The Citi Double Cash® Card is a very popular cash back rewards credit card. There are several mistakes that people make with Citi Double Cash Card that can end up costing them money, though.
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Not Checking Your Credit Score Before You Apply
Citi Double Cash Card requires good credit or better for approval. You can check your credit score for free on WalletHub. You can also see if you’re pre-approved for the card through Citi. If you’re pre-approved, your chances of getting the card will be very high, but approval is never guaranteed.
Not Paying For Purchases In Full By The Due Date Each Month
Citi Double Cash Card rewards are unique in that you get 1% cash back when you purchase something and another 1% when you pay off the balance, plus, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel. So, in order to get the second half of your cash back as quickly as possible, it’s best to pay for all of your purchases in full by the due date each month.
Carrying a balance between months will cause you to owe interest at an APR of 18.24% - 28.24% (V), which will erase all of the profit from your rewards. Plus, if you don’t pay on time, you can face credit score damage, along with a late fee charge.
Waiting Too Long To Make or Pay Off A Balance Transfer
Citi Double Cash Card offers an introductory APR of 0% for 18 months on balance transfers. At the end of the introductory period, any remaining balance is subject to the card’s regular APR of 18.24% - 28.24% (V).
The introductory APR period starts on the date of your first transfer, and all transfers that will be subject to this APR must be completed within 4 months of account opening. So, if you want to avoid interest, you should make any balance transfers as close as possible to your account opening date. If you don’t, you may run out of time to take advantage of the introductory APR.
Letting Rewards Expire
Citi Double Cash Card offers 2 - 5% cash back on purchases. While this is a great rate, your rewards can expire if you go a year without making any purchases or payments. Therefore, it’s important to make at least occasional purchases on the card to make sure there’s no chance of your rewards expiring. It’s also a good practice to redeem your rewards regularly – after all, they don’t do you much good just sitting in your account unused.
Using The Card Abroad
Citi Double Cash Card is one of the best cash back cards for purchases made in the U.S., but it’s a different story abroad. Citi Double Cash Card has a 3% foreign transaction fee, which will cost you more than you’ll be earning in rewards on your purchases.
As a result, it’s important to have a good no foreign transaction fee credit card when traveling outside the U.S. Fortunately, there are a lot of great travel rewards credit cards that do not charge this type of fee.
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