Citi Strata Credit Card Review: Solid Rewards for No Annual Fee
The Bottom Line
4.5
Its high reward rates are attractive for a no-annual-fee card, especially if you're willing to book travel directly through Citi. Otherwise, though, you'll probably want to look elsewhere.
Rates, fees and offers
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1x-5x
Bonus offer
Earn 30,000 bonus Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
Intro APR
0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months
Ongoing APR
APR: 19.24%-29.24% Variable APR
Cash Advance APR: 29.49%, Variable
Penalty APR: Up to 29.99%, Variable
Balance transfer fee
There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. A balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies if completed after 4 months of account opening.
Foreign transaction fee
3%
More details from Citibank
More details from Citibank
- Earn 30,000 bonus Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months; after that, the variable APR will be 19.24% - 29.24%, based on your creditworthiness. There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
- Earn 3 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent in an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice (Fitness Clubs, Select Streaming Services, Live Entertainment, Cosmetic Stores/Barber Shops/Hair Salons, or Pet Supply Stores). Choose your eligible Self-Select Category on Citi Online or by calling customer service. The default Self-Select Category is Select Streaming Services.
- Earn 5 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions booked on Citi Travel® via cititravel.com; earn 3 ThankYou Points for each $1 spent at Supermarkets, on Select Transit purchases, and at Gas & EV Charging Stations.
- Earn 2 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent at Restaurants; earn 1 ThankYou® Point for each $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
- No Annual Fee
Pros and Cons
Pros
No annual fee
Welcome bonus
Bonus categories
Intro APR period
Cons
Poor cash back value
Few perks
Limited rewards flexibility
Detailed Review
The $0-annual-fee Citi Strata℠ Card earns rewards across a variety of common spending categories, making it a reliable everyday-use card. Cardholders also earn bonus rewards in a “self-select” category of their choice, among which are unique options like cosmetic stores, pet supply stores and live entertainment. Moreover, the card features a welcome bonus and an introductory APR period.
On the downside, those points aren't worth as much for cash back as they would be with other cards, and if you dine out a lot, you'd be better off with a card that earns a higher rate on restaurant spending. Plus, while the Citi Strata℠ Card offers access to most of Citi's transfer partners — with the notable exception of American Airlines — the transfer ratios aren't nearly as good as you'd get with a more expensive Citi card.
The Citi Strata℠ Card is a new version of the Citi Rewards+® Card — which closed to new applicants in April 2025. Existing holders of that card were automatically moved to the Citi Strata℠ Card in July 2025. The Citi Strata℠ Card is part of a larger family of Strata cards in Citi's portfolio. See our table below for more on how they differ.
Citi Strata℠ Card: The basics
Card type: Rewards.
Annual fee: $0.
Welcome bonus: Earn 30,000 bonus Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening..
Rewards:
5 ThankYou® points per $1 spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com.
3 points per $1 spent at supermarkets, on select transit purchases and at gas and EV charging stations.
3 points per $1 spent on an eligible self-select category of your choice including fitness clubs, select streaming services, live entertainment, cosmetic stores/barbershops/hair salons and pet supply stores.
2 points per $1 spent at restaurants.
1 points per $1 on all other purchases.
Redemption options:
Citi ThankYou points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for travel through Citi, but with the Citi Strata℠ Card, they're worth only 0.5 cent each when redeemed for cash back. (That's lower than the cash-back value that other Citi cards offer.)
Point values vary when you redeem them for other options, including for gift cards, charitable donations and online shopping at eligible merchants.
You can also transfer your points to many of Citi's hotel and airline partners, at varying ratios. Notably, however, the Citi Strata℠ Card does not allow transfers to American Airlines, unlike some of Citi's more expensive credit cards:
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 ratio, for holders of eligible Citi Strata credit cards and the legacy Citi Prestige® Card).
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 (1:2 or 1:1.4 ratio).
The Leading Hotels of the World (5:1 or 5:0.7 ratio).
Preferred Hotels & Resorts (1:4 or 1:2.8 ratio).
Wyndham (1:1 ratio or 1:0.7 ratio).
Events
Virgin Red (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
Interest rate: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and then the ongoing APR of 19.24%-29.24% Variable APR.
Balance transfer fee: There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first four months of account opening. After that, the fee is 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
Foreign transaction fees: 3%.
How the three Citi Strata credit cards compare
The Citi Strata℠ Card is the least expensive of the three cards in the Citi Strata family, but it also lacks the perks that come with its two more expensive siblings: the Citi Strata Premier® Card and the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card. Here's a look at how the three cards differ:
| Empty Table Header | Citi Strata Card | Citi Strata Premier® Card | Citi Strata Elite Card |
|---|---|---|---|
Annual fee | $0. | $95. | $595. |
Sign-up bonus | Earn 30,000 ThankYou points after spending $1,000 within 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 80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening. |
Rewards |
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Other benefits |
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Compare to Other Cards
Benefits and Perks
Good rewards on everyday spending
The Citi Strata℠ Card earns 3x points across popular household spending categories including supermarkets, gas and EV stations, and on select transit purchases. It’s rare to find a $0-annual-fee credit card that offers triple points across such a wide range of everyday spending.
