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LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appear on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.
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Citi Strata Premier Card Review: For the Occasional Traveler and Everyday Spender

Updated on:
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
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How LendingTree Rates Credit Cards?

Our experts rate credit cards based on several factors including card benefits, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers do not influence or have a say in our card ratings. Read our credit card methodology here.
4.6
Citi Strata Premier<sup>℠</sup> Card
Rewards Rate
10x on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations. Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking. Travel insurance protection: Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption (Common Carrier), Trip Delay, Lost or Damaged Luggage, MasterRental Coverage (Car Rental).
Sign-Up Bonus
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.
Extra Perks
No Foreign Transaction Fees

Key takeaway

The Citi Strata Premier Card is a top choice for everyday spenders who want to score basic travel rewards. It offers a variety of rewards categories, allows points to be transferred to over 15 travel partners (typically at a rate of at least 1:1) and includes a solid list of travel protections.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Valuable sign-up bonus
  • Bonus categories focused on more than just travel
  • Ability to transfer points 1:1 to more than 15 travel partners
  • Solid travel protections
  • $100 annual hotel benefit
  • 0% foreign transaction fee

Cons

  • $95 annual fee
  • No lounge access or elite status
  • No intro APR on purchases or balance transfers

Is the Citi Strata Premier Card worth it?

If you want to dabble with travel rewards but don’t do tons of traveling, the Citi Strata Premier Card is well worth its $95 annual fee. That’s because it lets you earn elevated rewards in a variety of everyday spending categories, including restaurants, supermarkets, gas and EV charging stations.

What’s more, these points are valuable and flexible. Along with redeeming them for travel, gift cards, cash back and more, you can transfer them to more than 15 travel partners — and mostly at a rate of 1:1. So even with the annual fee, it’s a solid choice if you want to save on the occasional trip and don’t mind foregoing the VIP-level travel perks that some other travel cards provide.

Quick facts

  • Annual fee: $95
  • Sign-up bonus: 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.
  • Rewards: 10x on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations. Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking. Travel insurance protection: Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption (Common Carrier), Trip Delay, Lost or Damaged Luggage, MasterRental Coverage (Car Rental).
  • APR: 20.24% - 28.24% (Variable)
  • Foreign transaction fee: 0%
  • Recommended credit: Good / Excellent

Citi Strata Premier Card benefits

  • Valuable sign-up bonus

    The Citi Strata Premier Card offers one of the most valuable sign-up bonuses for a travel credit card currently available. 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.

    These points are enough to cover a free plane ticket within the first few months of owning the card. Plus, Citi ThankYou® Points are worth around 1.8 cents each when transferred to a Citi Travel℠ partner, boosting the value of this sign-up bonus even more.

  • Bonus categories are focused on more than just travel

    Unlike many travel credit cards that only reward you for travel purchases, the Citi Strata Premier Card focuses on everyday spending, making it a great card to keep in your wallet for regular use. It’s even one of our picks for the best credit cards for restaurants and dining.

    You’ll earn 10x on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations. Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking. Travel insurance protection: Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption (Common Carrier), Trip Delay, Lost or Damaged Luggage, MasterRental Coverage (Car Rental).

    According to a recent LendingTree survey, 85% of Americans are changing the way they go out to eat and 88% have changed their grocery shopping habits to protect their bank accounts from the effects of inflation. A card like the Citi Strata Premier Card can help offset rising costs by offering 3 points per dollar on supermarket and restaurant purchases, which can put a significant amount back in your wallet as long as you pay off your balance each month.

  • Transfer points at a rate of at least 1:1 to 15+ travel partners

    Transferring points to travel partners is a great way to squeeze even more value out of your rewards. You can transfer ThankYou® Points to 15 airline and hotel partners at a rate of 1:1, and to 2 hotel partners at an even higher rate.

    Here’s the full list of Citi ThankYou® transfer partners:

    Transfer partnerTransfer rate
    Aeromexico1,000 : 1,000
    All – Accor Live Limitless1,000 : 500
    Avianca LifeMiles1,000 : 1,000
    Cathay Pacific1,000 : 1,000
    Choice Privileges1,000 : 1,500
    Emirates Skywards1,000 : 1,000
    Etihad Guest1,000 : 1,000
    Eva Air1,000 : 1,000
    Flying Blue1,000 : 1,000
    JetBlue TrueBlue1,000 : 1,000
    Leaders Club1,000 : 200
    Preferred Hotels & Resorts1,000 : 4,000
    Qantas Frequent Flyer1,000 : 1,000
    Qatar Privilege Club1,000 : 1,000
    Singapore Airlines1,000 : 1,000
    Thai Royal Orchid Plus1,000 : 1,000
    Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles1,000 : 1,000
    Virgin Atlantic Flying Club1,000 : 1,000
    Wyndham Rewards1,000 : 1,000

    In addition to its travel partners, cardholders can also use their ThankYou® Points for the Shop Your Way® rewards program — this lets them earn and redeem points on purchases from popular brands. One ThankYou® Point is worth 10 Shop Your Way® Points.

  • Solid travel protections

    The Citi Strata Premier Card offers several popular travel protections including:

    • Trip delay protection
    • Trip cancellation and interruption protection (common carrier)
    • Lost or damaged luggage
    • MasterRental® coverage (car rental)

    While there are cards that offer even more extensive travel protections at a higher annual fee, this is pretty comparable to what you’ll see with some of the top credit cards with travel insurance.

