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Key takeaways
- The Citi Double Cash® Card offers a lengthy intro APR period for balance transfers, making it a good choice for those looking to pay off existing credit card debt.
- Cardholders can earn up to 2 percent cash back on all purchases and get additional benefits such as $0 liability protection and access to Citi Entertainment events, providing long-term rewards even after the debt is paid off.
- Transferring a balance to the Citi Double Cash card incurs a 3 percent fee, so it’s important to have a plan for paying off the balance before the intro APR period ends.
If you’re looking for ways to reduce or pay off your personal debt, a balance transfer credit card, like the Citi Double Cash® Card, can be an effective tool to add to your toolbox. After all, the Citi Double Cash is one of the best cash back cards available, thanks to a generous cash back rewards program combined with no annual fee and a lengthy balance transfer offer.
You’re not alone if you’ve found yourself in a sticky financial situation. In fact, almost half (48 percent) of credit cardholders are carrying debt month to month, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Credit Card Debt Survey. But despair not — cards like the Citi Double Cash offer solutions to alleviate some of the pains of debt. Let’s break those reasons down together.
Citi Double Cash Card details
Citi Double Cash Card breakdown
- Earn 2 percent cash back on every purchase: 1 percent when you buy and an additional 1 percent when you pay the purchases off.
- Earn 5 percent cash back on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Citi Travel℠ (Special Travel Offer ends 12/31/25).
- Pay no annual fee.
- Earn $200 in cash back (as 20,000 ThankYou® Points) after spending $1,500 within the first six months of card opening.
- Enjoy a 0 percent intro APR offer on balance transfers for 18 months, followed by a variable APR of 18.24% – 28.24% (Variable) thereafter. Balance transfers must be made within the first four months from account opening to qualify.
Additional Citi Double Cash Card benefits
In addition to the balance transfer offer and solid cash back rewards, the Citi Double Cash Card benefits include a host of security perks, such as $0 liability on unauthorized purchases, fraud alerts and Citi’s Lost Wallet Service, which replaces your lost or missing card within 24 hours in most cases. You’ll also gain access to the Citi Entertainment program, which offers cardholders early or VIP access to concerts, sporting events and other live events.
Although the Citi Double Cash Card is marketed as a cash back card, you’ll actually earn Citi ThankYou Points instead. This is great news for those who want multiple redemption offers, as these points can be redeemed as statement credits, a direct deposit, travel through Citi, gift cards or even for Amazon purchases through Shop with Points.
How to use the Citi Double Cash Card to pay off debt
The Citi Double Cash card has one of the longest 0 percent intro APR periods on the market for balance transfers at 18 months, after which the rate converts to a variable APR of 18.24% – 28.24% (Variable).
However, the Citi Double Cash charges a balance transfer fee of 3 percent or $5, whichever is greater, for any balance transfers you complete within the first four months of opening your account. If you complete a balance transfer after four months, the Citi Double Cash balance transfer fee jumps up to 5 percent ($5 minimum) for each transfer. The fee structure for this card is consistent with other balance transfer cards, but can add to your overall debt.
For example, say you transfer a $5,000 balance to the Citi Double Cash two months after opening the card. The fee will end up costing $150, making the total balance $5,150. It’s best to take this fee into consideration before transferring a balance and to make sure you can still pay off the full balance before the 0 percent APR offer ends. In this example, you’d need to make payments of $286 each month to pay the amount off within the intro APR offer window.
Here’s another example of how the Citi Double Cash Card can help you pay off debt:
Citi Double Cash debt payoff example
Let’s say you’ve accumulated $10,000 in debt on a credit card with an APR of 20 percent — close to the current average APR. To pay off that debt within 18 months, you’d have to pay $647 a month and would accumulate $1,657 in interest.
But if you open the Citi Double Cash and initiate a balance transfer, you can pay down that principal debt interest-free for that same amount of time, saving hundreds along the way — even with a balance transfer fee of 3 percent factored in. Instead of paying $647 a month and over $1,600 in interest, you’d only have to pay about $572 a month to pay off your balance — with no interest.
As soon as that intro APR offer ends, however, the regular APR will kick in, and any amount left on the Citi Double Cash Card will accumulate interest once again.
Learn more: Check out Bankrate’s balance transfer calculator to see how much you could save
How to use Citi Double Cash rewards to offset debt
The Citi Double Cash is one of the best Citi credit cards because cardholders earn 2 percent cash back: 1 percent when you make purchases and an additional 1 percent as you pay off those purchases. This rewards structure can incentivize responsible financial behavior since you’ll reap the most rewards by paying your bill in full and on time. Remember — any interest you accumulate on your balance can offset or even negate any rewards you earn.
You can redeem your cash back rewards for a check, statement credit or direct deposit. These are solid options for cutting down on your credit card balance, as “basic” ThankYou Points are worth about 1 cent each. Through your ThankYou account, you can also cash in your points for gift cards, travel with Citi or Shop with Points on Amazon or PayPal.
Another option is to pool your rewards with the points of a premium Citi travel card, such as the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card. This way, you can transfer your points to one of Citi’s transfer partners and increase your points’ value.
Keep in mind:
Your Citi Double Cash rewards will expire if you don’t use your card for 12 months.
Who is the Citi Double Cash best for?
The Citi Double Cash card is best for:
- Cardholders looking for a flat-rate cash back card
- Cardholders looking for a solid balance transfer offer to pay off debt
Since there’s no 0 percent intro APR offer on purchases, this card may be best suited for someone who won’t be tempted to make purchases they can’t pay off if they’re primarily using the card to pay off debt. You don’t want to risk adding to your overall debt when you make a balance transfer. A better strategy would be to wipe out your balance transfer debt first before using your card for purchases.
The bottom line
If you want to pay down high-interest balances, it may be worth it to transfer your balances to the Citi Double Cash. Just keep the 3 percent balance transfer fee in mind and have a clear payoff plan in place beforehand.
This card is also a good choice if you’re looking for an everyday cash card without quarterly activation categories or category bonuses to worry about. But if you think you’ll fall prey to the temptation to spend instead of paying off your debt, you may want to consider a similar 0 percent intro APR credit card that doesn’t offer any rewards.
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