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There are several ways you can scoop up cash-back rewards with the Citi Strata Elite℠ card: 12x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com, 6x points on air travel booked through CitiTravel.com, 6x points on Citi Nights℠ restaurants (Friday and Saturday nights), 3x points on all other restaurants, and 1.5x points on all other purchases.
There are several ways you can redeem your rewards points: by booking flights, hotels, car rentals and attractions through Citi Travel; by transferring points to one of Citi's transfer partners (i.e., JetBlue, Cathay Pacific, American Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic); gift cards to your favorite retailers, and to shop with points with partners like Amazon.com, Best Buy, and PayPal.
To figure out which redemption method you'd like to take, think about which one adds the most value to you.
For example, you might want to stock up on gift cards to use during vacations or more "spendy" times of the year – think back-to-school, the holidays, or during summer travel. Alternatively, if you prefer to swap your points for travel, consider the value of travel transfer partners and see how much your points are worth.
You won’t qualify for the welcome bonus if you earned a new account bonus for a Citi Strata Elite℠ account or converted another Citi credit card that earned a bonus in the last 48 months.
Related: Compare our top recommended travel credit cards.
The Citi Strata Elite℠ card has an annual fee of $595 – and a $75 fee for each additional authorized user. Plus, there's a variable APR of anywhere between 21.24% and 29.24% and a cash advance of 29.49%. If you're doing a cash advance, you're also looking at a fee of $10 or 5% of the cash amount, whichever is higher. So if you're taking out a cash advance of $200, the cash fee will be $10.
As for penalty fees, you're looking at a late payment fee and a returned payment fee of $41. The balance transfer fee is $5 or 5%, whichever is greater of the two. This is on the higher end of balance transfer fees, as they typically range from 3% to 5%.
Looking to spend with your credit card while traveling? There are no foreign transaction fees, which can save you while on trips.
The main draw of the Citi Strata Elite℠ credit card is the ability to earn nearly $1,500 in value. This includes $300 in hotel stays if you book at least two nights or more, $200 in statement credits with Blacklane, a premier chauffeur services, $200 each year in a Splurge Credit℠, which gives you statement credit to Live Nation and Best Buy, Priority Pass Select membership, 4 Admirals Club passes to over 50 Admirals Club lounges, and up to $120 in Global Entry® or TSA Precheck®.
As for travel perks, when you're on vacation or traveling for business, you can enjoy insurance that includes trip delay protection, enhanced trip cancellation, trip interruption protection, and lost or damaged luggage. There's also car rental insurance. For purchases, the Citi Strata Elite℠ gives you an extended warranty and purchase protection.
The Citi Strata Elite℠ credit card features standard security measures like around-the-clock fraud protection. So if there's any suspicious activity, Citi will alert you right away. If you can't find your card, you can block any new charges.
Plus, your recurring transactions can go through without a hitch. There's also Mastercard ID Theft Protection, which is an additional layer of fraud protection. Note that you'll need to register for this feature separately.
Citi’s website is easy to navigate when you’re trying to look for product information. On the credit card side, you can compare up to three credit cards and their interest rates, perks and fees.
As for the app, the Citi Mobile app on the Apple Store gets 4.9 out of 5 stars. This is based on 3.9 million ratings. The Citi app on Google Play gets 4.7 out of 5 stars. There are over 10 million reviews. Positive reviews include how easy it is to use features and ease of navigation. On the flip side, negative reviews indicate that for some, the app can be glitchy.
Citi's customer service support team is available through the following channels:
When we tried contacting Citi's customer service team to ask about applying for a new credit card, we were prompted to apply online. It took a couple of tries to get a hold of a live human. The customer service team was friendly and knowledgeable.
Cardholder Melissa Cid notes that the first year with this credit card offers the best value. That's because you can double up on everything the card has to offer. "It's easily a $1,500 value in the first year of holding this credit card – if you can use the benefits before the end of the year, and again starting January 1st," says Cid, who is a consumer savings expert at ShopHer Media and MySavings.com. [Source: LinkedIn]
Redditors have mentioned that the hotel and splurge credit could alone be worth your while. Quora commenters have shared that high-annual-fee cards could pay for themselves – if you use most of their perks. That said, many people don't travel nearly enough to make the most of these benefits. So you'll want to comb through the fine print, review terms, and be aware of all the rules and restrictions.
One thing to point out, mentions Cid, is that Citi is also the only transfer partner of American Airlines, making it easy to earn miles. The current transfer ratio is a 1:1 ratio, so 1,000 ThankYou® Points equate to 1,000 AAdvantage Miles.
Overall, the only downside to this card ultimately, is the steep annual fee. “You'll need to look at the benefits to make sure you'll use them all to ensure the yearly cost is worth it,” adds Cid. "Take into consideration if you have other cards with high annual fees already, and if they have similar or the same benefits," she says.
| Citi Strata Elite | AAdvantage Executive | |
| Annual fee | $595 | $595 |
| Base rewards | 12x points on hotels, car rentals, attractions booked through Cititravel.com, 6x points on air travel booked on Cititravel.com and on restaurants booked on Citi Nights, 3x points on other restaurants, and 1.5x points on everything else. | 4 AAdvantage® miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, 10 miles per $1 on hotels and car rentals, 1 mile per $1 on everything else, after you spend $150,000 in one calendar year, earn 5 miles per $1 on American Airlines purchases for the rest of the calendar year. |
| APR | 21.24% to 29.24% variable | 20.24% to 29.24% variable |
| Intro APR | None | None |
| Sign-on bonus | 80,000 bonus points if you spend $4,000 in the first three months | 70,000 American Airlines AAvantage bonus miles if you spend $7,000 in the first three months |
We looked at and analyzed credit cards in the following categories. Here's how our review process works:
You can learn more in our full credit cards methodology.
While the Citi Strata Elite℠ comes with a full suite of premium perks and high bonus rewards categories, you'll want to make sure your spending habits and lifestyle line up with the card's perks. If you travel frequently, the annual fee might be a good investment.
“Let's say you're a domestic traveler who takes trips a couple of times a year. In that case, you might not be a great candidate for a high-annual-free premium travel card”, explains Rami Sneineh, a licensed insurance producer and vice president of Insurance Navy. [Source: LinkedIn]
"Traveling with an appropriately selected card can make your journey not only more enjoyable, but also give you more opportunities to save on different travel costs and offer great protection in the process," says Sneineh.
"Nevertheless, to the occasional traveler, the annual fee could not be worth the expense, and the no-fee card could be a more logical decision. You should make a comparison of your travel habits and expenditure to identify a premium card," he says.
The Citi Strata Elite℠ credit card offers premium perks designed for the well-to-do crowd. With a $595 annual fee and $75 annual fee for each authorized user, it provides luxury perks and robust bonus categories.
Yes, Citi's ThankYou® Rewards program features American Airlines Advantage as a transfer partner. This includes three of its rewards cards – the Citi Strata Premier® Card, the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, and the Citi Prestige Card.
Each calendar year, cardholders of the Citi Strata Elite℠ credit card get 4 Admirals Club® Citi Strata Elite℠ passes. This grants cardholders access to nearly 50 Admirals Club lounges around the world.
Disclosure: This content is not provided by Citibank. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone and have not been endorsed by Citibank.
