Citi Strata Premier: Big Rewards Across Top Spending Categories
The Bottom Line
4.9
This card earns rich ongoing rewards and could be a good deal for frequent travelers. But other cards may offer more useful partners and have more expansive definitions of travel.
Rates, fees and offers
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$95
Rewards rate
1x-10x
Bonus offer
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.
Intro APR
N/A
Ongoing APR
APR: 20.24%-28.24% Variable APR
Cash Advance APR: 29.49%, Variable
Penalty APR: Up to 29.99%, Variable
Balance transfer fee
Balance transfer fee applies with this offer; 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
Foreign transaction fee
0%
More details from Citibank
More details from Citibank
- 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 10 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
- Earn 3 Points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, 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.
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
Pros and Cons
Pros
Bonus categories
Rewards don't expire
Cons
Has annual fee
Requires good/excellent credit
Detailed Review
The $95-annual-fee Citi Strata Premier® Card offers generous bonus rewards across several popular spending categories, making it an excellent workhorse card for everyday use. That's particularly true if you're a jet-setter, since the card comes with travel protections and you'll be able to transfer your rewards to multiple airline and hotel partners, including domestic carriers like American Airlines and JetBlue.
On top of that, there's a rich welcome bonus, plus a yearly hotel credit that can cover the annual fee if you're able to make use of it.
Still, the card isn't for everyone. Citi's list of transfer partners is still largely dominated by international carriers, and it's missing major hotel chains like Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt. Casual U.S. travelers who don't fly often with American or JetBlue may have to do some research and leverage airline alliances to find deals. The Citi Strata Premier® Card is also missing a perk or two that you can find on other travel credit cards at its price point, and those competitors tend to have fewer limitations on what qualifies as "travel" spending.
But the ability to snag a high rewards rate on some of the biggest line items in your household budget — and transfer those rewards to partners for potentially even greater value — makes this card a valuable proposition.
Citi launched the Citi Strata Premier® Card in May 2024 as a refresh of the long-serving Citi Premier® Card, which is no longer accepting applications. The cards share many similarities, although the Citi Strata Premier® Card comes with a few additional perks including bonus rewards at EV charging stations, as well as travel protections like trip cancellation and rental car insurance. (The legacy Citi Premier® Card did once offer such protections, but ended them in 2019.)
Citi Strata Premier® Card: Basics
Card type: Travel.
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:
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.
Redemption options:
Redeem for travel booked through Citi, at a value of 1 cent per point.
Redeem for cash back. One ThankYou point is worth 1 cent each when redeemed for cash. However, starting Aug. 24, 2025, 1 point will be worth 0.75 cent.
Redeem for gift card purchases, bill payments and more. For many redemptions, points are worth 1 cent each.
Transfer to one of Citi's partners, including American Airlines, often at a 1:1 ratio. Through strategic redemptions, you can potentially get more value out of your points this way.
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: The ongoing APR is 20.24%-28.24% Variable APR.
Foreign transaction fees: None.
Other benefits:
$100 annual hotel savings benefit. Terms apply.
Coverage in the event of trip cancellation, interruption or delay.
Coverage if your luggage is lost or damaged.
Rental car insurance. (Coverage is secondary within the renter’s country of residence, but primary outside the renter’s country of residence.)
How the three Citi Strata credit cards compare
The Citi Strata Premier® Card is the middle sibling in the issuer's Strata "family" of credit cards. It offers more perks than the $0-annual-fee Citi Strata℠ Card, but fewer than the $595-annual-fee Citi Strata Elite℠ Card.
Here's a look at the differences among these cards:
| 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 |
|
|
|
Other benefits |
|
|
|
Compare to Other Cards
Vacation more, spend less. Subscribe to our free newsletter for inspiration, tips, and money-saving strategies – delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Benefits and Perks
Triple points in everyday categories
This may be the biggest selling point for the Citi Strata Premier® Card: Its bonus rewards cover three of the major line items in many household budgets — groceries, dining out and gas. Several cards offer bonus rewards in one or two of these categories, but it's rare to score 3X back across all three. Triple points at supermarkets, in particular, is more than you’ll earn in that category from many premium credit cards.
The Citi Strata Premier® Card also offers 3 points per $1 in two of the biggest travel categories: flights and hotels, which gives it an edge on many competitors that offer only 2 points per $1 on those purchases.
