Link: Apply now for the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card
The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (review) is Citi’s new premium business card. While the card has a steep $595 annual fee, there are lots of reasons to consider picking up this card. I decided to apply for this new product, and want to report back with my experience.
While this card isn’t some amazing slam dunk that’s too good to be true, I think the card is worth giving a shot, especially with the welcome offer available.
In this post:
Basic Citi Strata Elite application restrictions
As a reminder, there’s a portfolio of three personal Citi Strata products. In addition to the Citi Strata Elite, there’s also the $95 annual fee Citi Strata Premier® Card (review) and no annual fee Citi Strata℠ Card (review).
Eligibility for the three Citi Strata products is considered independently, including when it comes to the welcome bonuses, so that’s great for consumers. This means that having the Citi Strata Premier doesn’t preclude you from getting the Citi Strata Elite, and vice versa.
The most important thing to understand is Citi’s 48-month rule, which is that the welcome bonus on a particular 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.
Also remember Citi’s general application restrictions, including that on a rolling basis, you can generally only be approved for at most one Citi card every eight days, and at most two Citi cards every 65 days.
Citi Strata Elite application & approval experience
You have two options when it comes to applying for the Citi Strata Elite:
- You can apply directly online, and receive a welcome bonus of 80,000 ThankYou points after spending $4,000 within three months
- You can apply at a Citi branch, and receive an exclusive welcome bonus of 100,000 ThankYou points after spending $4,000 within three months
Perhaps against my own short term self interests, I of course encourage you to get the best offer for yourself, and if you live near a Citi branch, it’s probably worth applying that way. Meanwhile if you just want to support your favorite (or fifth favorite, or least favorite) blogger, you can of course apply online.
I live near a Citi branch, so I figured I’d check out the in-branch application experience. So let me share the two application processes.
Citi Strata Elite online application basics
The Citi Strata Elite online application process is really straightforward, and consists of just one short page. It just asks for personal details — name, date of birth, social security number, address, phone number, income, etc.
At the end of the application, you’ll be asked for your American AAdvantage number, if you have one. The reason you’ll want to include this is because this is where the Admirals Club day passes will be deposited, as those are an ongoing card perk.
Citi Strata Elite in-branch application basics
Any Citi banker at a branch can help you apply for the Citi Strata Elite in person. In the past, I haven’t had great experiences with getting Citi in-branch appointments, let alone even getting individual Citi branches to pick up the phone.
So I was delighted when a banker answered after only a few rings, and said he’d be available any time. I headed over to the branch, and the application took all of 10 minutes.
This was my first time in years visiting a bank branch for an appointment, and a few things stood out to me. For one, it was kind of odd how my social security number was said out loud for confirmation, and how I had to state my income, etc. Fortunately the branch was empty, but otherwise it seems like there should be a better way, like asking people to enter it on a keypad or something, no?
Next, admittedly I’m a huge introvert, but the small talk was sort of painful, and in retrospect, perhaps I would’ve paid 20,000 ThankYou points just to get out of that:
“Where is your last name from?”
“It’s German(ish).”
“Oh, are you German?”
“Yeah, my parents are both from Germany, and all my other relatives live there.”
“Oh, Germany is a beautiful country.”
“Yes it is, have you been?”
“No… but you are lucky, now you are living in the greatest country on earth.”
Erm, can we just proceed with the application, please? Anyway, my application was instantly approved, though with a very low credit line (probably because I have a few open Citi cards with high credit lines, and there’s only so much credit banks will extend to consumers).
The banker never asked me if I had an AAdvantage number. That’s kind of frustrating, because as soon as my card was approved, I received an email indicating I had a new AAdvantage account, and my Admirals Club passes were deposited there. So now I’ll have the pleasure of getting on the phone to try and fix that, I guess.
My long term Citi Strata Elite strategy
Now that I have the Citi Strata Elite, what’s my strategy? I think this is a solid card, though it’s not necessarily a card where the math is that overwhelmingly exciting (then again, cards with that kind of math tend to get devalued pretty quickly). I do think there’s huge merit to picking up the card and taking it for a spin, given the welcome offer.
The card has a $595 annual fee, and because I’m a Citigold member, I get a $145 reduction on that annually, meaning the card will cost me $450 on an ongoing basis.
