The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see charges and charges) is Citi‘s latest premium journey rewards card.
Launched in late July, it comes with a $595 annual price, which places it in the midst of its premium card rivals.
With a powerful welcome bonus, useful incomes potential and a set of assertion credit and lounge perks, the cardboard can ship stable worth. However after the primary 12 months of getting it, you may have to run the numbers to determine if it deserves a long-term spot in your pockets.
So, let’s do the maths to work out whether or not you need to apply for (and preserve) the Citi Strata Elite.
Welcome supply
Each new cardholder can get optimistic worth out of the Strata Elite if they’re authorised and meet the minimal spending requirement.
New candidates can earn 80,000 bonus factors after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. (You could possibly earn a better welcome supply of 100,000 bonus factors with the identical spending necessities should you apply at a Citi department in individual.)
These 80,000 factors are value $1,520 per TPG’s August 2025 valuations‚ greater than double the $595 annual price.
Associated: Are you eligible for the Citi Strata Elite’s 80,000-point welcome bonus?
Nonetheless, if you wish to earn Citi ThankYou Rewards factors at a decrease price, the Citi Strata Premier® Card (see charges and charges) is a better option. For a $95 annual price, it provides 60,000 bonus factors after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening — 75% of the Strata Elite’s bonus for a fraction of the worth.
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Incomes charges
The Strata Elite is greatest suited to those that are joyful to guide journey by a portal and dine out on weekend evenings.
You will earn 12 factors per greenback spent on lodges, automotive leases and sights booked by cititravel.com (a 22.8% return per TPG’s August 2025 valuations); flights earn 6 factors per greenback by cititravel.com (11.4%).
Nonetheless, reserving by a portal has its downsides, together with:
This card has a singular eating bonus class.
On Friday and Saturday evenings (between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Jap time), you may earn 6 factors per greenback spent at eating places, together with on supply. Outdoors of these instances, you may earn half the speed (3 factors per greenback). That represents an 11.4% and 5.7% return on these purchases, respectively.
This bonus class is greatest for many who exit (or order in) for dinner on weekend evenings. Nonetheless, the mounted Jap time window could be awkward when touring internationally, particularly in Asia and Europe.
Against this, the Strata Premier provides a less complicated construction, incomes 3 factors per greenback spent on:
- Electrical car charging and gasoline station purchases
- Flights
- Resort stays
- Restaurant purchases
- Grocery store purchases
Assertion credit
Citi has adopted American Categorical and Chase‘s lead within the “couponization” of its top-tier playing cards. So, it should not come as a shock that the Strata Elite has suffered the identical destiny.
Having stated that, this card has a decrease annual price than the 2 different issuers’ premium playing cards and a shorter listing of credit. Plus, the credit are divided up into annual or biannual increments, slightly than month-to-month, making them simpler to maintain monitor of.
The Strata Elite’s $595 annual price could be diminished considerably should you maximize its assertion credit:
Maxing out the Strata Elite’s $300 lodge credit score instantly drops your efficient price to $295. Add half the worth of the $200 Splurge credit score, one $100 Blacklane credit score and the $30 annualized International Entry credit score, and your efficient price falls to simply $65.
Whereas not everybody will extract this full worth, even partial credit score utilization can convey the cardboard’s actual price nicely beneath its $595 sticker value.
Lounge entry
The Strata Elite features a complimentary Precedence Move Choose membership, granting you and two visitors entry to greater than 1,700 lounges worldwide. It additionally provides 4 American Airways Admirals Membership passes per 12 months, every legitimate for twenty-four hours, that means one go can cowl a number of lounge visits on a single itinerary.
Whereas Admirals Membership day passes usually price $79 every, I would personally worth them nearer to $35 per go to. In case you take two home journeys and one worldwide journey every year, you may simply get round $140 in worth from these advantages alone.
For frequent American Airways flyers who need limitless Admirals Membership entry, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Govt World Elite Mastercard® (see charges and charges) is the higher possibility. However for infrequent vacationers, these included passes add significant worth to the Strata Elite’s annual price.
Associated: 3 the explanation why that is the very best card for Admirals Membership lounge entry
Redemption choices
That is an space the place the Strata Elite shines.
It’s one in all solely three Citi playing cards — the others being the Strata Premier and the Citi Status® Card — that provides entry to all of Citi’s 5 lodge and 15 airline switch companions (together with American Airways AAdvantage) on the most favorable switch charges. Different Citi playing cards don’t supply transfers to AAdvantage, and the switch charges for many different companions are decrease.
The data for the Citi Status has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer. This card isn’t out there to new candidates.
Put $1,000 a month in nonbonused spending on the Strata Elite and you may earn 18,000 factors yearly. They’re value roughly $342 when transferred to companions or $180 when redeemed by Citi Journey. That is sufficient for a one-way economy-class flight to Europe when transferring to Air France-KLM Flying Blue or Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership (plus taxes and charges). And you need to use even fewer factors when profiting from a switch bonus.
If you would like entry to the complete suite of switch companions at the very best charges — however wish to pay a decrease annual price — then the Strata Premier is, once more, my suggestion.
Procuring and journey protections
As the primary Mastercard World Legend card, the Strata Elite consists of stable purchasing and journey protections, reminiscent of prolonged guarantee, buy safety and journey delay reimbursement. These advantages add peace of thoughts, however they are not industry-leading.
If complete protections are a precedence, competing premium playing cards from Amex and Chase supply broader protection and better reimbursement limits. Nonetheless, the Strata Elite’s protections are a helpful security web that helps justify the cardboard’s premium positioning.
Backside line
Because of its welcome bonus and assertion credit, the Strata Elite delivers wonderful first-year worth. Nonetheless, its long-term attraction is dependent upon how nicely its perks match your spending and journey habits.
In case you often guide flights and lodges by Citi Journey, dine out (or in) on weekend evenings and might absolutely leverage the lodge credit score and at the least a number of the Blacklane and Splurge credit, this card could be value retaining past the primary 12 months.
In any other case, the Citi Strata Premier provides a decrease $95 annual price, a powerful incomes construction and entry to the identical useful switch companions, making it the extra sensible long-term alternative for a lot of.
In the end, the Strata Elite isn’t a “set-it-and-forget it” card. Run the numbers, consider your personal journey patterns and be sure you’re snug with the $595 price ticket earlier than making use of.
To study extra, learn our full evaluation of the Citi Strata Elite.
Apply right here: Citi Strata Elite Card
