DoubleCash to Custom Cash

[CreditCuriosity]

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@Yasselife wrote:

Thanks for sharing. I didn't know about AOD, 3% on everything? That's food for thought.

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Yes 3% for everything and a 7.49 FIXED apr although very hard to get now.  If you weren't in the few weeks of being known most likely the ship has sailed with a few exceptions.  Going on 15-16 strong with mine and hoping for many more months.  Also US Alliance is 3% not sure if it is limited time or permanent also another MC that is 3% out there, but not sure with which CU.

[Anonymous]

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@CreditCuriosity wrote:

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@Yasselife wrote:

Thanks for sharing. I didn't know about AOD, 3% on everything? That's food for thought.

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Yes 3% for everything and a 7.49 FIXED apr although very hard to get now.  If you weren't in the few weeks of being known most likely the ship has sailed with a few exceptions.  Going on 15-16 strong with mine and hoping for many more months.  Also US Alliance is 3% not sure if it is limited time or permanent also another MC that is 3% out there, but not sure with which CU.

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US Alliance will drop back to 2% effective July 1, 2022.

Points accrue at 3 points per dollar as of 04/01/2021. Point accrual rate is subject to change at the discretion of the Credit Union. 3 Points per dollar accrual rate is a promotional value and expires on 06/30/2022, at which time points will accrue at 2 points per dollar.

[Curious_George2]

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@Taurus22 wrote:

@CreditCuriosity   I think I may be right behind you. Getting annoyed with their refusal to PC, while knowing they allow PC to Rewards+ and other cards, and also allow PC from those cards to CustomCash. So they are forcing everyone to do the workaround. And the sooner I start the workaround, the sooner I'll have my CustomCash. 

So 102 days.....I'll provide an update as well.

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I don't think it would take 102 days to do the two-step. If you did PC number 1 today, you could do PC number 2 in 51 days and you would have a Custom Cash as soon as they could ship it to you. Maybe on day 56 or so. The 51 days is a recission period, but you have the new card while it's running.

[Curious_George2]

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@Taurus22 wrote:

Ok.....so I just got off the phone with Citi and had a VERY interesting conversation with the CSR which led to some promising news. Maybe?

Obviously, I went through the normal steps of asking about the DC --> CC direct conversion, and was told that as of July 15 the PC had been approved.....however, there he said that there has been a "glitch" in their system that has not allowed the conversions to be done. This is why the CSR's have not had the ability to convert. So, since I hadn't heard that from any other CSR yet, I'm thinking that maybe this guy is just trying to "appease" the customer. But then again, he did mention that they have had many calls from many DC cardholders regarding this, so maybe that raised their attention to the issue?

At that point, I asked if all other Citi cards were able to be converted to the CC, other than Costco.....and he confirmed that was correct (except I think he also stated the Simplicity was not allowed?) After going through my explanation of doing the double-conversion (and I used DC --> Diamond Pref --> CC as an example with him, which he confirmed was possible) I told him that I was simply tangling with the idea of:

1) Waiting patiently for the DC --> CC conversion "glitch" to be fixed.....not having any direct expectation of when that may occur. (in essence, losing time on my clock with the 2x conversion)

2) Moving forward with the 2x conversion process (over 103 days) and starting the clock now, with a guarantee that I coud have the CC in-hand by the end of the year.

He did say that the conversion to the Diamond would be a difficult process (for whatever reason, I didn't ask why) and that he was going to speak to a supervisor and see what information he can get on the "glitch".

After a couple minutes he came back and said his supervisor explained to him that the "glitch" which was not allowing the direct conversion from DC --> CC would be 100% corrected by the end of August. If I could be patient and wait until that time, there should be no further issue with the conversion.

So, I again repeated back to him....."So, I can fully expect to be able to directly convert my DC --> CC on Sept. 1?" He said that is correct. So I told him ok, I would give it until Sept. 1 and if for any reason the conversion glitch is still not corrected I would move forward with the double-conversion at that time, as I didn't want to lose any more time on that 103 day clock.

Pretty interesting, huh?

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Great stuff, @Taurus22! Thanks for chatting up the CSR and sharing the info with us. Given how rickety Citi's IT tends to be, I absolutely believe the "glitch" explanation. I doubt anyone knows with certainty when the fix will be in place, but the optimism they expressed to you is... precious.  

[Taurus22]

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@Curious_George2 wrote:

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@Taurus22 wrote:

@CreditCuriosity   I think I may be right behind you. Getting annoyed with their refusal to PC, while knowing they allow PC to Rewards+ and other cards, and also allow PC from those cards to CustomCash. So they are forcing everyone to do the workaround. And the sooner I start the workaround, the sooner I'll have my CustomCash. 

So 102 days.....I'll provide an update as well.

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I don't think it would take 102 days to do the two-step. If you did PC number 1 today, you could do PC number 2 in 51 days and you would have a Custom Cash as soon as they could ship it to you. Maybe on day 56 or so. The 51 days is a recission period, but you have the new card while it's running.

