Best Citi Credit Cards of December 2025

Before applying, confirm details on the issuer’s website.

Our pick for: Flat-rate cash back

Year after year, the Citi Double Cash® Card has been a top choice among flat-rate cash-back cards. You earn 2% cash back on every purchase — 1% when you buy something and 1% when you pay it off. There's no 0% intro period for purchases and no bonus categories, but the high rewards rate more than makes up for the lack of bells and whistles. Read our review.

Our pick for: Automatic 5% rewards

The Citi Custom Cash® Card offers a lot of value for a $0 annual fee: 5% back automatically in your eligible top spending category on up to $500 spent per billing cycle (1% back on other spending). The list of eligible 5% categories is varied and includes biggies like restaurants, grocery stores and more. And unlike with its competitors, there's no activation schedule or bonus calendar to keep track of. Read our review.

Our pick for: Travel rewards + no annual fee

The $0-annual-fee Citi Strata℠ Card can be a rewarding everyday-use choice, with elevated rates on supermarkets, gas stations and other spending. It also features a "self-select" bonus category and access to Citi's travel partners, giving you some optionality. But point values are low for cash back, so it's best for those seeking a travel card without an annual cost. Read our review.

Our pick for: Travel rewards

The $95-annual-fee Citi Strata Premier® Card earns bonus points on select travel, supermarkets, dining, gas stations and EV stations, making it an ideal workhorse card for many budgets. Points are flexible, too, and can be transferred to multiple Citi travel partners, including American Airlines. There's a solid welcome bonus as well. Read our review.

Our pick for: Premium travel perks

The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card is packed with rich rewards and perks, with a premium annual fee of $595 to match. But it offers hundreds of dollars in travel and lifestyle statement credits that can offset that cost, and its rewards are highly flexible. Use them to book travel through Citi, or transfer them to any of the issuer's multiple travel partners, including American Airlines. Read our review.

Our pick for: Balance transfers + no late fees

The Citi Simplicity® Card has an excellent 0% intro APR period on balance transfers, and an OK one on purchases. It doesn't charge an annual fee, late fees or penalty APRs either. Read our review.

Our pick for: Balance transfers

The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card offers a super-lengthy 0% intro APR period on balance transfers, and there's also a decent offer on purchases. But the balance transfer fee is pricey. It doesn't have the late-fee forgiveness of Citi's other balance-transfer card, but it's still a great option. Read our review.

Our pick for: Outsize rewards on small purchases

The Citi Rewards+® Card might not be right for everyone, but its unique rounding-up feature means that every purchase will earn at least 10 points. The card offers bonus rewards at gas stations and supermarkets and has no annual fee. And the 0% intro APR period shouldn't be overlooked. Read our review.

Our pick for: Building credit

Our pick for: Wholesale club shoppers

Citi also issues branded credit cards in partnership with American Airlines and AT&T. Learn more about these cards by reading the reviews linked below:

• American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard®

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®

• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®

• Citi AT&T Points Plus Card

Most Citi credit cards require good to excellent credit to qualify, generally defined as a credit score of 690 or better. Keep in mind, though, that while credit scores are important, they're only one of the variables that credit card issuers use to decide whether you qualify for a given card. The application may ask about other factors, such as your income, employment and other debts. With any credit card, applying strategically can also increase your odds of approval.

The Citi® Secured Mastercard® is an option for those who are new to credit. This card requires a cash deposit to secure the credit line and doesn't offer any rewards. Learn how secured cards work.

The interest rate that applies to your Citi credit card account depends on the card you apply for and your credit history. Most Citi cards specify a range of interest rates, which can be found in the Schumer box for the card. For example, the Citi Strata Premier® Card offers an interest rate range of 19.74%-27.74% Variable APR. Your specific rate within that range will be determined based on your credit profile. Some cards, like the Citi Custom Cash® Card and the Citi Rewards+® Card, offer an introductory 0% APR period when you open your account.

