata Premier or Strata Elite, Double Cash has a higher travel rewards potential at 3%, becoming the best personal rewards card for general spending. You could make a great combo by paring Double Cash with either Citi Strata Premier or Citi Strata Elite. For example, the Strata Premier-Double Cash combo will return impressive 4.5% for groceries & gas & dining & most travel and 3% for everything else, with $95 annual fees.

Citi Double Cash MasterCard vs. other no-annual-fee 2% cashback cards: Citi Double Cash doesn't require any banking relationship to apply or to redeem, but has a $25 minimum before you may redeem. Of course, starting September 2019, if you pair it with a premium ThankYou card, Double Cash will return flexible travel rewards at 3%. Elan Fidelity Visa requires a linked Fidelity account (brokerage, cash management, retirement, or 529 account) and a $50 minimum to redeem for 2% cashback. Synchrony PayPal MasterCard requires that you have a PayPal account to apply and to keep the card open, but has no minimum redemption requirement.

The Conclusion
With the introduction of Double Cash, Citi finally came into the 2% cashback market in 2014. With a simple reward formula, it has been a great success ever since. September 2019 enhancement which allows cashback earned on Double Cash to be transferred to ThankYou points and thus opens up better rewards potential when you pair Double Cash with a premium ThankYou card. It is currently ranked as one of Best Credit Cards for Rewards.