How I’ll Maximize the Citi Strata Elite’s 100K Bonus Offer for Business Class Flights

Updated: November 3, 2025, 8:30am CST

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Table of Contents

Citi Strata Elite Card Overview
What Are 100,000 Citi ThankYou Rewards Points Worth?
Booking ANA Business Class to Japan
Booking Etihad Business Class
Final Thoughts

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Citi took a major step into the premium rewards market in 2025 with its introduction of the brand-new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card featuring solid bonus categories, numerous travel perks, and valuable credits.

Additionally, the card offers a massive welcome bonus offer available to new applicants:

Earn 100,000 ThankYou Points after spending $6,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.

Although maybe not as valuable as American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards Points can provide tremendous value when redeemed strategically. However, for many, that is much easier said than done, with how many redemption options are available nowadays.

Here’s a look at the Citi Strata Elite card and how I would redeem its massive 100,000 Citi ThankYou Rewards Points welcome bonus offer for maximum value.

Citi Strata Elite Card Overview

With a $595 annual fee, the Citi Strata Elite card is considered a premium travel credit card.

The Citi Strata Elite card has solid earning rates with 12x points on hotels, car rentals, attractions, and 6x points air travel, though you are limited to using cititravel.com. Additionally, the card earns 6x points at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Eastern Time, but that rate is limited to very specific times just 2 nights per week.

It also provides numerous benefits, including an annual hotel benefit credit ($300 off a hotel stay of 2 nights or more when booked through cititravel.com), an annual Blacklane credit (2 biannual $100 credits), a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, and 4 American Airlines Admirals Club passes each year.

Cardholders can also tap into the Splurge Credits each calendar year, where cardholders can choose up to 2 of the following brands: 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation. For many, this credit can be seen as a direct reduction of the card’s $595 annual fee.

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

U.P. Rating

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 OfferEarn 100,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $6,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
100,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:
Up to   $1,600

Annual Fee

$595

APR

20.99% to 28.99% 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 100,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $6,000 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: 20.99% to 28.99% Variable
Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Hot Tip:

Eligible Citigold Private Clients receive a $595 first-year banking relationship credit (and a $145 annual credit each year thereafter), essentially covering the first year’s annual fee.

What Are 100,000 Citi ThankYou Rewards Points Worth?

Citi ThankYou Rewards Points are among the most valuable transferable points available. We value Citi ThankYou Rewards Points at 1.6 cents apiece, meaning the 100,000-point welcome offer available online is worth up to $1,600 — a fantastic value.

There are numerous ways to redeem Citi ThankYou Rewards Points, including gift cards, statement credits, and booking travel through Citi Travel. However, without a doubt, the best way to redeem Citi ThankYou Points is by transferring them to Citi’s airline and hotel travel partners to achieve our valuations of 1.6 cents apiece, or potentially even greater.

Hot Tip:

Check out our detailed guide on the best ways to earn lots of Citi ThankYou Points.

Booking ANA Business Class to Japan

Although I typically spend more than 6 months abroad each year, I find myself wanting to return to Japan, my favorite country, every few months. In the last 4 years, I have visited Japan a staggering 6 times. Of course, the flights on each trip have been covered using points and miles.

Flying to Japan in a premium cabin is also relatively easy to do with credit card points, including Citi ThankYou Rewards Points. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, a Citi transfer partner, has a nonalliance partnership with All Nippon Airways (ANA), which is considered among the world’s best airlines.

ANA The Room business class 777 300er — ANA The Room business class on the Boeing 777-300er.

With the partnership, you can redeem Virgin Points to fly on ANA. Virgin Atlantic has a separate award chart for ANA-operated flights. Here is the Flying Club one-way award pricing for ANA-operated flights between the U.S. and Japan:

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Route	Economy Class	Business Class	First Class
Japan to Hawaii, India, and Indonesia	22,500	37,500	57,500
Japan to Australia, Canada, and the Western U.S.	30,000	52,500	72,500
Japan to Europe, the Central and Eastern U.S., and Mexico	32,500	60,000	85,000

From Chicago (ORD), I can book a one-way ANA business class award for 60,000 Virgin Points plus taxes and fees. This is an excellent redemption, as one-way business class cash fares to Japan often exceed $3,000.

ORD HND ANA business class cash price Google Flights — ANA cash prices can be pricey. Image Credit: Google Flights

However, there are also frequent transfer bonuses to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Recently, I took advantage of a 30% transfer bonus to Flying Club. Instead of transferring 60,000 Citi ThankYou Points to Flying Club, I transferred just 47,000 points.

Citi to Virgin Atlantic 30 transfer bonus — Transfer bonuses are a great way to get even more value from your points. Image Credit: Citi

I received a tremendous 7.4 cents per point for this redemption, much more than our 1.6-cents-per-point valuation.

Booking Etihad Business Class

After 3 weeks in Japan, I plan to head to Cairo (CAI) to attend a close friend’s wedding. The Egyptian capital is one of my favorite cities in the world, but I have not visited it in more than 5 years.

Fortunately, flying there from Japan is also incredibly easy if you understand airline partnerships. American Airlines, a member of the Oneworld alliance, has several partner airlines offering 1-stop routes between the cities, including Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, considered among the best airlines in the world.

Etihad A321LR First Suite with bed 1 — Etihad Airways Airbus A380 Business Studio Flat-Bed. Image Credit: Etihad

For numerous reasons, the American Airlines AAdvantage program, a transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Rewards, is a favorite of many award travelers. However, arguably its most valuable perk is its award chart for travel on most partner airlines.

One of these AA sweet spots is for flights between Asia Region 1 (which includes Japan) and the Middle East. One-way business class flights between the regions can be booked for just 40,000 American AAdvantage miles plus taxes and fees.

AAdvantage booking Tokyo to Cairo 40k — Etihad business class from Tokyo (NRT) to Cairo (CAI) via Abu Dhabi (AUH) for just 40,000 miles plus taxes and fees.

Again, this represents fantastic value, as one-way business-class Etihad Airways cash fares often exceed $2,500. For this redemption, I received 6.3 cents per point, more than triple our Citi ThankYou Rewards Points valuation.

Etihad business class cash fare. NRT CAI Google Flights — Etihad business class between Tokyo and Cairo often exceeds $2,500.

Final Thoughts

The Citi Strata Elite card is the newest luxury travel card on the block. It comes with numerous perks and benefits and an enticing welcome offer.

There are many ways to redeem Citi ThankYou Rewards Points, but transferring them to partner programs, such as Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or American AAdvantage, provides fantastic value. I can fly business class on some of the world’s premier airlines with a single welcome bonus offer.