Citi DC, losing its steam?

[Anonymous]

I've had my DC for about 8 months. it was my go to card for about the first 6 months, until I got CSP. Once I got CSP, DC was relegated to my sock drawer in a big I have titled "use every once in awhile". Discover has also retained its place in my wallet, with their double cash dwarfing DC reward value.

Anyone else feel that DC is a little too simple and needs something to spice it up? 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I've had my DC for about 8 months. it was my go to card for about the first 6 months, until I got CSP. Once I got CSP, DC was relegated to my sock drawer in a big I have titled "use every once in awhile". Discover has also retained its place in my wallet, with their double cash dwarfing DC reward value.

Anyone else feel that DC is a little too simple and needs something to spice it up? 

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I think it still has a place.  I'm not using mine currently because of the IT Miles first year, but after that it will become my default non-category card.   Of course, if you value UR (or MR/SPG or pushing it, TY) at more than 2c, then there is no point in a 2% cashback card.

[kdm31091]

I don't think it's " too simple". It has a purpose for certain people.

Those into travel, presumably like you, won't find it as useful because you need to focus your spend on your CSP etc or else the AF on those cards isn't justifiable. So you may find DC redundant because you can't spend much on it without losing value on your travel cards.

For cash back people, there is really no other free 2% card out there other than Fidelity Amex. DC is arguably the one with less hoops to go through as you don't need a special account to get it, although there are always the redemption minimums/rewards don't post til statement cut etc.

Realistically, I find it unlikely that DC will get anything to "spice it up". I think 2% back across the board is the upper limit of what Citi can afford to do. I doubt we will see any changes (at least, positive ones...)

For the record I prefer my Quicksilver for general spend, not that I have a DC, but the 0.5% more is not worth another card for me that will ding my AAOA and make my Quicksilver useless. Capital One has been good to me with growing the limit; it's gone from 3k to 9k in under a year. The rewards on QS post instantly which is not a huge big deal but it is better than having to wait for the statement cut.

My main complaint on DC is that is presumably with Citi wants you to use as a main card, yet even people with good scores/history seem to get relatively crappy limits and APR. I see a lot of 1-2k Double Cash cards. That's really not realistic for general spend. Citi is pretty stingy with this card.

[yfan]

The simplicity is DC's strength, to be honest. If you want a no-nonsense card with no categories to tinker with that earns top rewards, you go with the Citi Double Cash.

No card is meant to cover everyone in the market. Despite what it appears on this forum, few people want to put in the extra efforts needed to earn the extra rewards for the other cards. We, as a group, are not the rule but rather the exception.

[kdm31091]

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@yfan wrote:

The simplicity is DC's strength, to be honest. If you want a no-nonsense card with no categories to tinker with that earns top rewards, you go with the Citi Double Cash.

No card is meant to cover everyone in the market. Despite what it appears on this forum, few people want to put in the extra efforts needed to earn the extra rewards for the other cards. We, as a group, are not the rule but rather the exception.

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An excellent point. The general public does not really want to hassle with points, transfers, categories, this that and the other. They want rewards, sure, but they aren't going to go to such lengths to get them. For people like that a Double Cash makes perfect sense. 2% on every single purchase is pretty hard to beat for free with no effort.

[yfan]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

I don't think it's " too simple". It has a purpose for certain people.

Those into travel, presumably like you, won't find it as useful because you need to focus your spend on your CSP etc or else the AF on those cards isn't justifiable. So you may find DC redundant because you can't spend much on it without losing value on your travel cards.

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This. I get the feeling that most people - even most reward hunters - don't think in terms of opportunity costs. Yes, the CSP is a snazzy, nice card. But if you are using it just to earn enough rewards to cover the AF by sacrificing spend on other no AF cards that can give you the same or greater rewards (for a given expense), then your AF card isn't really worth it.

[kdm31091]

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@yfan wrote:

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@kdm31091 wrote:

I don't think it's " too simple". It has a purpose for certain people.

Those into travel, presumably like you, won't find it as useful because you need to focus your spend on your CSP etc or else the AF on those cards isn't justifiable. So you may find DC redundant because you can't spend much on it without losing value on your travel cards.

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This. I get the feeling that most people - even most reward hunters - don't think in terms of opportunity costs. Yes, the CSP is a snazzy, nice card. But if you are using it just to earn enough rewards to cover the AF by sacrificing spend on other no AF cards that can give you the same or greater rewards (for a given expense), then your AF card isn't really worth it.

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Exactly. I am relatively convinced that there are a decent amount of people with CSPs who have them without being able to really justify them, but it's their money to waste. Some people just follow the "popular card" trends without really running the numbers to see if it would make sense for them. The point is you have to focus most of your spend on those types of cards if you have them to make them worthwhile (unless your spend is through the roof and can be spread across all your cards).

I think that the DC fits in better with non-travel people who don't have the "commitment" to have to spend on an AF card.

[Anonymous]

Discover really puts the hurt on this card with their double bonus offering.  Would it kill them to have a $100 sign-up bonus one or two months a year? 

[kdm31091]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Discover really puts the hurt on this card with their double bonus offering.  Would it kill them to have a $100 sign-up bonus one or two months a year? 

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I don't get this really. Is $100 in a bonus really life changing? It does not (to me) impact the long term usefulness of the card. My bonus on my QS was 100 and has long since come and gone. Doesn't mean the card is suddenly useless or something. Ignoring the DC because it lacks a 100 dollar bonus is a bit short sighted to me but that's just my opinion.

I can understand people being really excited over the travel bonuses that they can extend the value of into 500+ dollars for travel but the huge interest in Freedom's 200 bonus or DC not having one etc mystifies me because I apply for long term benefits. A bonus is nice, sure, but it comes and goes, and I'm not going to cancel a card after each bonus. Let's face it, 100 does not buy much these days anyway, so as a bonus, it's not much.

[yfan]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Discover really puts the hurt on this card with their double bonus offering.  Would it kill them to have a $100 sign-up bonus one or two months a year? 

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Well, this is a moot point, given that the OP here already has a DC and hence wouldn't be eligible for any sign-up bonuses anyway. And as noted here a while back, the Double Cash does have a sign-up bonus, but for targeted customers only.

I love my Discover card, and when the Double cashback promo begins for me (on the 22nd), it will be my default card for non-category spend as well as Discover categories. But the Citi Double Cash will still retain a few important advantages over the Discover It:

1. It's a Mastercard. It's not fair that Visa and Mastercard have this ubiquity, but they do, and it is an advantage. Although Discover acceptance is pretty good and growing, there are still places that won't take Discover but will gladly take a Visa/MC.
2. Faster cashback compared to the Discover It promo. For your cashback to double with the It, you have to wait a year. For the Double Cash, you get the full 2% as soon as your payment posts. So if you reach a $25 reward before a year is over, then the DC lets you access it earlier.