Get 5% cash back on your top spending category and a $200 welcome bonus with the Citi Custom Cash Card

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Cash-back credit cards are a great addition to just about anyone's wallet. By earning money back on your purchases, you can collect hundreds of dollars in the course of a year — and even more over time.

These cards are the most straightforward type of rewards credit card. They don't require a ton of effort to collect and redeem the rewards that help you offset your spending.

With a cash-back card, the percentage of your spending that you get back in cash varies. You can earn anything from 1% cash back on the lower end, to 5% cash back on the higher end.

The Citi Custom Cash® Card is the latest addition to the 5% cash-back card club. While its competition, like the Discover it® Cash Back and Chase Freedom Flex®, have rotating bonus categories (chosen by the bank) that cardholders have to enroll in each quarter to earn cash back, the Citi Custom Cash gives cardholders much more flexibility. With the Discover it Cash Back, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 (then 1%) in purchases made in accordance with Discover's Cashback Calendar after enrollment. 

Cardholders can choose their bonus categories (from a wide selection) and as their spending changes each billing cycle, they'll automatically earn 5% back on whatever category they spend the most on.

Below, CNBC Select breaks down everything you need to know about the Citi Custom Cash Card, from its welcome bonus and rewards, to its additional benefits and fees, so you can decide if this card is right for you.

Citi offers a welcome bonus for new Citi Custom Cash Card users with a low spending requirement: Earn $200 in cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening.

Spread out over six months, that's a $250 per month in spend that you can likely meet by just using your Custom Cash Card on everyday purchases.

The bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou^® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

New cardholders of the Citi Custom Cash Card earn 5% cash back on purchases in their top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent (then 1%). Cardholders will also earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2026 and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases automatically.

For the 5% cash back, eligible spending categories include everything from restaurants and grocery stores, to gas stations, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment. If you were to maximize the 5% back on up to $500 in spending each billing cycle, you could end up with $25 in cash back per month, or $300 a year.

Select calculated how many rewards the average American can earn if they optimize the way they use their Citi Custom Cash Card. We worked with the location intelligence firm Esri, who provided us with a sample annual spending budget of $22,126.

The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953).

Here's a breakdown of how much cash back you can earn in each category, annually:

• Groceries: $259 (as your top eligible spend category earning 5%)
• Gas: $22
• Dining out: $37
• Travel: $22
• Utilities: $49
• General purchases: $40
• Total: $428

Based on the annual spending budget from Esri, the average American can earn an estimated $628 in the first year of card membership, assuming you earn the $200 welcome bonus, and $2,340 over five years. This assumes that cardholders are redeeming ThankYou® Points for cash back at a typical value of 1 cent each.

Spending optimizers might be able to achieve more value, and you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your spending habits. It's not as hard to maximize every dollar you spend with the Citi Custom Cash since you automatically earn 5% back on your top eligible spending category. If you can maximize the $500 in spending on one of the 5% categories every month, you'd earn $300 in cash back (over the course of a year) from that category alone.

Cash back is earned in the form of ThankYou® Points. Each billing cycle, cardholders will earn 5 points per $1 on purchases in their top eligible spend category, up to the first $500 spent, and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.

The Citi Custom Cash Card stands out most for its customized cash-back rewards program and easily attainable welcome bonus. Its big perk is that cardholders never have to activate bonus categories each quarter in order to earn the 5% cash back, which other cards in this 5% category often require. Plus, similar cards only offer a few choices that you can earn 5% back on and the eligible 5% categories change every quarter.

You can redeem your points for cash back as a direct deposit or as a statement credit applied to your credit card bill. There are no minimums when you redeem this way. For more options, redeem your points for gift cards, travel and Shop with Points at Amazon.com or PayPal.

If you have a family member or partner who needs help building credit, you can add authorized users to your credit card account at no cost. You earn points on the purchases they make, and their spending makes it even easier to reach the $1,500 threshold to earn that welcome bonus. Just keep in mind that authorized users won't also receive the cash-back bonus.

The Citi Custom Cash Card is a contactless-chip enabled card so you can count on a safer and quicker way to pay in store.

The Citi Custom Cash Card has no annual fee and an introductory 0% APR period to give you more time to pay off any large expenses. The interest-free period is for your first 15 months on balance transfers and new purchases (after, 18.24% - 28.24% variable APR, based on your creditworthiness).

There is a 3% foreign transaction fee on purchases made overseas and a balance transfer fee of 5% of the amount of each transfer ($5 minimum). Balance transfers must be completed within four months of account opening to qualify for the intro APR.

For a 5% cash-back card that gives you more say in your bonus categories, the Citi Custom Cash Card is a great option. You can take advantage of the welcome bonus to earn even more cash back, plus you won't ever have to worry about paying an annual fee.

The U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card is a good alternative that also offers 5% cash back with customization, plus no annual fee. Cardholders can choose two categories each quarter to earn 5% cash back on up to their first $2,000 in combined eligible purchases, then 1%.

Unlike with the Citi Custom Cash Card, however, activation is required to earn 5% cash back on the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card. Cardholders also get 2% cash back on one everyday category and 1% cash back on everything else.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every airline credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

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Information about the Chase Freedom Flex® has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

For rates and fees for the Discover it® Cash Back, click here