Citi Custom Cash Credit Card: Likely Going Away Soon, Act Fast!

According to DOC, this card is very likely to be discontinued, probably by the end of this weekend. Right now you can still apply for it or product change from another Citi card, so if you want one, act fast! For existing cardholders, the card will continue to stay open for now, but whether it will disappear in the future is still unknown. Personally, I think this card is a little too easy of a deal: it basically hands you 5% cash back automatically every month, with no annual fee, and you can even hold multiple cards through product changes. No wonder Citi thinks it is not making money and wants to stop new applications.

Citi Custom Cash Credit Card Overview

Highlights

• Automatic 5% category selection each month: For each billing cycle (billing cycle, not a calendar month), the category with the highest spend among the 10 categories below will automatically earn 5% cash back, up to $500 in spend, or $25 per billing cycle. The categories are: Restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, live entertainment. These categories depend on which MCC the merchant uses; see the benefits terms. Note that these categories are a bit tricky, while the others are fairly broad.
  • Gas Stations: The gas station at the entrance to Costco probably does not count. 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: May not include large supermarkets like Costco, Sam's Club, or Walmart; in practice you will have to test it to know for sure. 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 Streaming Services: It should only include the merchants listed here, not others. includes the following cable, satellite, and streaming providers: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, Apple Music, CBS All Access, Disney+, AT&T TV NOW, ESPN+, fuboTV, HBO Max, NBA League Pass, Netflix, Pandora, Showtime, Sling TV, Spotify, Starz, SiriusXM, Vudu, YouTube Red, YouTube TV, and Tidal.
• Citi card benefits
  • Price Rewind: If an item goes on sale, you can ask Citi to refund the difference
  • Free FICO credit score: From Equifax, and it can chart your history
  • Private Pass: They once gave out free movie tickets; I just missed that one
  • Retention is fairly generous: If you threaten to close the card, you may receive some promotion. See: Retention overview

Points System Overview

• Point value: Average value is 1.5c/p, 100 TYP = $1.5 (Point value and analysis)
• Direct redemption: Redeem at 1c/p for Statement Credit
• Point transfers: 1:1 transfer to AA (good for U.S.-China and U.S.-Europe redemptions, especially premium cabins); 1:1 transfer to Virgin Atlantic miles (good for Delta One nonstop awards and ANA round-trip first class between the U.S. and Japan); 1:1 transfer to Avianca miles (good for U.S.-China business class, ANA and Asiana first class between the U.S. and China, with no YQ on ticketing); 1:1 transfer to Qantas Airways (QF) miles (good for nonstop U.S. domestic awards and U.S. East Coast to Western Europe). You need to hold the ThankYou Premier or Prestige to transfer TYP to airline and hotel points.
• Program features: You can pool all TYP points into one account and use them together. TYP points on each card expire separately, so it’s best to use up the TYP from a card before closing it. You can transfer up to 100k TYP per year to a friend’s account.
• My quick take: For TYP airline partners, just keep AA, AV, and VS straight. Hilton as a hotel partner is also not really worth transferring to. Redeeming for cash/gift cards is only worth 1 cent per point. So the value is about 1.3c, and a few of the more niche airline partners still make it interesting.
• Detailed analysis: ThankYou Points guide>>

My Take

Automatically choosing the highest 5% category is pretty nice. Since the rest is only 1%, you can use it as a dedicated card for one specific spending category. It is best to choose a category that complements your other cards. For example, if you already have a 5% grocery card but do not have a high cash back card for restaurants, then use this card just for dining. Because you can adjust it each month based on the cards you hold, this is a very good complement to a quarterly 5% card.

In addition, these categories are all pretty practical, so there should always be one you can use. If nothing else works, just go to the supermarket and buy a $500 gift card (a Visa gift card, Amazon, and so on) to max it out in one shot.

That said, we still do not know whether you can get this card by product changing from another Citi card. If you can, I strongly recommend moving an unused Citi card over. It makes a great pairing with Double Cash.

[Update 2021.7] According to DOC, Citi now allows other Citi cards to product change into this card. Readers have already confirmed that ThankYou Preferred and Dividend can be converted. According to Citi's rules, all Citi cards such as AA and Rewards+ should be fine as well (per comment DP, Double Cash cannot be converted). However, if you have not yet received the sign-up bonus for this card, you can also just apply directly and take the $200.

• Cards that can currently be product changed: Expedia, Rewards+, Drivers Edge Charter, Diamond Preferred, Premier, Prestige, Preferred, AT&T, Dividend, American Airlines AAdvantage cards
• Cards that cannot currently be product changed: Double Cash, Simplicity (may open on August 1)

Apply

• Application difficulty is average. If your credit history is under six months, a direct application is difficult. If you have more than one year of credit history and not too many recent HPs, you will usually get approved
• This card is not subject to the TYP 24-month restriction system. You only need not to have received the same card (Citi Custom Cash) within the past 48 months

• Citi application status link or call: 877-343-4118
• 8/65/95 rule: You can apply for only one personal card every 8 days, only two personal cards every 65 days, and only one business card every 95 days. This refers to application submission limits, regardless of whether you were approved or not.
• 24/48-month welcome bonus rule: If you have received a welcome bonus on a ThankYou Points card within the past 24 months, you will not be eligible to receive the bonus again. For AA products, the restriction is 48 months, but both rules apply only to the same card; there is no restriction across different card families.
• You can call the reconsideration line (800-763-9795) to speed up the credit card approval process or ask a representative to review a denied credit card application again.
• Having a Citi Checking/Gold relationship may help with your application.
• More about applying for Citi credit cards

Application Link