We've looked at Chase, American Express, and Discover so today let's make the ultimate
credit card tier list for the 12 credit cards that Citi currently offers starting with the
newer Citi custom cash card.
This is one of the most unique credit cards not just from Citi but across the entire industry
right now since it will automatically customize itself to your spending habits hence the name
custom cash.
Basically, the way that this works is you're going to earn 5% cash back on your highest
eligible spending category which includes things like restaurants, gas stations, grocery
stores, streaming services, and several others plus you earn 1% on all other purchases and
that 5% bonus is going to automatically change each month based on which category you are
spending the most money in which is truly what makes this product unique.
Similar products like the discover it credit card offer the same 5% cash back but those
are only on specific rolling categories the change regardless of where you are spending
the most money.
The only downside with the custom cash card is that you are only earning that 5% on your
first $500 of spending each month and after that you're looking at just 1%.
Now I've done an entire video on this product as well as a comparison between another popular
card from Citi that we're going to talk about later so be sure to check those out for more
detailed information but as a general rule of thumb the custom cash card is a fantastic
product if you don't spend a lot of money on your credit card each month and would therefore
fall below that $500 threshold for the 5% bonus category.
But if you're way past that threshold then you'd probably be better off with some of
the other products we're going to talk about.
That being said the custom cash card has no annual fee and gives you a $200 cash bonus
if you spend $1500 in the first six months so as a beginner product this is definitely
one worth checking out and I'll be putting this card in the a tier.
We've got eleven other products to look at today since we're just covering the standard
personal credit cards from Citi but there are a few business alternatives that you might
want to look into.
Next is a lesser known product called the Citi rewards plus card.
Unlike the cash back rewards that the previous product offers you, the rewards plus card
gives you points however I will mention that most Citi products regardless of whether they
are a travel credit card or cash back credit card are going to give you Citi thank you
points the only difference is that the cash back credit card you can simply redeem those
directly for cash whereas these point specific credit cards are obviously intended to be
redeemed for travel and benefits like that.
So with the rewards plus card you get two points per dollar on supermarket and gas station
purchases up to $6000 per year and one point per dollar on all other purchases plus they
will round up every purchase to the nearest 10 points so if you spend $146 at the grocery
store then you would earn 292 points for that purchase and Citi will automatically round
that up to 300 points meaning you basically got eight points for free.
Not that big of a deal but something worth mentioning I guess and remember that you’re
thank you points can be redeemed for gift cards, used to shop online places like Amazon
and of course put towards flights hotels and other travel purchases.
And again that's pretty common across all Citi’s products.
You also get a 20,000 point bonus after spending $1500 in the first three months And while
I do think the point round up feature is fairly unique, this card just isn't that exciting
and because of that I'll be putting the rewards plus card in the B tier.
Next is the first of three American Airlines credit cards that are offered through Citi
and that is the Platinum select world elite MasterCard.
I know I’ve made it clear in the past that I'm not a huge fan of brand specific credit
cards and that remains to be true but this one actually isn't that bad.
With it you get two points per dollar on all restaurant and gas station purchases plus
two points on eligible American Airlines purchases and one point on everything else.
They even throw in an additional loyalty point for every eligible advantage mile that you've
earned from purchases.
Again kind of a snooze in terms of the points but you also get a $125 American Airlines
credit however when you read the fine print that suddenly doesn't sound that great because
it only applies after you spend $20,000 or more on this card.
They do give you a decent 50,000 American airline mild bonus if you spend $2500 in the
first three months and there's also no foreign transaction fees which is a bare minimum requirement
with airline credit cards in my opinion but it does little to change my opinion about
these products.
The only decent advantage here is that your first checked bag is free on all domestic
American airline flights for you and four companions that are traveling with you plus
you get preferred boarding on American Airlines flights but even despite all of that I'll
still be putting this product in the C tier.
Now if you fly with American Airlines all the time then you can take things to the next
level with the American Airlines executive world elite MasterCard.
While the last product has no annual fee this one comes in at $450 per year easily putting
it in that premium credit card category.
For that high annual fee you get four points on eligible American Airlines purchases in
one point on everything else plus the same one loyalty point that the last product offered
plus the elite card gives you 10,000 loyalty points after you spend $4000 each year which
is essentially an anniversary bonus.
In terms of a standard signup bonus you're looking at 80,000 American Airlines points
after you spend $5500 in the first three months with no foreign transaction fees but the real
reason you'd want to get this card is it gives you access to the American Airlines Admiral
club lounges and while there's only like 50 of these worldwide, if there is one of these
lounges at your local airport or an airport that you frequently fly through then that
alone could be worth it because these are really nice airport lounges.
Again your first check bag flies for free for you and eight travel companions in this
case and you get a $100 statement credit towards global entry or TSA pre-check.
