Link: Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite Card
Continue reading: New Citi Strata Elite Card Launches: Worth The $595 Annual Fee?
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Could be better but could be worse I guess. I’d use the $300 hotel credit and $200 splurge credit for sure so it pretty much pays for itself. The lounge passes are nice but I already have a Venture X card which gets me access to their lounge at DFW already.
I really need to rethink my whole card portfolio. Will probably from my CitiAA Exec card for this. (But keep the lower Strata card for gasa nd groceries...?)
Disappointing. Glad I still have my Citi Prestige. The 5x per dollar on dining anytime and the 4th night free benefit make it one of my most valuable cards.
Incredibly weak offering. The only benefit is 3x points on dining which is offered by several other Chase cards I already have. I'm not booking through Citi Travel. Citi will never even be close to being in the same league as Chase and AMEX with these offerings.
@Ben
Big question if you can address for current Prestige card holders.
When will they get converted?
Should you try to apply for this card before that happens, for bonus or dual benefits?
I'll stick to Prestige. I hate booking through portals. When using my 4NF benefit I often notice the prices are higher. Plus you can't use your elite benefits.
No current plans to convert current Prestige card holders. And hoping it stays that way! 🙂
Unfortunately, it's a matter of when not if.
But one thing for sure they'll spin it as an "upgrade" and that we'll like it even better based on "customer feedbacks".
The problem Citi / AA have is that because Citi doesn't have any lounges of their own, the primary person who is going to consider getting this card is an existing AA Executive card holder who may be able to cope with the loss of having a full Admirals Club membership. This card may technically pay for itself, but it is about as exciting as repainting a room. And with the massive devaluation now upon the AA points ecosystem (caused by this card and the ability to transfer TY points over), makes it all even less appealing. It's really a shame this is the best they can do when they are trying to win customers back - cue the snickers at Amex/DL/Chase/UA.
I am a long-time Citi Prestige holder and have no plans to convert. I really hate the Ts & Cs to use the various benefits that have become common with these types of cards ie. 6X points on dining but only on Friday nights and Saturdays… forcing you to use the Citi travel portal (which is not great) to get all the travel points bonuses.
The 4th night free hotel benefit is such a huge value to me with Citi Prestige. I easily clear $1,500-$2,000 in value from this every year by using it at 5-star $1,000+/night hotels.
An important note that Citigold clients get $145 credit that reduces the $595 annual fee and Citi Private Clients get the whole $595 fee credited back making it a free card.
Also, I think the website shows that Strata Elite comes with travel insurance which is a couple hundred dollars of value.
Not a great card but not bad either. Very standard. What is unfortunate is the sign up bonus at launch considering other cards from Chase and Amex with lower annual fees have had 100k+ sign up bonus for their points.
You're assuming one will carry one card either AA Executive or this card, but not both.
Many people carry more than one card. Some even paid over $2000 in annual fees.
I mean, sure, this card is relatively low cost if you'll use the $300 hotel and $200 AA credit, and $0 cost if you value the AA passes (although if you have AA exec you value that at $0). Blacklane is overpriced but whatever, it's a nicer ride that you get subsidized, maybe I value that $200 at $50-100. So you could have both. Obviously people have more than one card.
But who are you targeting with this if not existing AA cardholders? What is enticing a current Amex or Chase customer to get this card? 6x points on restaurants at specific hours? The portal bonuses across the board are all irrelevant to me because you can get equivalent bonuses from Rakuten. 4 passes that even let the kids in are great, but is that enticing an Amex or Chase user to pick this up? Maybe?
I still think this completely changes the calculus of the Executive card for the non-road warrior. Sure the 20k bonus LPs and the 10x points on spend at the hotel portal can be quite valuable (and I value both of those things, especially the AA hotel portal - but the bulk of the portal value is achieved by having status and even a no-fee AA card, so having the Exec is not crucial although the 10x miles (9x of which are bonus) on the spend itself is a nice bonus. So it comes down to the 20k bonus LPs and the full Admirals Club access.
