Citi Double Cash Question

[Anonymous]

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@MstrPTato wrote:

I haven't tried this yet, but what happens with the purchase tracker when you take the rewards as a statement credit? It states that it isn't a payment, but it is also reducing your balance. 

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You don't get cash back from doing that. The work around is to transfer the cash back to your bank account, then use the transfered amount to then pay the balance of the DC.

[thelethargicage]

I came to the conclusion that QS was a superior card despite having a lower reward rate because you get your rewards right away plus it has no FTF.

[Blodreina]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

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@thelethargicage wrote:

Does the Purchase Tracker get updated every time you make a purchase or when the statement closes?

If it updates when the statement closes, and the statement closes with a $0 balance, then the PT should be at 0, so you don't get 1% on the payment?

I wonder if that's why the initial CLs on this card are so low--to force you to pay off the card mid-cycle in order to avoid maxing it out or closing with high utilization.

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I think you might be on to something there.

Nonetheless I find the earning structure a bit too annoying for me. I usually PIF anyway but I just find the DC structure a bit complex and your question is a good one - I've heard they technically only give you 1.99% with a statement credit. While 0.01% is certainly no big deal, it's just an unnessecary complexity of the card. If it just gave out a straight 2% period with none of the payment stipulations, it would be excellent, but in the current state, the gain over my Quicksilver is not significant enough considering those rewards have no hassle or hoops attached to them.

And the measly limits given out by Citi on this card (generally speaking, not always) are not encouraging at all. Almost anyone on here who has a decent DC limit has a PC'd version which doesn't count - cold apps seem to net limits from $1k to $3k much of the time which IMO is useless.

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Perhaps it would be a cool idea if they gave 2% to customers who paid balances in full.  Like, if you paid your last statement in full, the next billing cycle earns 2%.  And, if you didn't, you earn some amount less than 2%.

[kdm31091]

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@thelethargicage wrote:
@kdm31091:

I actually got this card in September of last year but closed it before the first statement closed. My initial CL was $6.6K but I took a HP to increase it $15K (although I'm aware most people on here would rather give up their firstborn than follow that approach). Something about this card just turned me off. At the time I thought of it not being a true World MC due to the lack of NPSL.

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I'm not really concerned about the NPSL thing but I get what you are saying -- kind of makes it not really a WMC. As I usually say I think the WMC designation is used so liberally it is basically useless and meaningless. WEMC may still have some actual meaning/benefits but WMC seems be used simply to make people feel like they are getting something extra, and as you found out sometimes you end up with not a "true" WMC.

@I got approved for DC back in the fall, at 1k @ 22.99. Didn't take much consideration to close it as a $1k limit is useless and I'm not into extra HPs for limits that could have been given in the first place (since obviously, your credit profile hasn't changed since approved -- why punish you with a new HP to access the same information for an increase on a card you JUST got?)

Anyway, even with your limit of $15k I agree about something just being "unappealing" or "off" about this card. Maybe it's the slight hoops to get the 2%, maybe it's just the fact that it's not as straightforward with the rewards, I dunno. It just doesn't excite me, even though it is mathmatically more than my QS. I prefer the QS that spits out my rewards right away on every transaction with no games (and don't have to wait for statement cut). Plus, physically I think the DC is a pretty ugly and cheapy card. You can at least swap your QS to a new design to help with the fact that the default QS design is also cheapy.

I do think QS is superior, for me at least. An extra 0.5% doesn't warrant the DC hassles and potential bad limit/APR, etc.

[chalupaman]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

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@thelethargicage wrote:

Does the Purchase Tracker get updated every time you make a purchase or when the statement closes?

If it updates when the statement closes, and the statement closes with a $0 balance, then the PT should be at 0, so you don't get 1% on the payment?

I wonder if that's why the initial CLs on this card are so low--to force you to pay off the card mid-cycle in order to avoid maxing it out or closing with high utilization.

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I think you might be on to something there.

Nonetheless I find the earning structure a bit too annoying for me. I usually PIF anyway but I just find the DC structure a bit complex and your question is a good one - I've heard they technically only give you 1.99% with a statement credit. While 0.01% is certainly no big deal, it's just an unnessecary complexity of the card. If it just gave out a straight 2% period with none of the payment stipulations, it would be excellent, but in the current state, the gain over my Quicksilver is not significant enough considering those rewards have no hassle or hoops attached to them.

And the measly limits given out by Citi on this card (generally speaking, not always) are not encouraging at all. Almost anyone on here who has a decent DC limit has a PC'd version which doesn't count - cold apps seem to net limits from $1k to $3k much of the time which IMO is useless.

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Not to mention the high APRs a lot of people were getting for the card when I saw the approvals here on the forum, not that it really matters for this card but I'm throwing that out there.

Glad to know that people are still getting the 2% if they pay in full but I think reading all of this just make me think Fidelity Amex blows Double Cash away in a lot of aspects.

[Anonymous]

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@thelethargicage wrote:
I came to the conclusion that QS was a superior card despite having a lower reward rate because you get your rewards right away plus it has no FTF.

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While FTF is certainly an advantage, the immediate rewards seems much less complelling if you use the card reguarly.   Even if all the rewards come two months behind (which they don't as you get the first 1% at statement close), in todays interest environment, getting rewards two months earlier isn't going to make up for the 0.5% difference (put differently, DC pays 33% more rewards than QS!)

Now if you use rarely, because you have little uncategorized spend, then the no-min redemption on QS becomes much more important, as it may take a long time to get $25 in DC.

[kdm31091]

Yeah, the APRs are usually terrible on DC too. I have seen a couple people with lower rates, but it seems like even with very good credit you're gonna get 22.99%. (at best 17%).

Just all around, DC is not that great. If they allowed it to have decent limits/APR and removed some of the "hoops" for the 2% it would be great. In its current state, it's not worth getting IMO.

Fidelity Amex is certainly better in that the rewards are less of a hassle, so if you are able to obtain it I think it's worth it. Caveat is I believe $50 redemption min, but DC has $25, so neither is just "whenever you want" like the Quicksilver is.

[kdm31091]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@thelethargicage wrote:
I came to the conclusion that QS was a superior card despite having a lower reward rate because you get your rewards right away plus it has no FTF.

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While FTF is certainly an advantage, the immediate rewards seems much less complelling if you use the card reguarly.   Even if all the rewards come two months behind (which they don't as you get the first 1% at statement close), in todays interest environment, getting rewards two months earlier isn't going to make up for the 0.5% difference (put differently, DC pays 33% more rewards than QS!)

Now if you use rarely, because you have little uncategorized spend, then the no-min redemption on QS becomes much more important, as it may take a long time to get $25 in DC.

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Some people just find the DC too much of a hassle to care about 0.5% more rewards. Nobody is saying the DC pays out less; it obviously pays out more.

The question is whether the hassles with it are worth the extra percentage. If you are spending a lot on it every month it will add up to more money. If not, QS is more straightforward and easier option for a lot of consumers IMO, but depends.

And yes, your point about redemption is important too. If you are not spending a ton, it will take some time to get to $25 on DC.

[Anonymous]

OK, I think the critical thing is to see that DC pays 33% more.  People are hung up on "its just 0.5% more" but if people are in this for rewards, that's really not the right way of thinking.  And 33% is quite a lot, and worth a little hassle.   Actually, I don't see any more hassle, you have to pay your cc bill anyway, and when you do you get the next set of rewards.  Sort of abstract hassle rather than any extra steps really being needed.

[Anonymous]

I don't have a QS, but one could argue that the 5% category cards like Discover It and Freedom have, at least on the surface, the potential to provide better cash back.