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Citi Strata Elite Card overview
The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees) is the latest Citi card with high earning rates on select travel and dining, to benefit foodies and those who prefer booking via Citi Travel. The card’s $595 annual fee is offset by several lifestyle and travel credits, in addition to Priority Pass and Admirals Club lounge access. For a premium travel card, the new Citi Strata Elite feels easy to manage with its simple-to-use benefits, but lacks access to issuer lounges and a wider range of travel credits or perks. Card rating*: ½
* Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card is the long-awaited premium card that completes Citi’s rebranding of its Strata lineup. The last premium card Citi offered was the famed Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available); however, the new Strata Elite is quite different from the Prestige card.
The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
This new premium card from Citi comes with a hefty $595 annual fee, and just enough statement credits and perks to make up for the annual fee. It falls short in comparison to competitors such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) and The Platinum Card® from American Express, which offer more than double the value of benefits in relation to their annual fees.
Cardholders will earn the most with Citi Travel purchases and dining, making this card stand out from other premium cards that focus on earnings around travel booked directly with a merchant. Applicants with a credit score of 670 or higher will likely be approved.
Overall, the card may be a little niche for points and miles enthusiasts, but if you’re considering applying, here’s what you need to know.
Related: The best Citi credit cards
Citi Strata Elite pros and cons
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Citi Strata Elite welcome offer
New Citi Strata Elite cardholders can earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months from account opening. You can earn a higher welcome offer of 100,000 bonus points with the same spending requirements if you apply at a Citi branch in person.
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Based on TPG’s July 2025 valuations, the online welcome offer is worth $1,480, and the in-person offer is worth $1,850.
The Citi Strata Elite and Citi Prestige are two different products, so Citi Prestige cardholders won’t be converted to this new card and instead can apply for the Strata Elite and earn the welcome offer.
The more affordable $95-annual-fee Citi Strata Premier® Card has previously offered up to 75,000 bonus points (no longer available), so I’m quite surprised to see a new premium Citi card offer only slightly more bonus points than that.
Citi Strata Elite benefits
For a credit card charging a premium annual fee, you’ll get some decent perks and benefits, some of which are unique:
- Citigold® Private Client Relationship Tier credit: Qualifying Citigold Private Clients receive a $595 first-year banking relationship credit and $145 Annual Credit each year thereafter if the primary cardmember has an open and current Strata Elite Card account.
- Citigold® Relationship Tier credit: Qualifying Citigold clients receive $145 Banking Relationship Annual Credit if the primary cardmember has an open and current Strata Elite Card.
As a Citigold Private Client, you effectively get the annual fee of the Strata Elite covered for the first year, and a $145 discount off the card’s annual fee in subsequent years.
As a Citigold account holder, you will also receive an annual $145 credit, essentially bringing down the card’s annual fee to $450.
Statement credits
The Citi Strata Elite offers the following statement credits:
- $300 annual hotel benefit: Each calendar year, cardholders receive up to $300 off a prepaid hotel stay (minimum two-night stay) when booked through Citi Travel.
- $200 Splurge credit: Each calendar year, cardholders receive up to $200 in statement credits on their choice of up to two brands: 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy, Future Personal Training and Live Nation.
- $200 Blacklane credit: Receive a biannual statement credit of up $100 for Blacklane chauffeur bookings.
- $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit: Up to a $120 statement credit every four years toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
The Citi Strata Elite’s annual hotel credit is in line with those of its competitors. It’s slightly higher than the Amex Platinum’s up-to-$200 (per calendar year) credit for Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection (minimum two-night stay) properties with American Express Travel®, but falls short of the Sapphire Reserve’s up-to-$500 (up to $250 biannually) The Edit by Chase Travel℠ credit (minimum two-night booking required).
The main perk of the Citi hotel credit is that it can be used toward any hotel, unlike the Chase and Amex credits, which are limited to a selection of curated properties. In addition, Citi Strata Elite cardholders will have access to top-tier properties and perks similar to The Edit and Amex FHR through its new program, The Reserve.
The two statement credits that stand out to me are the lifestyle-focused Splurge and Blacklane statement credits. The list of eligible brands is interesting, as it includes 1stDibs, a luxury e-commerce website, Best Buy and Future Personal Training.
Live Nation as an eligible merchant is a good choice, but falls short of the Sapphire Reserve’s new statement credit of up to $300 for StubHub and Viagogo (through Dec. 31, 2027; one-time activation required).
The easiest way to redeem the credit would be with an American Airlines purchase of flights, lounge access or paid seat selection. Otherwise, you can easily make tech purchases at Best Buy for items like sound-canceling headphones for your next flight or Apple AirTags.
I was quite shocked to see the new Blacklane credit, as it’s a lesser-known private chauffeur service that I have frequently used. Blacklane chauffeur bookings are by no means cheap in some places (compared to Uber or public transit), whether for airport pickups and drop-offs or trips from point A to point B.
For reference, I paid 566 euros ($657) to be driven in a Mercedes-Benz Vito van from Rosewood Schloss Fuschl to Munich Airport (MUC).
It’s cheaper to use Blacklane services in Asia or the Middle East, such as in Istanbul, where it typically costs no more than $100. Consider this credit more of a coupon for an expensive car transfer, as most bookings will cost more than the $100 credit you’re given biannually.
Additional benefits
The Citi Strata Elite offers a few more perks that enhance the card’s premium nature.
- Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership: Complimentary access for primary cardmembers and authorized users, and up to two guests.