Plus, cardholders can earn triple points in a unique category of their choosing, which features spending areas that are less common among general rewards cards. They include fitness clubs, select streaming services, live entertainment, cosmetic stores/barbershops/hair salons, and pet supply stores. Note that the default “self-select category” is “streaming services,” but you can change your category once every quarter. Your category will remain the same until you change it, and you can choose your category online or by calling customer service.
Cardholders also get 5x back per $1 spent when they book select travel through Citi.
Interest-free period
With the card, holders get more than a year of breathing room to pay down debt or finance a large purchase. The card features a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and then the ongoing APR of 19.24%-29.24% Variable APR.
Coupled with its ongoing rewards, this can make the card even more valuable.
Solid welcome bonus
New applicants can earn the following welcome offer: Earn 30,000 bonus Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening. That can be worth up to $300 for travel, although it depends on how you redeem those points.
Still, that's a healthy bonus for a $0-annual-fee credit card.
» MORE: Best Citi credit cards
Drawbacks and Considerations
Poor cash-back value
While Citi ThankYou points can be valuable, you'll get the most mileage out them — literally — when you redeem for travel, either directly through Citi's travel portal or, potentially, by transferring them to the issuer's various partners (see above).
But if cash back is your goal, you'll want to opt for another card, as the points you earn with the Citi Strata℠ Card are worth just a half-cent each when redeemed that way. That's far lower than the standard penny-per-point value you can expect on some of the best cash-back credit cards on the market — including from some of Citi's other products. The Citi Double Cash® Card, for example, earns 2% back on all purchases: 1% when you buy, and 1% when you pay it off. The card actually earns those rewards as ThankYou points, but in this case, those points are worth a full penny each when redeemed for cash back. (Oh, and it also offers transfer partners.)
Citi's other Strata cards offer cash back as a redemption option, but the value still isn't ideal. With the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, for example, points are worth 0.75 cent each when redeemed for cash back.
Access to transfer partners is limited
You can transfer ThankYou points earned with the Citi Strata℠ Card to almost all of Citi's travel partners, with the exception of arguably the issuer's biggest partner, American Airlines.
To get access to Citi’s full list of travel partners, you’ll need a higher-tier card like the $95-annual-fee Citi Strata Premier® Card or the $495-annual-fee Citi Prestige® Card, which is no longer accepting applications. Or you could opt for the $595-annual-fee Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, which also features American as a transfer partner, not to mention various other valuable credits and perks in exchange for that hefty price tag.
Plus, transfer ratios are lower with the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card compared to its sibling cards. For example, when you transfer points to JetBlue TrueBlue, Virgin Atlantic and Wyndham Rewards with the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, your points will transfer only at a 1:0.7 ratio (meaning 1,000 Citi ThankYou points get you only 700 miles/points in those programs). Both the Citi Strata Premier® Card and the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card snag you a higher redemption value when you transfer to Citi's partners.
The Citi Rewards+® Card — which the Citi Strata℠ Card replaced — offered unique features like a 10% points boost for the first 100,000 ThankYou Points redeemed per year and an automatic rewards "roundup" to the nearest 10 points on each purchase. While those are not ongoing features of the new Citi Strata℠ Card, if you opened a Citi Rewards+® Card between July 20, 2024, and July 19, 2025, you will retain the points bonus and roundup feature until July 19, 2026.
Frequent diners can do better
The Citi Strata℠ Card might not be ideal if you want a card that earns more than 2x back for restaurant spending.
Foodies might consider the Wells Fargo Autograph® Card as an alternative. It earns 3% cash back at restaurants and on other popular spending categories including travel and transit, gas stations (and electric vehicle charging stations), popular streaming services and select phone plans. All other eligible purchases earn 1% back.
Points are generally worth a penny each when redeemed for statement credit, gift cards or travel through Wells Fargo's portal. You can also transfer points to any of Wells Fargo's transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio, which include Choice Privileges Hotels and airlines like Air France-KLM, British Airways and Iberia, and Choice Privileges Hotels, among others.
The card also offers a 0% intro APR on Purchases for 12 months from account opening, and then the ongoing APR of 19.24%, 24.24%, or 29.24% Variable APR. The annual fee is $0.
How To Decide If It's Right For You
If the Citi Strata℠ Card’s bonus categories align with the biggest line items in your budget, it can be a valuable everyday option, especially thanks to its $0 annual fee. If not, consider a card that earns more in categories that fit your spending habits.
Customers who value a wide range of transfer partners would also be better off with a Citi card that charges an annual fee and has access to all of Citi’s hotel and airline partners, at much better transfer ratios. See NerdWallet's list of the best credit cards for more options.
Information related to the Citi Prestige® Card and the Citi Rewards+® Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.
This card earns bonus cash back at restaurants and on other popular spending categories. Points can be redeemed for statement credit, gift cards or travel through Wells Fargo's portal. You can also transfer points to any of Wells Fargo's transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio. The annual fee is $0.
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Methodology
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
About the author
Funto Omojola
Lead Writer & Content Strategist