Is this card better than nothing? Sure. Is it... exciting for most people? No. Does it become even less exciting (to me) with the massive AA devaluation going on right now? Yes.
The fact that the best news here is that I am not being forced to convert from my Citi prestige tells you everything you need to know about this card. Happy to get AA as a transfer partner though!
If they force me, I will probably take the strata premier over this thing. Which is an interesting new trend - the mid tier cards are significantly better value propositions than the top tier ones. Strata premier > strata elite, CSP > CSR. One assumes the new Amex platinum will follow this trend as well.
Does anyone here understand the economics driving this change?
My take on the economics of is around ideas of the increasing value of perception of "luxury", and the spend people are putting behind it. People will pay for prestige cards without getting value for the money, just like they're spending 10's of thousands at Hermes stores in the *hopes* of being *allowed* to buy a purse for 100K.
Every Admiral’s club I’ve been in recently has signs up forbidding the use of 1-day passes; are they going to fix that if they’re going to have passes for this card?
Nice to get AA as the transfer partner! Until it undermines the nice domestic redemption values haha!
Applied and Instatently approved (Sorry Ben!), I'll take the 80K points
Priority Pass Membership on the Elite card does NOT include restaurants - unlike Prestige card, which is a shame but I only ever used that benefit once.
Admirals Club passes instantly showed up in my AAdvantage account wallet.
Economics aren't compelling for me, and I'm in deep with both AA and Citi.
Premier has better categories for 3x earning. Double cash handles all domestic unbonused at 2x. AA exec covered unlimited entry for AS and AA lounges.
All this does is force me into their travel portal, which I've used before. Fun fact: while change fees and the like have disappeared for the US carriers post-Covid, Citi still keeps them around for their flight bookings.
So, pass.
Anyone know if there's an article on what portals allow you to earn elite credits and/or use elite perks and which ones don't? I did a few searches and couldn't come up with anything.
Like several other posters, I'll keep my Prestige, thank you very much. Likewise for my Citi Exec. And 1.5% on general spending? Are these folks nuts? Since the Double Cash is FREE, pays 2%, and can be combined with other Citi cards (including this new one), who on this green earth would EVER use this card for general spending? Who thinks this stuff up?
Terrible earning rates for spending and unexciting categories for bonus spend!
The Citi Nights bonus points for dining is sure to cause consternation and disappointment. Is it 6 pm - 6 am in your local timezone or on the US East Coast? Also, my credit card transactions frequently post 1-2 days later - and this benefit is based on the transaction posting not only on a particular day but also at a particular time?!?! No ThankYou.
Do we know if the Admiral club passes are deposited immediately or do you have to wait for 1st card year anniversary? And does AA cut off access with passes frequently like United to stop overcrowding?
Thanks for any help.
Right on. Average, bland card. 80K points not going to excite a lot of people. I will pass.
Yes, I was approved this morning, passes were instantly deposited into my Aadvantage account
That crowd will 100% gravitate towards AMEX. Zero chance Citi can take any of that market share away.
High net worthers already in the Citi eco system is the only demographic for this.
This card will be dead in less than 2 years...
I laid out my current Citi Prestige benefits vs Citi Strata Elite on a spreadsheet and it’s a no-brainer for me to keep the Citi Prestige.
-Annual fee is lower: $350 vs. $450 (with Citigold relationship credit)
-$250 travel credit is guaranteed cash as there are no restrictions on where you need to use it
-the 5x and 3x bonus points categories have no restrictions on where or when you spend
-The 4th night free is a benefit I max out each year saving me $1500-$2000/year
There are a couple of things I do like about Citi Strata Elite:
-The 1.5x points on all purchases is 50% more than the 1x points for Citi Prestige
-I like that it comes with travel insurance, which I pay for separately with my Citi prestige
-the 12x and 6x bonus points categories could get you some serious points earnings if you plan accordingly, but it is very annoying that it has to be through Citi Travel, which is a clunky and not very good portal, plus I prefer to book directly through airlines and hotels where possible
Ultimately the Citi Prestige just straight up offers the best value proposition (especially with the 4th night free) and is much more simpler without the nickel and diming with the restrictions that the Strata Elite requires.