  • $100 annual hotel credit

    You’ll also get a $100 hotel credit each year you hold the card. This benefit can easily outweigh the annual fee. All you have to do is book a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) through CitiTravel.com and you’ll get a $100 discount applied to the booking. You can pay with your card, your ThankYou® Points or a combination of the two.

  • foreign transaction fee

    If you plan to travel abroad, the Citi Strata Premier Card is a good choice for your wallet since you can avoid foreign transaction fees. Some cards charge an average of 3% when you use them outside of the U.S. so this benefit can add up to significant savings if you like to go overseas or island hopping.

Citi Strata Premier Card drawbacks

  • $95 annual fee

    The Citi Strata Premier Card comes with a $95 annual fee. Although this is a reasonable annual fee compared to other travel credit cards, there are some rewards credit cards that come with no annual fee. For example, the Citi Custom Cash® Card, which offers 5% cash back on your top spending category each billing cycle, has a $0 annual fee. There’s also the Bilt World Elite Mastercard®, which allows you to transfer points to a list of airline and hotel partners and also comes with a $0 annual fee.

  • No lounge access or elite status

    If you’re looking for status perks for airline or hotel loyalty programs or airport lounge access, you won’t get them with this card. To get VIP-level travel perks, you’ll typically have to choose premium cards that have much higher annual fees, like The Platinum Card® from American Express (see rates & fees) or Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates & fees).

  • No intro APR on purchases or balance transfers

    The Citi Strata Premier Card isn’t ideal for financing large purchases or transferring balances, since there’s no intro APR period on purchases or balance transfers. That means you’ll be subject to interest charges if you don’t pay your balance in full each month.

    If you’re looking for a card with an interest-free period for a year or longer, the Citi Simplicity® Card is a better choice. It offers a 0% intro APR for 21 months on Balance Transfers (then 18.24% - 28.99% (Variable) APR) and a 0% intro APR for 12 months on Purchases (then 18.24% - 28.99% (Variable) APR). There are also cards with even longer intro APRs on purchases and similar intro APRs on balance transfers.

Alternatives to the Citi Strata Premier Card

Citi Strata Premier Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

| Disclosures
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
apply-now-icon Apply Now
on Chase's secure site
Rates & Fees
N/A
19.99% - 28.24% Variable
$95
Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on
  • Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
  • Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
  • Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
  • Member FDIC
720 850
Excellent

How Does LendingTree Get Paid?

LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appears on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.

If you’re looking for a travel rewards credit card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card may be a better choice than the Citi Strata Premier Card. Both cards have a similar annual fee and travel perks, but the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers a stronger list of travel transfer partners — including United, Southwest, JetBlue, Marriott, Hyatt and IHG. Plus, you’ll get primary rental car insurance, and Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through the Chase TravelSM portal.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card doesn’t offer bonus points on gas purchases or in-person supermarket shopping, but does for streaming and online grocery delivery — making it a better choice for those who shop for food online.

Citi Strata Premier Card vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

| Disclosures
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
apply-now-icon Apply Now
on Capital One's secure site
Rates & Fees
N/A
19.99% - 29.24% (Variable)
$95
2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles per
  • Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
  • Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
  • Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
  • Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
  • Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
  • Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
  • Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
  • Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
  • For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply
660 720 850
Good / Excellent

How Does LendingTree Get Paid?

LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appears on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is another $95 annual fee travel card that offers a more straightforward way to earn rewards (see rates & fees). You’ll earn 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card also provides up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®, which the Citi Strata Premier Card Card doesn’t have.

However, just like the Citi Strata Premier Card, you can transfer these rewards to a variety of hotel and airline programs.

Citi Strata Premier Card vs. American Express® Gold Card

| Disclosures
American Express® Gold Card
American Express® Gold Card
apply-now-icon Apply Now
on American Express's secure site
Rates & Fees
| Terms Apply
N/A
See Pay Over Time APR
$325
Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants
  • Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
  • $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made at restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
  • $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations.
  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
  • Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
  • Terms Apply.
660 720 850
Good / Excellent

How Does LendingTree Get Paid?

LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appears on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.

For a higher annual fee ($325), the American Express® Gold Card offers even better rewards on worldwide restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases than the Citi Strata Premier Card (4X points versus the Citi Strata Premier Card’s 3X points). Plus, you’ll earn accelerated rewards on flights, prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.

You might find the higher annual fee worth it if you’re a foodie who’ll also take advantage of the card’s dining credit worth up to $120 each year ($10 monthly for qualifying restaurants; enrollment required). But if you’re just looking for an entry-level travel card, the Citi Strata Premier Card is probably the way to go.

*To see rates & fees for American Express® Gold Card, please click here.

Is the Citi Strata Premier Card right for you?

If you want to start earning travel rewards and happen to spend a good amount on groceries, gas and dining out, the Citi Strata Premier Card could be a great fit for your wallet. You’ll start off with a generous sign-up bonus, enjoy 0% foreign transaction fees and can transfer points to a variety of travel partners. However, if you’re interested in premium travel perks — like elite status or airport lounge access — you may want to consider a travel credit card with a higher annual fee.

apply-now-icon Apply Now
on Citibank's secure site
Rates & Fees

To see rates & fees for American Express cards mentioned on this page, visit the links provided below:

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be 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 related to the Citi Custom Cash® Card and Citi Simplicity® Card has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.

The content above is not provided by any issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of LendingTree alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any issuer. The offers and/or promotions mentioned above may have changed, expired, or are no longer available. Check the issuer's website for more details.