Key takeaways
- Thanks to its generous cash back rates, the Chase Freedom Flex® can potentially earn you more than the Citi Double Cash® Card.
- Additionally, the Chase Freedom Flex offers the same welcome bonus as the Citi Double Cash offers — but with a much lower spending requirement.
- Still, rotating categories can be a chore to keep track of; if you prefer simplicity, the Citi Double Cash can be the better option.
The Citi Double Cash® Card and Chase Freedom Flex®* are both no-annual-fee rewards cards, but depending on what you value the most in your rewards card, their worth varies. For example, if you’re more interested in maximizing your rewards potential or earning a significant sign-up bonus, the Chase Freedom Flex is a good pick. If you’d rather swipe your card without having to keep track of rotating bonus categories, you’re probably better off with the Citi Double Cash.
Still, you’ll never know which option is best for you until you do your research. Luckily, we’ve done it for you. Below, we’ll see how the two cards stack up against each other.
Main details
| Citi Double Cash Card | Chase Freedom Flex | |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome bonus | Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening. | $200 cash bonus after spending $500 within the first three months |
| Rewards rate | 2% cash back on all purchases — 1% when you make purchases and another 1% when you pay for purchases |
|
| Intro APR | 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers (18.24% – 28.24% (Variable) APR after) | 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers (18.99% – 28.49% Variable APR after) |
| Annual fee | $0 | N/A |
Citi Double Cash vs. Chase Freedom Flex highlights
As far as rewards go, the Chase Freedom Flex has the potential to earn you a lot more cash back. But if you’re planning a balance transfer, you might want to consider the Citi Double Cash instead. Here’s how the two cards compare in a variety of categories:
Welcome bonus winner
Rewards rate winner
Annual fee winner
Foreign transaction fee winner
Which card earns the most?
While it’s clear that the Chase Freedom Flex and the Citi Double Cash can earn the same welcome bonus in the first year, let’s take a look at which card provides more value in the long run.
Citi Double Cash vs. Chase Freedom Flex spending example
Say you spend $15,900 per year on a credit card, $2,250 of which is spent at restaurants, $650 on travel and $150 at drugstores.
With the Chase Freedom Flex, you’ll earn $32.50 in cash back if you book that $650 in travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, $67.50 in cash back on the $2,250 spent at restaurants and $4.50 in cash back on $150 in drugstore purchases.
Then, say you max out the annual spending limit for the Chase Freedom Flex’s rotating bonus categories. The most you can earn from rotating categories each quarter is $75 — $300 per year — which would require spending $6,000 per year in these rotating bonus categories (which typically include categories like grocery stores, gas stations, select streaming services and select merchant purchases).
Lastly, you’ll also earn 1 percent cash back on the rest of your non-bonus-category spending ($6,850), earning $68.50 in cash back. In total, that means you’d get $473 in cash back per year.
As for the Citi Double Cash, $15,900 in annual spending would earn you $159 in cash back when you make a purchase and $159 after you pay off your purchases, which brings your total cash back to $318.
Overall, this spending example demonstrates how bonus categories can make a significant difference in your cash back earnings, even though it might take a bit more effort to stay on top of them.
Why should you get the Citi Double Cash?
The Citi Double Cash is the easier-to-use card of the two, since you won’t need to keep track of any bonus categories. Still, the card can be very rewarding if you use it on as many purchases as you can, and its rewards rate is highly competitive when it comes to flat-rate cash back credit cards.
“I use my Citi Double Cash for most of my online shopping, and I love it for its straightforward cash back rewards,” says Alice Lesperance, a credit cards editor at Bankrate. “Because it was one of the first rewards cards I got, I liked that it encouraged paying off purchases right away by offering 1 percent cash back (on top of the initial 1 percent offered when you make the purchase.) I also took advantage of the Double Cash’s 18-month 0 percent APR balance transfer offer, and the process was easy to navigate and helped me pay down some old credit card debt.”
Why should you get the Chase Freedom Flex?
The Chase Freedom Flex provides many excellent opportunities to earn cash back at a higher rate. If you don’t mind keeping track of rotating bonus categories, activating categories each quarter and making sure to use the card for bonus category spending, the Chase Freedom Flex can be very rewarding.
“My Chase Freedom Flex is one of my favorite cards. I make sure to maximize every cent of available spending in rotating categories, particularly if the harder-to-use ones fit my needs,” says Ryan Flanigan, Bankrate credit cards writer. “In my opinion, it’s the strongest no-annual-fee card on the market by a significant margin.”
The bottom line
While the Citi Double Cash offers an exceptional rewards rate for a flat-rate cash back credit card, the Chase Freedom Flex offers more opportunities to earn rewards. Still, there are other factors to consider, such as whether you’re planning to carry or transfer a balance and how much effort you’re willing to put into your credit card rewards strategy.
*The information about the Chase Freedom Flex® has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
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