If Citi forces me to convert, I’ll seriously re-visit Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire and make a decision between those 3.
I upgraded to CSR a few months ago, but need to consider this, as we usually fly AA or, ideally, a Oneworld partner. I have not seen much info on the travel protections, even on Citi's website. Does anyone have additional info?
The lack of lounges is an issue, as we really enjoyed our recent visit to the Chase lounge at PHL.
I think FM reported leaked info that the Prestige will be converted. RIP Prestige
Huge downgrade from the original prestige but I do like that they did add some access to American lounges. It's a huge miss by chase to not throw in a few passes.
My math is based on, what if Cap1 somehow ruined VentureX for me with, say, a higher annual fee or the loss of the 10K ($100) annual renewal bonus? This card costs $600. I’d definitely use the hotel credit ($300) and the splurge ($200). 4 days of AA lounges is worth $100 to me, so now I’m breaking even. I’d keep the Priority lounge access. And combining points with the Double Cash card matches the 2 point rewards from VX. So, even with the significantly higher annual fee, this card would be a suitable replacement, but only if VentureX gets worse.
Eskimo is right. That's the most grating thing about executives in the travel industry:
"We heard our customers, they want choice and flexibility. [So we gave them a choice: the value-equivalent of the trolley problem and hope they stick around or forget about the good old days.]"
We see now a split in the transfer ratio for cards like custom/double cash versus the Strata cards (with a fee). This sounds strange compared to the ability to convert cashback from custom/double cash to Thank You Points with a Strata card and then transfer with the better ratio?!
Please check/explain.
Citi really needed to come out with a spectacular new card considering the annual fee and lack of lounges. They failed miserably. I really wanted to find value in this card but it’s just not there.
Garbage card with everything aimed steering card holders to their crappy booking channels
Massive failure IMO
Sticking with others
all smoke and mirrors
Peter, please don't try to be the Tim Dunn of AA.
People who don't fly AA will still greatly benefit from this card. They are definitely not targeting AA card holders.
Does it make AA cardholder think twice, maybe. It did freaked you out.
Do they target AA cardholder, definitely not.
But if you think you're smarter than people under their billion dollar payroll, then go get a job with them, they'll be more than happy to over pay you.
They’re not targeting AA fliers (who may be AA cardholders as well) when the primary perks are 4 AA lounge passes and a $200 AA credit? Uh, ok.
The other market they are targeting are their own HNWI clients who clearly choose to get their credit cards elsewhere. Telling their citigold private clients they can have this card for free in the first year, and regular citigold gets a $145 discount is very telling.
I’m obviously not very concerned about the long term viability of Citi. But other billion dollar companies clearly have played in this space in a more profitable way. Citi and AA are playing catch up both in terms of their credit card program as well as in terms of their ‘premium pivot’. Says something when CapOne has a more appealing credit card program (and lounges!) than Citi.
As many of us are, we are rooting for AA to succeed, because it would be nice to have a Big 3 again. Competition is king. Hopefully selling miles for TY points will give AA further revenue that it can use to invest in its product offering.
The AA lounge passes are nice. If .....we don't have to fly AA to use them.
The $200 Blacklane credit is great .....for those who can use it. Will your Blacklane driver stop on the way to the airport so you can use your Amex Gold Dunkin Donuts credit?
The $200 splurge credit MAY cover the sales tax on an item at 1stDibs.
The $300 hotel credit will be great for those who don't use loyalty programs. You can use it to rent room 1408 at the Hotel Dolphin.