For most Citi cards, your credit limit will depend on your credit profile, including your credit score and payment history, as well as financial factors like your income and current obligations. For the Citi® Secured Mastercard®, your credit limit will be equal to the security deposit you put down (minimum of $200). Citi will review your account within 18 months to decide whether to refund your security deposit and transition you to a regular unsecured card.

The easiest way to get a credit limit increase on your Citi card is just to ask for one. Call the number on the back of your card and ask a customer service representative about increasing your credit line. Citi may request a review of your credit report to increase your credit line, which might result in a hard pull. 

Citi may also conduct periodic reviews of your account and automatically increase your credit line if you’ve been using the account responsibly. You may be able to improve your chances of an automatic increase by making on-time payments and not carrying a balance from month to month. 

If you have an existing credit card with Citi and are approved for a new card, Citi will let you consolidate your credit limits and transfer a portion of your existing credit line to the new account. Call customer service and let them know how much of the existing credit line you’d like to transfer to the new account. 

All Citi cards offer free access to a cardholder's FICO credit score from Eqiufax. Many cards come with targeted offers that let you earn bonus rewards by shopping with specific merchants. And most Citi cards offer access to Citi Entertainment deals.

The Citi Flex Loan program allows qualifying cardholders to borrow money against their card’s credit limit at a fixed interest rate; the loan can then be paid off with fixed monthly installments (similar to a car loan). The minimum loan is $500, and the maximum depends on your creditworthiness and available credit limit. 

Additional benefits depend on the card. If you’re looking for travel rewards and benefits, the Citi Strata Premier® Card offers a sign-up bonus, useful bonus rewards categories and the ability to transfer points to more than 15 travel loyalty programs. If you want to finance a new purchase, the introductory 0% APR offer on the Citi Custom Cash® Card might be worth checking out. Or if you are looking to consolidate debt under an introductory 0% APR balance transfer option, take a look at the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card or Citi Simplicity® Card.

The information related to the Citi Custom Cash® Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.

Citi lets you see whether you’re "pre-qualified" for any card offers. But pre-qualification does not necessarily guarantee approval when you apply for a card. The pre-qualification process includes a so-called soft pull of your credit report, which doesn't have any effect on your credit scores. Think of pre-qualification as a "soft yes" — it means the issuer estimates that it's likely you'll be approved. If you like what you see, you can formally apply for a card, which will involve a more detailed review and will result in a hard pull that can knock some points off your credit score.

If you have multiple cards that earn Citi ThankYou points, you can consolidate the points on one account. This can be done online or by calling customer service. Although each ThankYou point is worth 1 cent when redeemed for a statement credit, regardless of what type of card you have, combining points has its benefits. 

If you have both the Citi Double Cash® Card and the Citi Strata Premier® Card, you can move points to the Citi Strata Premier® Card account and gain access to travel partners with points earned on your Citi Double Cash® Card. 

Or if you have the Citi Rewards+® Card, you can consolidate points to that account and earn a 10% rebate on the first 100,000 ThankYou points you redeem each year. 

Citi also lets you share ThankYou points with other cardholders that also have a ThankYou points earning card. But be aware those points expire 90 days after they are shared. For more information on points sharing, refer to this FAQ from Citi.

Citi has a reconsideration line you can call if an application is denied. A Citi representative will review the application and let you know why you were originally denied. Sometimes turning a denial into an approval is as simple as asking to reallocate credit from an existing card to the card you want to open. You won’t receive another hard pull, so there’s no harm in calling for reconsideration.

NerdWallet's Craig Joseph contributed to this article.

NerdWallet's credit cards team selects the best credit cards in each category based on overall consumer value. Factors in our evaluation include fees, promotional and ongoing APRs, and sign-up bonuses; for rewards cards, we consider earning and redemption rates, redemption options and redemption difficulty. A single card is eligible to be chosen as among the "best" in multiple categories. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.