Ah, the illusive perfect credit card combination. For those new to the world of miles and points, the idea of carrying multiple credit cards might be confusing. Especially when two of those cards come from the same issuer and offer, what appear to be, similar benefits. However, by pairing certain credit cards you can actually earn significantly more points than from a single card alone. Let me explain.
A classic example of a great credit card combination is pairing the Chase Freedom with the Chase Sapphire Reserve. At face value this might not seem like a great pair. One is a rewards card while the other is a fairly simple cash back card. Yet, the pairing works because Chase allows card holders to transfer Chase Freedom cash back into Ultimate Rewards points at a rate of 1:1. So, you earn the 3X points on travel and dining, but also have the opportunity to earn 5X points on qualifying Chase Freedom Quarterly Bonus spend. If done right, you can earn up to 7,500 Ultimate Rewards points a quarter from the Chase Freedom card.
Another great credit card combination is the American Express Platinum Card and American Express Gold Card. By carrying both you’ll earn 4X Membership Rewards points on Dining and Groceries from the Gold card and 5X points on Airfare and qualifying hotels with the Platinum card.
Both examples, from Chase and American Express are great pairings. In the past I’ve recommended both depending on where people spend the most each year. However, following recent changes from Citi, I’m not sure that either is the best pairing anymore.
Citi Double Cash Card
In my opinion, the Citi Double Cash Card hasn’t received the attention that it deserves. At face value, the Double Cash card only earns 1% cash back on all purchases. What makes the card great is that you earn an additional 1% cash back when you pay your bill. So, assuming you pay your bill, the Citi Double Cash Card is actually a 2% cash back credit card. Over the course of a year, that represents better value than the Chase Freedom card, even with the quarterly bonus spend.
Well, the Citi Double Cash Card just got even more rewarding. Effective late September 2019, Citi Double Cash card holders can convert cash back into ThankYou points at a rate of $1 to 100 points. This means that with the Citi Double Cash card you can effectively earn 2X ThankYou points on all purchases. This is again, much better than the Chase Sapphire card that only earns 1X points on non-bonus purchases.
Pairing The Citi Double Cash Card
This change now allows Citi card holders to earn a ton of ThankYou points by pairing the Citi Double Cash card with either the Citi Premier card or the Citi Prestige card. The Citi Premier card earns 3X ThankYou points on travel (including gas), 2X points on dining and entertainment, and 1X points on everything else. By paring the Citi Premier and Double Cash cards, you can essentially earn 2X points on all purchases and 3X points on travel (including gas). This would be a fantastic pairing for anyone who spends quite a bit of money on gas/travel each year, but doesn’t dine our or fly all that often.
If you spend more on airfare and dining, then the Citi Prestige card would be a better (more expensive) pairing. The Prestige card earns 5X points on airfare and dining, 3X on hotels and cruise lines, and 1X on all other purchases. It’s a unique points earning structure, but one that could yield a ton of ThankYou points if you spend a lot on airfare and dining each year.
Citi ThankYou Points
Like the double cash card, I find the Citi ThankYou rewards program to be a bit undervalued. When people think about the world of points I imagine most think about Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program or Amex’s Membership Rewards program. However, the ThankYou Rewards program can be equally rewarding depending on how you wish to use your points. Personally, as with the other programs, I would transfer ThankYou points to a partner rewards program to maximize value. Current transfer partners include:
| JetBlue TrueBlue | EVA Air | Qantas Frequent Flyer | Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles |
| Asia Miles | Air France / KLM | Qatar Privilege Club | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Jet Privilege | Singapore KrisFlyer | |
| Etihad Guest | Malaysia Airlines Enrich | Thai Royal Orchid Plus |
By looking at the above list, there are quite a few programs which are also transfer partners of Amex and Chase. For example, in the past I’ve transferred ThankYou points to the KrisFlyer program to fly Singapore Airlines Suites.
I’d like to see Citi add British Airways or United to the list of transfer partners, but from the above list there are still plenty of options available to maximize value.
Final Thoughts
What’s unique about the Citi Double Cash card is that it appears you don’t actually have to pair it with a ThankYou rewards card. So, if you’re simply looking for a card that earns 2X ThankYou points on all purchases, it seems as though you can do so with the Double Cash card alone. Please comment below to correct me if I’m wrong.
That being said, if you want to pool your points with a single program, the Citi ThankYou Rewards program is a great option. By pairing the Double Cash and Prestige card you’ll earn 2X ThankYou points on all purchases, 5X points on dining and airfare, and 3X on hotels and cruises. That’s fantastic points earning potential from two cards which are already great on their own.
Featured Image Courtesy of Citi
