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Citi Strata Elite℠ Card
- Earn 80,000 bonus Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
on Citi's secure website
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The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card is the newest premium travel credit card from Citi. The card offers a strong welcome bonus, a bundle of travel credits, elite travel perks, and other travel benefits for a moderate annual fee. Plus, the card offers high rewards rates on travel bookings and dining, which will allow the Strata Elite card to continue to deliver solid value on a long-term basis.
Welcome offer
New Citi Strata Elite cardholders can earn 80,000 bonus points after spending 4,000 in their first 3 months. This is a rather generous bonus that can easily offset the card's $595 annual fee.
Those 80,000 points are worth at least $800 when redeemed through the Citi Travel® portal. However, their potential value can be higher when transferred to participating Citi transfer partners like American Airlines, JetBlue, Cathay Pacific, Choice Hotels, and others.
Earning rates
The Citi Strata Elite credit card offers many opportunities to earn ThankYou® Points, but it is best suited to those who will be booking travel through the Citi Travel portal and dine out quite often, especially on weekend evenings. Here're the earning rates:
- 12x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on cititravel.com
- 6x points on air travel booked on cititravel.com
- 6x points at restaurants on Citi Nights purchases, Friday and Saturday from 6 pm - 6 am ET
- 3x points at restaurants any other time
- 1.5X points on all other purchases
Travel perks
With the Citi Strata Elite card, cardholders can unlock nearly $1,500 in value with exclusive travel and lifestyle perks. Premium benefits range from hotel discounts to lounge access, all designed to enhance your travel experience. Various statement credits can help you reduce the card's $595 annual fee if you maximize them. Some of the perks include:
- Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- Up to $200 Annual Splurge Credit℠: Every calendar year, earn up to $200 in statement credits on your choice of up to two of the following brands: 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy®, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation.
- Up to $200 Annual Blacklane® Credit: Every calendar year, earn up to $200 in statement credits when you book with Blacklane®, a premium global chauffeur service. Earn up to $100 on Blacklane® purchases January through June and up to $100 July through December.
- Priority Pass™ Select membership: Enjoy complimentary access to 1,500+ airport lounges worldwide. The annual membership fee is valued at $469.
- Access to American Airlines Admirals Club® Lounges: Every calendar year, receive four Admirals Club® Citi Strata Elite℠ Passes for access to nearly 50 Admirals Club® lounges (over $300 in value). Inside each of the nearly 50 lounges, you can enjoy a selection of snacks, complimentary cocktails, personal travel assistance, and more.
Other benefits
In addition to the statement credits above, the Strata Elite card has other benefits to offer. As the first World Legend Mastercard card, the Citi Strata Elite Card includes shopping and travel protections, an enhanced suite of global benefits, and partner benefits. Other benefits include:
- Up to $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Application Fee Credit: Receive a statement credit, up to $120 every four years, as reimbursement for your application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®.
- Citigold® Relationship Credit: Qualifying Citigold clients receive an $145 Banking Relationship Annual Credit if the primary cardmember has an open and current Citi Strata Elite℠ Card account with an assessed Annual membership Fee of $595.
- Citigold® Private Client Relationship Credit: Qualifying Citigold Private Clients receive a $595 first year banking relationship credit and $145 Annual Credits if the primary cardmember has an open and current Citi Strata Elite℠ Card account with an assessed Annual Membership Fee of $595.
- Travel and Shopping Protection: Help stay protected with travel insurances, including Trip Delay Protection, Common Carrier Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Protection, Lost or Damaged Luggage, MasterRental Coverage (car rental insurance), and Extended Warranty and Purchase Assurance Plus.
- Mastercard World Legend benefits: Get exceptional global access to an exclusively curated suite of travel, dining, and entertainment benefits.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
Redemption options
The Citi Strata Elite credit card is part of the Citi ThankYou® Rewards program, which means you have various options to redeem your points. Here are some of the popular redemption options:
- Citi Travel: Use points to book flights, hotels, car rentals, and experiences on cititravel.com.
- Points transfer: Transfer points to American Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, Cathay Pacific, Eva Air, Choice Hotels, The Leading Hotels of the World® and others.
- Gift cards, cash back and more: Go to thankyou.com to redeem your points for cash back in the form of a check, statement credit or direct deposit. Or redeem points for gift cards to participating retailers.
- Shop with points: Use points at participating online retailers like Amazon.com, Best Buy, PayPal, and others.
Bottom line
If you are looking for the best credit card deal for your adventures, the Citi Strata Elite can become your best travel companion. This elite credit card with a moderate annual fee provides elevated rewards rates on travel and restaurant purchases and great perks like hotel access, lifestyle credits, lounge access, and exclusive savings through Citi Travel.
The Citi Strata Elite Card is Citi's luxury credit card that is worth keeping if you are maximizing its benefits. Otherwise, the Citi Strata Premier® Card, with its strong earning structure, access to the same transfer partners, and considerably lower annual fee, may be a more practical choice.
Citi Strata Elite℠ Card
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
- Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
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