Citi CashReturns Card

I may or may not have mentioned it before, but I'm a big fan of the credit card. I know numerous studies have been done that people tend to spend more with plastic than with cash because it's so easy, and I agree, it certainly is. But I'd like to think that if I'm buying something, it's because I needed to or want to, and not because it's easy to do with a credit card.

One thing cash can't give me, however, is an automatic rebate every time I use it. Over the past 5-10 years credit cards have been shelling out gifts, perks, and cash to its customers, and the more you use their product, the more they give you. Cash Back credit cards are nothing new, but they have been getting more stingy. The days of 5% rebate are dwindling, so much so that it's difficult sometimes to get 5% even on Everyday Purchases like shopping and gas.

Back in August or September, Citi came out with a new product - Citi CashReturns card. In a nutshell, it offers 5% cash back on everything for 3 months from account opening. It kind of sucks that by the time they send it to you, 10 days have already passed from what they consider "account opening". Anyway, this very generous rebate gets tallied up when the statement generates, and if you have accumulated at least $50, they send the check to you automatically. Pretty nice feature, although I wouldn't mind still having the ability to decide for myself when I want the check mailed. One huge additional feature, though, is that they don't place a cap on how much you can earn in rebates once the account is opened. Previously, $300 has been the standard cap. Checking out Fatwallet.com and this credit card's thread there, you can read about people earning thousands of dollars in rebates because they are paying for their tuition, cars, taxes - all with this card. The card reverts back to 1% on all purchases after 3 months.

I am on my second card - I opened it a week or two before the other one's 3 month window was about to close, and I'm considering trying for a third in my wife's name. Total amount of rebates over the last 5 months - $850, averaging out to $170 per month. Not bad for spending money I'd like to think I would have been spending anyway...