Citi Double Cash vs. Wells Fargo Active Cash

Short answer: the two earn the same everyday rate, so choose by what the 2% turns into. Both charge $0, neither has credits we count, and both pay a flat 2% on everyday spending. Citi Double Cash pays in ThankYou points, worth one cent each as cash back and able to pool with a premium Citi card such as the Strata Premier to unlock transfer partners, which the Double Cash cannot do alone. It also pays 5% on hotels, rental cars, and attractions booked through Citi Travel, the only place the two differ on rate, and that rate applies only through Citi’s own portal. Wells Fargo Active Cash pays plain cash rewards with no points program and no portal rate to learn. Choose the Double Cash if you hold or plan to add a Strata card, or you book travel through Citi’s portal. Choose the Active Cash if you want the simplest cash back and nothing more. Both charge a 3% foreign transaction fee, and we do not model either card’s sign-up offer, so check each issuer for the current one. The head-to-head run below solves both cards against your own spending.