The way I view it, the card’s $200 annual “Splurge Credit” is basically good as cash, since that can be used to purchase American Airlines tickets. It’s even offered every calendar year, so that’s particularly rewarding with your card’s first annual fee.
The other credits are ones where I’ll have to see over time how much I value them, and that will determine whether I keep the card in the long run. Specifically, I’m talking about:
- There’s an up to $300 annual hotel credit, valid for hotel bookings of at least two nights through Citi Travel; if you can stay for two nights at a hotel costing just over $150 per night, that’s easy enough to maximize
- There’s an up to $200 annual Blacklane credit, in the form of a $100 credit semi-annually; Blacklane is a lot more expensive than Uber, so I’ll need to give this global chauffeur service another try, and decide how much I value that
Then there’s the Priority Pass membership and four annual American Admirals Club passes. While those perks will be nice for some, I already have several cards that offer Priority Pass, and I also have an Admirals Club membership with the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (review). So for me, the incremental value there is limited.
Bottom line
The Citi Strata Elite is Citi’s brand new premium credit card. The card is offering a huge welcome bonus, and has some solid perks that may interest many. With Citi ThankYou points now being transferable to American AAdvantage, perhaps the most exciting detail is being able to use this card to rack up American miles, including with the welcome bonus.
If you’re interested in applying for the card, the good news is that eligibility is unrelated to having any other Citi card, so lots of people should qualify.
If you’ve applied for the Citi Strata Elite, what was your experience like?
Same thing happened to me re: AAdvantage number, and I even applied online and added my AA number. Quick fix though, you can merge AAdvantage accounts online through AA and it was completed in less than a day.
Just to mention: You can get the 100000 offer by calling a branch and requesting an email link.
I’m confused. Don’t you already have a Prestige? Two prestiges?
"In this post I wanted to talk a bit about the Citi Prestige Card, which is no longer open to new applicants. Despite that, it’s a product that continues to be in my wallet, and I figure it’s at least worth providing some context on why."
Two Prestige cards?
@Ben, that conversation is priceless on so many levels. You didn't tell him that YOU weren't born here... but he somehow assumed that. We could have a fascinating conversation here about the concept of American Exceptionalism and how it has been twisted. But, regardless, it is a tad bit rude to suggest to someone that their ancestral home is inferior.
What a mess...
“The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (review) is Citi’s new premium business card” - personal
Ugh I had to go thru one of those awful in-branch super-invasive-feeling appts for a Chase Biz cc wayyyyy back. Never again. So typical the banker screwed up your AA number! - literally the whole reason you were there!
I also was approved with a itty bitty $5,000 credit line even though my last approval in December for the AA Exec card was for $37,500. Like you said, I think when you have other high limit cards, they are only willing to approve you for smaller limits.
That said, it is possible to call the Citi Strata Elite customer service line (which is US-based an way better than any other Citi card CS agents...
I also was approved with a itty bitty $5,000 credit line even though my last approval in December for the AA Exec card was for $37,500. Like you said, I think when you have other high limit cards, they are only willing to approve you for smaller limits.
That said, it is possible to call the Citi Strata Elite customer service line (which is US-based an way better than any other Citi card CS agents I've ever worked with) and ask to do a credit limit increase/decrease to pull from other cards. This can be done immediately though it unfortuantely requires a hard credit pull (a 2nd one to your app) and may take a few days for approval. I decided to go ahead requesting moving $20,000 over from aonther card and the Strata Elite CS agent submitted my request. The next morning, an Experian pull hit (I'm in Texas) and I saw that my credit limits had already been adjusted by mid-day the next day so this is an option for you if you want and don't mind another hard pull.
I’m not sure what’s going on with Citi. I applied for the 80,000 mile AA offer online. They’ve been a real PITA. They seem super paranoid at the moment.
I haven’t decided yet if this card is worth it for me. But your comment on the low credit limit reminds me of applying for the then new Premier. Many folks were shocked to be denied, and I was shocked to be approved with a CL of $4100. They only raised the limit after I downgraded the card. What?
Applied today with an 813 credit score with 2% credit card utilization and was denied! Hilarious. Had the Prestige for years until they cut the benefits back and have been waiting for a decent premium card to return.
Yeah the "conversation" with the rep seems superfluous at a minimum, designed to "fill dead air." What other "acceptable" response would there be but "Yes it is"? I imagine the rep has had this one-sided talk many times with clients. An actual, honest response is not what he was looking for (not that it would be germane to engage in a comparative debate of cultures whilst trying to open a credit card account). Frankly, if...
