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To supercharge credit card rewards, some people leverage a strategic combination of three cards — typically referred to as a “trifecta” — to maximize every purchase they make. American Express has a popular trifecta, as does Chase. Citi also used to, but that was before that bank shut down one of its trifecta members.
Citi’s most popular trifecta was comprised of the Citi Double Cash® Card, the Citi Strata Premier® Card and the Citi Custom Cash® Card. But as of May 2026, the Citi Custom Cash® Card — which earned 5% cash back on up to $500 spent in your highest-spend category per billing cycle — closed to new applicants, changing the calculus for would-be Citi trifecta cardholders.
Nevertheless, Citi offers other credit cards that can be combined to produce big value, especially if you’re willing to transfer rewards to one of Citi’s travel partners. Despite the loss of the Citi Custom Cash® Card, we still recommend the Citi Double Cash® Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card as a cost-effective pairing that continues to deliver meaningful rewards.
Here’s everything you need to know about this dynamic duo of Citi cards.
Popular Citi credit card options
Annual fee
- $0
- $0
- $95
- $595
Welcome bonus
Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Earn 20,000 bonus Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
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.
Earn 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
Rewards
- 2% cash back on purchases (in the form of ThankYou points) distributed in two stages: 1% back for every dollar spent and 1% back for every dollar paid off.
- 5% total cash back (in the form of ThankYou points) on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Citi's portal.
- 5x ThankYou points on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 3x ThankYou points at supermarkets.
- 3x ThankYou points on select transit and gas/EV stations.
- 3x ThankYou points on an eligible self-select category of your choice including fitness clubs, select streaming services, live entertainment, cosmetic stores/barbershops/hair salons or pet supply stores.
- 2x ThankYou points at restaurants.
- 1x ThankYou points on all other purchases.
- 10 ThankYou points per $1 spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through the Citi Travel site.
- 3 points per $1 spent on air travel and other hotel purchases.
- 3 points per $1 spent at supermarkets.
- 3 points per $1 spent at gas stations and EV charging stations.
- 3 points per $1 spent at restaurants.
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- 12 points per $1 on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6 points per $1 on air travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6 points per $1 at restaurants (including food delivery services on “Citi Nights”) on Fridays and Saturdays between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Eastern Time. Outside of this timeframe, you’ll earn 3 points per $1 in this category.
- 1.5 points per $1 on all other purchases.
APR
0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, and then the ongoing APR of 17.49%-27.49% Variable APR
0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and then the ongoing APR of 18.49%-28.49% Variable APR
The ongoing APR is 19.49%-27.49% Variable APR
The ongoing APR is 20.49%-28.49% Variable APR
For more information
Citi’s powerhouse couple earns ThankYou Points
Many of Citi’s credit cards — even ones marketed as "cash back" cards, like the Citi Double Cash® Card — earn rewards in the form of Citi ThankYou points. Those points can be redeemed for, yes, cash back, but also travel, gift cards, bill payments and more.
What’s complicated is that point values vary depending on the redemption option and which Citi card you have. But in general, ThankYou points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for travel booked through Citi’s travel portal.
If you're willing to put in a little more work, you can also transfer ThankYou points to one of Citi's multiple travel partners, potentially for even higher values per point.
Citi's more expensive travel cards — the Citi Strata Premier® Card and Citi Strata Elite℠ Card — offer the most favorable transfer ratios to those partners. That's why having one of them is key in a two-pronged Citi setup; you can pool your points from different Citi cards into one bucket and take advantage of those higher ratios.
Full list of Citi transfer partners
Transfer ratios will vary depending on which card you have.
Airlines
- Aeromexico (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- American Airlines (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Air France/KLM (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Asia Miles (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Avianca (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Emirates (1:0.8 or 1:0.56 ratio).
- Etihad (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Eva Air (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- JetBlue (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Qantas (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Qatar Airways (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Singapore Airlines (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Thai Airways (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Turkish Airlines (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Virgin Atlantic (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
Hotels
- Accor Live Limitless (2:1 or 2:0.7 ratio).
- Choice Hotels (1:1.5 or 1:1.05 ratio).
- The Leading Hotels of the World (5:1 or 5:0.7 ratio).
- Preferred Hotels & Resorts (1:2 or 1:1.4 ratio).
- Wyndham (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
Events
- Virgin Red (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
The perfect combination
By strategically using the Citi Double Cash® Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card, you can earn a solid rewards rate on most every purchase. Both cards offer rewards in common spending categories:
- The Citi Double Cash® Card earns 2% cash back on purchases: 1% when you buy and another 1% when you pay it off. (Remember: Those rewards come in the form of ThankYou points.)
- The Citi Strata Premier® Card earns 3x Thank You points in four everyday spending categories for many families: supermarkets, restaurants, eligible travel and gas stations.
Given these cards’ rewards structures, you’d want to use the Citi Strata Premier® Card for groceries, dining out, gas or EV charging, and flights or hotel stays not booked through Citi. All of those categories earn a solid 3x ThankYou Points per $1 spent. You’d also use the Citi Strata Premier® Card for hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Citi Travel, which all earn 10x ThankYou Points.
For all other purchases that fall outside of the aforementioned categories — think: kid’s summer camp tuition, home repairs or clothing — use the Citi Double Cash® Card to earn up to 2% back.
Because the Citi Strata Premier® Card is in this setup, you can transfer ThankYou points at more favorable ratios than if you only had the Citi Double Cash® Card or the $0-annual-fee Citi Strata℠ Card. For example, with those latter cards, points transfer from JetBlue at a 1:0.7 ratio, meaning 1,000 Citi ThankYou points converts to just 700 miles. But with the Citi Strata Premier® Card, the transfer ratio is 1:1, so 1,000 ThankYou points become 1,000 miles.
A (pricier) alternative
While the two-card pairing described above is the best option for most people, you could instead opt for the $595-annual-fee Citi Strata Elite℠ Card over the less expensive Citi Strata Premier® Card. It earns bigger rewards than the Citi Strata Premier® Card in some cases, and it also comes with a slew of travel benefits.
But in terms of transfer partners and transfer ratios, it doesn’t give you any advantages over the much cheaper Citi Strata Premier® Card.
Factors to consider
Not everyone will have the mental bandwidth or willingness to juggle multiple credit cards on a regular basis. Consider the following before forming your own combination of Citi cards.
It takes some work
Using multiple cards to make purchases in different categories is not a "set it and forget it" strategy. To maximize your rewards, you’ll have to remember which card is best for every transaction.
Transfer partners are limited
If you want to use ThankYou points to book hotel stays, Citi may not be your best bet. Its list of transfer partners excludes major brands chains like Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and IHG.
Opening multiple cards can harm your credit
If you’re building a Citi combo of cards from scratch, you’ll want to go slowly.
Numerous hard pulls on your credit report, especially in a short timespan, could have a negative effect on your credit, albeit a temporary one. Even with good credit scores, multiple requests for new credit cards can be a red flag that can cause denials from issuers.
It takes discipline
Having multiple credit cards, each with its own spending limit, can lead to runaway spending. Therefore, this card strategy is only wise if you can pay off all of your credit card balances on time and in full every month. The interest you’ll pay on unpaid balances will quickly outweigh the rewards you’ll earn.
