Citi Strata Premier℠ Card Review
The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card is perhaps the best mid-range card for earning bonus points across different categories. The card recently underwent a facelift and name change, but the foundations remain the same for the most part. In our Citi Strata Premier℠ Card review we will take a look at the welcome offer, earning structure, card perks and share our overall thoughts.
Current Welcome Offer
The Citi Strata Premier℠ has a current welcome offer as follows:
- Earn 75,000 bonus Citi ThankYou Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- The card comes with a $95 annual fee, which is NOT waived the first year.
Citi Application Rules
If you choose to apply for the card, remember that Citi has a few application rules to keep in mind. Citi will not approve you for more than one card every eight days, and two cards every 65 days. Also, you will not be eligible for the welcome bonus if you received a welcome offer for the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card or the old Citi Premier card in the last 48 months.
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card Review: Earning Structure
The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card comes with the following earning structure:
- 3x points at
- Restaurants
- Supermarkets
- Gas Stations
- Air Travel
- Hotels
- EV Charging Stations (newly added)
- 1x on all other purchases
It should be noted that “air travel and hotels” covers airlines, hotels, and travel agencies. Meanwhile, EV charging stations is a new addition with the rebranding.
Citi Strata Premier Card Benefits
The Citi Strata Premier comes with the following card benefits for its $95 annual fee:
- No foreign transaction fees
- Extended warranty protection that adds an additional 24 months to a manufacturer’s warranty.
- World Elite Mastercard benefits
- $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more when booked through thankyou.com or 1-800-THANKYOU
- This is available per calendar year
- Travel protection benefits, including
- Trip cancellation and interruption
- Trip delay
- Lost or damaged luggage
- Car rental coverage
ToP Analysis
The Citi Strata Premier remains an excellent well-rounded card that earns 3x points per dollar spent on four major bonus categories. The card remains largely unchanged following the rebranding. It continues to be one of the best cards for uncapped spend at supermarkets and for gas station spend at 3x points. That is already a massive start but when you throw in restaurants, hotels and air travel you have the best earning set up for any card in the sub $200 annual fee market. In terms of earning power the Citi Strata Premier is pound for pound the best card on the market.
Where it lacks is offering any meaningful perks. That can be overlooked with its earning power but the other thing holding the Citi Strata Premier back is ThankYou points having the weakest transfer partners of the big 3 (Chase, Amex and Citi).
It is nice to see Citi reintroduce travel protections with the Citi Strata Premier. Citi had stripped travel protection from the vast majority of its credit cards back in 2019. This left a glaring hole in Citi's credit card portfolio compared to the competition. Reinstating travel protection for a credit card marketed towards travel is the sensible move here.
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card Review: ToP Thoughts
The Citi Strata Premier remains a well-rounded tool for earning ThankYou Points even after being refreshed. The card earns 3x points on restaurants, air travel and hotels, gas stations, supermarkets, and EV charging stations. No other card with a $95 annual fee offers these many bonus categories, especially at 3x points per dollar.
What are your plans for the Citi Strata Premier? Do you have it? Are you getting it? Let us know on our Facebook group!
