My guess is he means you have to pay for charges after they already posted to your account, not before. If you pay before, you are not actually paying for those charges, but it may be considered as you having a positive credit. Not sure if that makes sense.
The payment hold issue I believe it's about the source of those payments and whether Citi trusts it. DW has been with Citi for years, her bank account is on file and has been used many times to pay for charges and they post quick.
The other tricky thing with Double Cash is to redeem rewards to your bank account, NOT as statement credit, or you may run into that same issue mentioned above (positive credit) or Citi not counting that as a payment (we only redeem to checking account, so not completely sure about this). So far, everything has been accurate for us.
@Anonymous wrote:The following quote is found at Credit Karma. Here is what he/she has to say:
"Initially excited 2% cash back is a great reward. However, the details matter. You don't get the 1% of purchase as you make them - only after the billing statement closes. You MUST pay attention to when you pay the bill -> if you pay the balance too early, [you] don't get the 1% back on of payments. The payments must be captured on a "purchase tracker" -> which can be much later than when you make the charges.
But what really annoyed me -> they "hold" payments for up to 5 business days. The payment will show as posted..but will not increase your available balance. They claim this is to make sure the "funds" clear -- but then why show the payment as posted? It should remain at the status of pending. Also, it doesn't not take 5 business days to clear an online electronic payment, especially when the money is withdrawn from bank account within 2 business days!
I prefer the capital one card 1.5% - it is truly no hassle. Earn cash back immediately, payments that post immediately increase availble balance!"
Can someone explain what he is trying to say clearer? This paragraph seems wordy for a credit card nub such as myself. I guess the second paragraph is just general ranting and that I should focus on the first paragraph.
Don't pay any attention to that ill-informed review. The reviewer is clearly an ignoramus or a Capital One apologist, likely both. It's hard to lend much credence to a review like that when there is so much misinformation there meant to mislead people. The "Annonymous" name should be a dead giveaway that it's probably not authentic and not made in good faith. There are also several posters on this site (who don't even have DC cards and have absolutely no idea how it works, I will add) who love to reference that review to try and dissuade people from applying for the Citi Double Cash.
This recent thread should address any concerns, as it has actual DC cardholders who confirm that they receive their full 2% back, even when paying before the statement cuts: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Question-for-those-with-Citi-Double-Cash/td-p/4139586
If you pay your credit card bills (surprise!), then you have nothing to worry about with the DC.
You get 1% when you purchase (after the statement closes, that is) and another 1% when you pay (after statement close). If you make a purchase and pay it off before statement close, you get the full 2% as soon as the statement closes.
