If you told me there was a no-annual-fee card that earns 5% cash back on your biggest spending category each month, I’d assume there was a catch—but the Citi Custom Cash keeps it surprisingly simple.
Instead of earning a flat rate on every purchase, it gives you 5% cash back on the eligible category where you spend the most each billing cycle, up to $500 in purchases. After that, and on all other purchases, you earn 1% back.
That means the Custom Cash isn’t really a replacement for a catch-all card like the Double Cash. Instead, it fills a different role. It can be the card you reach for when one type of spending rises above the rest, whether that’s gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, transit, streaming, or even live entertainment.
Here’s more about it…
Citi® Custom Cash Card
The Citi Custom Cash Card is one of the more flexible no-annual-fee cashback cards available. Rather than asking you to pick a bonus category or activate rotating categories every quarter, Citi automatically gives you 5% back in the eligible category where you spend the most each billing cycle.
Here are the details about the card:
Annual Fee
The Citi Custom Cash has no annual fee.
Sign-Up Benefits
Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. The bonus is fulfilled as ThankYou Points.
As with other Citi cards, you’ll want to pay attention to any application restrictions and bonus timing language when applying.
Card Benefits
The Citi Custom Cash earns:
- 5% cash back on up to $500 in purchases each billing cycle in your top eligible spending category
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
Eligible categories include:
- Restaurants
- Gas stations
- Grocery stores
- Select travel
- Select transit
- Select streaming services
- Drugstores
- Home improvement stores
- Fitness clubs
- Live entertainment
The best part is that you don’t have to choose the category in advance. Citi figures it out based on where you spend the most during that billing cycle.
That makes this a very different type of card from something like the Citi Double Cash. A 2% card is great for purchases that don’t fit into any other category. The Custom Cash, on the other hand, is for months when one category clearly stands out.
For example, I’ve started using it as my gas card. With prices rising, gas has become a bigger monthly expense, making it an easy category to earn 5% back on without much effort.
But that’s also what makes the card useful. I’m not locked into using it only for gas. If I have a month where I know I’ll have a bigger expense in another eligible category, such as live entertainment, I can move my gas spending to another card that earns a decent bonus and let the Custom Cash do what it does best.
In that sense, this card fills a void for purchases that might otherwise go on a catch-all card. Instead of earning 2% back on whatever category happens to be your biggest expense that month, you can earn 5% on up to $500 of that spending.
Foreign Transaction Fees
The Citi Custom Cash charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, which makes it a poor choice for purchases outside the United States. If you’re traveling internationally, you’re better off using a card with no foreign transaction fees.
Reward Redemption
Cash back is earned as ThankYou Points, which can be redeemed for statement credits, direct deposit, checks, gift cards, or travel.
The card becomes more valuable if you also have a Citi card that allows transfers to travel partners, such as the Citi Strata Premier. In that setup, the Custom Cash can function as a points-earning card instead of just a cashback card.
Reward Expiration
As with Citi’s other ThankYou Points cards, rewards can expire if your account is closed, and there may be activity requirements depending on how the points are held and combined. That’s something worth keeping an eye on if you move points between cards.
Who This Card Is Best For
The Citi Custom Cash is best for someone who:
- Wants a no-annual-fee card with the ability to earn 5% back in everyday categories
- Has monthly spending that naturally clusters in one category
- Already uses (or is building) a Citi setup with multiple ThankYou Points cards
Where this card really shines is as part of a Citi “trifecta” strategy.
If you pair the Custom Cash with a card like the Citi Strata Premier and a flat-rate card like the Citi Double Cash, you can cover almost every type of spending:
- 5X on your top category each month (Custom Cash)
- Bonus categories like travel and dining (Strata Premier)
- 2X on everything else (Double Cash)
That combination lets you maximize ThankYou Points across your entire wallet without needing a premium annual fee card for every purchase.
Final Thoughts
The Citi Custom Cash isn’t the kind of card you use for every purchase. That’s what a card like the Citi Double Cash is for.
Instead, this is a card that works best when you have one eligible category that rises above the others in a given month. When that happens, earning 5% back is a lot better than defaulting to a 2% catch-all card.
That’s why I think the Citi Custom Cash is such a useful companion card. It doesn’t replace a flat-rate card, but it can absolutely help fill the gap for spending that deserves better than 1X or 2%.
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