Why the Citi Strata Elite Card Is My Everyday Spending Card

Updated: October 20, 2026, 8:30am CDT

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Table of Contents

Citi Strata Elite Card Overview
Citi Strata Elite Card Earning Rates
Final Thoughts

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The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card is Citi’s most premium card, ideal for travelers and foodies. But it’s also perfect for anyone who has a lot of everyday spending. In fact, this card is my go-to everyday spending card, the one I use for groceries, department stores, utility bills, nonstreaming subscriptions, school fees, large purchases that don’t fall into bonus categories, and more.

Here’s why.

Citi Strata Elite Card Overview

Before I get into why I’m using my Citi Strata Elite card for almost all nonbonus category purchases, here’s a brief overview of the card. It currently has a generous welcome offer, especially since Citi ThankYou Points are a flexible rewards currency I really value:

Earn 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

U.P. Rating

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

Apply Now(at our partner's secure site)

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

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

Welcome OfferEarn 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
75,000 Points

UP's Offer Valuation*:
Up to   $1,200

Annual Fee

$595

APR

20.74% to 28.74% 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 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
No Foreign Transaction Fees

Financial Snapshot

APR: 20.74% to 28.74% Variable
Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Although the card has a $595 annual fee, it comes with so many perks and benefits, from lounge access (Priority Pass membership with 2 guests and 4 Admirals Club passes annually) to various statement credits, like up to $200 in annual Splurge Credits, covering purchases at businesses like American Airlines or Best Buy and the up-to-$200 Blacklane credit.

In fact, the card comes with more than $700 in annual benefits, which makes it easy to offset the annual fee.

But for me, earning Citi ThankYou Points at an elevated rate is a really valuable perk of the card.

Citi Strata Elite Card Earning Rates

The Citi Strata Elite card comes with the following earnings rates:

12x on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked via Citi Travel
6x on airfare booked via Citi Travel
6x at restaurants on CitiNights purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m to 6 a.m Eastern time
3x at restaurants any other time
1.5x on everything else

Citi Strata Elite Bonus Categories

Although I appreciate Citi’s 12x and 6x categories, I don’t often take advantage of them. I love the Citi Nights bonus earnings, but because I live in Europe and the time zones are off, I don’t often take advantage of them as much as I’d like, and when I do, it’s mainly for breakfast and brunch, as 6 a.m. Eastern time is noon here in Madrid. I try to use the card on Citi Nights when dining out in the United States or in a similar time zone.

I usually prefer to book travel directly, with the exception of the $300 hotel credit, so I don’t often earn the bonus points by using Citi Travel.

Gajoen Tokyo Chinese restaurant art — Many credit cards offer bonus points for dining, so I try to vary which card I use at restaurants. Image Credit: Ehsan Haque

Because I also earn 3x points at restaurants with my American Express^® Classic Green Card (note that this card is no longer available to new applicants, though you can downgrade to it) and on my Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card, I often split my dining purchases across those 2 cards plus my Citi Strata Elite card.

The most value I get from the Citi Strata Elite is actually through everyday spending.

Hot Tip:

If you’re a Oneworld flyer, the Citi Strata Elite card is the ideal card for you. Citi ThankYou points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to AAdvantage, and you also get 4 Admirals Club passes annually.

Why the Citi Strata Elite Is My Everyday Spending Card

The Citi Strata Elite card earns 1.5 Citi ThankYou Points for every $1 spent. It’s true that my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card earns 2x on everything, but I actually value Citi ThankYou Points more than Capital One Miles.

This is because I can transfer Citi ThankYou Points to American Airlines AAdvantage miles at a 1:1 ratio, and no other card I have that earns flexible rewards points transfers to AAdvantage. I also have some flexibility with using Citi ThankYou Points, since they transfer to numerous other hotel and airline partners.

Because I live abroad and can’t take advantage of a lot of cards that offer grocery store bonuses at U.S. supermarkets (I would love to have the American Express^® Gold Card, but I wouldn’t be able to get those bonus points on my groceries here in Madrid), I tend to put most of my grocery spending on the Citi Strata Elite card, occasionally changing it up by using the Capital One Venture X card to get 2x miles.

groceries supermarket tomato 3 4s — I tend to use the Citi Strata Elite card for groceries in Europe. Image Credit: Michael Y. Park

The issue is that the transfer partner I appreciate most with Capital One Miles is British Airways, as I then change those into Iberia Avios using the Avios.com transfer tool.

But because my Chase Ultimate Rewards and my Amex Membership Rewards both transfer to Iberia Avios, I usually don’t need a top-off. And, thanks to Iberia’s family pooling, between my husband, who holds a Spanish Iberia co-branded credit card (he also uses the Iberia Club eStore shopping portal for many online purchases), my 5-year-old son’s points (he’s a big earner!), my parents, and myself, we have hundreds of Avios.

We tend to fly in economy between Madrid (MAD) and Chicago (ORD), where flights cost as low as 16,000 Avios each way at off-peak times, so we’re able to accrue Iberia Avios at a faster and higher rate than we spend them, especially thanks to frequent transfer bonuses from Chase and Amex.

But I’m unable to earn AAdvantage miles at such a quick rate. Although I fly the airline frequently, hold the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^®, and try to shop via AAdvantage shopping, I can’t seem to rack up AA miles as quickly as I can Iberia Avios.

American Airlines jets at Phoenix Airport PHX — As a Oneworld flyer, I value the ability to transfer Citi ThankYou Points to American Airlines AAdvantage. Image Credit: Daniel Ross

This is where the Citi Strata Elite’s everyday spending bonus comes in. I’m able to get an extra half point for every $1 I spend on purchases I’d already be making. Then I can transfer those points to American Airlines when I need them, which helps me top off my balance for redemptions.

It’s true I do have another card that now, after a new refresh this October, offers bonus points on groceries: the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. The card’s recent revamp means it now includes 5x points on groceries, with no restrictions on location. I will occasionally use that card for groceries, but at this time, I value American Airlines miles more than IHG One Rewards points, so I’ll still heavily favor the Citi Strata Elite card.

I have a big home renovation coming up, and I’ll be putting it on my Citi Strata Elite card so I can get those 1.5x points.

Hot Tip:

The Citi Strata Elite card is a relatively new card — it launched in 2025. When applying for the card, consider how you can maximize its annual benefits, some of which run by calendar year, meaning you can double-dip. A year later, and this card is still one of the top cards in my wallet.

Final Thoughts

I value Citi ThankYou Points because I can transfer them to AAdvantage, and the card’s 1.5x on everything makes it an easy choice to use it for my everyday purchases. When deciding what card to use for your everday purchases, it’s not just about how many points you’d earn (technically, my Capital One Venture X card earns more — 2x on all purchases). It’s about what programs you tend to fly with, what transfer partners you value, and how much you value certain point currencies.