Citi Bonus Cash Center guide: How to boost your rewards

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If you have a Citi card that earns cash back, you might be missing out on bonus rewards. Though a bit hard to find, Citi offers a shopping portal known as the Citi Bonus Cash Center, which allows you to earn cash back on online purchases with hundreds of major retailers.

The Citi Bonus Cash Center offers additional cash back from more than 400 online merchants, just for shopping through the links provided. Plus, you can enjoy free shipping from select stores.

Which cards qualify for the Citi Bonus Cash center?

Only select Citi credit cards qualify for additional cash back in the Citi Bonus Cash Center; cards must earn cash rewards to qualify. Cardholders that earn ThankYou points won’t be able to participate in the program.

That means there are only three Citi cards that qualify for the program – two of which are no longer open to new applications. If you already have a Citi Dividend or Citi Simplicity Cash Card, you can take advantage of the Bonus Cash Center. Otherwise, you’ll need the Citi® Double Cash Card.

Luckily, the Double Cash Card is one of our top picks for a flat rate of cash back.

Citi® Double Cash Card
Why should you get this card? If you regularly pay off your card in full each month, it’s hard to beat the cash back rewards on the Citi Double Cash card. Read full review	Other things to know: 1% cash back on general purchases and an additional 1% cash back as you pay off those purchases No annual fee Lengthy intro APR for balance transfers

How to use the Citi Bonus Cash center

If you are ready to earn some extra cash on your online shopping, first visit the Citi Bonus Cash Center and log in to your eligible Citi card account. We couldn’t find a link directly from a card account page, so we recommend navigating directly to the Bonus Cash Center and logging in from there.

Then, you just shop online by clicking through the links provided. There are hundreds of merchants you can shop with on the Citi Bonus Cash Center, each offering their own rate of cash back.

On the home page, you can view all of the retailers that offer bonus cash in the Citi Bonus Cash Center, in addition to those that offer free shipping promotions. In the list of participating merchants, you can filter by name, cash back offered or category and search for a particular store.

When you click into a merchant offer, you’ll be able to view all the current promotions available. Sometimes it is a flat rate of cash back on all purchases, while other offers require you to shop specific products or meet a spend threshold. Additionally, some merchants offer free shipping on purchases made through the portal.

Be sure to carefully read the terms and conditions for each merchant before you shop, as certain purchases might be excluded from cash back. Shipping charges and taxes are always excluded from your cash bonus, but restrictions can go much further – depending on the merchant.

Once you click on an offer, you’ll be directed to the merchant site to complete your online purchase as normal. Once it’s complete, cash back will be posted to your credit card statement within three billing cycles.

How much cash back can you earn?

According to the Citi Bonus Cash Center home page, you can earn up to 10 percent cash back by shopping through the portal, but you’ll average 5 percent.

However, if you are willing to do a little digging, we found offers of 12, 15 and 20 percent cash back – much higher than the advertised cap of 10 percent. Some merchants also offer a flat cash bonus rather than a percentage – allowing Citi cardholders to take home plenty of extra pocket change on qualifying purchases.

Tips for maximizing the Citi Bonus Cash Center

• Use a Citi card that already earns a top-notch cash back rate to get the most out of your purchase.
• Before you shop online, check the Bonus Cash Center for offers from that merchant.
• Compare rates on the Citi Bonus Cash Center to other shopping portals using tools like Cashback Monitor.
• Carefully read the terms and conditions for each merchant to ensure you meet purchase requirements.

Bottom line

If you are a Citi cardholder who earns cash back and aren’t already taking advantage of the Citi Bonus Cash Center, you should check out the site. By doing your online shopping through the links provided for more than 400 online retailers, you can bring home a little extra in rewards on your next purchase.