I am NOT excited... I still hold the Citi Prestige card, which has significantly better benefits than the new Strata Elite -- which doesn't seem very "elite" to me. (Yes, extra points on booking through their travel portal seem great...but I, too, dislike booking through travel portals. Besides the Citi Prestige gives me 5x on airfare and restaurants booked directly and with no restrictions.) I also hold the Citi AAdvantage Executive card which is less expensive to hold than paying for an Alaska Lounge or American Admirals Club membership.
And if my Prestige card gets automatically converted to the new Stata Elite, my account will manually be cancelled...
Tim is that you?
Your messed up logic and twsited facts seem to be in play here.
AA cardholders are AA flyers.
AA flyers doesn't have to be AA cardholders.
And if you don't already know Chase nor CapOne doesn't waive annual fees for HNWI either. Did that tell you something?
You're asking for a big 3 for the sake of competition?
Too bad for you, there isn't strong competition in oligopolies.
I guess I'm not seeing the hate everybody else seems to be seeing with this card. I think a lot of people expected to get the Prestige back but that card was obviously not going to work with Citi today given that it didn't work for them years ago.
I actually prefer this card over the revised Sapphire Reserve. The credits don't come with a lot of restrictions and realistically I can get at least something like $550 of value when including the Admirals Club passes. That might be saying more about the Reserve than this card though.
We're in for a Venture X nerf. No way that card remains at a $395 annual fee
I looked up this Blacklane service. It is just like Uber Black (probably the same cars/drivers) except 2-3x the price. I priced some rides from LAX and SFO downtown and it was north of $150 one way. That $100 semi annual credit does not cover even one ride.
Not that it really matters to the customer but Blacklane isn't a rideshare business. It's more of a chauffer thing
It’s 12x for travel booked through the portal, but for travel not booked through the portal, will it be 3x or 1.5x?
The reality is that the "premium" cards have all lost their luster, victims of their own success. Vanishingly few of them offer any sort of unique and genuine value - mirroring the trend among elite programs in hotels and airlines, where the name of the game is to copycat wherever possible. Priority pass is ubiquitous, the transfer partners are increasingly overlapping, coupon books are the same across the board, with meager unique "benefits" applied that do nothing to generate real value for the customer ($300 equinox credit, anyone?). The most unique thing about Citi's stable of cards is transferring points to Thai Orchid Miles or whatever it's called.
I will say that in the short term, the Strata Elite does have niche value as the sole transfer partner to AAdvantage...but that value is already a dead man walking. As millions of people begin transferring points en masse, whatever value remains in AAdvantage will disappear à la dynamic pricing across the board, with the least useful alliance partners to boot. At that point, the Strata Elite becomes the weakest player in the "premium" credit card market.
While I agree that not having a lounge network is a weakness for Citi, let's not encourage them to open one. It's already too congested at airports with so many lounges.
I signed up for it, to be the replacement for my AMEX Plat which I am cancelling in December. It's easily a break even card for me as long as the little AA lounge near the ORD L20 finger (where the RDU flights frequently depart from) accepts the four passes. That's worth $100 to me, $300 on a 3-night Home2Suites or Homewood Suites stay is worth $270, and a $200 credit on American is easily used. I am LT Gold and burning down 325k remaining AA miles from my working days at 25k/quarter on domestic sub-800 mile flights. And the timing is perfect as I have an annual $3000 expense on October 1 to cover most of the SUB.
With this combined with the my Premier and a couple of Chase cards, I'm almost completely converted away from AMEX until the next nerfing.
@ EXPECT NOTHING -- You don't, unfortunately. So it's a function of whether you prefer earning more points, or value the Loyalty Points more.
@ Raio -- It's 1.5x points on travel otherwise, as the travel bonus category is limited to Citi Travel.
@ miguelp1986 -- I hear you, it's hard to manage expectations. Though it also seems like more lounge capacity is ultimately a good thing, no?
Huh? Travelers need more lounges, not less. What there should less of are dumb airport retail shops.