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Yeah, I've figured that out now after the fact....lol.  I thought the 51 days was a "hold" of being unable to use the card. Which, obviously I wouldn't want to use the 1st PC card at all anyway, but now having that confusion cleared up I see it wouldn't apply to the CustomCash as the 2nd PC.  So yeah, 51 days + the (7-10 days) it takes for the new card to arrive. Makes it a little less daunting now, knowing that.

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous

Great write up! Useful and brings information from around the forum together for quick reference

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous

Great write up! Useful and brings information from around the forum together for quick reference

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Thanks Dinosaur, really appreciate the kind words. That post was written in large part with information I learned while lurking on this forum! Never would've known about obscure but powerful cards like AOD or MidFlorida otherwise. Also would never have known about things like the PPMC's clunky clickthrough. That's info you can't learn from reading "professional" CC reviews!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@JamP wrote:

Going to be a MyFico flood of DC cards going to be converted as soon as they open the gates.

The DC card was great in its time but mediocre now, many straight 2% cards now.

If they made it 1.5% buy and 1.5% pay making it essentially a 3% card it would be on top again.

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I don't see why the DC is "mediocre now." With the exception of Alliant (for now), AOD, MidFlorida (only available to Floridians), and the USAA Limitless (which is no longer available to new applicants), 2% across-the-board with $0 AF remains the gold standard. It's true the DC doesn't stand alone in the 2% across-the-board/$0 AF category, but the other contenders aren't perfect either:

• Alliant: Earns 2.5% back, but requires the maintenance of an Alliant High-Rate Checking account with a minimum balance of $1000, eStatements, and at least one monthly edeposit into the checking account; otherwise 1.5%. You start out earning only 1.5% for the first three months before you quality to start earning 2.5% back (kind of a negative SUB!).
  • Further, Alliant has repeatedly changed the rules of the game for the card, adjusting the AF (currently $0), the % cash back, and the earnings cap (currently a generous $10k/month), so how long the current 2.5% back rewards last is anyone's guess.
• Fidelity: Issued by Elan, and requires a qualifying Fidelity account.
• Fifth Third: Requires a qualifying Fifth Third bank account.
• PenFed Power Cash: Requires military qualification or a qualifying PenFed bank account to earn 2% cash back; otherwise 1.5%.
• PPMC: Issued by Synchrony, and requires a clunky PP clickthrough to manage the card online. Used to have the advantage of a $0 FTF, but they recently reinstituted a 3% FTF, so that advantage is gone.
• FNBO Evergreen: FNBO reputedly lowered Evergreen CLs left and right during a few rounds of belt-tightening last year (check out the Consumer Affairs reviews). That's a risk I'd rather not take, personally.
• SoFi: Requires a SoFi account.
• TD Double Up: Requires a TD Bank account, and geofenced to customers in mostly East Coast states.
• WF Active Cash: Issued by Wells Fargo.
• Various small credit unions: A few local credit unions across the country offer 2% back, $0 AF credit cards, such as RBFCU. MidFlorida even offers a 2.5% back card, and then of course there's the AOD 3% back card. These, however, invariably require credit union membership, which (depending on the credit union) may be difficult or impossible to obtain for non-local applicants. For instance, it doesn't seem possible for non-Floridians to join MidFlorida.

The Citi DC doesn't require a Citi bank account, so if we prune the list of competing offerings to ones that don't require opening a bank account or joining a credit union, we're left with only the WF Active Cash and FNBO Evergreen (and arguably the PPMC, depending on one's willingness to open a PayPal account). And, personally, apple-to-apple I'd take Citi over WF or FNBO any day and twice on Sundays*. Being one of the three/four 2% back across-the-board, $0 AF cards on the market that don't require the maintenance of a qualifying bank account/credit union membership isn't too shabby in my view.

*WF Active Cash has a very nice $200 SUB at the moment, so it's not quite "apple-to-apple" for now.

Back on topic, for folks looking to rely on only a few cards, the Custom Cash could work in tandem with a Citi DC (or WF Active Cash/FNBO Evergreen) to enhance cash back in a single "heavy-spend" category. On the other end of the spectrum, for folks with a ton of cards looking to maximize their 5% cash back, the Custom Cash could be quite valuable as a "gap filler" in conjunction with cards that offer rotating-category 5% cash back.

In any case, with rare exceptions, it isn't optimal to rely on the Custom Cash alone, which is where the Citi DC's 2% catchall retains its value for anyone who doesn't have an Alliant, AOD, MidFlorida or USAA Limitless card.

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For those unaware, you can bookmark PPMC instead of doing the PP click through.  Link to instructions provided below (message 17).

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Which-of-these-2-cards-would-you-get-and-why/m-p/6042627#M1725794 

This point alone certainly doesn't tip the scales in favor of the PPMC in my opinion.

[Harvey26]

Recently did a product change from Double Cash to Citi Premier and as soon as I did that Custom Cash Card was released. Well today I went through chat and requested the change to the Custom Cash Card and my card is on its way and it is already reflected on my online account. 

[M_Smart007]

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@Harvey26 wrote:

Recently did a product change from Double Cash to Citi Premier and as soon as I did that Custom Cash Card was released. Well today I went through chat and requested the change to the Custom Cash Card and my card is on its way and it is already reflected on my online account. 

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Congrats on your successful PC🎉