Citi Strata Elite Review: An Intriguing New Contender Among Premium Rewards Credit Cards

Citi Strata Elite Card Benefits

Substantial Rewards

For a limited time, the Citi Strata Elite offers a welcome bonus of 80,000 Citi ThankYou® points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.

The value you’ll get for Citi ThankYou points varies depending on how you redeem them. For example, with the Strata Elite, you can:

• Redeem points for cash back at a rate of 0.75 cents each
• Use points toward Citi Travel bookings at a rate of 1 cent each
• Convert your points into airline miles and hotel points for potentially 2 cents or more in travel (we’ll cover that in a minute)

All told, an 80,000-point bonus is worth a minimum of $800 in travel, but it can be worth $1,600 or more when you transfer rewards to Citi’s partners to book award flights and hotel stays.

You’ll earn significant rewards for ongoing spending, as well, including a higher-than-average base rewards rate on non-bonus categories:

• 12 points per dollar on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Citi Travel
• 6 points per dollar on air travel booked through Citi Travel
• 6 points per dollar at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services, for purchases authorized between Friday 6 p.m. Eastern Time through Saturday 6 a.m. Eastern Time, and Saturday 6 p.m. Eastern Time through Sunday 6 a.m. Eastern Time (known as “Citi Nights℠”)
• 3 points per dollar at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services, for purchases authorized at any time outside of Citi Nights
• 1.5 points per dollar on other purchases

Transfer Partners That Can Increase the Value of Your Points

The most powerful way to use your Citi ThankYou points is by transferring them to travel partners for deeply discounted flights and hotel stays. Citi transfer partners include over a dozen airline and hotel loyalty programs. Most recently, Citi added American Airlines AAdvantage as a transfer partner, which makes ThankYou points even more attractive to AA loyalists.

All transfer ratios from the Strata Elite are 1:1 unless otherwise specified:

• Accor Live Limitless (1,000 Citi points = 500 ALL points)
• Aeromexico Club Premier
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• American Airlines AAdvantage
• Avianca LifeMiles
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Choice Privileges (1,000 Citi points = 2,000 Choice points)
• Emirates Skywards (1,000 Citi points = 800 Emirates points)
• Etihad Guest
• Eva Air Infinity MileageLands
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club (1,000 Citi points = 200 Leaders Club points)
• Preferred Hotels and Resorts I Prefer (1,000 Citi points = 4,000 I Prefer points)
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
• Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Wyndham Rewards (1,000 Citi points = 1,000 Wyndham points)

Transferring your points gives you opportunities to receive outsized value for your rewards. For example, you could:

• Book a $133 coach seat on JetBlue from Newark (EWR) to Aruba (AUA) for 7,500 points and $15 in taxes (a value of 1.57 cents each)
• Book a $190 coach seat on American Airlines from Memphis (MEM) to Dallas (DFW) for 7,000 American Airlines miles and $6 in fees (a value of 2.6 cents per point)
• Book a $2,000+ business class seat on Virgin Atlantic from New York (JFK) to London (LHR) for 29,000 Virgin Atlantic points and $581 in taxes (a value of 4.9 cents per point)
• Book a $158 coach seat on Avianca from Miami (MIA) to Quito, Ecuador (UIO) for 5,300 LifeMiles and $33.50 in taxes (a value of 2.3 cents per point)
• Book a $7,900+ business class seat on Air France from Washington Dulles (IAD) to Paris (CDG) for 60,000 Flying Blue points and $243 in taxes (a value of 12.76 cents per point)

Several times I’ve transferred points to Turkish Airlines to book cheap flights on its Star Alliance partner, United Airlines. In recent memory, I’ve used this trick to attend my friend’s wedding, visit Hawaii and see my family for Thanksgiving.