- Admirals Club access: Cardholders receive four Admirals Club Citi Strata Elite passes each calendar year.
- The Reserve by Citi Travel access: Access to a collection of 4.5-5-star participating hotels on the Citi Travel platform that has on-property benefits including daily complimentary breakfast for two, free Wi-Fi, a $100 experience credit (varies by property), early check-in, late checkout and room upgrades (subject to availability).
- Mastercard World Legend benefits: Premium benefits include priority reservations at high-demand restaurants abroad and tickets to music, theater and sporting events globally.
- Travel and purchase protections.
- No foreign transaction fees.
Other premium cards already offer access to Priority Pass lounges, but what stands out are the four passes to Admirals Club lounges you’ll get each year. With Citi and American Airlines tightening their relationship, this perk was heavily rumored and makes the card a compelling one for semifrequent AA flyers.
Unfortunately, the Strata Elite still falls short because Citi lacks issuer-branded airport lounges, and the limited number of Admirals Club locations doesn’t make up for that.
Similar to the Citi Strata Premier (see rates and fees), the Strata Elite offers travel protections, plus extended-warranty and purchase protections. It’s important to note that this is the first Mastercard World Legend card to be introduced, so we’ll have to wait to see how it compares to the Visa Infinite card tier.
Overall, the card provides $820 in statement credits and an additional $316 of value from the Admirals Club passes. This falls quite short of the Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Platinum, which offer more than double their annuals fees in value.
I expect more benefits from such a premium card and, perhaps, more AA-related benefits and perks. In comparison to other premium cards, the benefits may seem limited and not in line with the value proposition.
Related: Best credit cards for lounge access
Earning points on the Citi Strata Elite
One of the more unusual aspects of the Citi Strata Elite is its new earning rates. They include:
- 12 points per dollar spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6 points per dollar spent on airfare booked on cititravel.com.
- 6 points per dollar spent at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Eastern time. Earn 3 points per dollar spent on restaurant purchases outside of these days and hours.
- 1.5 points per dollar spent on all other purchases.
It’s common to see issuers offer bonus points for booking through their own travel portal, but this is the first time we’ve seen an issuer offer bonus points for restaurant spending and delivery for purchases every Friday and Saturday at specific times.
Although earning up to 6 points per dollar spent on restaurant purchases is not a bad earning rate, cardholders of a premium travel card may be better off earning bonus points on direct hotel bookings or other travel.
Earning bonus points for booking via a travel portal is fantastic, but there are several downsides to booking directly with an airline or hotel. For this purpose, the Citi Strata Premier is a better choice, thanks to its wide range of bonus categories and the ability to earn bonus points when booking travel directly.
Related: The best premium credit cards: A side-by-side comparison
Redeeming points on the Citi Strata Elite
The Citi Strata Elite earns Citi ThankYou Rewards points that can be redeemed for statement credits, cash back or gift cards. Points can also be transferred to any of Citi’s travel partners, which is the best way to maximize your hard-earned points.
When redeeming ThankYou points for travel booked through the Citi Travel portal, you can expect to redeem your points for 1 cent each, well below TPG’s July 2025 valuation.
Related: Best ways to redeem Citi ThankYou points
Transferring points on the Citi Strata Elite
Citi Strata Elite cardholders can transfer points to partners as part of the ThankYou Rewards program, which currently includes five hotel and 15 airline transfer partners.
The most positive development is that points earned on the Citi Strata Elite can be transferred to American Airlines AAdvantage at a ratio of 1:1. This is a great perk, as AAdvantage is currently not a transfer partner with any credit card rewards program.
Citi ThankYou Rewards is unique in the sense that you’ll notice several international frequent flyer programs that are more low-key, but you can still book high-value award tickets through them.
For example, by transferring 65,000 ThankYou points to Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles, you can fly one-way in business class from North America to Istanbul. Another great redemption is to transfer your points to the Qatar Airways Privilege Club program to secure a one-way business-class flight in its famous Qsuite from the U.S. to Doha starting at 70,000 Avios.
I recently transferred 25,000 ThankYou points to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles to fly in business class from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), saving me nearly $1,000 on a route that’s typically sold out.
An interesting thing to watch out for is whether the AAdvantage program will change or become devalued in any way, since becoming a transfer partner could result in a flood of points coming in.
Related: Best uses of American Airlines AAdvantage miles
Which cards compete with the Citi Strata Elite?
The Citi Strata Elite’s $595 annual fee puts it in the premium travel card category. If the card doesn’t appeal to you, check out the following cards:
For additional options, check out our list of the best travel cards.
Is the Citi Strata Elite worth it?
For a premium card, the Citi Strata Elite offers decent value, but not the outsized value that competitor cards from Chase and American Express offer. If you’re an American Airlines loyalist, the Admirals Club lounge access and credit for AA purchases can be useful. If you’re looking for better earning rates and access to Citi transfer partners, consider the Citi Strata Premier instead.
Bottom line
I was quite excited about the Citi Strata Elite’s release earlier this year and made some lofty and hopeful predictions. Unfortunately, the card falls a bit short of its competitors in terms of value from statement credits and perks.
That said, if you book travel through Citi Travel or can maximize the card’s earning rates on restaurant purchases, you’ll come out ahead with tons of points.
Remember that if you already hold the Citi Prestige, you’ll be able to keep that card and apply for the Strata Elite.
Apply here: Citi Strata Elite
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, click here.
