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Link: Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card
Citi is putting a lot of effort into its travel credit card portfolio recently. In particular, we’ve seen the Citi ThankYou ecosystem invigorated a bit, thanks to American AAdvantage being added as a transfer partner.
If you’re looking to earn Citi ThankYou points, you should have either the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (review) or Citi Strata Premier® Card (review), at a minimum. In this post, I’d like to compare the two cards a bit, and talk about the best strategy to take when deciding between these two products.
Basics of the Citi Strata Elite & Citi Strata Premier
To start, let’s cover the very basics of the two premium Citi ThankYou cards that can unlock the full value of the points currency.
The Citi Strata Elite Card has a $595 annual fee (discounted by $145 if you have a Citigold account), and there are lots of reasons to consider applying for this card:
- The card offers useful bonus categories, including 12x points on hotels, rental cars, and attractions booked through Citi Travel, 6x points on air travel booked through Citi Travel, 6x points on Citi Nights dining, 3x points on restaurants, and 1.5x points on everyday spending
- The card offers a variety of credits that can help add value, including a $300 annual hotel credit, a $200 annual “Splurge Credit,” and a $200 annual Blacklane credit
- The card offers some lounge access perks, including four annual Admirals Club passes and a Priority Pass membership
The Citi Strata Premier Card has a $95 annual fee, and there are also several reasons to consider applying for this card:
One important thing to understand is that eligibility for the two cards is considered independently, so you can actually apply for both cards, be approved, and even earn the welcome bonuses. Given the big welcome bonuses the cards are offering, there’s a lot of merit to picking up both cards.
Both premium Citi Strata cards have strong value propositions
Why you want a “premium” Citi ThankYou card
Beyond the direct value proposition of the Citi Strata Elite Card and Citi Strata Premier Card, there’s another reason you’ll want to have at least one of these two cards.
In particular, it’s because having one of those cards unlocks the full value of the no annual fee Citi Double Cash® Card (review), which is one of the best cards for everyday, non-bonused spending.
The Citi Double Cash Card offers 1x points when you make a purchase, and 1x points when you pay for that purchase. While each point earned on the Citi Double Cash Card can be redeemed for one cent, in conjunction with either the Citi Strata Elite Card or Citi Strata Premier Card, you can also transfer points to Citi ThankYou airline and hotel partners at the best possible ratio.
That basically makes this a card earning 2x points per dollar spent, and those points can be even be transfered to American AAdvantage, if you have the right card combination. I’d consider that to be incredibly lucrative, personally.
You can’t beat earning 2x points per dollar spent
My take on the value proposition of the two cards
While the Citi Strata Elite Card and Citi Strata Premier Card are the two premium cards earning ThankYou points that are easiest to maximize, the value propositions of the two cards are quite different, as I see it. How so?
Well, I think the Citi Strata Elite Card is a card you get primarily for the perks, and the product has a particularly strong first year value. That’s because many of the card’s benefits are awarded per calendar year rather than per cardmember year, so it’s hard not to come out ahead.
So between the credits and lounge access, I think a lot of people find the card to be worthwhile. When it comes to actually spending on the card, I’d say that’s more of a mixed bag:
- Earning 6x points on dining on Citi Nights is great, but it’s the only bonus category on the card that really gets me excited
- While it’s nice that the card earns 1.5x points on everyday spending, I’d rather earn a total of 2x points on spending (1x points after making a purchase, and 1x points after paying for that purchase) by also picking up the no annual fee Citi Double Cash Card
The Citi Strata Premier Card, meanwhile, is a card that you primarily get for the rewards structure. I don’t think there’s a mid-range credit card with more well rounded bonus categories, as earning 3x points in so many widely useful categories is hard to beat. There’s not much to the card beyond that, other than the $100 hotel credit potentially offsetting the card’s annual fee.
The point is, in some ways I almost view the decision of whether to get the Citi Strata Elite Card and/or Citi Strata Premier Card independently. If you can make the math work on the perks of the Citi Strata Elite Card, then go with that card. If you can maximize the rewards structure of the Citi Strata Premier Card, then go with that.
For some people, there could be merit to getting both cards, to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses, perks, and return on spending. And ideally also have one of these cards in conjunction with the Citi Double Cash Card, so that you can maximize your return on everyday spending.
How much do you value perks vs. return on spending
Bottom line
The Citi Strata Elite Card and Citi Strata Premier Card are the two premium cards that are open to new applicants and unlock the full value of the ThankYou ecosystem. Furthermore, both cards let you get full value out of the Citi Double Cash Card, which is a product that’s worth having.
To me, the decision of which of the two cards is a better option comes down to what kind of consumer you are. If you’re looking for a premium card with strong perks and are willing to pay the annual fee, the Citi Strata Elite Card is worth giving a try. In particular, the card has a big welcome bonus and strong first year value proposition. Meanwhile if you’re looking for a mid-range card with a great rewards structure, it’s tough to beat the Citi Strata Premier Card.
Given that eligibility for the two cards isn’t mutually exclusive, there’s potentially merit to giving both cards a try, and seeing how they work out for you.
What’s your take on the value proposition of the Citi Strata Elite vs. Citi Strata Premier, and which do you consider to be more valuable?
