Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
The Citi Custom Cash℠ Cards is perhaps the most versatile 5% cash back card available. It can earn 5% back on any one of a wide range of categories on up to $500 in spending each statement cycle. You can change which category you use the card for each statement cycle and you don’t have to do anything to select your category.
If you held multiple Citi Custom Cash℠ Cards, you could earn even more. But the application terms say that Citi will only open one Custom Cash account per person. But it is possible to get multiple Custom Cash cards through product changes.
Here’s how to get multiple Citi Custom Cash℠ Cards.
Citi Custom Cash® Card: bonus_miles_full
Our take on the welcome bonus: Citi doesn’t often offer an increased welcome bonus on the Custom Cash. If you do not yet have a Custom Cash card, there’s no reason to wait for an increased bonus.
The link above is a link directly to the bank’s website. We don’t make money when you use the above link, but we always show you the best offer.
Card highlights:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 5% on the first $500 in monthly purchases in your top eligible category; 1% everywhere else
Why get multiple Citi Custom Cash℠ Cards?
The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card earns 5% on your first $500 of spending in select categories each statement cycle. After $500 of spending, you earn 1%. And spending in other categories earns only 1%. Getting another Custom Cash increases the amount of spending you can earn 5% on. If you hold two Custom Cash cards, you can earn 5% cash back on two categories or on $1,000 of spending in a single category each month. This scales with the number of Custom Cash cards you have.
The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card has plenty of category bonuses that are relevant to most people. Here’s the full list:
- Restaurants
- Gas stations
- Grocery stores
- Select travel
- Select transit
- Select streaming services
- Drugstores
- Home improvement stores
- Fitness clubs
- Live entertainment.
For most people, the more Custom Cash cards you have, the more spending you can earn 5% on.
But the card isn’t just good as a cash back card. While the card is marketed as a cash back card, behind the scenes, it earns ThankYou Points. This opens up some interesting synergies when combined with other ThankYou Points earning cards.
Citi ThankYou Points synergies
When you combine your Citi ThankYou® Rewards accounts, you can take advantage of the benefits of each of your cards across all of the ThankYou® Points that you earn. Cards that earn ThankYou Points include the Citi® Double Cash Card, Citi Rewards+® Card, Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, and Citi Premier® Card.
When you hold the no-annual-fee Citi Rewards+® Card, you earn a 10% rebate on the first 100,000 ThankYou Points you redeem each year. If you redeem 50,000 ThankYou Points for an award, you’ll get 5,000 bonus ThankYou points in your account automatically.
The Citi Rewards+® Card does not allow redemptions for cash back on its own. But if you hold another no-annual-fee ThankYou Points card like the Citi® Double Cash Card or Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, you can redeem your ThankYou Points for cash back. Cash back redemptions are also available when you hold the $95 annual fee Citi Premier® Card.
Holding the $95 annual fee Citi Premier® Card enables you to transfer your points to any of Citi’s ThankYou Points transfer partners, which include several hotels chains and global airline programs. Point transfers to travel partners are one of the best ways to get increased value from your points.
For more on point transfers, see our Guide to ThankYou Points.
Cards that can be converted to Citi Custom Cash℠
Various reports from users online indicate that most ThankYou Points earning cards and Citi’s personal cards issued in partnership with American Airlines can be converted to a Citi Custom Cash℠ card. Here are the cards that we’ve seen user data points from:
- Citi Dividend Card
- Citi Premier® Card
- Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants or via product conversion)
- Citi Rewards+® Credit Card
- Citi Double Cash
- American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard® Credit Card
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card
Other blogs have reported that the AT&T Access Card, Expedia®+ Voyager Card, and Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card can be converted to a Citi Custom Cash, but I haven’t been able to independently verify these.
