Citi Custom Cash Closed to New Applicants: What to Do
What happened
Citi stopped accepting new applications for the Custom Cash card on May 28, 2026. The card was popular for automatically paying 5 percent cash back on your single highest eligible spending category each billing cycle, up to $500 in spending, with no category to activate. It is no longer available to new applicants, which removes one of the easier automatic 5 percent cards from the market. See best cash back cards.
If you already have it, or want it anyway
Existing cardholders are unaffected and keep the card and its 5 percent structure. If you do not have it, the main path left is a product change from another Citi card, which some cardholders can request, since a product change is not a new application. Availability of that route can vary, so it is worth asking Citi but not counting on. Citi's remaining straightforward cash-back card for new applicants is the Double Cash.
The best alternatives
If you cannot get the Custom Cash, the closest substitutes are cards that also concentrate a high rate on chosen or rotating spending. Rotating-category cards earn 5 percent on categories that change each quarter, and the U.S. Bank Cash+ lets you pick the categories you earn 5 percent in. A flat 2 percent card is the simpler fallback if you would rather not track categories at all. See rotating category cards explained.
Frequently asked questions
Related reading
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