Citi Custom Cash Review: Best 5% Cash Back Card
The Citi Custom Cash earns 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. It also earns unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Welcome Offer: Earn $200 cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. Plus enjoy our low intro APR for 15months on purchases and balance transfers.
Annual Fee: $0
Cash back earned in the form of Citi ThankYou Points
Eligible Spend Categories (5%)
Restaurants: Includes purchases at cafes, bars, lounges and fast food restaurants. Excludes purchases at bakeries, caterers, restaurants located inside another business (such as hotels, stores, stadiums, grocery stores, or warehouse clubs) and third party dining delivery services.
Gas Stations: Excludes gasoline purchases at warehouse clubs, discount stores, convenience stores or other merchants that do not use the gas station merchant category code.
Grocery Stores: Includes purchases at supermarkets, meat/seafood stores, dairy stores, bakeries, and miscellaneous food/convenience stores. Excludes purchases at general merchandise/discount superstores; wholesale/warehouse clubs; candy, nut and confectionery stores. Purchases made at online supermarkets or with grocery delivery services also do not qualify if the merchant does not classify itself as a supermarket by using the supermarket merchant category code.
Select Travel: Includes airline, hotel, cruise line and travel agency purchases. Excludes timeshares, boat leases and rentals, campgrounds and trailer parks, and real estate agencies.
Select Transit: Includes car rentals, ferries, commuter railways, subways, taxis/limousines/car services, passenger railways, bridge and road tolls, parking lots/garages, bus lines, and motor home and recreational vehicle rentals. Excludes bike/scooter rentals, auto clubs and insurance companies.
Select Streaming Services: Includes the following cable, satellite, and streaming providers: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Paramount+, Disney+, DirectTV Stream, ESPN+, fuboTV, HBO Max, NBA League Pass, Netflix, Pandora, Showtime, Sling TV, Spotify, Starz, SiriusXM, Vudu, YouTube Red, YouTube TV, and Tidal.
Drug Stores: Includes purchases made at pharmacies in grocery stores, general merchandise/discount superstores, and wholesale/warehouse clubs if those merchants submit purchases made in their pharmacy with the drug store and pharmacy merchant category code.
Home Improvement Stores: Includes purchases at home supply warehouse stores, lumber and building materials stores, paint and wallpaper stores, hardware stores, nurseries – lawn and garden supply stores and paints, varnishes and supplies stores. Excludes florists and florists’ supply stores; nursery stock; wholesale construction stores; and glass stores.
Fitness Clubs: Includes membership fee and other purchases at athletic, sports and recreation facilities requiring membership such as health, tennis, and swimming clubs. Excludes fees associated with virtual services for home exercise equipment, personal monitoring devices, or fitness streaming classes.
Live Entertainment: Includes ticket purchases for live entertainment, including: concerts, live sporting events, live theatrical productions, amusement parks, and orchestras. Excludes: charitable organizations that provide live entertainment (benefits), sporting camps, sports complexes where you participate in the sport, public and private golf courses, country clubs (including membership fees), bowling alleys, movie theaters, tourist attractions, museums and art galleries.
Key Benefits
5% Bonus Categories: Earn 5% on up to $500 in your top eligible spend category
World Elite Mastercard: The Citi Custom Cash is a World Elite Mastercard which comes with additional levels of protections and benefits
Citi Thank You Points: The Citi Custom Cash earns Citi Thank You Points which can be redeemed in a wide variety of ways
Mark's Opinion
I am a huge fan of this card! I got my Citi Custom Cash in March 2022 and use it as my go to gas credit card. In summer 2022 I bought a Toyota 4Runner which is notoriously not very fuel efficient. My monthly gas purchases just about doubled! So being able to earn 5% cash back on all my gas purchases with my Citi Custom Cash has really helps offset the additional costs.