27 Valuable Benefits of the Citi Strata Premier Card [For Travelers]

If you’re a frequent traveler and want the perks of a premium travel rewards card but not the high annual fee, consider the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card. If most of your spending is on travel, gas, entertainment, and dining, this card’s elevated earnings will make it easy to accumulate rewards quickly. Your points will also be easy to redeem with several flexible options, including travel.

Let’s jump into the long list of the Citi Strata Premier card’s benefits.

Ways To Earn ThankYou Rewards Points

The Citi Strata Premier card is perfect for travelers, as bonus-earning categories include common travel purchases such as hotels and airfare. Rewards are also valuable, as they are earned in the form of ThankYou Points, which have several flexible redemption options.

1. Receive a Generous Welcome Bonus

Meeting minimum spending requirements within the first 3 months after card approval can earn you a welcome bonus worth hundreds of dollars.

Current Welcome Bonus:

• Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.

Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's 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.

Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

Welcome Offer

For a limited time: Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards on thankyou.com.

75,000 points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,200

Annual Fee

$95

APR

20.49% to 28.49% Variable APR

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card is a great all-around travel rewards card that allows you to earn big rewards on a variety of purchases like air travel, at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and more, along with flexible redemption options, all for a modest annual fee.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 10x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
• 3x points on air travel, other hotel purchases, restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and EV charging stations
• $100 annual hotel benefit

Cons

• $95 annual fee

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• For a limited time: Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards on thankyou.com.
• Earn 10X points per $1 spent on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
• Earn 3X points per $1 on air travel and other hotel purchases, at restaurants, supermarkets, gas and EV charging stations.
• Earn 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking.
• No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card.
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 20.49% to 28.49% Variable APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

2. Get 10x Points on Travel Purchases

Points will add up quickly as you earn 10x ThankYou Points on hotels and car rentals through CitiTravel.com.

This card also earns 3x points on airfare and all other hotel purchases (including through travel agencies.)

3. Earn 10x Points on Attractions

Cardholders can earn 10x points on attractions booked through CitiTravel.com. There are lots of options, including guided tours, museum admission, local attractions, transportation, and theme park tickets.

4. Earn When Dining Out

Whether you’re eating a late-night hamburger, a high-end dining experience, or lunch at an outdoor café, you’ll earn 3x points on dining.

5. Fill up on Points With Gas and EV Charging

Do you commute often? Use your Citi Strata Premier card to earn 3x points at gas and EV charging stations.

6. Get 3x Points on Supermarket Purchases

If you’re like most people, supermarket purchases are a significant expense. By putting those purchases on your Citi Strata Premier card, you’ll earn 3x points.

7. Earn on All Other Purchases

Every purchase you make with your Citi Strata Premier card earns at least 1 ThankYou Point.

8. Earn Without Limits

Unlike some travel rewards cards that limit the amount of spending that earns elevated rewards in bonus categories, the Citi Strata Premier card has no such limit.

Bottom Line:

Frequent travelers will find the Citi Strata Premier card a good match as hotels, flights, rental cars, attractions, and purchases at gas and EV charging stations earn at least 3x ThankYou Points.

Travel Benefits and Protections

9. Save $100 on a Hotel Stay

Save $100 on a hotel stay booked through CitiTravel.com when the total cost, not including taxes and fees, is over $500. This benefit can be used once per calendar year.

10. Travel Protections

The Citi Strata Premier card comes with travel insurance and protections to help you travel with confidence:

• Trip delay protection
• Common carrier trip cancellation and interruption protection
• Lost or damaged luggage
• MasterRental coverage (car rental insurance)

11. No Foreign Transaction Fees

Take the Citi Strata Premier card along when you travel, as foreign purchases will not incur foreign transaction fees.

Hot Tip:

The Citi Strata Premier card has replaced the Citi Premier^® Card, which is no longer available.

Share the Benefits with Others

12. Add an Authorized User To Earn Even More

There is no cost to add an authorized user to your Citi Strata Premier card, and their purchases also earn ThankYou Points.

13. Share Points Between Accounts

There are no fees to transfer ThankYou Points between accounts. You can send up to 100,000 points and receive 100,000 points in a calendar year. However, you should only share points when you have a specific redemption in mind because shared points expire 90 days after they are received.

