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Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. SHARE: Hinterhaus Productions/DigitalVision/Getty Images August 06, 2021 Checkmark Bankrate logo How is this page expert verified? At Bankrate, we take the accuracy of our content seriously. "Expert verified" means that our Financial Review Board thoroughly evaluated the article for accuracy and clarity. The Review Board comprises a panel of financial experts whose objective is to ensure that our content is always objective and balanced. Their reviews hold us accountable for publishing high-quality and trustworthy content. Ted Rossman is a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com. He focuses on the credit card industry and helps consumers maximize rewards, get out of debt and improve their credit scores. Nouri Zarrugh is a writer and editor for CreditCards.com and Bankrate, focusing on product news, guides and reviews. His areas of expertise include credit card strategy, rewards programs, point valuation and credit scores, and his stories on building credit have been cited by Mic.com, LifeHacker, People.com and more. Through his thorough card reviews and product comparisons, Nouri strives to demystify personal finance topics and credit card terms and conditions to help readers save money and protect their credit score. Bankrate logo

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At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Bankrate logo

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At Bankrate, we have a mission to demystify the credit cards industry — regardless or where you are in your journey — and make it one you can navigate with confidence. Our team is full of a diverse range of experts from credit card pros to data analysts and, most importantly, people who shop for credit cards just like you. With this combination of expertise and perspectives, we keep close tabs on the credit card industry year-round to: Meet you wherever you are in your credit card journey to guide your information search and help you understand your options. Consistently provide up-to-date, reliable market information so you're well-equipped to make confident decisions. Reduce industry jargon so you get the clearest form of information possible, so you can make the right decision for you. At Bankrate, we focus on the points consumers care about most: rewards, welcome offers and bonuses, APR, and overall customer experience. Any issuers discussed on our site are vetted based on the value they provide to consumers at each of these levels. At each step of the way, we fact-check ourselves to prioritize accuracy so we can continue to be here for your every next. Bankrate logo

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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. I often tout the virtues of credit cards that give 2 percent on all purchases. While some cards give better rewards in certain categories, getting a without putting in much work is a really attractive return. These cards—such as the , the (earns 2% cash rewards on purchases) and the —are also great foundations if you want to mix and match different products, because they set a higher floor than most offerings. You could potentially get anywhere from 3 percent to 6 percent cash back in certain categories with other cards, but their baseline is often just 1 percent, so a 2 percent cash back card could double your rewards on those purchases. Today, I’m going to tell you about an interesting card that doesn’t get much attention. It gives 1.8 percent cash back on every purchase and its other benefits could actually make it more valuable than many 2 percent cash back cards. I’m talking about the Citizens Bank Cash Back Plus World Mastercard.

Notable benefits

Extended warranty protection that doubles an original manufacturer’s or store warranty (lasting up to two years) when you buy an eligible item with the card. Cell phone insurance with up to $1,000 in annual coverage (capped at $600 per claim and two claims per year) as long as you pay your monthly phone bills with the card. Trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage that covers eligible expenses if you need to cancel a trip or cut one short due to a covered reason. Rental car insurance for collision, loss or damage. An intro 0 percent interest rate on balance transfers for 15 billing cycles (then a variable APR ranging from 15.99 percent to 23.99 percent, depending on your creditworthiness). Plus, as a World Mastercard, there are available courtesy of Mastercard. These include a free ShopRunner membership (enabling free two-day shipping and free returns from more than 100 popular retailers), a free three-month DashPass subscription, $5 off your first two DashPass orders each month, discounts from Lyft and HelloFresh, a free 24/7 concierge service and more. Compare this to one of my favorite cash back cards, the Citi Double Cash, which gives 1 percent cash back when you make a purchase and another 1 percent when you pay it off. The Double Cash offers a little more cash back than the Cash Plus World Mastercard on every transaction, but its list of additional benefits is a lot shorter than it used to be. In September 2019, Citi dropped several key benefits from this card, including extended warranty coverage, price protection, purchase protection, return protection, rental car insurance and trip cancellation/interruption insurance. The Double Cash is still a good card, but the Cash Plus card’s additional perks could prove better for some customers.

The bottom line

The quantity and quality of these benefits could make the Citizens Bank Cash Plus World Mastercard more valuable than a card that gives a slightly higher cash back payout but incorporates fewer extras. It’s a beneficial reminder that while a handful of large card issuers get most of the attention, smaller financial institutions such as Citizens Bank sometimes offer very compelling cards, too. Have a question about credit cards? E-mail me at [email protected] and I’d be happy to help. The information about the Citizens Bank Cash Back Plus World Mastercard and PayPal Cashback Mastercard has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer. SHARE: Ted Rossman is a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com. He focuses on the credit card industry and helps consumers maximize rewards, get out of debt and improve their credit scores. Nouri Zarrugh is a writer and editor for CreditCards.com and Bankrate, focusing on product news, guides and reviews. His areas of expertise include credit card strategy, rewards programs, point valuation and credit scores, and his stories on building credit have been cited by Mic.com, LifeHacker, People.com and more. Through his thorough card reviews and product comparisons, Nouri strives to demystify personal finance topics and credit card terms and conditions to help readers save money and protect their credit score.

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