One idea, two mechanics
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards and Citi Custom Cash both build their entire pitch around a single bonus category paying an elevated rate, with everything else falling back to a flat 1%. Where they diverge is how that category gets picked. One important note up front: Citi stopped accepting new Custom Cash applications on May 28, 2026, so this comparison is most useful if you already hold one of these cards and are deciding whether to add the other — not for someone choosing from scratch with both options open.
Bank of America: you pick, and groceries always earn extra
Customized Cash Rewards lets you choose your own 3% category from a list — gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drugstores, or streaming — and you can change your selection through Bank of America's site. On top of that chosen category, the card automatically earns 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, no selection required. The 3% category and the 2% grocery/wholesale rate share a combined quarterly cap of $2,500 in spend (about $63 in bonus value at the blended rate); spend beyond that in a quarter drops to the 1% base rate. Everything outside the chosen category and groceries/wholesale earns a flat 1%.
Citi: no selection, 5% instead of 3%, but only one category
Custom Cash skips the manual step entirely. Each month, the card automatically applies a 5% rate to whichever one eligible category you spent the most in — dining, groceries, gas, transit, streaming, drugstores, travel, or entertainment — up to $500 in spend in that category (a maximum of $25 in bonus value per month). There's no automatic secondary category the way BoA's grocery/wholesale rate works; if your top category for the month happens to be dining, that's the only one earning 5% — everything else, including groceries if they weren't your top spend, falls to 1%.
The tradeoff in one line
BoA trades a lower top rate (3% vs. 5%) for predictability — you always know your category because you chose it, plus you always get 2% on groceries and wholesale regardless of what you picked. Citi trades that predictability for a higher rate (5% vs. 3%) and zero effort, but your top category can shift month to month based on spending you don't fully control, and there's no guaranteed secondary bonus.
| BoA Customized Cash | Citi Custom Cash | |
|---|---|---|
| Top bonus rate | 3% (your choice) | 5% (auto-detected) |
| Secondary bonus | 2% groceries/wholesale, automatic | None |
| Cap | $2,500/quarter combined | $500/month, single category |
| Who picks the category | You | The card, each month |
| New applicants | Open | Discontinued since May 28, 2026 |
So which one wins?
- Your top spend category is stable month to month and above $2,500/quarter: BoA's flexibility and grocery kicker likely edge out Citi, since you can park your choice on your single biggest recurring category and still collect 2% on groceries.
- Your top spend category genuinely varies — some months it's gas, some months it's dining: Citi's auto-detection captures whatever's actually highest without you having to guess or switch settings, at a materially higher 5% rate.
- You can't get a new Custom Cash anyway: if you're shopping today rather than optimizing an existing wallet, Bank of America's Customized Cash Rewards is the only one of the two you can actually apply for.
Run the optimizer with your real category totals to see which pick-your-category card (if either) earns its way into a fuller setup.
Data verified as of July 19, 2026.
Want the live numbers side by side? See the BoA Customized Cash vs. Citi Custom Cash comparison page — it renders current rates and fees straight from our verified card data.