The Citi Double Cash Card: A New Benchmark Credit Card for Consumer Research Using Lending Tree Network and Chase U.S. Banks
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Cash back can be transferred to airline and hotel travel programs when combined with select Chase Ultimate Rewards cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
CNN underscored independently collected information for the Discover it Cash Back card. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
CNN Underscored has chosen the Citi Double Cash Card as our “benchmark” credit card. That doesn’t mean it’s the best credit card on the market — rather, it means we use it as a basic standard to compare other credit cards and see where they score better and worse.
Why it’s great in one sentence: If you use your credit card for a lot of small purchases — meaning under $10 — then the “round up” feature of the Citi Rewards+ will earn you extra rewards, and its introductory offer on new purchases can lower your costs if you have to carry debt.
We have a guide to credit card techniques in our methodology, as well as a review of the Citi Double Cash.
Although the Blue Cash Preferred normally has a $95 annual fee, it’s currently offering a $0 intro annual fee for the first year (see rates and fees). The card also earns 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year (then 1%). Its introductory offer is only for a year, instead of 15 months.
This card is right for: People who spend a significant amount of money at U.S. supermarkets but who also want to avoid high interest rates on their purchases for their first year as a card member.
Welcome bonus: If you spend $2,000 in the first 6 months on your new card, you will get a statement credit of 100 back, along with 20% back when you use the card at merchants in the first six months, and up to $150 back.
In addition to the extra cash you’ll get in the gas and grocery departments, you’ll also earn a significant amount of cash back on all your U.S. streaming subscriptions. It also includes Disney+ and other providers, as well as some others. And as transit starts to come back, you’ll also receive a nice return there as well, with 3% cash back on those transactions.
Even better, the Chase Freedom Unlimited comes with three permanent bonus categories. Both new and existing card holders earn 5% cash back on travel purchases made via Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% cash back on dining — including takeout and delivery — and 3% cash back at drugstores.
The rotating 5% cash back categories don’t have a maximum of how much cash back you can get in three bonus categories, but they do have a cap on purchases, which means you can only get 1% for the rest. And you’ll need to remember to activate the rotating categories each quarter in order to earn bonus cash back in them.
The benefit of having this feature is that if your top spending category changes each month, the Citi Custom Cash will change with it. There is no problem getting 5% cash back on some purchases each month with a broad list of eligible categories. The eligible categories are:
If the Chase Freedom Unlimited isn’t the right fit for you, there are other options. For example, the Citi Double Cash we mentioned earlier earns 2% cash back on all purchases — 1% when you spend and 1% when you pay your bill. This could provide a better return than the Freedom Unlimited if you don’t dine out or spend at drugstores, where the Freedom Unlimited earns 3% cash back.
A bonus category, purchase protection, extended warranty protection and an introductory rate on purchases are what it beats our benchmark card for.
Earn 4% cash back on eligible gas purchases worldwide, including Costco gas, and EV charging purchases (capped at the first $7,000 in purchases per year, then 1% thereafter).
We like the idea of getting a visa from Costco Anywhere. The cash back offered by the cosco Anywhere Visa is higher than any other credit card for filling up your gas tank.
The Costco Anywhere Visa also offers purchase protection, which is a great benefit for all purchases. If your item is stolen within 90 days of purchase in New York, you will be covered. The coverage is good for up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 annually, and the purchase protection applies to items you buy anywhere, not just at Costco.
It beats our card in several areas, notably purchase protection and no foreign transaction fees. Also, the Costco card is a Visa credit card, which is accepted at Costco in-store and at costco.com — Mastercards like the Citi Double Cash are not accepted in-store.
If you’re in the market for a business credit card — one with a strong earning and redemption opportunities — now is the time to act. The Ink Business credit cards from Chase increased their sign-up offers. These are the highest offer we’ve ever seen on these cards and two of the best business credit cards currently available. These offers are about to end.
In the first year, you can earn tons of cash back if you have the Discover it Cash Back card.
Bank Visa Platinum, Blue Cash Everyday, Chase and Citi Rewards: How and When to Use a Zero Interest Credit Card? An Empirical Study
0% introductory APR for 15 months on balance transfers (16.24% to 27.24% variable APR after that) with a 3% intro balance transfer fee until April 10, 2023, up to 5% fee on future balance transfers (see terms).
Not everyone is familiar with how and when to use a zero interest credit card, so we’ve assembled some of the more common questions and answers about the process.
What we like most about the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum: If you need extra time to pay your current bills, 18 billing cycles without interest is exceptional compared to other credit cards, and that long runway enables a peace of mind that you can weather a storm without a looming interest rate hike.
Ongoing cell phone protection is also an added perk on this card. If your cell phone is damaged or stolen, you will be covered for up to two accidental claims per year and a deductible of $25 per claim.
In other words, it has only limited utility beyond the introductory period, although you could possibly use it to pay your cell phone bill so that you can get included cell phone protection.
