Link: Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card
The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (review) is Citi’s most recently launched premium credit card, and it has the potential to represent a great value. Here’s a recap of the card details.
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Earn 75,000 ThankYou points with the Citi Strata Elite Card
The $595 annual fee Citi Strata Elite Card is offering a welcome bonus of 75,000 ThankYou points after spending $6,000 within the first three months.
Personally, I value Citi ThankYou points at 1.7 cents each, so to me the welcome bonus is worth $1,275. There are lots of great uses of Citi ThankYou points, and they can also be transferred to the Citi ThankYou airline and hotel partners, including American AAdvantage.
Who is eligible for the Citi Strata Elite Card bonus?
Who is eligible for the welcome bonus on the Citi Strata Elite Card? In line with Citi’s 48-month rule, the welcome bonus on this card isn’t available if you’ve received a bonus on this exact card in the past 48 months. Since this card is still quite new, that means a vast majority of people are eligible for this product.
Eligibility for the card (including the welcome bonus) is unrelated to having any other Citi Strata product, like the Citi Strata Premier® Card (review) or Citi Strata℠ Card (review). Learn more about Citi Strata eligibility, learn more about Citi Strata welcome bonuses, and learn about my experience applying for the card.
Beyond the above, Citi has fairly limited application restrictions. The main thing to be aware of is the 8/65 rule, whereby Citi will approve consumers for at most one card every eight days, and at most two cards every 65 days. This is a rolling limit, so you’ll want to space out your Citi applications a bit, to maximize your odds of approval.
Why the Citi Strata Elite Card is worth applying for
Beyond the initial welcome bonus of 75,000 ThankYou points, there are many reasons to consider holding onto the Citi Strata Elite Card:
- The Citi Strata Elite has some unique bonus categories, including offering 6x ThankYou points on dining on “Citi Nights”
- The Citi Strata Elite offers a variety of credits that can help add value, including a $300 annual hotel credit, a $200 annual “Splurge Credit,” and a $200 annual Blacklane credit
- The Citi Strata Elite offers some lounge access perks, including four annual Admirals Club passes and a Priority Pass membership
With some of the credits and benefits being based on the calendar year rather than the cardmember year, it’s also worth calling out the card’s particularly good first year value, in terms of in some cases being able to “double dip” perks with the card’s first annual fee.
Let me also mention that while the card has a steep $595 annual fee, you can get that reduced by $145 if you have a Citigold account, meaning the card would only cost you $450 per year.
Bottom line
The Citi Strata Elite Card has a welcome bonus of 75,000 ThankYou points upon completing minimum spending.
This is a card that’s potentially worth picking up, given its ongoing perks. At a minimum, it’s a card worth giving a try for a year, thanks to the strong first year value. If you’ve been on the fence about applying for the card, this excellent bonus is a reason to consider it.
Do you plan on picking up the Citi Strata Elite Card with 75K bonus points?
Pretty enticing although I don't feel that this card is a keeper but the first year value is hard to ignore
So Ben/1990, you have been to Manila for the launch of PAL A350 Business Class Suite …. I simply cannot wait to read your review.
How to get approved for this?
P2 applied and denied. only 1/12. 750+ score one other citi card.
Reason "insufficient credit history" . Has 7 years of credit card history.
Come back 1990, all is forgiven …. :-)
Ben, is on a trip, you are on a trip …. whatever is a ‘bear of very little brain’ supposed to think?