Citi Strata Premier Card’s Welcome Offer Gets New Restrictions

Updated: February 6, 2025, 9:04am CST

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New Welcome Offer Rules on the Citi Strata Premier Card
What Does This Mean?
Final Thoughts

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There’s a lot to like about the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card. With a modest annual fee, quality earning rates, and an annual hotel credit, this is a card I keep in my wallet year after year.

The card also offers a great welcome bonus offer. However, those considering applying for it should beware of tighter restrictions on that welcome offer.

Here’s what you need to know about the new rule on the Citi Strata Premier card’s welcome bonus offer.

New Welcome Offer Rules on the Citi Strata Premier Card

The Citi Strata Premier card has a $95 annual fee and a quality welcome bonus:

Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.

Previously, the rules for earning that welcome bonus offer were pretty straightforward. You couldn’t earn this card’s bonus if you had earned it in the past 48 months. Here’s how Citi phrased the previous rule:

Bonus ThankYou^® Points are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi Premier^® or Citi Strata Premier℠ account in the past 48 months

However, the terms and conditions for the card’s welcome bonus offer gained additional requirements. Now, you need to factor in other card bonuses you’ve earned from Citi — but only if you subsequently product-changed the card to a Citi Strata Premier card. Here’s the new rule:

Bonus ThankYou^® Points are not available if you received a new account bonus for a Citi Premier^® or Citi Strata Premier℠ account in the past 48 months or if you converted another Citi credit card account on which you earned a new account bonus in the last 48 months into a Citi Premier^® or Citi Strata Premier℠ account.

What Does This Mean?

For example, let’s say you opened a Citi Double Cash^® Card and earned the welcome bonus offer on it this month. A year from now, you decide you like the Citi Strata Premier card and call Citi to change your card. Under the new rules for the Citi Strata Premier card, you wouldn’t be eligible for a bonus until 48 months from the welcome bonus offer you received — so February 2029 in this example.

Citi Strata Premier Upgraded Points chairs — Image Credit: Upgraded Points

That’s fine if you keep the Citi Strata Premier card (changed from the Citi Double Cash card) for several years. But what if you close the card along the way? You never earned a welcome bonus offer on the Citi Strata Premier card, but you would still need to factor in 48 months from when you received a bonus on this other card — thanks to the new rules related to changing one credit card into another.

Bottom Line:

Each issuer has its own credit card rules, and these can be difficult to navigate. With these changes, Citi says you’re ineligible for a welcome bonus offer on the Citi Strata Premier card if you did either of the following in the past 48 months: earned a bonus on this OR earned a bonus on another card that you subsequently changed into the Citi Strata Premier card. Bear that in mind as you plan your credit card strategy.

Final Thoughts

The terms of the welcome offer have changed on the Citi Strata Premier card, adding nuance from other Citi credit cards. If you earned a bonus on another card and then changed it to the Citi Strata Premier card, that now affects your welcome bonus offer eligibility. Make sure you take this into consideration if you’re thinking about applying for this card.