So obviously this product is for a specific customer and otherwise you probably wouldn't
even consider it so taking into account the free checked baggage, and airport lounge access
and of course assuming that you frequently fly with American Airlines, I'd actually put
this product in the B tier however if you don't frequently file with American Airlines
then obviously it would be a D tier product that makes absolutely no sense.
The last of the airline products before we get too my favorite Citi credit card is the
American Airlines miles up card.
This gives you two American airline miles on all grocery store purchases and eligible
American Airlines purchases and once again the same one point and everything else and
the one loyalty point bonus.
It gives you 10,000 American Airlines miles and a $50 statement credit after spending
$500 in the first three months but it has a 3% foreign transaction fee which is an absolute
dealbreaker and this card already kind of sucked to begin with so I'll be putting it
in the D tier.
Alright enough of that crap next is by far the most popular Citi credit card and that
would be the Citi double cash card.
We've talked about this one at length but it gives you a simple 2% cash back in the
form of 1% when you buy and 1% when you pay and truly pioneered the category of flat 2%
cash back credit cards.
It has no annual fee and comes with all of the standard benefits that most other products
on today's list offer but as I talked about in this recent video, it is a shell of its
former self in my opinion and there are many better options on the market nowadays like
the SoFi credit card, the Wells Fargo active cash card, and even the apple card so while
this used to be a fantastic product I honestly think it is way overrated and for that reason
I'll be putting it in the B tier.
We still have my favorite Citi credit card yet to come but the newest credit card from
Citi is the AT&T points plus card which is a very strange product that actually isnt
terrible.
It gives you three points at gas stations, two points at grocery stores and one point
on everything else.
The wording of this core benefit is a little confusing but they will give you $20 back
each month towards your AT&T wireless bill after you spend $1000 on purchases which means
you can earn up to $240 back towards your phone bill each year which is pretty substantial.
Now of course there are a few hoops you have to jump through in order to qualify but it
has no annual fee and you'll earn an additional $100 statement credit after you spend $1000
in the first three months and really you have nothing to lose here so assuming you are an
AT&T customer I'll actually put this one in the B tier although it certainly is meant
for a very specific user.
The Citi diamond preferred and Citi Simplicity cards are garbage balance transfer cards giving
you 0% intro APR for 21 months and some other stupid balance transfer benefits but balance
transfer cards are a waste of time all you're doing is moving the problem from one place
to another and if you require a product like this than what you really want to do is focus
on paying off that debt rather than trying to move it around... so no surprise but these
both belong in the D tier.
Similarly they also offer the Citi secured credit card which is designed to help you
build your credit score but I'm not a huge fan of secured credit cards either because
they require a security deposit which in this case is a minimum of $200.
I understand that for some individuals that might be your only choice but the discover
it secured card is a way better option and you might be able to just get the regular
discover it credit card without having to put down a deposit so once again the Citi
secured MasterCard belongs in the D tier.
Alright we have two products left one of which is my favorite Citi credit card but before
we get to that we've got the Costco anywhere visa card which so is another unique product
giving you 4% back on eligible gas and EV charging transactions up to $7000 per year
as well as 3% at restaurants and eligible travel purchases, 2% on all Costco purchases
and 1% on everything else.
It has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee and while it leaves a lot to be desired
in terms of additional benefits, if you do frequently shop at Costco then this might
be worth checking out.
However I'd still argue that you could get something like the blue cash preferred from
American Express which gives you a 6% back on grocery store purchases and if you're shopping
for other things that Costco sells then you could get something like the Amazon prime
visa signature which gives you 5% back on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases so i
get what they're trying to do here and i like costco just as much as the next guy but even
if you're a Costco customer I'd still put this product in the C tier.
Alright this has been a bit of a bloodbath recently but lastly is my favorite Citi credit
card and that would be the Citi premier card which I feel is one of the most underrated
credit cards in the industry right now.
For $95 per year it gives you three points per dollar on all restaurants, gas stations,
supermarkets, air travel and hotels, plus one point per dollar on everything else.
You also get a $100 annual hotel credit plus with no foreign transaction fee and an 80,000
point bonus when you spend $4000 in the first three months, I think this is a great entry
level travel product that is totally underrated so while it might not be the greatest credit
card in the grand scheme of things, compared to the other garbage we looked at today I
feel like we've got to balance out our list so I'll be putting the Citi premier card in
the S tier.
Clearly there's a lot of garbage products from Citi but as per usual that's just my
opinion and there's probably some things you feel I got wrong which I'd love to hear about
down in the comments section below.
Be sure to check out my ultimate tier lists for chase and American Express over here and
sign up for some of my favorite financial tools using the links down below.
As always thank you so much for your time take it easy and I'll see you in the next
one!