Link: Apply now for the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, Citi Strata Premier® Card, or Citi Strata℠ Card
Citi has an excellent portfolio of cards earning its transferable points currency, with the three primary cards being known as the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (review), Citi Strata Premier® Card (review), and Citi Strata℠ Card (review).
These are all compelling cards, and in particular, the Citi Strata Elite Card and/or Citi Strata Premier Card are cards that those who are into miles & points will want to consider. In this post, I’d like to go over the details of the welcome offers on these three cards, for anyone who may be considering applying.
In this post:
Three Citi Strata Card welcome bonus offers compared
The trio of Citi Strata Card products are the key to earning Citi ThankYou points for credit card spending. While the Citi Strata Card is a great no annual fee card, the $95 annual fee Citi Strata Premier Card and $595 annual fee Citi Strata Elite Card are key to fully unlocking the value of these points, in terms of being able to transfer them to airline and hotel partners at the best rate possible.
No matter which card you decide on, there’s value to complementing it with the no annual fee Citi Double Cash® Card (review), which is one of the best cards for everyday, non-bonused spending. This card earns 2x ThankYou points per dollar spent on everyday purchases (1x points when you make a purchase, and 1x points when you pay for a purchase), so it’s an excellent option for maximizing everyday spending.
With that in mind, let me go over the current welcome bonuses available on the three Citi Strata Card products, plus the basics of the card value proposition.
No annual fee Citi Strata Card 30K points bonus
The no annual fee Citi Strata Card has a welcome bonus of 30,000 ThankYou points after spending $1,000 within three months.
The primary reasons that you’ll want to consider this card is because of the rate at which it racks up ThankYou points. The card offers 5x points on select Citi Travel purchases, 3x points at supermarkets, on select transit, on gas & EV charging, and on self-select categories, and 2x points at restaurants.
There are a couple of catches. First, the card does have foreign transaction fees, so I wouldn’t recommend using it for foreign currency purchases. Second of all, to unlock the full value of these points, you’ll want to have this card in conjunction with one of the two more premium cards, since that allows you to maximize the value of points when making transfers.
Read a full review of the Citi Strata Card.
$95 annual fee Citi Strata Premier Card 60K points bonus
The $95 annual fee Citi Strata Premier Card has a welcome bonus of 60,000 ThankYou points after spending $4,000 within three months.
I’d argue that this is the best value card in the Citi ThankYou portfolio. For one, the card has an excellent rewards structure, with no foreign transaction fees, and offers 10x points on select Citi Travel purchases, 3x points on air travel & hotels, on gas & EV charging, on dining, and on supermarkets, which is an incredibly well rounded rewards structure.
The card also offers a $100 annual hotel credit benefit, which can help offset the annual fee. Having this card also lets you unlock the full value of ThankYou points, in terms of being able to move points to travel partners at the best ratio possible.
Read a full review of the Citi Strata Premier Card.
$595 annual fee Citi Strata Elite Card 80K points bonus
The $595 annual fee Citi Strata Premier Card has an online welcome bonus of 80,000 ThankYou points after spending $4,000 within three months. Note that there seems to be a better bonus of 100,000 ThankYou points if you apply in a Citi branch, so if you’re willing to get in touch with a Citi banker, that could be worth pursuing.
This is Citi’s new premium credit card, with a good ThankYou points rewards structure, and it’s one I’ve recently applied for. The card earns 6-12x points on select Citi Travel purchases, 3-6x points on dining, and 1.5x points on everyday spending.
If you’re looking to offset the annual fee, the card offers credits, including an up to $300 annual hotel credit, an up to $200 annual Splurge credit, and an up to $200 annual Blacklane credit. The card also offers lounge access, in the form of a Priority Pass membership, plus four annual Admirals Club 24-hour passes.
It’s particularly worth calling out the excellent first year value on the card, since some of the credits and benefits are tied to the calendar year, rather than being tied to the cardmember year. This means you can get a disproportionate amount of value with your first annual fee.
Read a full review of the Citi Strata Elite Card.
Who is eligible for Citi Strata Card welcome bonus offers?
The good news is that eligibility for the Citi Strata Elite Card, Citi Strata Premier Card, and Citi Strata Card, is super straightforward. Eligibility for all three cards is considered independently, meaning that you’re eligible to be approved for each of the cards over time.
The major restriction to be aware of is Citi’s typical 48-month rule. With this, the welcome bonus on a card isn’t available to those who have received a new cardmember bonus on that exact card in the past 48 months. The 48 months is based on when you received the bonus on a card, rather than based on when you opened the card.
Let me emphasize that those requirements are considered independently. That’s to say that if you already have the Citi Strata Premier Card, you’d be eligible for the Citi Strata Elite Card (including the welcome bonus), and vice versa.
Read more about Citi Strata Card eligibility.
Bottom line
The Citi Strata Elite Card, Citi Strata Premier Card, and Citi Strata Card, are all excellent cards, which now make up Citi’s primary portfolio of personal cards earning ThankYou points. The good news is that consumers are eligible for all three of these cards, including the welcome bonuses.
You can’t go wrong with any of these cards. Personally, I think the Citi Strata Premier Card is the easiest to justify card in the collection, since it has a reasonable annual fee, great bonus categories, and unlocks the full value of ThankYou points. However, I think the Citi Strata Elite Card can make a lot of sense, assuming you can take advantage of the credits and benefits, plus value lounge access.
What’s your take on the value proposition of the three Citi Strata Card products?
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