How I Used the Citi Strata Elite’s Splurge Credit for a $200 Gift Card

The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card is the newest addition to Citi’s credit card line and its first premium credit card since it stopped accepting applications for the Citi Prestige^® Card in 2021. While it’s light on benefits compared to other premium credit cards, it has some interesting features and statement credits, like the annual $200 Splurge Credit.

This credit lets cardholders spend a combined $200 on merchandise at a handful of retailers, including American Airlines, Best Buy, and 1st Dibs. I recently used the Citi Strata Elite card’s Splurge Credit at the Apple Store, though Apple isn’t one of the qualifying merchants.

Here, I’ll show you how to redeem the Citi Strata Elite card’s Splurge Credit with merchants Citi does not officially support.

Citi Strata Elite Card Overview

Before discussing the Splurge Credit, let’s look at the Citi Strata Elite card.

It’s the newest addition to Citi’s credit card portfolio. The card includes a handful of premium benefits, like a Priority Pass membership and a $300 annual hotel credit for bookings made through Citi Travel. These perks — in addition to the Splurge Credit and a Blacklane limousine credit — help to offset its $595 annual fee.

One of the more interesting features of the card is its earning rates. The card earns Citi ThankYou Points at the following rates:

• 12 points per $1 on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked via cititravel.com
• 6 points per $1 on flights booked via cititravel.com
• 6 points per $1 at restaurants on Fridays and Saturdays between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. ET (Citi Nights)
• 3 points per $1 at restaurants at all other times
• 1.5 points per $1 on all other purchases

This makes the card a decent option for those who want more than 1 point per $1 spent on everyday purchases. Plus, earning 6 points per $1 at restaurants on Friday and Saturday night is a significant return on nights when you might be dining out anyway.

The card has a solid welcome bonus offer that you can use to book flights and hotel nights with popular Citi ThankYou transfer partners like American Airlines AAdvantage and Choice Privileges.

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

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.

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Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

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

Welcome Offer

Earn 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

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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

What Is the Citi Strata Elite Card’s Splurge Credit?

One way to offset the Citi Strata Elite card’s high annual fee is the new Splurge Credit. This credit gives you a $200 statement credit on purchases from the following merchants:

• 1stDibs
• American Airlines (exclusions apply)
• Best Buy
• Future Personal Training
• Live Nation

You can activate up to 2 eligible merchants at once through the Citi Strata Elite Benefits page on your Citi online account.

You can change these 2 merchants whenever you’d like, but make sure to do so before you make a purchase with the merchant.

How To Use the Splurge Credit for Gift Cards

But what if you don’t want to buy something from one of the Splurge Credit’s supported merchants? I found a nifty workaround for you.

I was in the market for an iPad Mini and wanted to buy it directly from the Apple Store since they offered me $380 as a trade-in credit for my old iPad Pro. Meanwhile, Best Buy offered less than half of that, and I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of selling it on eBay or Facebook Marketplace. Other trade-in sites were also paying less than Apple, so I set out to find an alternative.

After browsing Best Buy’s website, I found a section dedicated to specialty gift cards. This section has gift cards for many major brands, including Amazon, DoorDash, Gap, Spotify, Airbnb, Carnival Cruises, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines. Many cards are digital, but some are shipped to your house.

As luck would have it, there were Apple gift cards in various denominations. These gift cards can be added to your Apple account and redeemed for Apple Store purchases and digital products like apps, music, and subscriptions.

I selected Best Buy as one of my Splurge Credit merchants and purchased a $200 digital Apple gift card with my Citi Strata Elite card. When I checked my Citi online account, the transaction was posted as a standard Best Buy purchase, and the Splurge Credit was posted to my account a week or so later. This is important, as gift card purchases are sometimes processed by a third-party like Giftcards.com.

This worked for me, but it might not be the case for every gift card on Best Buy’s website. If you want to be sure you’ll be reimbursed, make a small test purchase before buying a larger gift card. You can also buy gift cards in a brick-and-mortar Best Buy store.

Finally, it’s worth noting that nothing in the terms and conditions says you cannot use the Splurge Credit to buy a gift card from Best Buy or other supported merchants, so you’re not doing anything prohibited. That said, you may have to wait 1 to 2 billing cycles for the credit to post to your account.

Final Thoughts

The Citi Strata Elite card’s Splurge Credit gives you $200 annually at merchants like American Airlines, 1stDibs, and Best Buy. But if you’d like to spend the credit elsewhere, buy a gift card to another store through Best Buy. Chances are, it’ll trigger the credit.