Best Citi Credit Cards

Why We Like It: The Citi Premier® Card is the best Citi credit card because you can get an initial bonus of 60,000 points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. Those bonus points are worth up to $600. For context, the average initial bonus from other cards gets you just 30,381 points or $242.

You’ll also earn a total of 10 points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel portal through June 30, 2024, 3 points per $1 spent at restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations, 3 points per $1 on air travel and hotels, and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. Taking into account both the initial and ongoing bonus rewards, you could earn more than $1,500 during the first two years with Citi Premier.
 
What We Don’t Like: Citi Premier has an annual fee of $95 and a high APR. The annual fee is worth paying if you can earn all the bonus rewards, though, and you can avoid interest charges by paying the full balance due every month.
 
Who Should Get It: Apply for Citi Premier if you have good credit and will be able to comfortably afford its initial bonus.

Why We Like It: The Citi Double Cash Card is the best Citi credit card to earn cash rewards because it has a $0 annual fee and rewards you with 2% cash back on all purchases: 1% when you buy and 1% when you repay Citi. That’s about twice what the average rewards card will give you. The Double Cash Card even helps reduce the cost of debt with an introductory APR of 0% for 18 months on balance transfers. New cardholders can also take advantage of a great initial bonus offer: $200 for spending $1,500 in the first 6 months. 
 
That means Citi Double Cash is much more rewarding than the average cash back credit card and interest-free for a lot longer than most balance transfer credit cards. That’s a tough combination to beat, if you’ve got the fair credit needed for Citi Double Cash approval.
 
What We Don’t Like: There is a 3% intro fee ($5 min) for each transfer in first 4 months, after that 5% ($5 min) for each transfer. Plus, you need to pay off your purchases to get the full allotment of rewards, and there is a fairly high regular APR if you don't pay in full.
 
Who Should Get It: Apply for the Citi Double Cash Card if you have fair credit or better and you want to earn straightforward rewards on purchases. If Double Cash can also help you reduce the cost of existing debt, all the better.

Why We Like It: The Citi Custom Cash® Card is the best Citicard for people with fair credit because it gives you 5% cash back in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle (up to $500 spent, 1% back thereafter), as well as 1% back on all other purchases. There are some valuable sign-up incentives for new cardholders, too. Citi Custom Cash offers an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months, and you can get an nice initial bonus of $200 for spending $1,500 in the first 6 months.
Even with all those perks, you won’t have to pay an annual fee.  

What We Don’t Like: You will only earn ongoing bonus rewards in your top spending category each billing cycle. All other purchases will get you just an average return.   
 
Who Should Get It: Apply for the Citi Custom Cash if you have fair credit or better and the card’s rewards match up well with your spending habits. In particular, the card is best if you can earn the initial bonus and you expect to spend up to $500 in a single purchase category each month.

Why We Like It: The Citi Rewards+® Card is the best Citicard for gas and groceries because it offers 2 points per $1 spent in those spending categories, up to $6,000 spent per year, along with at least 1 point / $1 on all other purchases. In addition, you can now earn 5 points per $1 spent on hotel reservations, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com through December 31, 2025. Plus, this card is unique in that it rounds up the points you earn on each purchase to the nearest 10.
 
The Citi Rewards+ Card also has a $0 annual fee, an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months, and a nice initial rewards bonus. As a result, it has the potential to save you money in a number of different ways.
 
What We Don’t Like: It’s hard to tell exactly how much the round-up feature will be worth. This card’s regular APR is pretty high, too.  
 
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for the Citi Rewards+ Card if you have good credit or better and the card’s rewards match up well with your spending habits.

Why We Like It: The Citi Premier® Card is the best Citi credit card because you can get an initial bonus of 60,000 points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. Those bonus points are worth up to $600. For context, the average initial bonus from other cards gets you just 30,381 points or $242.

