Citi Strata Elite Card — How To Use the Annual $300 Hotel Credit [2025]

The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card is a new travel and lifestyle credit card. It earns enhanced ThankYou Points in exciting categories, such as travel and dining, and delivers perks, such as statement credits.

One of the most exciting perks is an exciting hotel credit of up to $300 for 2-night stays.

This guide will show you how to use the $300 annual hotel benefit on the Citi Strata Elite card. But before that, let’s give a brief overview of the card’s benefits and perks.

How Does the Annual Hotel Benefit Work?

The Citi Strata Elite card offers an annual hotel benefit of up to $300 off a hotel stay of 2 nights or more when booked through Citi Travel. This benefit is instantly applied to your booking, so you don’t have to do anything.

To receive the annual hotel benefit, you must charge the room to your Citi Strata Elite card, redeem ThankYou Points, or use a combination of the 2.

Keep in mind that if your reservation is less than $300, the remaining amount of the annual hotel benefit will be available for your next qualifying purchase in that same calendar year.

Maximize Your Travel Credit: Best Hotel Booking Strategies

A $300 credit that can only be used on stays of 2 nights or more might be difficult to use, but you have plenty of options if you know where to look.

Here are 3 easy ways to maximize your credit:

1. A 2-Night Stay in D.C. During the Low Season

Washington, D.C., is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. — and with good reason. With attractions such as the White House, National Mall, Capitol Building, and others, it’s not unheard of to pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per night for a hotel during peak season.

However, during the low season (December to February), you can find pretty solid deals on 2-night stays at 3- or 4-star hotels for under $300.

Some of our favorites include:

• Cambria Hotel Washington D.C. Navy Yard Riverfront (around $295 for a 2-night stay in December)
• Motto by Hilton Washington DC City Center (around $215 for a 2-night stay in January)
• Thompson Washington D.C. (around $280 for a 2-night stay in January)

2. Cheap Hotels on the Las Vegas Strip

One of the easiest ways to maximize your credit is by booking hotels in Las Vegas because of how inexpensive even luxury hotels can be. To find the absolute cheapest rates, book during the week. 

Here are a few of our favorite hotels in Las Vegas where you can find 2-night stays for around $300:

• Caesars Palace (around $330 for a 2-night stay in November)
• Conrad Las Vegas at Resorts World (around $250 for a 2-night stay in November)
• MGM Grand (from $226 for a 2-night stay in November)

3. Airport Hotels in Europe

Airport hotels can get a bad rep, but if you’re enjoying a long layover — especially in Europe — you can find fantastic deals.

Here are airport hotels to spend your credit on:

• citizenM Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (around $280 per night for a 2-night stay)
• Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport (around $280 per night for a 2-night stay)
• Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel (around $260 per night for a 2-night stay)

Citi Strata Elite Card Overview and Benefits

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The Citi Strata Elite card is Citi's most premium card built for frequent travelers and foodies.

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

The Citi Strata Elite card is Citi's most premium card built for frequent travelers and foodies.

Welcome Offer

Earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.

80,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $1,280

Annual Fee

$595

APR

21.24% to 29.24% Variable

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Strata Elite card is a great option for frequent travelers, foodies, and those who are fans of the Citi ThankYou Rewards ecosystem thanks to its combination of bonus categories, perks, and annual credits.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 12x points on hotels, rental cars, and attractions booked through Citi Travel
• 6x points on airfare through Citi Travel
• 6x points on dining on Citi Nights (Friday and Saturday nights from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) and 3x points on dining at all other times

Cons

• $595 annual fee
• Boosted dining rewards are limited to 2 nights per week

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening
• 12x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on cititravel.com
• 6x points on air travel booked on cititravel.com
• 6x points at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services, every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET, and 3x points any other time
• 1.5x points on all other purchases
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
• Up to $300 annual hotel benefit
• Up to $200 annual splurge credit
• Up to $200 annual Blacklane credit
• 4 American Airlines Admirals Club passes every calendar year
• Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to partners like American Airlines
• Complimentary Priority Pass membership
• No foreign transaction fees

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 21.24% to 29.24% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

The Citi Strata Elite card is a solid card for everyday spending. The card includes the following bonus categories: 

• 12x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel
• 6x points on air travel booked on Citi Travel
• 6x points at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services, every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Eastern time, and 3x points any other time
• 1.5x points on all other purchases

In addition to the annual hotel benefit, the Citi Strata Elite card includes the following statement credits:

• Up to $200 annual Splurge Credit: Receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year. You can choose up to 2 of the following brands: 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation.
• Up to $200 annual Blacklane credit: Receive up to $200 in statement credits when you book with Blacklane, a premium global chauffeur service: up to $100 on Blacklane purchases January through June and up to $100 July through December.
• Up to $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit every 4 years.

The card also comes with a ton of travel benefits, including additional hotel benefits like the Reserve by Citi. This is a collection of participating 4.5- to 5-star hotels on the Citi Travel platform that offer on-property benefits such as daily complimentary breakfast, an experience credit, and early check-in, late checkout, and room upgrades.

Also, if you have the Citi Strata Elite card, you can enroll in a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, giving you access to over 1,500 airport lounge locations. You also receive 4 Admirals Club passes each calendar year, which gets you access to dozens of Admirals Club lounges worldwide. 

Additionally, the card offers essential travel and shopping protections. These include trip delay protection, enhanced trip cancellation and trip interruption protection, lost and damaged luggage protection, MasterRental coverage, and extended warranty and purchase assurance.

Final Thoughts

The Citi Strata Elite card offers a ton of exciting benefits, one of which is the annual hotel benefit of up to $300 off a hotel stay of 2 nights or more when booked through Citi Travel.

While it may seem tricky to use at first, you can find fantastic value during off-peak travel months in popular destinations like Las Vegas, at inexpensive airport hotels, and much more.