Redeeming Your ThankYou Point Rewards

One reason ThankYou Points are so valuable is their flexibility. There are many ways to use ThankYou Points including transferring them to airline and hotel loyalty programs, purchasing travel, or redeeming them for merchandise, gift cards, or cash-back.

14. Transfer Points to Airline and Hotel Loyalty Programs

Transferring points to airline and hotel loyalty programs can result in great value for your ThankYou Points. To do so, log in to your online Citi Strata Premier account, click on View/Redeem, and then on More ways to redeem.

Then scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Points Transfer.

ThankYou Points transfer at the rate of 1:1 (with a 1,000 point minimum) for most transfer partners. Exceptions include Accor Live Limitless (1,000:500), Choice Privileges (1,000:2,000), and Leaders Club (1,000:200).

15. Redeem for Travel via the Citi ThankYou Travel Portal

Your ThankYou Points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for travel through CitiTravel.com.

16. Transfer to Shop Your Way

Transferring your ThankYou Points to Shop Your Way points is a decent option that gives you 1 cent per point in value. A ThankYou Point is worth 10 Shop Your Way points.

17. Pay With Points

You can use points to cover charges on your statement, but you’ll only get 0.8 cents per point in value.

18. Redeem for Gift Cards

Generally, your ThankYou Points are worth 1 cent per point when redeeming for gift cards, which means 2,500 ThankYou Points will earn you $25 to one of the many retail partners.

19. Shop With Points

While redeeming your points for cash-back or merchandise is not the best value for your points, it’s an option if you need to do it. The value you’ll get varies based on the retailer, but it averages 0.8 cents per point.

20. Make a Charitable Donation

Redeem your ThankYou Points for a charitable donation to organizations including the American Red Cross, No Kid Hungry, Susan G. Komen, or Smile Train for a value of 1 cent per point.

Bottom Line:

While the value you receive for your ThankYou Points may vary, the flexibility to select the best redemption for your situation has tremendous value.  

Recreation and Entertainment Benefits

21. Citi Concierge

With the Citi Strata Premier card, you’ll have access to an expert 24/7 with the Citi^® Concierge dedicated phone line. Get help with travel, shopping, entertainment, and dining out. The concierge staff can help with concert tickets, dinner reservations, or planning your dream vacation with a simple phone call.

22. Citi Entertainment

Receive special access to events, exclusive invitations, dining perks, ticket pre-sale privileges, preferred pricing, and more.

World Elite Mastercard Benefits

Some of the benefits covered below are actually World Elite Mastercard benefits that come complimentary with the Citi Strata Premier card. The list of World Elite Mastercard benefits is lengthy, but here are some of the most notable:

23. Luxury Hotel and Resorts Benefits

Receive upgraded rooms, hotel amenities, credits to use during your stay, late checkout, complimentary breakfast, and more at over 2,000 luxury properties worldwide.

24. World Elite Air Program

Receive up to 25% discount on premium flights with several airlines.

25. Priceless Mastercard Golf Experiences

Receive special access to courses, even private courses, worldwide and be treated like a member. Enjoy select tee times, use of member facilities, discounted pricing, and more.

Shopping Protections and Benefits

26. Purchase Protection

If you purchase an eligible item with your Citi Strata Premier card and it is damaged or stolen within 90 days of the purchase or delivery date, you could receive up to $10,000 per incident. The maximum purchase protection limit is $50,000 per calendar year.

27. Extended Warranty

It’s a mystery why items seem to break down just after the manufacturer’s warranty expires. This benefit extends the manufacturer’s warranty on eligible items for 24 months. It’s valid on items with a manufacturer’s warranty of 5 years or less, and coverage is limited to $10,000 per item.

Final Thoughts

The Citi Strata Premier card, with its low annual fee of $95, is a good alternative to high-end travel rewards cards. You won’t get complimentary lounge access or hotel elite status, but you don’t have to pay a high annual fee, either.

The card delivers a nice combination of bonus rewards earning opportunities for purchases travelers make most and plenty of flexible options to redeem those points for good value.