Great Card If
- You spend a lot on purchases within the card bonus categories, like dining, supermarkets, and gas
- You want a travel rewards card that offers access to transfer partners
Don’t Get If
- You want a card that offers premium perks like airport lounge access
- Your spending habits don’t match the card bonus categories
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card — Is It Worth It?
The Citi Strata Premier card is a fantastic option for those who are looking to rack up as many points as possible on their travel and daily expenses, and then want to redeem those points for top-notch travel experiences.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a card that offers more bonus categories than the Citi Strata Premier card. This card allows you to earn 10x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com, along with 3x points on air travel, other hotel purchases, at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and EV charging stations. This collection of bonus categories is sure to help you rack up points in no time.
Plus, the card offers flexible redemption options like access to Citi transfer partners, redeeming through Citi Travel, gift cards, cash-back, and more.
The Citi Strata Premier card might not be as popular as other top travel rewards cards, but here is why it has a permanent spot in Chris Hassan’s wallet:
The Citi Strata Premier card stays in my wallet because it deliveres outsized value, simple! The annual fee is a reasonable $95, but it earns me 3x points on air travel, hotels, at restaurants, at gas stations, and at supermarkets — and those bonus categories aren’t restricted to the U.S. Plus, it comes with new travel protections and even a $100 hotel credit. This card is a no-brainer!
Chris Hassan, social media and brand manager, Upgraded Points
Citi Strata Premier Card Top Benefits
Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
Once per calendar year, you can receive $100 off a hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Assuming you plan to book at least 1 hotel stay of $500 or more each year and don’t mind doing so through Citi Travel, this $100 savings alone can help offset the full cost of the card’s annual fee. Plus, the benefit is applied instantly at the time of booking!
Travel Protection Benefits
Your card helps keep you covered when you are on the road as well, by offering perks like trip delay insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, lost or damaged luggage insurance, and secondary rental car insurance.
Best Ways To Earn and Redeem Your Citi ThankYou Points
Naturally, the best way to earn as many points as possible with your Citi Strata Premier card is to use your new card for as many purchases as possible, especially on purchases that fall within one of the card’s many 3x and 10x bonus categories.
Once you have a large stash of Citi ThankYou Rewards Points, you have multiple options for redeeming them, such as through Citi Travel, cash-back, gift cards, or our favorite option, using Citi transfer partners like Air France-KLM, Avianca, Virgin Atlantic, and more.
Hot Tip: Learn more about how to earn Citi ThankYou Points and the best options for redeeming Citi ThankYou Points in our detailed guides.
Alternative Cards to the Citi Strata Premier Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Another excellent travel rewards credit card worth considering is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. With it, you’ll earn 5x points on all travel booked through Chase Travel, 5x points on Lyft purchases (through March 31, 2025), 3x points on dining purchases, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, and 2x points on all other travel worldwide.
Plus, the card offers access to the Chase transfer partners and includes perks like a $50 annual credit on hotel stays booked through Chase Travel, 10% annual bonus points, primary rental car insurance, and purchase protection.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture card is another compelling option, and better suited for those who prefer not to have to keep track of bonus categories as the card earns an uncapped 2x miles on all purchases, plus 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
It also offers access to the Capital One transfer partners, and perks like a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, no foreign transaction fees (), rental car insurance, and more.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
The information regarding the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Citi Premier® Card has expired and the card is no longer open to applicants.
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