Solid Airport Lounge Access

Similar to many of the best travel credit cards, the ​​Strata Elite comes with access to more than 1,300 Priority Pass Select airport lounges worldwide. Priority Pass is far and away the most ubiquitous airport lounge network in existence, so there’s bound to be an eligible lounge near whichever city you’re visiting. My family uses Priority Pass membership all the time to escape the hectic airport terminal — and more importantly, to enjoy the free food and alcohol. We easily save $100 per meal by ducking into a lounge instead of visiting an airport restaurant.

The Citi Strata Elite also offers something most premium credit cards do not: Entry into American Airlines Admirals Club lounges. Each year, you’ll get four passes that can be redeemed for 24 hours of entry into AA lounges. You’ll spend one pass per adult in your party.

Myriad Annual Credits

The value of some Citi Strata Elite perks isn’t easy to quantify. Airport lounge access can save you hundreds, for instance, but a few of the card’s benefits are easier to crunch the numbers on:

• Up to $300 in annual hotel credit: When you prepay for a minimum two-night hotel stay through Citi Travel, you’ll get up to $300 back each year. If your first stay costs less than $300, you can use the rest of your credit on a future stay. You won’t earn points on the portion of the purchase that is offset by the credit, though.
• Up to $200 in annual Splurge Credit: You’ll be reimbursed up to $200 per year for purchases you make with up to two Splurge credit merchants you’ve activated. You can choose from American Airlines (exclusions apply), Best Buy®, 1stDibs, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation (including Ticketmaster) (exclusions apply). For a frequent traveler, this may be nearly as good as cash.
• Up to $200 in annual Blacklane credit: Get up to $100 statement credits toward Blacklane chauffeur services from January to June, and up to another $100 between July and December. Think of it as a fancier rideshare credit.

These statement credits are per calendar year.

You’ll also receive up to $120 in credit to offset the enrollment application for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years. This is enough to pay for a five-year membership to either program, meaning you’ll never have to pay out of pocket as long as you keep these cards open. TSA PreCheck and Global Entry are both the secret to speeding through airport security checkpoints faster than everyone else.

Elite-Like Benefits at Select Hotels

Citi Strata Elite cardholders receive access to The Reserve by Citi Travel, a collection of upscale hotels that offer elite-like perks. When you book through the platform, you’ll receive:

• Daily complimentary breakfast for two
• Free Wi-Fi
• A $100 experience credit that varies depending on the property
• Early check-in and late checkout (when available)
• Room upgrades when available

These perks aren’t unique to The Reserve by Citi Travel. Other issuers, such as Capital One, Chase and American Express, also have luxury hotel booking platforms that offer similar benefits.

Travel and Purchase Protections

As a Strata Elite cardholder, you’ll receive built-in travel insurance when you use your card to book eligible travel. This includes:

• Enhanced trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Trip delay coverage
• Lost or damaged luggage
• Car rental insurance

When you use your card to pay for eligible items, you’ll also get extended warranty and purchase protection.

Credits for Citigold Customers

If you’re a qualifying Citigold® client, you can receive a $145 banking relationship annual credit when you have an open and current Strata Elite Card account. And, qualifying Citigold Private Clients receive a $595 banking relationship credit the first year (enough to offset the card’s annual fee) and a $145 credit each year beyond that when they have an open, current Strata Elite account.

Citi Strata Elite Card Drawbacks

Annual Fee

Paying a credit card’s annual fee is never a joy, and the Citi Strata Elite has one whopper of an annual fee at $595 (again, Citigold customers effectively receive a $145 annual discount, and Citigold Private Client cardholders receive the same discount, with the first year annual fee offset by a $595 credit).

Still, if you’ll organically save more than that dollar amount each year from the card’s statement credits, airport lounge access and other perks, the Citi Strata Elite is worth the money. Do some honest math to project how much you can squeeze from the card based on your travel style.

For example, if you typically spend at least $200 per year with American Airlines, you’ll effortlessly use the card’s yearly Splurge Credit, effectively lowering the annual fee to $395 per year. Add in the annual $300 Citi Travel hotel credit, and your effective annual fee is $95.