You’ll also earn a total of 10 points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel portal through June 30, 2024, 3 points per $1 spent at restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations, 3 points per $1 on air travel and hotels, and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. Taking into account both the initial and ongoing bonus rewards, you could earn more than $1,500 during the first two years with Citi Premier.
 
What We Don’t Like: Citi Premier has an annual fee of $95 and a high APR. The annual fee is worth paying if you can earn all the bonus rewards, though, and you can avoid interest charges by paying the full balance due every month.
 
Who Should Get It: Apply for Citi Premier if you have good credit and will be able to comfortably afford its initial bonus.

Why We Like It: The Citi Custom Cash® Card is the best Citicard for people with fair credit because it gives you 5% cash back in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle (up to $500 spent, 1% back thereafter), as well as 1% back on all other purchases. There are some valuable sign-up incentives for new cardholders, too. Citi Custom Cash offers an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months, and you can get an nice initial bonus of $200 for spending $1,500 in the first 6 months.
Even with all those perks, you won’t have to pay an annual fee.  

What We Don’t Like: You will only earn ongoing bonus rewards in your top spending category each billing cycle. All other purchases will get you just an average return.   
 
Who Should Get It: Apply for the Citi Custom Cash if you have fair credit or better and the card’s rewards match up well with your spending habits. In particular, the card is best if you can earn the initial bonus and you expect to spend up to $500 in a single purchase category each month.

Why We Like It: The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is the best Citibank credit card for airline rewards in large part because you can earn a big initial bonus: 75,000 miles for spending $3,500 in the first 4 months. You can also get 2 miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, 2 miles per $1 at gas stations and restaurants, and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases. Those rewards can make it easy to rack up free flights if you use the card a lot.
 
What We Don’t Like: The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® has a $99 annual fee starting the second year your account is open. It also has a high APR.
 
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® if you can easily fly with American Airlines when you travel. It’s the best option overall.

You do have other options, though. The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® is a good alternative if you want to earn rewards on purchases without paying an annual fee. On the other end of the spectrum, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® offers a big initial bonus, Admirals Club membership, free checked bags, and more. But it comes at a cost.

Why We Like It: The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card offers 0% for 12 months on purchases as well as 0% for 21 months on balance transfers.

Citi Diamond Preferred also has a $0 annual fee. That is standard for an elite 0% credit card, but it’s certainly better than the alternative, nonetheless.
 
What We Don’t Like: This card has a fairly high regular APR, and its balance transfer fee is 5% (min $5). It can still save you a lot of money at the end of the day, though.
 
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for Citi Diamond Preferred if it will save you money on interest charges. You can use WalletHub’s credit card payoff calculator to estimate your savings.

Why We Like It: The Citi Double Cash Card is the best Citi credit card to earn cash rewards because it has a $0 annual fee and rewards you with 2% cash back on all purchases: 1% when you buy and 1% when you repay Citi. That’s about twice what the average rewards card will give you. The Double Cash Card even helps reduce the cost of debt with an introductory APR of 0% for 18 months on balance transfers. New cardholders can also take advantage of a great initial bonus offer: $200 for spending $1,500 in the first 6 months. 
 
That means Citi Double Cash is much more rewarding than the average cash back credit card and interest-free for a lot longer than most balance transfer credit cards. That’s a tough combination to beat, if you’ve got the fair credit needed for Citi Double Cash approval.
 
What We Don’t Like: There is a 3% intro fee ($5 min) for each transfer in first 4 months, after that 5% ($5 min) for each transfer. Plus, you need to pay off your purchases to get the full allotment of rewards, and there is a fairly high regular APR if you don't pay in full.
 
Who Should Get It: Apply for the Citi Double Cash Card if you have fair credit or better and you want to earn straightforward rewards on purchases. If Double Cash can also help you reduce the cost of existing debt, all the better.

Why We Like It: The Citi Simplicity® Card is the best Citibank credit card for a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers because you can get 0% for 21 months along with a $0 annual fee. The Citi Simplicity Card also offers an introductory APR of 0% for 12 months on purchases. The purchase promotion is right around average in length, while the 0% balance transfer deal lasts months longer than average.
 
