Citi Double Cash vs Rakuten Amex — which is worth it to you?
The Citi Double Cash (no annual fee) and the Rakuten American Express Card (no annual fee) side by side: credits, earning rates against a flat 2% cash-back baseline, and protections — with your spending deciding which card actually wins each category.
Neither card charges an annual fee, so the only real question is which one earns more on your spending. The Citi Double Cash earns Citi ThankYou Points while the Rakuten Amex earns plain cash back. A point in one program isn't automatically worth a point in the other, so the calculator below turns everything into dollars against a flat 2% card.
The Rakuten Amex also has a bonus on groceries (2x) and dining (2x), with nothing to match it on the Citi Double Cash.
No statement credits on either card, so there is no coupon book to keep track of.
Both cards carry extended warranty. The Rakuten Amex also has no foreign transaction fees and purchase protection, with no equivalent on the Citi Double Cash.
Citi Double Cash
Citi · No annual fee · earns Citi ThankYou Points
Earning rates
- 5x Hotels, car rentals & attractions via Citi Travel
- 2x Everything (1% when you buy + 1% as you pay)
Full Citi Double Cash breakdown — 1 more benefits on the full page.
Rakuten American Express Card
First Electronic Bank · No annual fee · cash back
Earning rates
- 4x Rakuten purchases (online & in-store), through your linked Rakuten account ($10,000/calendar year, then unlimited 1%)
- 5x Rakuten Dining Program partner restaurants (No cap, and doesn't draw down the $10,000 Rakuten-purchases cap)
- 2x Grocery stores
- 2x Restaurants
- 1x Everywhere else American Express is accepted
Full Rakuten American Express Card breakdown — 3 more benefits on the full page.
Card data verified against issuer sources: Citi Double Cash on 2026-08-20, Rakuten American Express Card on 2026-08-27.
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