Maximizing the Card Requires Booking Through Citi Travel

The Citi Strata Elite has one of the most generous earning rates for many travel purchases when booking through Citi Travel:

• 12 points per dollar on hotels, car rentals and attractions
• 6 points per dollar for air travel

The only problem is that you won’t earn bonus rewards when booking travel anywhere else, not even directly with the airline. That’s not a great look for a card aimed at travelers.

You’ll also need to book through Citi Travel to use the card’s annual $300 hotel credit for prepaid stays of two nights or more. Not nearly as easy to use as, say, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®’s annual $300 travel credit, which triggers for virtually any travel purchase. In addition, hotel bookings through a third-party platform like Citi Travel typically don’t earn hotel loyalty program points or elite night credits, and your elite status might not be recognized during your stay.

In other words, if you’re not booking through Citi Travel, you’re leaving tons of value on the table. And when you do book through Citi Travel, you may miss out on other rewards and benefits.

Poor Bonus Categories for Everyday Spending

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about the Strata Elite is its lack of practical bonus categories. You’ll earn:

• 6 points per dollar at restaurants during Citi Nights (Fridays and Saturdays only, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Eastern Time — no matter what time zone you’re actually in)
• 3 points per dollar at restaurants outside of Citi Nights
• 1.5 points per dollar for all other eligible purchases

The varying earning rates depending on the day and time you swipe your card are overly complicated. And while a 1.5x return rate for all other purchases isn’t offensive, even no-annual-fee credit cards like the Citi Double Cash® Card, an advertising partner, trounce that return rate (it earns 2 points per dollar on all purchases — 1 point when you make the purchase, and 1 point when you pay it off). That makes the Strata Elite a relatively bad daily driver (unless you’re paying for a meal on Friday or Saturday night).

The Strata Elite should have taken notes from its sibling cards. For example, the Citi Strata Premier Card is one of the greatest earners in existence for common purchases, offering 3 points per dollar at restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations.

Who Is the Citi Strata Elite Best For?

First things first: The Citi Strata Elite is for those who take multiple trips each year. You don’t have to be a “frequent traveler” — but if you don’t find yourself on an airplane, in a rental car or at a hotel doorstep at least three or four times per year, odds are you won’t extract enough value from the card to justify its $595 annual fee.

On a related note, the card is a good choice if you regularly book trips through online travel portals like Expedia and Kayak. Booking through Citi Travel will feel like home, and you’ll earn tons of Citi ThankYou points while you’re at it. Plus, you should have little problem maximizing the card’s yearly $300 hotel credit when reserving prepaid hotels (again, a minimum two-night stay is required to use the credit).

Is It the Right Card for You?

The Citi Strata Elite may suit your lifestyle if at least some of the following apply to you:

• You spend money with American Airlines
• You reserve hotels, rental cars or airfare through online travel agencies
• You value airport lounges
• You want to earn Citi ThankYou points to convert them into airline miles and hotel points

Alternatives to the Citi Strata Elite Card

If the Citi Strata Elite just doesn’t quite do it for you, you’ve got other premium credit card options with varying annual fees:

• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: For a $395 annual fee, you’ll get similar Priority Pass airport lounge access, entry to Capital One Lounges and Landings, and a $300 annual travel credit when booking through Capital One Travel. You’ll even get 10,000 bonus miles (worth at least $100 in travel) after each account anniversary. And much like Citi ThankYou points, Capital One miles can be transferred to airline and hotel partners for huge value.
• The Platinum Card® from American Express (an advertising partner): For a $695 annual fee, you can earn a parade of statement credit opportunities worth well over $1,000 per year, though some can be cumbersome to redeem. The Amex Platinum also offers top-tier airport lounge access, and it earns American Express Membership Rewards® points, which can be moved to Amex transfer partners.