Citi Strata Premier vs. Citi Strata Elite

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The Citi Strata Premier® Card and Citi Strata Elite℠ Card come with a unique array of benefits, including travel-focused rewards structures and some premium perks.

It’s worth comparing the two to make sure you have the right card for your circumstances, because the benefits, bonus categories and statement credits are completely different for each. Let’s compare these top Citi cards.

Main details

Citi Strata Premier vs. Citi Strata Elite highlights

Here’s a look at how the cards stack up in terms of rewards, fees and more.

Welcome bonus winner

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

• Why it won

  Because the Strata Elite is an ultra-premium card, it’ll typically have the stronger welcome offer. At time of writing, the Citi Strata Elite is offering:

  • For a limited time, earn 100,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.

  Meanwhile, the Strata Premier is offering:

  • Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.

  They currently have the same spending requirements, but the Strata Elite will reward you with 20,000 more bonus points.

Rewards rate winner

Citi Strata Premier® Card

• Why it won

  While both cards offer rewards in the form of Citi ThankYou points, the Citi Strata Premier has the edge when it comes to rewards categories that work for most cardholders. The Premier earns 3X points on restaurant, supermarket, gas station, hotel and air travel purchases, along with 1X points on everything else.

  If you use the Citi Strata Premier as an everyday credit card, you’ll be in a good position to earn plenty of ThankYou points since bonus rewards apply to so many categories people frequently spend in.

  One exception is if you plan to use the Strata Premier primarily for travel and dining expenses. In that case, the Citi Strata Elite — which earns 6X points on air travel booked through Citi and 12X on other travel and 3X points on dining except for two nights per week (when it earns 6X) — may be a better fit.

Annual fee winner

Citi Strata Premier® Card

• Why it won

  The Citi Strata Premier has the edge when it comes to the annual fee. The card only charges a $95 annual fee, while the Citi Strata Elite charges a $595 annual fee.

  Though there are certainly circumstances where higher annual fees can be recouped through the card’s benefits if you’re willing to track them, lower annual fees make it more likely that you’ll earn back the fee through a combination of rewards and other perks.

Which card earns the most?

Whether the Citi Strata Premier or Citi Strata Elite earns the most depends on the kind of purchases you make.

If you primarily use your card on expenses like groceries, dining, gas and travel, the Citi Strata Premier is a better fit.

However, if you primarily use your card exclusively for travel purchases, like airfare, hotels and dining out on the weekends, you might be better off with the Citi Strata Elite.

Citi Strata Premier vs. Citi Strata Elite spending example

Let’s take a look at a spending example of how these two cards compare in terms of annual rewards earnings.

In the example below, the consumer is spending $27,000 annually on regular spending and bills, including $2,000 on hotel stays, another $2,000 on airfare and a seven-night cruise for a total cost of $4,000.

While the Citi Strata Premier may have lower earning rates in a few categories, it still rewards much broader areas of spending compared to the Citi Strata Elite. If you’re not spending a lot on air travel, restaurants and other travel-related expenses, then you’re better off with Citi Strata Premier.

If you spend a lot on groceries each year, that’s another sign the Citi Strata Premier could net you larger rewards over time.

However, if you spend $2,500 per year on restaurants during weekends, you’ll earn 15,000 points with the Strata Elite. You’ll also need to commit to booking all your travel through Citi, whereas with the Strata Premier, you can still earn 3X points for air travel and hotels booked directly. If you book directly and charge it to the Strata Elite, you’d only earn 1.5X points, which is dismal, but 6X to 12X when you book through Citi, which is a much stronger rewards rate.

But, when you book through a third party, you won’t earn elite status credit for hotel stays and will need to call Citi Travel in case on delays or cancellations instead of calling the travel provider directly, which many people find to be a hassle.

Why should you get the Citi Strata Premier card?

The Citi Strata Premier has rewards on supermarket and gas station purchases as well as generous travel benefits. It’s a nearly perfect one-and-done card if you like ThankYou points.

• Additional benefits

  You’ll get a $100 annual hotel savings benefit when you use your card to book a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) through ThankYou.com (or 800-THANKYOU).

  This card also comes with access to both Citi Concierge and Citi Entertainment. Plus, you can enjoy World Elite Mastercard benefits like a complimentary ShopRunner membership and a $5 Lyft credit after you take three rides in a month.

• Redemption options

  The best way to maximize your rewards is to transfer ThankYou points to a high-value Citi airline or hotel partner. Doing so can boost your points value up to 1.6 cents, according to our latest points and miles valuations.

  Other redemption options for this card include travel through the Citi portal, direct deposits, personal checks, statement credits, payment credits (toward an eligible mortgage or student loan), gift cards, shopping with points via Amazon and PayPal and donations to charity.

• Recommended credit score

  The recommended credit score for the Citi Strata Premier is good to excellent (670 to 850). With most cards, you’ll likely have a better shot at approval with a credit score of 700 or higher.

Why should you get the Citi Strata Elite card?

Here, you’ll get hefty travel credits, lounge access and hotel benefits. The following factors may also play a role in your decision.

• Additional benefits

  The Citi Strata Elite comes with several statement credits:

  • Up to $300 off when you use your card to book a hotel stay of two nights or more through Citi Travel
  • Up to $200 annual “splurge” credit at a variety of merchants
  • Up to $200 Blacklane chauffeur credit
  • Priority Pass Select membership
  • Four American Airlines Admirals Club passes per year
  • Up to $120 toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees every four years

  Lastly, similar to the Premier, this card comes with access to Citi Concierge, Citi Entertainment and World Elite Mastercard perks.

  You’re bound to booking travel through Citi and using select merchants, which may or may not be useful to you. Citi refers to these benefits as “nearly $1,500 in value,” but in practice, they’re only worth what you’ll actually use.

• Redemption options

  Like the Citi Strata Premier, you can redeem rewards for travel through the Citi portal, points transfers to a Citi airline or hotel partner, cash back, payment credits, gift cards, shopping via Amazon and PayPal and donations to charity.

• Recommended credit score

  Bankrate recommends that Citi Strata Elite applicants have an excellent credit score (740 to 850).

The bottom line

While the Citi Strata Elite offers some luxury travel perks, it really only makes sense if you do a lot of traveling each year and like to have lounge access and some travel credits along your journeys.

But if your day-to-day expenses trend more toward groceries, gas and takeout, the Citi Strata Premier Card is much better — especially since it still has competitive rewards rates on travel-related categories like hotels and air travel booked directly, along with a much lower annual fee.