The card currently has a $200 back offer if you spend $2,000 in the first 6 months of account membership. Balance transfers can be done with the account for up to 15 months from opening, so it has a zero startAPR on purchases. It then goes to a variable APR between 18.74% and 29.74%. The Blue Cash Everyday does not have an annual fee.
You can transfer your points to one of the airline and hotel partners when you have moved your points to a premium Chase card. Frequent-flyer website The Points Guy values Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents apiece, which means your 90,000 points can be worth around $1,800. It is best to transfer your points to a partner because you will get even more value for them, even if it is a first class airline ticket or a high-end hotel suite.
We love the Citi rewards+. Three features of the Citi rewards are worthy of consideration. First, the rewards you earn for every purchase made with the card round up to the nearest 10 points. A $2 pack of gum will get you 10 points, a 400% improvement, and it won’t change a lot of things. Lots of these little transactions can add up quickly.
Second, when you redeem points, you’ll get 10% of your points back on up to 100,000 points every year. 250 points will be deducted from your account when you use 2,500 points to redeem a gift card. If you get up to 10,000 points back each year, then you can spend an extra $100 on gift cards.
It is great in one sentence: Capital One SavorOne card offers an introductory interest rate on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, plus 3% cash back on many everyday categories.
But more importantly, if you’ve gotten used to having food delivered in the last few years, most food delivery services also code as “dining” on the Capital One SavorOne, meaning if you order from a service like Grubhub or Seamless, in most cases you should get the same 3% cash back that you would if you were physically dining at the restaurant.
Choosing a credit card with the best interest rate and interest rate: Reviewing rewards, perks and benefits for a car loan application
For example, let’s say you have to make $2,000 worth of repairs to your car, but you don’t have the cash to do it. If you use a normal credit card and don’t pay the balance in full when you get your credit card bill, you’ll be charged interest on the remaining balance, typically at an exceedingly high rate. You will be charged interest on the interest in the future. With a high APR card, your debt can quickly spiral out of control.
But also, like any other credit card, you’ll want to consider the card’s rewards program, perks and benefits. Does the card earn cash back or travel rewards? You might want to consider one card over another based on your earning preference. You’ll also want to see if there are any features such as travel or purchase protections — benefits that can come in handy.
Finally, if you already have substantial debt, you might want to consider if there’s also an introductory offer for balance transfers on the card, which could allow you to reduce the interest charges on your existing debt in addition to your new purchases.
Unfortunately, not paying your credit card bill in full and carrying a balance can hurt your credit score. Even if you apply for a new credit card with a low interest rate and don’t have to worry about high interest charges immediately, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that paying off your debt is the best way to strengthen your credit score.
Small Business Owners: American Express Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance Eligibility and Benefits Applied to Business Credit Cards and Other Small Business Card Applications
American Express car rental loss and damage insurance eligibility and benefit levels vary by card. There are terms and conditions. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. offers loss and damage coverage through the AMEX Assurance Company.
Card holders also get purchase protection against damage or theft for the first 120 days after a purchase is made with the card. This coverage will pay up to 500 per claim or $50,000 per account. And items charged to the Chase Freedom Unlimited that come with a manufacturer’s warranty of three years or less also receive an additional year of extended warranty protection.
If you have a lot of debt to consolidate, you may want to look at a different card. Some of the most popular balance transfer credit cards offer an introductory rate on balance transfers for as long as 21 months, which is longer than the 15 months that the Chase Freedom Unlimited offers.
If you’re eligible for a business credit card, then yes! This is a huge sign-up offer on two credit cards that can be used by small business and have no annual fee.
The one caveat is that you won’t want to use these Ink credit cards during overseas business trips, as both of them charge a 3% foreign transaction fee on international purchases.
Credit cards for small businesses are not solely for large corporations. Mom-and-pop shops, small startups and even people with side jobs are often eligible for business credit cards as well. You might not even realize you already have a business, but selling products through eBay, being a ride-share driver or buying and selling real estate are all activities that may categorize you as a small-business owner.
If you fall into this bucket, you can legitimately apply for either the Ink Business Cash or Ink Business Unlimited — or most other business cards — as a sole proprietor using your Social Security number instead of an Employer Identification Number. And even if you’re just getting started in your new gig, you can still apply — just be honest about your business and income on the application.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited: A Benchmark for Business Card Applications and Comparisons of Green, Red, and White Features of the Cards Using ePluses
Not sure what card to pick? You can get both! Even if you have another Chase card, you can still apply for one of these two cards. Chase has no maximum on the number of business cards you can have, and getting more than one can be a great way to separate expenses if you have multiple projects or even multiple businesses.
We have a benchmark for the Chase Freedom unlimited. The colors of the features of the cards are green, red or white. Green indicates a card feature that is better than our benchmark. White indicates that the feature is equivalent or cannot be compared directly to our benchmark, red shows that it is worse than our benchmark.