What We Don’t Like: The Citi Simplicity® Card has a regular APR of 19.24% - 29.99% (V) and a balance transfer fee of 3% intro fee ($5 min) for each transfer in first 4 months, and 5% ($5 min) for each transfer after that.
 
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for the Citi Simplicity Card if you have good credit and the offer will save you money on interest charges. You can use WalletHub’s credit card balance transfer calculator to estimate your savings.
 

Why We Like It: The Citi® Secured Mastercard® is the best Citibank credit card for limited credit because it has a $0 annual fee and should be pretty easy to get, even without much – if any – credit history. It can also help you improve your credit by reporting account information to the major credit bureaus each month.
 
What We Don’t Like: You have to place a refundable security deposit of at least $200, and the amount you put down will be your credit limit. Plus, you won’t earn rewards on purchases.
 
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for the Citi Secured card if you want to build credit inexpensively.
 

Why We Like It: The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi is the best Citi credit card for Costco members who enjoy travel and dining. It gives you 4% cash back on gas, up to $7,000 spent per year, making it good for road trips. You also get 3% cash back at restaurants and on travel expenses, 2% back at Costco and Costco.com, and 1% back on everything else.
 
What We Don’t Like: You can only redeem your rewards at Costco and only once per year. Also, Costco membership does not come with the card, though you do need to be a member (or join) to get approved.
 
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for this card if you’re a Costco member with excellent credit.

Why We Like It: The Brooks Brothers Credit Card is the best Citi store credit card because it accepts applicants with a credit score of 640+, has a $0 annual fee and offers very good rewards. Cardholders earn 1 - 4 points per $1, plus 20% off your Brooks Brothers purchases in the first 30 days and a $20 reward after a first purchase outside Brook Brothers made in the first 60 days.
 
What We Don’t Like: You can only use this card at Brooks Brothers.
 
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for this Citi card if you have good credit or better and want to save money on luxury apparel.

 

Why We Like It: The Tractor Supply Company® Credit Card offers 5 points per $1 spent on qualifying purchases. You will also get $50 reward after first purchase of at least $50 made the first 30 days.
 
What We Don’t Like: You can only use this card at Tractor Supply Co. and has a high APR.
 
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for this Citi card if you have fair credit or better and want to save money on farm supplies, pet and animal feed, clothing, etc.
 

Why We Like It: The Wayfair Store Card offers an initial bonus of $40 off your first qualifying online order of at least $250. You will also earn 5% back in reward dollars at Wayfair sites.
 
What We Don’t Like: You can only use this card at Wayfair and has a high APR.
 
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for this Citi card if you have fair credit or better and want to save money on your Wayfair purchases.
 

Why We Like It: The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® is the best Citi business credit card because it can save you hundreds of dollars per year on business travel. The savings start with an initial bonus of 65,000 miles for spending $4,000 in the first 4 months. You’ll also earn 2 miles per $1 spent on American Airlines purchases, at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and gas stations, 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases. On top of all that, you can enjoy perks such as free checked bags and 25% savings on in-flight Wi-Fi.
 
What We Don’t Like: The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® has a $99 starting the second year your account is open. It also has a high APR.
 
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® if you have excellent credit personally and you want to earn airline rewards for business travel.

Why We Like It: The Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi is the best Citi business credit card for Costco members. It gives you 4% cash back on eligible gas for the first $7,000 per year, 3% on restaurants and travel, 2% on Costco and Costco.com purchases, 1% on all other purchases. Plus, you won’t have to pay an annual fee.
 
What We Don’t Like: You can only redeem your rewards at Costco and only once per year. Also, Costco membership does not come with the card, though you do need to be a member (or join) to get approved.
 
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for this card if you’re a Costco member with excellent credit and you can take full advantage of the bonus rewards.