Citi double cash vs chase freedom unlimited

[rgd51]

I know that these are both great cards. Which do you all think is better? I use the freedom unlimited because I dine a lot and the 3% cash back from dining and 1.5% on all other purchases gives me a better return than a flat 2% on everything. Wanted to know what you all think.

[Ficoproblems247]

I think that you already answered your own question. Also, if you have a Sapphire product, the value of URs can be strategically increased depending on how you redeem them. The DC is a decent catch-all card. I have no complaints about mine, I actually like it a lot. It's nothing special though. 

[SweetCreditObsession]

Agreed. 

[rgd51]

I have thought about the double cash and applied for it 6-7 months ago but was denied for too many inquiries. Had a lot of inquiries due to shopping for mortgage rates. I spend more on dining by far than any other category because my mortgage, HOA dues, electric, heating, AC, and truck payment all charge fees for paying by credit card so I have those payments taken directly out of my bank account. 

Used to have the freedom flex and used the cap 1 QS for non bonus spend but I canceled my V1 and QS with cap one and PCed my flex to the unlimited for reasons I have listed in other posts.

I would think if dining is a big category for someone it would be better to get the freedom unlimited but if dining isn't a major category for someone I'd recommend the double cash.

Now I have only 3 CCs because I found managing double that many to be stressful. Freedom unlimited is now my daily driver and then I use my chase amazon visa and target Mastercard for Amazon and target purches and my freedom unlimited on anything else.

[Anonymous]

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@rgd51 wrote:

I have thought about the double cash and applied for it 6-7 months ago but was denied for too many inquiries. Had a lot of inquiries due to shopping for mortgage rates. I spend more on dining by far than any other category because my mortgage, HOA dues, electric, heating, AC, and truck payment all charge fees for paying by credit card so I have those payments taken directly out of my bank account. 

Used to have the freedom flex and used the cap 1 QS for non bonus spend but I canceled my V1 and QS with cap one and PCed my flex to the unlimited for reasons I have listed in other posts.

I would think if dining is a big category for someone it would be better to get the freedom unlimited but if dining isn't a major category for someone I'd recommend the double cash.

Now I have only 3 CCs because I found managing double that many to be stressful. Freedom unlimited is now my daily driver and then I use my chase amazon visa and target Mastercard for Amazon and target purches and my freedom unlimited on anything else.

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@rgd51 Hi !    How many inquiries did you have?

[rgd51]

At the time I had 10 on my experian report which is the only one they pulled. My score was a 761 and 4 of those inquiries were for mortgage rate shopping, 2 were prior to mortgage shopping, and 4 were within the prior 6 months before the application.

[red259]

::shrug:: If that is how your spend shakes out then it makes sense.  Which card works better will vary from person to person based upon their spend and what they spend on. The only caveat is what your future credit plans are. If you are going to pick up a premium travel card from Citi or Chase during the next several months and then move points to travel partners I'd probably spend on the card that is going to build up the corresponding point balance. If sticking with cash back then you already did the math. 

[rgd51]

I'm not a huge traveler so I have always done cash back and redeem as soon as the rewards become available. You would think chase would have a flat rate 2% card by this point as well to compete with citi but they haven't chosen to do that.

[pinkandgrey]

Obviously it's subjective and will depend on the user. For me personally, the DC would be far better. I prefer the ease of 2% on everything instead of keeping track of categories. Also, I prefer Citi to Chase anyway. 

[MrDisco99]

Why not get both?