Yeah the "conversation" with the rep seems superfluous at a minimum, designed to "fill dead air." What other "acceptable" response would there be but "Yes it is"? I imagine the rep has had this one-sided talk many times with clients. An actual, honest response is not what he was looking for (not that it would be germane to engage in a comparative debate of cultures whilst trying to open a credit card account). Frankly, if I were an immigrant to the US I could well imagine going, "You know, America's great, it's a land of opportunity, I'm super happy to be here...but I have a soft spot in my heart for my native land where all my other family still resides or are buried. I can't actually say what the best country in the world is."
In any event, I suppose the bigger question is, for an introvert, "Is the hassle of slogging to a physical location and 'meeting' with someone really worth the extra 20k points, when I already have "X" points through all the points ecosystems? Like, OK, cash value of those 20k points is close to $400 and for sure that means a lot. But if it's 20k more points when I already have 350k... I don't know the answer to that.
Ignoring introvert/extrovert... the question is, can @Ben make $400 or more working for the hour or two this took. I know I could and I bet he could! Thanks for taking one for the team Ben.
Holy cringe, Batman! Too bad they didn't spend more time looking at the application screen for your AA number.. and less time on that small talk.
You included the “greatest country on earth” reference for engagement. Why can’t content creators avoid off-topic-related politics, regardless of party or ideology? Political content only leads to snarky comments. I’m not immune to this either, but I want travel news, not a content creator’s views on politics.
It was included because it was a quote of what someone else said.
How dumb can you possibly be?
Lucky, glad to see you opened an account at Citi. To emphasize for anyone else who is thinking of doing the same, any assets that can be held in a brokerage account count towards status. That makes meeting the requirement free of out of pocket costs.
The downside of Citi is they are a bit...weird. I've had multiple representatives leave the bank without giving a heads up and with their email accounts and voicemails still...
Lucky, glad to see you opened an account at Citi. To emphasize for anyone else who is thinking of doing the same, any assets that can be held in a brokerage account count towards status. That makes meeting the requirement free of out of pocket costs.
The downside of Citi is they are a bit...weird. I've had multiple representatives leave the bank without giving a heads up and with their email accounts and voicemails still active so it was only when I didn't hear back from them after multiple messages and called the branch where they (used to) work that I found out.
The $200/$400 subscription benefit is nice as is the annual fee credit. In addition Citi has a few other perks such as free admission to museums and rental bikes that can be worth a hundred bucks or more if you visit NYC.
Lucky has mentioned it but there is one big gotcha to be aware of. Although TY points can be set to flow from multiple cards to a common account if you cancel a card then you have to use those points within (I believe) 90 days or lose them. The way to avoid this is to product change to a no fee card that you then drag around (and have to use occasionally to keep Citi from unilaterally cancelling) forever, or at least until the points attributable to that card have been used, which isn't very easy to determine.
It was included because it was a quote of what someone else said.
How dumb can you possibly be?
I picked AA as the choice for splurge credit. Booked direct on AA website and used the card to pay. Been almost 3 weeks, still no statement credit. Starting to think that this splurge credit is not as easy to use as it seems.
My experience was a bit different, with unfortunately a different outcome. I am a citi private client (> $1 million in my accounts) so I figured it was a slam dunk. I was excited at the thought of all those credits with a waived first year annual fee. I didn’t get approved immediately (applied at the branch with my random “private banker”). A week later..no word. Went back into the branch..no help. Got the denial...
My experience was a bit different, with unfortunately a different outcome. I am a citi private client (> $1 million in my accounts) so I figured it was a slam dunk. I was excited at the thought of all those credits with a waived first year annual fee. I didn’t get approved immediately (applied at the branch with my random “private banker”). A week later..no word. Went back into the branch..no help. Got the denial letter yesterday. Reasons “not enough accounts showing on credit report”, “too many recent accounts opened”. Hmm. Called for reconsideration. Still denied. I may need to rethink this citi thing
I'm feeling good about keeping my money at Morgan Stanley right now.
That conversation about your last name sounds super uncomfortable and not the most professional. Sorry you had to deal with that :/
Speaking of uncomfortable things, I guess stogieguy7's comments on the recent El Al/Wizz Air post about how Jews deserve the stereotype of being cheap are just gonna stay up?