And of course if you're willing to book qualifying travel through Citi (including hotels), you'll snag an unbeatable 10X back per $1 spent.
The legacy Citi Premier® Card — the card the Strata Premier replaced — used to offer 3X points across a much broader definition of "travel": airfare and hotels, yes, but also things like car rentals, cruises, travel agencies and aggregators, various commuter transportation, tolls, boat rentals and more. But that went away in 2020, as did the ability to redeem points for higher value when booking eligible travel through Citi. The Citi Strata Premier® Card is not resurrecting those features.
Multiple travel partners = potential for outsized value
You can redeem points for travel through cititravel.com, where you can expect a value of 1 cent per point. But you can also unlock higher value for your points if you opt to transfer them to certain airline loyalty programs. In 2025, for example, the Citi Strata Premier® Card added American Airlines as a transfer option, and that partnership alone could make the card highly useful and valuable for a wide swath of travelers. (No other major card issuer boasts American as a transfer partner.) Beyond that, there are multiple international carriers you could move your points to, although getting the best deal might require some research.
Big welcome bonus
The welcome offer on the Citi Strata Premier® Card is generous: 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. That can go a long way toward covering your next vacation, especially if you find a good deal with a travel partner, per above.
Combine rewards with other Citi cards
Thanks to its strong rewards categories, the Citi Strata Premier® Card could be a great choice for people who want to use one card for every purchase. But if you're willing to carry a couple of cards in your wallet, you can maximize your earnings even further by pairing the Citi Strata Premier® Card with the issuers' other offerings that earn ThankYou® points.
For example: The Citi Double Cash® Card earns 2% back on purchases: 1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay it off. Meanwhile, the Citi Custom Cash® Card earns 5% back on up to $500 per billing cycle in your highest spend category (from a list of eligible options) and 1% back on other purchases. Both cards actually earn rewards in the form of ThankYou® points, and you can pool them with the points you earn on the Citi Strata Premier® Card.
Drawbacks and Considerations
Narrow travel categories
Compared with the Citi Strata Premier® Card, other cards in its class have a broader definition of what qualifies as "travel." Beyond just hotels, car rentals and air travel, you could also earn elevated rewards on things like cruises, rideshares, buses, trains and more — depending on the card. And in many cases, you'd be able to do so without having to book through a specific card issuer's travel portal.
The $95-annual-fee Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, for one, offers elevated rewards on many other forms of travel. It, too, allows you to transfer rewards to a variety of travel partners. Or, if you are OK with booking your vacation through Chase's travel portal, your points can potentially take on greater value, as compared to the 1-cent value you'll get from Citi ThankYou® points.
If you're seeking something more straightforward, the similarly priced Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns 2 miles back on purchases, travel-related or not, and also comes with travel partners. And unlike the Citi Strata Premier® Card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, it offers a statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.
Transfer partners may not fit your itinerary
Aside from American and JetBlue, Citi's list of transfer partners is heavily tilted toward international airlines, and those partners may not be useful to travelers who don’t want to dig into complex award charts.
If you're searching for different transfer partners, the aforementioned Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card could again be a better fit. Its domestic partners include United, Southwest and JetBlue, as well as major U.S. hotel chains such as Marriott and Hyatt. The card earns bonus rewards in a variety of popular spending categories, including dining and travel. Plus, as noted, those points are worth more when you redeem for travel via Chase. The card also offers a large welcome bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Hotel discount may be of limited value
The card offers $100 off a single hotel stay of at least $500 (not including taxes and fees) once every calendar year, when you book through Citi. That could be useful for some travelers — but do you normally spend $500 or more on a single hotel stay? And are you willing to book it exclusively through Citi?
How To Decide If It's Right For You
If you spend a lot on gas, dining, groceries or certain kinds of travel, the Citi Strata Premier® Card absolutely merits a look, as points can add up fast. And thanks to the flexibility of those points, it's an especially good option for frequent American Airlines flyers.
But if you're looking for premium perks, different travel partners or a broader definition of travel spending, you may want to look elsewhere.
For more travel credit card options, check out NerdWallet's list of best credit cards to have.
Information about the Citi Premier® Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
This card earns bonus rewards in a variety of popular spending categories, including dining and travel. Points are potentially worth more when redeemed for travel through Chase, or you can transfer them to more than a dozen airline and hotel programs, including United, Southwest, Marriott and Hyatt. The annual fee is $95.
Looking For Something Else?
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.