Optimal strategy for getting multiple Citi Custom Cash℠ Cards
The optimal strategy to get multiple Custom Cash cards is to first open one Citi Custom Cash℠ card and then open other cards that have welcome bonuses and can be converted to a Custom Cash card. After having these other cards for one year, call Citi and ask for a product conversion to a Custom Cash.
Step 1: Open a Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
If you do not already have a Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, get your first card directly. The card has a welcome bonus available to new cardmembers once every 48 months. You won’t be able to get a new Custom Cash card once you have one open, so you might as well cash the opportunity to earn a welcome bonus first.
Citi Custom Cash® Card: bonus_miles_full
Our take on the welcome bonus: Citi doesn’t often offer an increased welcome bonus on the Custom Cash. If you do not yet have a Custom Cash card, there’s no reason to wait for an increased bonus.
The link above is a link directly to the bank’s website. We don’t make money when you use the above link, but we always show you the best offer.
Card highlights:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 5% on the first $500 in monthly purchases in your top eligible category; 1% everywhere else
Once you have opened one Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, you won’t be able to open any additional Custom Cash cards through new account applications.
Step 2: Open convertible cards with welcome bonuses
While you can convert most any Citi personal card to a Custom Cash, the smartest move is to open a card and earn a welcome bonus. You can open and then convert ThankYou Points-earning cards such as the Citi Premier or Citi Rewards+. But don’t forget about Citi’s AAdvantage cards. Those cards can also be converted.
Step 3: Wait a year and convert
You’ll need to wait a year after opening your cards to convert them to a Citi Custom Cash℠ Card. This is due to Citi’s policies and regulations that prohibit changing the benefits of cards that carry an annual fee within a year. After one year, you’ll call Citi and ask to convert your eligible card to a Citi Custom Cash℠ Card.
If the card you’re converting has an annual fee, you’ll want to make sure to ask for the annual fee to be refunded to you. In most cases, Citi will refund an annual fee on a card you cancel or “downgrade” to a no-annual-fee card if you make the request within a month of when the annual fee posts to your account.
A few notes on applying for Citi credit cards
- Citi has limits on the number of applications you can submit. You can only apply for one personal card every eight days and no more than two cards every rolling 65 days. Business cards are subject to the same eight-day limitation, but you can apply for no more than one business card every 95 days.
- You can get a new customer welcome bonus on Citi cards multiple times, but Citi has rules on how often you can earn a welcome bonus.
- ThankYou Point welcome offers are typically not available if you’ve received a new account bonus on the same card in the past 48 months.
- Welcome bonuses on AAdvantage cards are only available if you have not received a welcome bonus for the same card within the past 48 months.
- There is no limit to the number of Citi cards you can hold.
- You can check your application status on the Citi website or by calling 1-866-606-2787.
What are the rules on product conversions?
Citi has a few general rules on product conversions that you need to be aware of if you’re planning on converting one of your other cards to a Custom Cash?
No product changes in the first year. You cannot product change within the first 12 months that your account is open. This is related to the rule regarding increasing annual fees during the first year you hold a card. While changing to a card with no annual fee isn’t prohibited, most issuers simply prevent changes for the first 12 months.
You can only product-change a personal card to the Custom Cash. Like many issuers, Citi does not allow you to change business cards to personal cards and vice versa.
You can product-change most cards, including co-branded cards, to the Custom Cash. Most issuers don’t allow product changes from co-branded cards, like airline or hotel credit cards, to the Custom Cash. But Citi does. This means you can convert Citi’s AAdvantage credit cards to the Custom Cash.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, but you can only apply for one Citi Custom Cash card directly. Citi will let you have a second Custom Cash card via a product conversion.
Citi will only approve you for one card every eight days, and two cards within 65 days. You can apply for Citi personal and business credit cards at the same time. Citi has separate application limits for business and personal cards.
5/24 is a Chase credit card application rule that only impacts Chase applications. Citi will consider the number of new accounts and credit inquiries on your credit report, but they don’t follow Chase’s rule against having five new accounts within a 24 month period.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.