rewrite this title What Is Citizens Bank, and Are Its Credit Cards Right for You? – NerdWallet

In June 2025, Citizens Bank completely overhauled its suite of personal credit cards. It closed applications to three of its existing credit cards and launched five new ones. The cards are mostly solid products, but they all lack welcome offers, which can be worth hundreds of dollars on other credit cards.

And while you don’t need to be a Citizens Bank member to apply for its credit cards, Citizen Bank’s limited footprint could be a potential drawback. As of 2025, it operated branches in only 14 states and the District of Columbia.

Here’s an overview of credit cards from Citizens Bank.

For those looking to build or rebuild their credit, the Citizens Amp credit card is a terrific option. There’s no credit score requirement to get the card, and you don’t have to put down a security deposit. The Citizens Amp card doesn’t charge an annual fee nor a penalty APR if you happen to miss a few payments. However, you’ll want to make as many on-time payments as possible, if you can: Citizens Bank says good credit habits can qualify you for a credit limit increase or product upgrade in as little as six months.

Citizen Bank’s only balance transfer option, the $0-annual-fee Citizens Spring card, has a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for the first 18 billing cycles (as of this writing). The card charges a balance transfer fee of $10 or 5% of the transfer amount. A no-interest period of 18 months is solid, but it’s not the longest on the market. If you need an extra-long runway for paying off debt, the Citi Simplicity® Card offers 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months and 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months, and then the ongoing APR of 18.24%-28.99% Variable APR. Plus, its balance transfer fee is 3% if you initiate the transfer within the first four months of account opening.

As of this writing, the Citizens Summit is the only no-annual-fee card that earns cash back in Citizens Bank’s portfolio. It’s advertised as an “everyday spending” card and earns 3% cash back on dining out and groceries (excluding Walmart and some superstores). Everything else earns 1.5%. The Citizens Summit also has a 0% intro APR period on balance transfers for 12 months.

Those perks make the Citizens Summit a good card, but you can do better. The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card also earns an unlimited 3% on dining and at grocery stores, plus the same rate on entertainment and select streaming services. Its 0% intro APR period is superior, too: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 19.24%-29.24% variable APR after that; balance transfer fee applies. Finally, the Savor card, unlike the Citizens Summit, has a welcome offer: Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus once you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

The Summit Reserve credit card boasts the most perks compared with the others in Citizens Bank’s portfolio — and it has a $295 annual fee to match. You can whittle that number down to $95 if you have a Citizens Quest checking account (which is free to open), or all the way to $0 if you have a Citizens Private Client or Private Bank checking account. Private Client checking requires a $200,000 monthly combined balance across Citizens Bank deposit and investment accounts. Private Bank members must have a multimillion-dollar net worth.

The Summit Reserve’s benefits include the following:

By using the Summit Reserve’s travel credits and free lounge visits, you’ll defray that $295 annual fee.

If you’re willing to pay a little more, though, you can find even more rewarding premium travel cards. For a $395 annual fee, you can enjoy the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and its many perks: a $300 annual travel credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel, access to Capital One lounges, cell phone insurance and a valuable welcome offer.

The following credit cards are closed to new applicants as of June 12, 2025. However, existing cardholders may continue to use their cards.