This Is My Go-To Credit Card for 5% Back at Hardware Stores
KEY POINTS
- The Citi Custom Cash® Card earns 5% back on up to $500 a month when the hardware store is my top category.
- You don't need to activate any bonus categories to earn -- Citi (an advertising partner with The Ascent) does it automatically.
I love my century-old house, but there's one major side effect of owning it: I've become a regular at the local hardware store. For better or worse, I'm there most weeks -- often multiple times -- as I tackle one project or another.
The one item I take with me every single time? My Citi Custom Cash® Card.
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Fair to Excellent (580-850)
Intro APR
Purchases: 0%, 15 months
Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 months
Regular APR
19.24% - 29.24% (Variable)
Rewards 5% cash back in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle (up to the first $500 spent), 1% cash back on other purchases. Earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025.
1% - 5% cash back
Annual Fee
$0
Welcome Offer Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
20,000 ThankYou® Points
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We love this card’s easy-to-use yet lucrative cash back program. Each billing cycle, cardholders earn 5% cash back in their top spend category (up to $500 spent in eligible categories). Eligible categories include grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, select travel and more. The card automatically adjusts to your spending habits, which makes it easy to maximize your rewards.
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- Cash back rewards
- Sign-up bonus
- No annual fee
- 0% intro APR offer
- Bonus cash back limits
- Foreign transaction fee
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- Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
- 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. After that, the variable APR will be 19.24% - 29.24%, based on your creditworthiness.
- Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. Also, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Special Travel Offer: Earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025. - No rotating bonus categories to sign up for – as your spending changes each billing cycle, your earn adjusts automatically when you spend in any of the eligible categories.
- No Annual Fee
- Citi will only issue one Citi Custom Cash® Card account per person.
5% back on every repair and replacement
The Citi Custom Cash® Card is a cash back rewards card that earns up to 5% back on the first $500 you spend in your top spending category every month. (Then you earn 1%.)
The list of eligible categories is very broad and includes tons of popular options:
- Drugstores
- Fitness clubs
- Gas stations
- Grocery stores
- Live entertainment
- Home improvement stores
- Restaurants
- Select streaming services
- Select transit
- Select travel
So, technically, this may not be your hardware store card. Maybe you'd rather use this as your gas rewards card, or your gym membership card. For me, however, it's the home improvement stores card all the way.
Your top category is set automatically
The neat thing about this card is you don't have to activate anything to get your bonus rewards. Instead, you just use your card to make your purchases. Citi will automatically determine your top spending category at the end of the month and award your bonus cash back accordingly.
However, since non-bonus-category purchases only earn 1% back, you should decide how you want to use the card on your own. For example, since I want to earn 5% back at the hardware store, I only use this card on eligible home improvement purchases.
I simply put purchases that don't fit into my self-selected bonus category on other cards. That way, there's no confusion about what my top spending category will be for the month.
Watch out for the $500 monthly cap
As I briefly noted above, the 5% back isn't unlimited: You only earn that rate on the first $500 in eligible purchases. (That works out to $25 in cash back per month.) Any purchases beyond that cap will earn just 1% back.
So far, I haven't run into any problems. While I've had a few pricier trips, those have been -- thankfully -- spread out enough to not put me over the cap. However, I do know I have some larger projects coming up later in the year that will likely put me over that cap.
Depending on how far over I may be, I have a few options:
- Put it all on my Citi Custom Cash® Card anyway: I don't like this option, since anything over the $500 cap will only earn 1% back and I'll be losing out on a lot of potential rewards.
- Put the excess on a flat-rate rewards card: I have a go-to card for anything that doesn't fit into a bonus category. It's not as good as 5% back, but it's definitely better than 1%.
- Get a second Citi Custom Cash® Card: While I can't apply for a second Citi Custom Cash® Card account, I could product-change one of my existing Citi cards into another Citi Custom Cash® Card. This would effectively double my cap.
I'll have to wait and see how my expenses look before I can decide on the best course of action. At this rate, a second card for even more hardware store rewards probably wouldn't go unused. But that would mean sacrificing a different credit card. It will take some contemplation.
Even if your home is a bit newer than mine, chances are good you spend your fair share of time hitting the hardware store. Consider letting the Citi Custom Cash® Card tag along on your next trip.
Alert: our top-rated cash back card now has 0% intro APR until 2025
This credit card is not just good – it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a lengthy 0% intro APR period, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee! Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.
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